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

[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 ;)