30 Day Writing Challenge, Day 1

The other day I was telling my friend, how my writing has become more of a reality show script than what I wanted. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and try out one of the writing challenges. Because I want to write fiction. I saw a couple of challenges and this 30 Day Writing Challenge stood out the most.

So that is what I will be doing for this month.

Day 1 —Select a book at random in the room.  Find a novel or short story, copy down the last sentence and use this line as the first line of your new story.

The book I chose was The Girl Who Played With Fire by Steig Larsson, mainly because it was on my side table. 

She was going to need it, or she would die.

He thought about all the things that had gone wrong in his calm and serene life.

Three days ago, he was sitting in Germany, Skyping with his kids back home and telling them that he had gotten the i-pod and the American Girl doll, that they wanted. He had asked about her, but she was busy making dinner. So obviously, he did not persist and talked to the rest of his family and than went to sleep.

And now here he was, sitting on the cold hospital bench, hands clenching his throbbing forehead, being told that it was over. Unless some miracle happened.

She was going to need everyone's prayers.

Their story was very simple. They had met through family friends and had instantly liked each other. He had introduced her to his parents, thinking that they would reject her but they had liked her more than him. After that it was a matter of months.

They had gotten engaged among family and friends, all the time being told how lucky they were to marry the one they loved.

After an year came Mehndi, Baraat and the reception. Again they were looked upon as a very fortunate couple.

And now, ten years later, they had two beautiful kids, a well decorated house and an incredible partner.

They had everything.

Until that damned driver, who had shattered their perfect mirror of a life in 5 minutes and a single turn.

Now she lay in that spotless white bed, hooked up to a million machines, tubes going in and out of her, after giving up on him and their life together.

He sat there, cold and helpless, waiting for his worst fears to be confirmed and the tears to flow, wondering how his luck had changed in ten years.

...SAP...

The Creative Me # Painting An Aztec Eiffel Tower

Keeping up with my new goal of updating this blog. I am going to start another new project called, "The Creative Me". Now, I am not an artist but from time to time, my creative side likes to peak out and show itself. And those rare moments find themselves captured in different things, like an idea or a sketch.

I love doing different things. And I love originality. Even if something has been done over and over and I love it, I tend to think of a different way to execute it.

I have incorporated Tribal or Aztec print in the tower because its crazy trendy right now and I absolutely love it.

I have been wanting to paint an Eiffel Tower in my room for quiet some time now. But it got delayed for one thing or another. I finally finished it. And the best part is that I managed to take pictures during the process.

The only reason I was able to do that was because it took me a week to finish painting it.

Its really easy. It takes you about five hours from sketching to painting the tower.

But if you are lazy like me or have irritating guests staying over, it might take you longer.

The sketching part which was way easier than I had thought.

A much clear shot of the pencil sketch. 

At this point, I was sure that I had ruined the wall. Because it looked so bad.

A little better but I was still skeptical.

Now it had started to come around and look like an Eiffel Tower.

Chevron is my 4th or 5th love. 

A table was needed because I am only 5'4. I came this close to falling off the table at least thrice.

Tada !!!!! The magical tower with its full glory. Without the top, it looks like a king without a crown.

Here you go ! This is what I call beauty. I was going to cry.

One of the things, I suck at, taking pictures. Need a professional photographer in my life !

By this point, I had cleaned my room, hence a much presentable state of my room.

Me, trying to act like a photographer and one picture did turn out alright. So proud ! 

....SAP....

Book Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

From Goodreads:

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife's head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media--as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents--the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter--but is he really a killer?

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn't do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

Published: May, 2012
Author: Gillian Flyn
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Crime
Pages: 395

My Review:

The story starts with Amy, Nick's wife gone missing. At first, we look at their picture perfect marriage but then little by little, when all the layers are peeled back, you get to see the real scenario. It goes from East to West in a single page. At one point Nick is the victim and Amy is to blame but than its vice versa. So you have no idea who is at fault because both of them clearly have made mistakes of their own, you just have to analyze and decide whose mistake is the biggest.

I loved the battle between the good and bad. It is totally up to the reader to decide who is guilty, Amy or Nick. Who is the bigger jack ass ? And for me, both of them were guilty but Amy was down right vicious. She was insane. She should have been in a mental hospital or something. She plans her own murder. Her whole life is about planning and avenging for things like not paying enough attention to her. This was her game. This was the way she lived her life because she had nothing better to do.

It is the creepiest and the most horrific story I have ever read. It is better than a Stephen King horror story. Its so brilliant. I have no words. I was literally shivering and had goosebumps reading this book. It is one of those books which has a lot of intricate details, twists and turns, so everything needs to be perfect for the book to be good. It was more than perfect.

In the starting, I did not think that I would feel sorry for Nick but I did. He constantly battles with himself, to not be his father but be a better person. And thing is you can pretend for so long. The walls you create around yourself, creating a persona that never existed, it all comes crashing down someday.

I do not know if people like Nick and Amy exist in this world. I hope they don't. But if they do, than this world is much more horrifying than we all think. And God have mercy on anyone who ends up with a Nick or an Amy. 

...SAP...

Book Review: Room by Emma Donoghue

5 year old Jack's world consists of an 8 ft by 11 ft room. Its his playground, school, hospital, home, everything he has ever stepped in or seen. And his only other companion is his mother. But then he gets a chance to see the outside world. And he is overwhelmed. He feels like an alien. He is an expert in Mathematics but does not know how to climb stairs. And then there are the circumstances that put this little kid and his 20 something mom where he is. What would you do if you ever found yourself in such circumstances ? 

Published: 2010
Author: Emma Donoghue
Genre: Literary fiction

Goodreads review: Room

Book Depository: Room

This was a very different and interesting read for me. It was from a victim's point of view and I loved that perspective. The narrative is a 5 year old kid who himself does not know much about the world. His mother creates a normal world for him in an abnormal one. Even being a victim, he has no idea what kidnapping, robbery, murder etc is, just like any other 5 year old.

I was reminded of my youngest brother, when he was an year or two. Whenever we used to go to someones house, he kept staring at the ceiling, fascinated by the fan because there wasn't one in our house and he had no idea what it was. And Jack is the same, he is terrified when he gets to see the real world. But Emma has described his feelings in an incredible manner. I realized the importance of being socially adaptive of things.

My heart literally broke reading about the mother struggling day after day in such an uncommon way, yet so real in so many other ways. She is barely in her twenties, the age where you are suppose to enjoy life, not be terrified of it.

I felt like the part about the escape was a little vague. How can a person who has taken so much care to keep things the way they are, not check the carpet ? But then, even the biggest criminals make tiny mistake at times.

I cannot imagine my life in a single room. Emma portrayed the characters so strong and beautiful. I was forced to think that if they can make the most of life in a single room, why the hell cannot we all ?

...SAP...