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Tuesday 31 January 2012

WoW - The Nature Of The Place



Write On Wednesdays


The Write on Wednesday Spark - The nature of place

Think about a place in nature that feels special to you. Perhaps it is somewhere you visited as a child. Or maybe you share a special outdoor space with your own children. This place, this space will be your prompt for this week's writing exercise. Write about a particular natural geography, a natural place or space close to your heart. Tell us about the weather, the landform , the creatures who live there, what the place means to you and why. You can write prose fiction, poetry, non-fiction and/or a photographic narrative. You might mix the landscape with a personal story. Wherever the prompt take you...Let us peek into your place. 

First of all, I deleted my last weeks enrty from WoW after a sligh crisis of confidence - I didn't realise it had been read until Gill alerted me to a comment left by another writer and I wanted to say thank you to Sjp for your kind comment and to Gill for following it up and next time, I'll let you decide if it's worth reading :)


.........................................

The steep bank was the first obstacle. 

By standing in the middle of the road you could take a run up to it catching hold of branches that snapped and snagged at your clothing as your feet slipped and the long grasses entwined themselves around your ankles.

Finally grasping the rotting wood of the bottom plank of the stile and hauling yourself into a sitting position for a moment to catch your breath and survey the path leading into the woods.

Little used and overgrown, invisible to the undiscerning eye, and yet leading to a place of enchantment and wonder for those who had trodden the path before.

The woods were always cool even in the height of summer filled with the rich fruity smell of decay.  The ground soft and springy with the mulch of bygone years.

Fungi, bright orange, like some misplaced coral reef sprouted from the fallen tree trunks whilst on the ground below, like drab poor relations, the small grey toadstools huddled in groups like half closed umbrellas.

The light was dim with an aura of green that you could almost taste.

Every sound muffled and muted by the canopy of leaves high above.

There was no birdsong, no rustle of tiny creatures here.  This wood had it's own sounds ...

A rhythmic ticking as regular as the tick of an old fashioned mantle clock.

A faint munching as some unseen insect feasted on rotting wood.

The occasional thud as a falling branch hit the ground.

It wasn't a place to venture alone.

At the beginning of the long summer holidays it was an idea that was mooted, a plan that was formulated, cogitated, dicussed and discarded and yet, once the threads of the plan had woven their way into the imagination of our small group, it would tug and pull until the day we, full of laughter and bravado, teasing and goading made out way to the edge of the woods leading to Black Rock.

17 comments:

Claire said...

This was a magical piece of writing! Who doesn't love a good mysterious wood, and your writing really brought it to live. Great job!

Mummy Plum said...

Loved reading this. Especially liked the description of the toadstools as half closed umbrellas and the different sounds - and the way it got more eerie towards the end. I would have read on!

Sarah said...

Thank you Claire :)

Thank you Mummy P - it did start out as the story of Black Rock but I didn't get that far, if Gill give us a prompt that fits I will tell you more ;)

Anonymous said...

"a plan that was formulated, cogitated, dicussed and discarded and yet"

I liked this line. Good use of synonyms and alliteration.

:)

Sarah said...

Thanks Adam :) I did no editing on this which is uheard of for me and I can see some things I would change slightly (and a few spelling mistakes;) but I would leave that bit as it is.

Unknown said...

I loved this! I could almost touch the fungi! I was so left with wanting to know more. Please, Gill, give Sarah the approriate prompt to continue;)

Sam said...

I love this piece - the incredible imagery really struck me. I could see every single detail of the woodland! Really beautiful!

TV said...

The descriptions you use are beautiful. I felt like I was really in that forest. You used all the senses very well.

Tiffy Birch said...

Sound is one of my favourite senses and you nailed it! I enjoyed the anticipation, great work!

Ramblings of an Honest Heart said...

How magically that forest sounds, like an adventure. I am very intrigued to hear more.

Unknown said...

Love how you make this part of the world come to life! Beautifully written x

A.K. Knight said...

"... like drab poor relations, the small grey toadstools huddled in groups like half closed umbrellas."

Now that's what I am talking about!

You know I love your humor, but I think there is hidden depth to you, Sarah M. (I won't tell a soul.)

--Feisty Cat

Sarah said...

Thank you all for the comments - I kind of got caught up in this and never got to the bit I'd intended to write but I'll fit it in with a prompt at some point I'm sure.

Shh, FC, it's our secret ok ;)

Melinda Chapman said...

Where is this stunning, spooky place? :D
I loved this piece for the rich imagery and sensory descriptions.. we can all benefit and learn from reading other people's work, and I must admit this reminds me I don't describe scents and sounds enough!
And bingo - "like drab poor relations, the small grey toadstools huddled in groups like half closed umbrellas."
Awesome. ;)

Sarah said...

Thanks Melinda :)

It's where I grew up in South Devon - unusually for me I'm not talking about the sea this time - Black Rock is a very different place.

InkPaperPen said...

Wow, this was AWESOME! And I see from the comments that this was unedited?? Again, wow. Loved the image of the misplaced corals but especially liked the idea that there was not the usual birdsong or creatures moving. Its ticking rhythm was powerful. I'd like to see you take this further.

No one said...

This was great! It has a strong sense of adventure and other worldliness! Enchanting!