So yes, I totally only got one fictional work up last week - so embarrassing! Only four weeks in, and I already failed to meet my goal of three short, fictional works each week. I did, however, post a couple of movie reviews in my review book. Does that count? Probably not. Anyhow, I promise to try to do better this week.
The ship's doctor sat, a writing desk balanced awkwardly on his knees and a bucket of seawater sloshing in front of him. Periodically, a member of the grew gave the man an odd look; watching the doctor was always a welcome diversion from their monotonous journey. Much more welcome than the time the mouline in the centre of the capstan cracked, and the captain's gig couldn't be winched up for a week, until it had been fixed. This particular odd exercise was also more welcome than the doctor's last eccentricity, trying to extract pure gaduin from cod liver oil; sick bay had smelled so bad that the only invalid on board that day had been moved to the cockpit until the odour dispersed, displacing the midshipmen and boys, who slept above decks for the duration. In comparison, whatever the doctor was up to this time was reasonably harmless.
The Captain, on the other hand, sighed at the sight. "That old heresiographer fancies himself a naturalist, you know," he commented to one of the Lieutenants.
The Lieutenant nodded. "Remember last year, when he tried to make parchment from auk's skin?"
That experiment had also proved unpleasantly aromatic, and the Captain grimaced. "Perhaps you had best speak with him."
"Me, sir?" the Lieutenant said, blanching.
The Captain sighed again. "Fine, I shall do it myself."
He took three steps forward, then in a loud, resonant voice, said, "Ho, there, Doctor. What are you doing?"
"Observing these small animals," he doctor said, gesturing towards the bucket.
"Small animals?" The Captain sounded surprised. He looked down at the sloshing water and encircling wooden bucket. "Surely that's just plain seawater?"
"Not at all, sir. Don't you see them?"
The Captain could practically feel his entire crew roll their eyes. The mad doctor acting mad, again. "No, I confess that I do not."
"Look, right here, don't you see them jumping?"
The Captain leaned over. He was mildly surprised to notice a cluster of tiny black dots, leaping on the surface of the water. They didn't seem to like the sloshing. "Springtails, Doctor?"
"Yes, but not just any springtails. I believe this to be a previously undescribed species of podurid!"
The doctor's excitement was palpable, and the Captain could not help smiling.
"This will make my name, sir. The next time we make port I'll send a letter off to the Academy! You'll see."
"Yes, and then, when you're home, you'll make a speech in that pile of Georgian Architecture and leave us to become a rich, gentleman naturalist."
"Nonsense! There's no such thing as a rich naturalist, unless he was rich before he discovered a love for natural history."
The Captain laughed. "Perhaps you're right. At any rate, I believe your tiny prisoners are growing seasick. Don't you think you ought to release them?"
"But I haven't finished -"
"Let the poor creatures go. That sloshing is making me ill; I cannot think what it is doing to them."
"Hmph, and why should I? I was still making notes."
"Because you're paid to obey my orders, Doctor?"
The Doctor smiled wryly. "God woot, no lussheburghes payen ye!" he quoted.
"Shakespeare?" Guessed the Captain.
"Chaucer, you ignoramus," the Doctor replied.
"Just let them go, and then join me for dinner," the Captain said, mildly.
The Doctor sighed, but he placed his writing box on the deck, tucked his pencil behind his ear, and picked up the bucket.
Prompt: Find 10 random words in the dictionary, and write a story using all of them.
Source: http://literacyteacher.com/100-writing-prompts/
Words: as they appear on http://www.wordgenerator.net/random-word-generator.php, which I thought would involve less bias than pointing to words in a real-life dictionary.
1) Gaduin
Definition: A yellow or brown amorphous substance of indifferent nature found in cod liver oil (other dictionaries give "a yellow derivative of cod liver oil" or describe it as the non-bilious component of cod liver oil)
2) Georgian architecture
Definition: British or British colonial architecture of the period of the four Georges especially that of the period before 1800
3) Lussheburgh
Definition: A spurious coin of light weight imported into England from Luxemburg (or Lussheburgh as it was formerly called). Interestingly, the only use I can find of this word by Googling is the use by Chaucer quoted above.
4) Mouline
Definition: The drum upon which the rope is wound in a capstan, crane, or the like
5) Parchment
Definition: The skin of a lamb sheep goat young calf or other animal prepared for writing on. See Vellum
6) Resonant
Definition: Returning or capable of returning sound fitted to resound resounding echoing back
7) Monotonous
Definition: Uttered in one unvarying tone continued with dull uniformity characterized by monotony without change or variety wearisome
8) Heresiographer
Definition: One who writes on heresies
9) Encircling
Definition: surrounding
10) Podurid
Definition: Any species of Podura or allied genera
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Prompted Fiction
Short StoryA self-challenge wherein I take a prompt found on the internet, and write whatever I am inspired to write. Expect to see a wide variety of genres - the only rules I've given myself is that what I write must be fictional, and it must, must, must be...
