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God bless us, every one, Part II: Me on Paragraph Planet

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My short “One Hour” is featured today on Paragraph Planet, a creative writing website that features 75-word pieces on one topic. “One Hour” is one of four pieces I submitted as a Christmas sequence, with each piece offering a different point of view. The sequence was inspired by one of many holiday dinners at headquarters, so now I can’t say nothing good never came out of a crappy meal at my desk.

Check out “One Hour” while you can. The pieces change daily. I’ll post an update when the others appear.

REWIND: This is “One Toy” — the piece that appeared Dec. 29, 2010

One toy. Dad let me bring one from the tree. It’s really cool! Just what I wanted! It makes noises and lights up! I’ve been playing for hours! Dad says it won’t be much longer. Really. He’s eating the last of Christmas pie now, but it’ll be a bit until we go back to the apartment. He says it’s his job to watch over the important news people working tonight. But he says I’m more important.

UPDATE: This is “One Hour” — the piece that appeared Jan. 18, 2011

One hour. Another hour to go, and I can take the boy home. I don’t much like spending Christmas watching over the news folk, but it’s better than not having a job. At least they fed us all pretty well. That’s two meals I won’t have to buy. I couldn’t get the boy much, but he seems to like the gadgets well enough. He’s not as interested in the football. Maybe I can change that tomorrow.

Author: Jacqui Barrineau

Jacqui Barrineau is a writer and editor who lives in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., with husband Trey, a Shetland Sheepdog and two unhelpful-but-funny cats. Her work has appeared in "So to Speak" and "Calliope," and she's a regular contributor to the flash-fiction sites Paragraph Planet and Doorknobs & Bodypaint. Once upon a time, she was the audience engagement editor at USA Today. Now she does other fun things that involve advertising, marketing and social media. The views expressed here and in other outlets are hers, not her employers'. Outside of work, she's proud to serve on the Northern Virginia Community College Marketing Advisory Committee. As a committee member, she joins industry leaders in lending their knowledge and expertise to ensure the college's Marketing curriculum is relevant and responsive to the needs of the students and the surrounding business communities.

2 thoughts on “God bless us, every one, Part II: Me on Paragraph Planet”

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  1. Jacqui Barrineau
    January 25, 2011 at 3:01 pm

    Thank you so much for the feedback. I really appreciate it — especially coming from a real person.

  2. somethingnewplease
    January 18, 2011 at 5:20 pm

    “Maybe I can change that tomorrow.”

    My favorite line. It’s very concise and conveys something about everyday interaction. Especially with children.

    Enjoyed,
    D