Blood abstract
Don't Bleed,  First Sentences,  Random Ramblings

My world falls silent

This morning I thought of an idea for a First Sentence. By the time I got home from work it had turned into an idea for an entire story that I’m really tempted to write. I’m also really hesitant to start it. The Way of Attrition started out as a short story called the Chosen. Over five years later, I just finished editing Chapter 4 (again).

I’m also tempted to (after outlining it) write a little bit of this story every day and post it as I do. This would be completely new for me. My stories can change a lot in the writing and I’ve never shared them with anyone until well after having a complete draft. What do you think?

Here’s the First Sentence:

Everything stops when I see the blood on Joshua’s sweater. It’s inside, where the cloth would touch his right side. My world falls silent. The TV is on, a pot of soup is simmering on the stove, and the heater is running, but all I see is blood and all I hear is the whine of my terror.

My hands are shaking. “Joshua,” I try to yell his name but it’s half strangled.

Joshua hears me anyway, comes to stand in his bedroom door. “Mom?”

I hold up the blue sweater so he can see the blood. It’s not a lot; it doesn’t have to be. “Show me.”

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