eightweekchallenge:

This past week my boyfriend, Christian and I did two challenges that weren’t exactly on the list. We have both been intrigued with the idea of writing a novel. We have wanted to write one for a while now. But for some reason, we keep delaying it and finding excuses not to do it. We also have the tendency of starting something and not finishing it. So this past week, we both decided to actually start one. We knew we weren’t going to finish the novel in a day, or even in a week, but we figured that the best time to start one is when we’re doing it together. 

Aside from starting the novel, Christian also did another dare that involved him sending the first few pages of his story to the publicist of his favourite writer, John Green. We are definitely hopeful for a response but we are also aware that a response may be unlikely, considering just how many letters he probably gets every day. 

Again, this week wasn’t about doing something that terrified either of us. We didn’t even do anything beneficial to other people either. But what we did definitely pushed us out of our comfort zone because unlike all the other challenges, this one is going to be ongoing and is going to be more demanding. It is uncertain as to how long it will take us to write the story. But we are committed to this. We really want to make our stories work. 

Excerpt from Christian’s story: 

You see, it is easy to be alive. There are in fact over seven billion people alive today, but I wonder how many of these people actually feel alive. I know for some time now I have been a lifeless drone in a grey and mechanical world. You taught me differently, you taught me to be better. It is for this reason, I need to leave, and so I am telling you now. I am sorry we haven’t spoken in so long, and I truly apologize for the lack of effort on my part. I am not sure where I want to end up, but I figured my journey should start in the city. Yes, it does sound like a good start. 

I’m sitting at the train station waiting for the next train into the city. It’s been a week since I’ve been home, and yet my journey still hasn’t really started. I waited until I had no other option but to head into the city, story of my life, waiting until I’m forced to move.  It’s cold right now. Winter always reminds me of your absence. You were more like summer, vibrant and warm. As I sit here alone, I think of the other people sitting at the train station. Where were they going? Did they have a destination, or were they like me, lost and wandering? I suppose anyone who travels is lost and wandering. 

Excerpt from my story: 

Kate decides to give the show a second shot. But as she stares at the shifting screen in front of her, she realizes that she has completely lost track of what’s happening. The characters don’t even look familiar to her anymore. She’s allowed her mind to wander for too long.

She examines the new furniture they picked up from last week instead. She’s been eyeing this cream coloured sofa with red velvet arms for months, and now it’s finally sitting near the entryway of their bedroom. The black and white patterned wallpaper resting behind it even makes the room look like it’s from a magazine page. It’s exactly the way she envisioned her room to look like. As a matter of fact, everything in her life turned out the way she always imagined it as a kid. But something just feels off.  She can’t seem to shake away the feeling that something’s missing.