Saturday, April 1, 2017

A - Anxiety #AtoZChallenge





"In 0.2 miles, your destination is on the right", the GPS boomed, startling her out of her reverie.

She felt her breath quicken. When did she cross Andrew's Avenue? Was the signal green? She fumbled for her glasses on the passenger seat. Last few nights were short on sleep, and her eyes watered easily now. She regretted ever having committed to this thing. What was she thinking? 'Facing your fears' - who gives in to that kind of bullshit? She felt that familiar lump in her throat and remembered to breathe harder.

Deep breaths.

More deep breaths.

"Its okay if I do bad. It doesn't have to be my best. I am just starting out."

"But I want it to be my best."

"But you cannot. You are not so good at it."

"Oh! How can I not be. I am always good!"

"Isn't that why you joined in the first place? To improve? Don't weigh yourself down with your own expectations."

The war in her head waged on. She pulled on a mask of confidence, took another deep breath, and marched ahead.



           
*****

Thank you for dropping by :) The theme of my posts this year, for the A-Z challenge, is To Show, Not Tell. I hope I was able to take you on the character's anxious journey.

I decided to share some tips that I found useful when writing my posts. Needless to say, they are from various sources on the internet. I hope you will find them beneficial too.

Today's tip:

When describing a scene or a person, first jot down all the behaviors characteristic of this scene/character. For example, when I had to describe anxiety, I came up with pounding heart, mind creating vivid scenes of embarrassment, fidgeting hands, racing mind, sweaty palms. And then weave your words around these traits.


26 comments:

  1. Love your theme idea! I definitely felt anxious along with your character! :D

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    1. Here's my post for A!

      https://thecaramelfiles.com/the-arc-of-the-matter/

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  2. This is really helpful. I'll be following you.

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    1. Thank you Harvey. I hope I will be able to do justice to the theme :)

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  3. Liked your theme .. looking forward to read more
    drop in to read mine : http://wigglingpen.com/a-aishwarya-rai-bollywood-diva/

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  4. Good tips at the end of the post. You've picked a useful theme.
    Happy AtoZing!
    Chicky @ www.mysteriouskaddu.com

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  5. Good tips! The anxiety is palpable. You might personify the voices in her head, or make it clearer in your formatting that it's an internal monologue. It's not that it's particularly unclear, in such a short piece with a clear title and one character, but it can be awkward if you expand on this idea. Great theme - should definitely be enough material to see you through the month!

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    1. Haha ! Yes, you are right. I will italicize the monologue, like Dahlia suggested.

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  6. Perfect capture of the emotion. I hope writers are reading these tips. Good start, Sampada.

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    1. Thank you Shailaja! I hope I get 25 more good tips :)

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  7. Great job of showing not telling. This is something I struggle with in my own writing. I like that you are including helpful tips. WeekendsInMaine

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    1. Thank you Karen! I am so glad you are finding it helpful.

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  8. On the money with the effort. Definitely showed anxiety. :-) Another different theme I've come across at Write Tribe today. Have fun and good luck with the challenge

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    1. Thank you for your encouraging comment Vinay!

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  9. Anxiety gets the better of me too. But like her, we need to put on a brave face and move on.

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  10. Oh! You've captured so well the tension and self-doubt that accompanies anxiety. Very nicely structured.

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  11. I felt your anxiety for this venture! Well done. Perhaps if you italicized one set of dialogues it would have made for easier reading. Just a thought. And since I am at it - she is in the car right? Then in the end she wouldnt be marching? Or did I miss something? All the best and step on it :D

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    1. Thank you Dahlia :)

      She reached her destination by the end of the monologue :D I could probably have added, 'She parked her car, pulled on the mask of confidence and marched ahead'.

      Thank you for your honest thoughts Dahlia! Really appreciate it.

      I am off now to italicize the monologue.

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    2. Appreciate you being such a sport :)

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  12. Good start... this feeling is very much common with me.. feeling that anxiety.. looking forward to your posts... :)

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  13. What was this about? Is it based on your personal experience? I'm curious to know.

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