A work-in-progress, the following piece is a writing assignment produced for The Center of Fiction’s Active Storytelling course taught by Judy Sternlight.
Summary Character Development
Eloise Frump, a 27-year-old socialite from Water Mill, NY. She lives with her fraternal twin, Marcus at a condo development in Bushwick, one of her father’s pet projects. Marcus manages the sales office in the building, interfacing with new owners. Eloise works in the back office fielding concierge requests from residents and coordinating moves in and out of the building.
One of Eloise’s guilty pleasures is watching The McMasters, an elderly wealthy Scottish couple’s movements from the closed-circuit webcam in their private elevator bank. Shy and quiet on the outside, her brother and parents are completely unaware of her hidden talent for hacking into security cameras. And more importantly, her side-hustle working with local gangsters to pull off jewelry heists at buildings in developments nearby.
The twins take after their mom with their sallow complexion and sparkling green eyes. Eloise is the younger of the two by 10 minutes. One of her most discerning features is a tattoo of her name written in Hindu on the inside of her left bicep. In the crime world, she’s known as Lucky-mi a play on the name of Lakshmi the Hindu goddess of wealth, love, prosperity.
Where in the timeline would I start the story?
Eighteen months earlier, with the first encounter with Trevor, a new resident at her dad’s building, an admitted con artist and jewel thief.
The following excerpt was written during class on 9/19/19.
A chill hung in the air.
Goosebumps appeared on her skin even before the phone rang.
The driver watched Eloise intensely, motioning her to pick up the phone.
Eloise hesitated.
One ring, two rings.
“Now,” he growled.
Startled, she reached for the clunky receiver, her body shaking. The receiver slipped from her clammy hands and clattered to the floor, she gasped.
The driver eyed her from the rearview mirror, with a raised brow.
Eloise pulled the blue receiver to her lips and whispered, “Daddy?”
Word Count: 315
modern vintage ink 