Week Three, Theme 1

 1)  Style involves a way of doing or saying things that ends up expressing aspects of the self.  There are all sorts of styles, and anything we do or say is likely to convey a specific sense of style.  Write a theme about a style you admire or, at least, find interesting and worthy of description and reflection.  It could be a way of talking or dressing, of singing or cooking, of dancing or painting.  Focus on one person’s way of doing that thing.  Be aware of the style your own theme conveys.  In other words, write in a way that resonates with the style you are describing.  It can be a version of the style you choose as your subject, or it may be very different and contrast with your subject (possibly for ironic effect).

Dervilla enters a room like a spring breeze. First, you hear the hum of a classic Simon and Garfunkel tune growing louder and louder as she nears, the click-clacking of heels conducting each verse, her honey-rich voice a delicious score for conversation. Then, the smell, reminiscent of dewy four-leaf clovers in the sunrise. You cannot help but be reminded of dizzy days of youth spent rolling down grassy knolls, returning home touting grass stains with pride. You might not even notice her when she slinks in, hips swaying to the beat of her song, lids drawn lazily low. The flow of her raggedy peach dress reminds you of a documentary on the 60’s you watched with your friends while high the other night. The curvature of her lithe limbs disappear and reappear with every billowing movement. You realize you’re staring and make an effort to study your cocktail.

She picks and chooses her company with care, but you wouldn’t know it. She lands before you as if by accident. When she talks to you, the discussion rambles without aim. This scares you. She doesn’t seem to notice your nervous laugh. She’s too busy thinking about the beautiful lilt of your voice, the particular shape of your pupils, the way you wag your eyebrows to punctuate every sentence. She tells you this. You don’t know what to say. She smiles, all teeth, and turns, her loose waves soaring gloriously behind her. She wanders on to the next unsuspecting partygoer, and you stare, wondering blandly what has just happened.