Category Archives: WIPs

Monday Morning Warm Up- A quote that gives you hope

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Monday Morning Warm-Up (courtesy Jo Knowles): Share a quote that makes you think and feel hopeful.

One of my friends forwarded a quote to me late last year and it has become my mantra, chiefly the word PERSIST.

I don’t know why, and I suppose I am not the only one, but I am encouraged when I hear about people who are famous for their craft struggling, like I do, to create. It makes me feel more normal and human and less like a talentless hack. I guess in some ways I seek validation in that, in knowing that I’m not the only one doesn’t know what to write after the end of Chapter 1.

The only difference between a failure and a success is persistence. People who persist eventually end up somewhere with something to be proud of.

If you haven’t seen this post at lettersofnote.com, please take a second and visit the site.  Austin Madison of PIXAR, who penned the note, wrote:

PERSIST on telling your story. PERSIST on reaching your audience. PERSIST on staying true to your vision… the next time you hit writer’s block, or your computer crashes and you lose an entire night’s work because you didn’t hit save (always hit save), just remember: you’re never far from that next burst of divine creativity.

Work through that 97% of murky abysmal mediocrity to get to that 3% which everyone will remember you for! I guarantee you, the art will be well worth the work!

That gives me hope. It makes me feel like all this hard work, laboring down here in the salt mines will someday be worth it.

PERSIST

Sunday Snip: “Davey died trying to make me happy”

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Longish snip today, but I couldn’t find a place to cut it that would make sense. This is from one of my favorite stories called Nowhere Man, about a homeless man and a woman named Phoenix– the streetwise angel who quite literally saves him. You can read the story in its entirety here.

Thanks for dropping in!

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Monday Morning Warmup: Your favorite alone time

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Thanks again to Jo Knowles, who posts these each Monday. Today I’m doing an archived exercise:

Describe your favorite quiet and alone time. Where are you? Inside? Outside? Is it cold? Warm? Is there an animal nearby? What do you see? Hear? Smell? Why does this time matter to you?

I’m single and a bit of a loner. While I do get together with friends now and again, I’m mostly at home with the books and the appliances and the heater. Always the heater. It’s where I am comfortable and it is conveniently also where I keep all my stuff.

So for me to have a specific time of quiet is a big deal. I’d have to say that this is Sunday morning. My Saturdays can be ragged, but Sunday morning is glorious to me. I’ve had a great night’s sleep, I’ve awakened when my body is ready, I have the day to do as I like, which usually involves a lot of reading and minimal TV.

I love a quiet Sunday morning, whether it is sunny or rainy, whether I can hear the birds chirping outside my window or the dogs across the street barking or the neighbor kids outside playing– yeah, I find that endearing. The kids in this neighborhood play outside.

On a Sunday morning I’m usually still snuggled down in the bed, all of my electronic dearhearts near to me– phone, eReader, laptop. I might venture downstairs or out for a cup of coffee and a a breakfast sandwich, but until around 2:00, that time is mine.

And I love it.

 

What’s your favorite quiet time? 

Monday Warm-Up 1/16:”I want to write something that…”

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Thanks to Jo Knowles for posting these! This is my first Monday Morning Warm-Up…
“Write to the prompt: “I want to write something that will…”

One of my fave music artists once said that he wanted to be a part of a song that lived on forever. Even after his career was over or he was long gone, when people listened to that song, they’d know he was a part of it.

I think that artists- musicians and painters and sculptors and writers want the same thing, to create something that lives on beyond them and bears the mark of their effort, their talent, their dedication.

I want to write something that speaks to people’s hearts, perhaps reminds them of someone or something in their lives. Most of all I want to write something that entertains and brings joy, provides a space for escaping life as we know it and living the lives of fictional characters through my words.

 

Sunday Snip- A Few More Points

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Getting back into this groove! I wrote two stories for our annual Secret Santa Story Exchange at the fiction archive. One was a gift, the other was a fill in for a writer who could not complete her story. I spent about three weeks on my gift story and liked it a lot by the time I posted it. I spent about five hours writing the fill in and frankly, liked it a ton more. No idea what that means, but interesting turnabout of events. It also means that I can no longer say that I can’t write ‘off the cuff’. If I have an idea, clearly I can.

Today’s snip is from the second story I wrote entitled A Few More Points. Read the story in its entirety here or here. Enjoy!

If she wasn’t drunk, she wouldn’t have done this. Thank goodness she was drunk

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Snip! It’s Sunday! 11/20

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I haven’t done this for awhile, but since I am writing a new story over at the archive, I decided to post a snippet for today. The new story is called Schizophrenic. It uncurls a tale of interruption of the idyllic life of a former popstar who still has one ultra devoted fan. Not only is she obsessive, but she is mentally ill and believes that the pop star is talking to her through his music.

This scene is from Chapter 1. My main characters have just returned from their anniversary dinner to find something not quite right about the house. They’re in the car, waiting for the police to arrive and check it out.  This story is in progress over at the NF Archive.

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DIYMFA Saturday Prompt

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Today we did a prompt based on a photo. We were to pick one and answer a few questions and then write a 500 word scene. I wrote it, but it didn’t go so well for me. I had a hard time coming up with a story line, and then once I did, and wrote it, and edited it, it evolved into something I didn’t intend to write, at first.

As to of this sparked a longer story… nope. It was all I could do to get these words out. I don’t particularly have a connection with the person in the photo that I chose. It was difficult to determine, story wise, what he was doing and why. At first I wanted him to be a bit of a peeping Tom but as I started editing, the story started changing, and now he’s seen something disturbing.

Here is the photo:

And here is my submission:

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Writing Wednesday- Letters I’ll Never Send [Prompt]

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It’s Wednesday, and instead of yammering about how I haven’t written much lately and how much of a slacker I feel about that, I thought I would actually, you know… write. I found this meme called Letters I’ll Never Send and one of the topics is to write to The One(s) That Got Away…

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The Sunday Snippet: Trapped By Everything He Is

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Haven’t done this for a few weeks, so here’s a snip!

 

This is from All I Wanna Do, a novel length serial about the ultimate fan girl fantasy– meeting, dating, and falling in love with a member of the band… except that it’s not as glamorous as one might imagine.  In this scene, my lovebirds have had their biggest blowout yet and Serena has temporarily moved out, expecting JC to come after her. But he doesn’t and now she’s stuck. This conversation is between her and his brother:

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