Recently, I’ve started doing writing exercises each morning from Brian Kiteley’s The 3 AM Epiphany. These exercises have been integral to stretching my prose-competency, although I still have a long way to go. Anyways, I’ve decided that it would be helpful to post each morning’s results here.

Exercise 3: Unreliable Third

Write a fragment of a story from the POV of an unreliable narrator–third person limited (or attached) narration.

Yanluo Wang, regent of hell, lifts his hand from the upholstered armrest of his throne. An imp scurries forward, bearing a slice of sweet honeycake atop a silver plate. Laughter and the chittering of fair fox maidens echoes through the vast banquet hall, illuminated by red lanterns and fragrant with the scent of fried meats.

The simulation team has surpassed themselves this time: the AR goggles, the diffusers emitting fifty different fragrances into the air, the conversation track and lightshow in the bare rafters above. All this for the client sitting on the overstuffed couch in the middle of an empty warehouse. Above him, a glowing timer ticks down, nearing the end of the session.