Vocabulary Insanity

Chapter 5 - Defying Logic

Vocabulary:

droll (adj.): amusing in an odd way, whimsically humorous; waggish

perfunctory (adj.): performed merely as a routine duty; hasty and superficial

sadistic (adj.): deriving pleasure from extreme cruelty

innate (adj.): inherent in the essential character of something

temerity (n.): reckless boldness; rashness

clergy (n.): the group or body of ordained persons in a religion, as distinguished from the congregation

cinematic (adj.): of or pertaining to the art or business of making films

Story: Defying Logic

          She lost. She always did. She didn't know what to expect anymore. Who in their right mind could keep pushing on when they knew they were destined for failure? What gave her the temerity to keep trying? Why did she tear herself apart like that? It was as if she had some sadistic inclination to watch all of her hard work fall apart and crumble into a million tenuous pieces. Some innate desire to keep dragging herself down.

          She had worked on those two hundred and fifty words for longer than she should have. Maybe she had simply over-thought it. There were only so many ways you could rearrange twelve sentences before the action was merely perfunctory. She'd lost the cinematic imagery, the overwhelmingly beautiful wording, the heart-stopping characterization. There had been no droll wit, no clever epiphanies. It had been words on a screen. She was as dull as a clergy, as uninspiring as a possum playing dead.

          She thought of the comments she'd gotten. She thought of the stories that had made her mother and sister cry. She thought of the tale that had enthralled an entire class, and more. She thought about the feeling she got when she reorganized a paragraph or reworded a sentence. She thought about the entry that had no chance of winning the Watty Awards.

          She knew that she would keep writing stories. She would keep entering competitions. She would delve into her fantasy worlds and her dreams. She would strive to be the next J.R.R. Tolkien. She would lose. She would always lose. But the important thing was, she would never quit trying.