And now for something a little different

Lately, I have been feeling like I'm in a revolving door.  Not much creativity has been flowing and life just seems to get in the way of writing. Not that I am the best writer, to begin with, but aspiring would be a good way of putting it.  I'm sure many of you find places like the one I'm in with your own hobby.  So, how do I break out of it?  I've decided to start trying some writing exercises.  Nothing consistent, but when I have a moment here and there it would be a good way to stretch my mind.  So here is my first one.  The assignment is to create 3 characters using one stereotype and the rest unexpected using at least 100 words.
Character 1: Her phone blared off the alarm. She was late again, wearing the standard mom-wear of yoga pants and a baggy shirt she barreled out into her aging minivan to rescue her soon to be stranded kids from school.  Her chestnut hair slammed up into a haphazard ponytail her face was oddly freshly washed, something that no one else would notice but she could feel it unnerving her as if she hadn't washed off the evidence from her day.  No one would know that just hours before she would have entered a building with hair not her own, completely unseen, and dispatched a man as she had done hundreds of times before.  This standard housewife whom everyone thought was just a top Avon Sale's woman was not only a mother of 3 but one of the top assassins in the U.S. and before that a topless dancer at some nameless bar which she hadn't even been old enough to drink at herself when she first took the stage.  Funny the path life leads you on if you take opportunities as they appeared.  Now, she was part of the middle class.  Just another frazzled mom of 3, whose husband adored her despite what he thought was forgetfulness when things didn't get done at home.

Character 2: People tended to give him wide berth when he walked down an aisle.  He wasn't in the best of shape, but he was a wide man who could bear a lot of weight.  He wore the industry standard, hat over hair that needed cutting, week-old beard, flannel opened to show his white shirt underneath,  jeans held up by a belt with keys clipped to his pants.  He grabbed his favorite road snacks and filled his mug with black coffee, paid, and lumbered out to his truck.  He drove down the road to the nearest rest stop climbing out.  He checked the bathrooms and made sure it was deserted as it looked.  He took a deep breath as he opened up the back and climbed in the trailer.  Locking the trailer from the inside he walked to what seemed to be the back of an empty trailer, waited for a second, and then slide open the outside lock before easing the hidden door open.  A woman leaped out at him and for a moment he stumbled back.  She was sobbing and he held her before pushing her aside and handing her the bag of food.  She went back into the box and gently woke the two children sleeping inside.  She looked at him thanking him with her eyes.  He locked them back in, careful to make sure no one had come to the rest area while he was inside the trailer he locked it up and climbed back inside.  He was the relocation specialist for a group that dealt with people who needed out of bad situations.  As he hopped into his truck he looked like every other trucker out there, except for his extensive collection of teddy bears in the passenger seat and the crystal unicorn that dangled from his rearview mirrors, which everyone assumed was due to a child that must be waiting for him at home.  No, his home was barren which his own overbearing mother never stopped complaining about and his father begged him to do something about so he could stop hearing about it from his mother.  No, his life was dedicated to rescuing and protecting those who couldn't do that for themselves or their own children.

Character 3: Her ponytail was always perfectly smooth, her blue eyes always sparkled, and her cheer uniform fit perfectly.  She was exactly what head cheerleader should be to look at her.  So, when her boyfriend pulled up in his practical looking car everyone expected the captain of something to climb out or be behind the wheel.  She pranced out to her prince tossing her bag into the back of his car and hurriedly buckling in motioning him to drive, they were late!  She waved at her friends who never did understand how Miss Popular from high school had managed to balance her popular girl outlook and activities with an accelerated degree in Computer Sciences while working as a "consultant" for a variety of companies.  In high school everyone had been shocked when miss perfect was placed in handcuffs by the FBI then a week later, back leading the squad not breathing a word about what had happened.  She was a skilled hacker that no one had seen coming.  Despite her B's in science, she was not only gifted with computers but with understanding the chemical make-up of substances most would consider either dangerous or hazardous.  The only sign that she was anything but your standard cheer queen was her boyfriend since her freshman year.  He was two years her senior when they met, but he was finishing high school in his parents' attempt to keep his life normal even though he was already working on his third college degree.  Chess Master, Genius by diagnosis, and the man never met a tie or briefcase that he didn't love. He was her prince and together they walked a blurred line never committing to one side or the other.  Now, they were off to a warehouse to virtually meet their next client.  The game had run late though and she would have to change!

Now, how will you steal a moment for yourself?  How will you explore a new hobby, mental distraction, new skill, new part of yourself?  By stealing moments, holding yourself accountable for seeking these things, and remembering to look at the same things from a different angle to discover something new!