WHAT YOU DO:
Describe the way a person enters a room. EASY?...There is a twist. You have to describe / depict a certain atmosphere / emotion as well.
E.g.
Starting sentence:
Sam walked into the room.
Becomes
ANGER
Sam slammed his way into the room.
The trick is to create atmosphere in one sentence, or two if you really must. I have found that this task helps focus me on the words I am using - I am finding the right words instead of a great many words. It also means that I start using the thesaurus to find new and interesting ways of describing common-place things.
This may be too simple for you. But it is challenging when you get going.
The first emotions / atmospheres would be
FRUSTRATION
JOY
DESPAIR
SATISFACTION
FEAR
[This message has been edited by limo (edited April 05, 2005).]
[This message has been edited by limo (edited April 05, 2005).]
She bounced into the room, her cheeks pink and radiant, her arms swinging at her sides.
Hmm. Pretty cheesy. Maybe...
He dropped his backpack just inside the door, cut a straight path to the chair, and dropped himself into it, looking more like a cat after the dogs had had their way with him than a boy coming home from school.
Not bad. Next...
The matron shoved him through the door and slammed it behind him, leaving him to stand before the board of governors with nothing to hold between he and they but his hat. This he twisted in his hands as if trying to wring courage from it.
[This message has been edited by djvdakota (edited April 05, 2005).]
Joe stormed into the room and kicked the cat.
JOY
Joe bounded into the room and kissed the cat.
DESPAIR
Joe sulked into the room, and not seeing his beloved cat, grabbed his pistol on the top shelf of the closet, pointed it at his head, and pulled the trigger.
SATISFACTION
Joe beamed as he crossed the threshold of the house that cat built.
FEAR
Eyes darting, Joe toed into the kitchen hoping the cat wasn't hiding on top of the fridge, ready to pounce on Joe's head and gouge his eyes out.
FRUSTRATION:
Sam wrenched the door open on his second try, and stomped into the room.
JOY:
Sam flung open the door and bounded into the room.
DESPAIR:
Sam slunk into the room.
SATISFACTION:
Whistling cheerfully, Sam wandered into the room.
FEAR:
Sam crept into the room without turning on the lights.
Satisfaction - Sam sauntered into the room, a small smile on his face.
Sam oozed into the room and melted onto the couch.
Fear - Sam shakily entered the room and locked the door behind him.
FRUSTRATION - Sam had tried a billion times to open the bloody door, finally he gave up and kicked the door in.
JOY - Sam danced into the room, the only member of his own personal party.
DESPAIR - Sam slumped against the door, entering the room was pointless.
Thanks guys you're great.
p.s. found a fabulous word = hellhag. It's so interesting the negative words referencing women. Thought someone might be interested, make a nice story.
[This message has been edited by limo (edited April 07, 2005).]
Sam stormed into the door.
FRUSTRATION (Sam as male.)
Sam fumed into the room.
JOY (Sam as female.)
Sam fizzed into the room.
DESPAIR (Sam as female.)
Same drooped through the door.
SATISFACTION (Sam as male.)
Sam swaggered into the room.
FEAR (Sam as male.)
Sam darted into the room.
Not the best, but I tried to change only one word, except for that one line.
[This message has been edited by hoptoad (edited April 20, 2005).]
BRANKS: A device consisting of a metal frame for the head and a bit to restrain the tongue, formerly used to punish quarrelsome women.
See: http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk/chambers/centenary/ills3.php
GRAMMATICASTER: (n) a piddling grammarian.
[This message has been edited by hoptoad (edited April 20, 2005).]
[This message has been edited by Isaiah13 (edited April 20, 2005).]
The door flew open and a grinning Sam was on the other side, practically skipping into the room.
Lazily opening the door, Sam entered, his smile and gaze distant.
The door opened and Sammy rushed to the other side of it, gasping for breath, fear and sweat etched on his face.
With a strangled cry, Sammy threw the door open and fell to his knees on the other side.
Frustration:
Tearing at his hair, Sam staggered into the room, sunk to the couch, and screamed.
Joy:
With glittering eyes and a colossal grin, Caitlin danced into the room.
Despair:
With a fallen face and tear-stained cheeks, Sam drifted into the room.
Satisfaction:
As he stepped inside the room, Sam smirked and nodded at his client.
Fear:
Screaming, Sam stumbled into the room, shutting and bolting the door behind her.
Joy - Sam sailed through the door as if in a dream, clutching the winning lottery ticket in his hand.
Despair - Sam shuffled into the room, his heart heavy with the knowledge that she was gone forever.
Satisfaction - Sam strode back into the waiting room, his confident smile beaming out at the other job-seekers huddled there.
Fear - With bated breath and trembling hands, Sam turned the knob and eased the door opened. A rivulet of sweat trickled down his back and his mouth was pasty-dry as he crept through the portal into the House of Horror. (OK, two sentences, best I could do.)
[This message has been edited by Three Minute Egg (edited April 25, 2005).]
Despair-Having tried to open the door unsuccessfuly, Sam leaned against the door and let out a deep sigh.
Satisfaction-Sam waltzed through the door, knowing that he had fixed that door on his own.
Fear-Sam touched the doorknob tentatively, but could not bring himself to turn it. Finally, he turned the knob and crept into the room as silently as possible.
Joy-Sam burst through the door singing show tunes at the top of his lungs.