“Day of a New Dawn”

...But can you really have them all at once?

…But can you really have them all at once?

More from English 484, coming right up! In keeping with the course’s focus on the revision and reimagining of a piece, this story is a quasisequel to Bread and Buttons from two weeks ago. This time, the prompt offered several routes, from adding new scenes to approaching the same theme from a radically-revised angle. I chose the option which essentially worked out as a composite of both those examples: changing the POV (point of view) character. This time, it’s from the perspective of Dawn “Won” Brooke: Dan’s older sister, bittersweet inspirational figure, and Arch-Manager of RobotNews!

Despite being a companion to Dan’s narrative (taking place the same day as he’s moving out with his wife), it can (hopefully) be read on its own without confusion; I tried to keep the same style and themes, but explore them from the perspective of a slightly older woman. Needless to say, Dawn is not quite the carefree model of success Dan regards her as–but as her younger brother moves on, maybe she too will experience the…

Day of a New Dawn

“Bread and Buttons”

Never Before

Like write instead of type!

At long last, another story! This one’s been sitting on my computer for a while, actually; it was my first short fiction assignment for the English 484 class I’m currently in, and while the main readings for the course are various iterations of Little Red Riding Hood from throughout history, the prompt here was pretty open-ended.

Seeing as I tend to do better with some guidance (at least when a grade is on the line), I followed a brainstorming suggestion from early on–what I call the “Yahoo Email Password” method of drafting–wherein I mashed together two or three concepts I had preexisting interest/skill in and saw what emerged. I wasn’t particularly satisfied or invested in what I came up with, even after working on it to literally the last second (and a few after that–some rapid-fire negotiation with the professor was in order when the submission portal glitched and made me technically late)… but from the online classmate’s comments and peer review session that occurred this morning, it sounds like I may have sold myself short in my estimate!

But hey, as always, it’s your call. So with just a little more ado, please enjoy…

Bread and Buttons