Thursday, October 9, 2008

Back to Prompts

...As for the prompts my readers and friends gave me here, I've made it to Janet's suggestion. She gave me: The Limit (fiction).



Jake's drive home through rush hour consisted of second-guesses and cursed words. He couldn't believe how the day had gone, what with the loss of one case and the fallout with a client over another. Jake's superior wouldn't be happy.

He should have handled things differently. Should have approached things in a more delicate manner. He had to quit screwing up, or he'd not have any cases at all.

Stress knots formed in the back of his neck as he sat at the stoplight, his mind rehashing the day. He could feel tension settling into that spot, that same spot as always, right above his eye. It'd be a miracle if Jake didn't wind up with a migraine.

Just then a smooth voice flowed from the car's speakers, cutting through Jake's thoughts. It was familiar, one he'd heard many times over the years; accompanied by mellow guitars, soft drums.

"Man, I love the Eagles," he mused aloud, twisting the volume knob. "Dudes rocked."

He focused on the strains of music, on the sound of bassist Randy Meisner's vocals. So soothing. And such a sad song, about being lonely and without love. Made a guy feel like he didn't have it so bad after all.

Jake felt the stress of the day begin to melt away. An amazing song can do that, you know; help you lose yourself, forget about whatever's on your mind.

And then he sang along...

"So put me on a highway
And show me a sign
And take it to the limit one more time..."

17 comments:

Angie Ledbetter said...

Whatever the color and layout, your blog's good. Love the Eagles, enjoyed the prompt.

Joanne said...

I like the more basic color scheme. I think it's more professional looking, a little more serious, particularly if an agent takes a peek! And great job on the story prompt, btw.

Terri Tiffany said...

I loved the Eagles too! The jury is still out on the blog scheme but it is abit hard to read the color of the words for me--an OLD person!!:))) Either way, it's fine--I'll still pop by!

Janna Leadbetter said...

Thanks, Angie. I appreciate your thoughts a lot.

Professional, yes. Very important, so that decides it for me, Joanne. Thank you!

Terri, I hate to hear you have trouble seeing it. Try highlighting what you'll be reading and see if that works better. Thanks for the input!

Janet said...

That prompt was one they threw out at the Flash Fiction Challenge one time. And you sure did something totally different with it than I did! ;o)

I like the more sober look better too, but like Terri I find the black on blue very hard to read. I will keep reading your blog because I'm a friend, but if I were a first-time reader, I'd leave right away. I do it all the time with new sites (especially on MySpace). If it's hard to make out, I don't even try.

colbymarshall said...

I like the more basic, but I'm going to say it's a little tough to see the black writing on the dark blue...but I CAN see it, so if you love it, keep it :0)

Janna Leadbetter said...

Janet - Boy, am I glad you're already my friend. ;) Way to give it to me straight!

Thanks, Colby. I do love it, though I'm not opposed to tweaking shades to make it more reader-friendly.

Anonymous said...

Great prompt writing. I like the color scheme but I also agree that you'll want to change your entry font colors to better contrast with the blue background. I think if you change it to white, you'll be set.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

I like this layout (white on blue).

Great story. :)

Anonymous said...

I love your writing. Changing up your layout keeps things fresh and keeps us on our toes.

Janna Leadbetter said...

Thanks, Aaron, for suggesting the white text. (My brain is sometimes slow to find contrasting colors and palettes.) I love it!

Thanks, Melanie!

thedomesticfringe, thank you SO incredibly much. If I could air-mail you brownies, I would. Right this second. ;) Your comment has made my day, and it makes any stresses related to writing so worth it. Thank you.

Janna Leadbetter said...

Btw, does "incredibly much" make anyone else cringe? ;)

Anonymous said...

Nicely done. :) BTW - I've been thinking about changing my blog's look a bit too.

Joanne said...

Hi Janna, just stopped back to take a look. I think you've nailed it with the lighter print, kind of a cream color. The whole scheme is subtle now, effective, and leaves room for your writing to shine!

Janna Leadbetter said...

I can't wait to see what you do, Turkey!

Thanks for coming back, Joanne. :) I'm really glad the cream works - I think it's my fave! And you're so sweet. I hope my writing does shine!

Janet said...

The cream on blue is very nice. And I have no trouble reading it at all. ;o)

Janna Leadbetter said...

Yay! :D