Six sentence sunday!

[elingregory]

Here's my first attempt at it:

6 sentences from WIP, A Fierce Reaping, set in Scotland and Northumbria in the late 7th century AD. Cynfal wishes to join a war band but has been challenged to wrestle a champion for his place.



Cynfal met his eyes and they held each others gaze for a long minute before both leaped to grab and hold. Chest to chest they heaved and twisted, feet scrabbled in the rushes, hands slid across skin just beginning to sheen with sweat. Around them the men of the hall howled. Cynfal rammed a shoulder into Aeddan’s armpit and grabbed a handful of his breeks to lift. The fabric tore. There was a shriek of laughter.

[The photo is nothing to do with Scotland or Northumbria but a very lovely image of a terrific sport - Oil wrestling where combatants wear leather capris and douse themselves in extra virgin before they start. An ancient sport with time-honoured traditions. Yes, guy on top has his hand down the other guys pants - a completely legitimate move. Doesn't guy on bottom look thoughtful about it.]

Comments

[charliecochrane.livejournal.com]

Be still my beating heart!

[elin-gregory.livejournal.com]

If this was an Olympic sport I would KILL for tickets. :)

http://youtu.be/D2keIfaPHgw *giggles*

[jessie-lansdel.livejournal.com]

I was just going to say the same, Elin. Should they ever make this an Olympic sport I *would* be interested. Corr! ;)

[elin-gregory.livejournal.com]

Did you watch the video? It's a complete joy, from the music to the fastidious way the ref raises the winners hand at the end. Just a delight.

[charliecochrane.livejournal.com]

Ruddy Norah. What is going on there?

[elin-gregory.livejournal.com]

Well the vid is a spoof, and when you see them at the proper speedy it all looks very serious, manly and jolly uncomfortable.

I assume that when almost everything else is slippery one has to grab onto whatever one can.

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

What is this 'six sentence Sunday'? Is it something you've made up, or is it a meme? (I ask because I think it's a brilliant idea and would probably use it myself if it was available.)

[elin-gregory.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, it's been going for a while I think - http://www.sixsunday.com/

I noticed a while ago that Lucy Felthouse did it and I thought it was just her, but a friend suggested I join in and gave me the link. I think it's a fun [and fairly easy for us hermits] way of getting your name in places it might not otherwise appear.

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Oh thank you! That really is a good idea, and one that doesn't take too much work, though I guess you can't use it very often if you're working on the same WIP for months.

Not sure why I'm thoroughly unmoved by the thought of oiled wrestling, but I find myself with nothing at all to say about it, so I shan't :)

[elin-gregory.livejournal.com]

The beauty of it is that you don't have to do it every week, though I suspect you get a better following if you do. I reckon you could do 6 sentences per chapter once your first draft is finished, maybe, and that would keep you going for quite a long time.

I watched a documentary about the oiled wrestling about a year ago and found it fascinating as well as quite exciting. The championship, the Kirkpinar held in Turkish Thrace, has been going annually since 1362! I also like that there's a huge variation in body shapes whereas western athletes tend to conform to type.

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, of course! I was getting it confused with the Lucky 7 one (where you only have one page 7 and one page 77 in any manuscript.) Silly me.

I remember seeing a documentary about the oiled wrestling several years ago. Quite possibly it was the same one! Did they talk about how it was evidence for what the original Olympic wrestling might have been like, or am I imagining that?

[elin-gregory.livejournal.com]

Probably the same one, then. :D Yes, they suggested that it was a close approximation to the pankration only with rather than without trousers. One hesitates to wonder what was the preferred handhold in that case.

I'll look out for your six sentences next week. :)

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Perhaps that's where the double meaning of 'tackle' comes from ;)

[beckyblack]

Ah yes, legitimate sport. "Yes, we're getting all oiled up and then writhing around and wrestling with leather pants on and yes, putting a hand down the other guys pants is a permitted move and...stop looking so dubious! It's sport!" :D

It's like those cultures where men hold hands and it's supposedly an entirely manly thing and not at all sexual. Makes me want to say "Well, I'm sure that's the case... for most of the men."

[elin-gregory.livejournal.com]

Terrific, isn't it. The video is slowed down a lot and cut for laughs but they move like greased [literally] lightning at proper speed.

[beckyblack]

Gotta make you wonder about its origins. Did a chap once have to fend off a big oily man trying to get into his pants and thought "Hey, this would make a good sport! The guys would love it!"

[elin-gregory.livejournal.com]

I don't suppose we'll ever know. It's probably a derivative of the pankration which was a Greek sport, but the championship has been held annually without a break since 14th century. Maybe there's some kind of machismo in being able to think straight while someone has a stranglehold on ones tackle?

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

Mmm nice! The six sentences and the pic!

So tell me, how exactly did you discover this "legitimate sport"? Hmn? :P

[elin-gregory.livejournal.com]

:D thanks. I found the wrestling when I was looking for images of Greek wrestling. then a month or so later I spotted a documentary about it. It's just fascinating. The championships have been held annually without a break since 1362!

[anteros-lmc.livejournal.com]

I was looking for images of Greek wrestling. then a month or so later I spotted a documentary about it.
Your google search history must be fascinating! XD

It's just fascinating.
That's one way to describe it! I've just watched the video....*speechless*

[elin-gregory.livejournal.com]

My google search history is probably quite scary, thinking about the poisons, bomb making, radioactivity, treatments for diseases, medieval sheep ailments, symptoms for the Black Death, how to sabotage a tank etc that I've felt the need to know over the years.

That video never fails to make me rock with laughter. I know I shouldn't but when the "Je T'aime" music kicks in I just crease up.

[wulfila.livejournal.com]

Your snippet explains perfectly why leather capris might be preferable to fabric trousers in this sport.

[elin-gregory.livejournal.com]

:) Artisan spun loose weave tweed often gives at the seams. This makes watching reenactment groups very good fun!