Writing Unleashed with Laura M. Harkins

eriecountyfireblotter.com This is the third writing assignment for my 200 Proof Storytelling class with Craig Clevenger.  I was inspired by a cooking incident at Penn State, main campus, during my Junior year.  My goal for this assignment was to write with humor, but I don't think it came across.  I think it was much funnier in my head.  All feedback is welcome.    Enjoy.   Homemade Disaster By Laura M. Campbell The lampposts at the dead end of Beaver Avenue popped on as Ashley walked into the elevator.  The pungent odor, lingering from the weekend, slapped her in the face.  She grabbed the collar of her sweatshirt, using it as a makeshift gas mask.  Drunken assholes mistook the elevator for a Porto-John, pissing all over it, a typical weekend at Penn State.  She tapped her foot as it climbed to the third floor of Gateway III in anticipation of dinner.  Her mother sent a recipe with the last care package, and the homema...

Two boys playing on my street inspired me to write this week's assignment, which required me to dive deeper into dialogue, experimenting with as few dialogue tags as possible.  The few tags employed act as anchors to inform the reader which character is speaking.  Any other attributes to inform the reader are through description of action. Enjoy.  Your feedback is always appreciated.   Playground Power Struggle By Laura M. Campbell School bus 81 pulled into Willow Hill Estates just before four o’clock.   The weather unseasonably warm for a Friday in February filled all the children with hysterical energy after a long day of classes.   Laughter and chatter floated out the cracked windows while they grabbed their book bags and lunch boxes preparing to get off the bus.   Andy pressed his face against the window, scanning the crowd of parents for his mother’s red coat.   His gaze moved over to the playground.   Only a few youn...