| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Louis Lambert by Honore de Balzac: day, "I saw every incident. The roar of the cannon, the cries of the
fighting men rang in my ears, and made my inmost self quiver; I could
smell the powder; I heard the clatter of horses and the voices of men;
I looked down on the plain where armed nations were in collision, just
as if I had been on the heights of Santon. The scene was as terrifying
as a passage from the Apocalypse." On the occasions when he brought
all his powers into play, and in some degree lost consciousness of his
physical existence, and lived on only by the remarkable energy of his
mental powers, whose sphere was enormously expanded, he left space
behind him, to use his own words.
But I will not here anticipate the intellectual phases of his life.
Louis Lambert |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Lost Continent by Edgar Rice Burroughs: before stopping me. Then it was too late--for him.
Without a word or a warning, I snatched the piece from his
grasp, and, at the same time struck him a terrific blow
between the eyes with my clenched fist. He staggered back
in surprise, too dumbfounded even to cry out, and then I
clubbed his rifle and felled him with a single mighty blow.
A moment later, I had burst into the room beyond. It was
empty!
I gazed about, mad with disappointment. Two doors opened
from this to other rooms. I ran to the nearer and listened.
Yes, voices were coming from beyond and one was a woman's,
Lost Continent |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane: agony he had imagined for his friend.
He now sprang to his feet and, going closer,
gazed upon the pastelike face. The mouth was
open and the teeth showed in a laugh.
As the flap of the blue jacket fell away from
the body, he could see that the side looked as if it
had been chewed by wolves.
The youth turned, with sudden, livid rage,
toward the battlefield. He shook his fist. He
seemed about to deliver a philippic.
"Hell--"
The Red Badge of Courage |
