Wednesday's Excerpt or Action #14 (with NaNo Update)

Welcome back to Wednesday's...

Excerpt or Action

If you’d like to participate, you can choose one or both topics (readers can join in as well).

If you choose Excerpt, include a short scene from any one of your manuscripts in the comments section below.

If you choose Action and you're a writer, tell us what the character in your current WIP is doing right this moment. If you're a reader, tell us about the book you're reading--what's the character doing?


Here are my answers:


Excerpt

(from Dandelion Fields - my NaNo manuscript)

***Alex is preparing to take pictures of the dandelions.

The ground dried out the further into the field she walked, spots where the sun had reached earlier in the week. Alex turned to her, tall amidst a strangling amount of plant life. It snatched at her sneakers and caused her to stumble. His eyes held laughter and he reached out.

Her hand went to his like two magnets drawn together. The grip became her first connection to someone she could be herself with. Someone she’d approached without a lie and managed not to push away with her abrupt manner.

She tilted her head to meet his eyes, felt her hair brush across her cheeks. “Why dandelions?”

He didn’t release her hand but let his gaze travel across the field, where ugly yellow flowers dotted the expanse of landscape and burned an image of this day, this moment, into her mind. Almost overnight those flowers would turn into fluffy balls, heads of dandelion seeds, exploding in the field like thousands of possibilities.

“They’re amazing.”

Her nose wrinkled. “Weeds? What’s so amazing about weeds?”

“Dandelions are strong.” His murmur traveled on a breath of wind. “They go through phases and they resist storms. They’re survivors.”

He reached out to capture a fluff in his free hand and somehow she knew he didn’t mean literal storms. She also knew, as the warmth of his hand branded on hers and the world stilled just slightly, Alex was the most important friend she would ever have.




Action

Alex is biking to work, ready to see Bridget for the first time since discovering her true identity.


NaNoWriMo stats:

Words written - 30,406

Pages written - 123



I look forward to hearing about your stories!

A Shift From the Norm

I was chugging along really well on the NaNo manuscript until Saturday came along. I got to the halfway point on my 50,000 word goal and realized I didn’t want to go on until I analyzed what had already played out. I know, I know, this is against the rules, right? You’re not supposed to stop. You’re not supposed to think really, you’re just supposed to write. Write and write some more. And if you get stuck, who cares! Just keep writing!

Well, I wasn’t stuck but neither did I want to write for the sake of writing. I want to continue along with the rest of the manuscript with a clear direction in mind. This is a new challenge with Dandelion Fields (the name of my NaNo story) because it’s a different genre than I normally write. And the story is more character driven with some romantic and literary elements. This excites me to no end because never have I started a novel with intent to include these three things. My love for character stories, romance, and prose with more feeling and description.

To me, this is sufficient reason to really take a hard look at where my characters have come from up to this point and where they need to go now. Generally by the time I break 100 words, the flow doesn’t stop. But this time…this time it’s different. Working on a new kind of story in a new way demands a bit of reflection, I think.

What do you think? Do you always write the same genre without deviation or are you still working to find your niche or simply like to experiment? Is there anything you’re doing differently than you normally do with your current manuscript?

Playing Grown-Up

This is my little precious playing grown-up in Mommy’s shoes. She’s a big fan of shoes and so is her big sister.

Watching her stumble around in my shoes, I realized that I’ve felt like this many times in the past with my writing. Trying to jump into the world of publishing when I’m not ready. Trying to be a grown-up but the shoes were just a bit too big, not comfortable, kind of odd.

Many years ago, after I’d written a few books, I decided the next step was getting an agent. I did so without joining any writing groups, not reading up on the craft and not finding a third party to critique my work. I jumped into the deep end and found myself floundering. I realized I was trying to play grown-up in a world I wasn’t familiar with. And while it was fun and exciting I realized that, just like children dressed as grown-ups, no one could take me seriously.

I don’t say this to discourage you about the big, scary world of publishing but to encourage you. I’ve realized that all these steps I was originally trying to skip over are necessary and all part of what makes us the best writers we can be. Trying to jump too far ahead too early means we miss all the experiences along the way. All the relationships, all the learning and growing, all the mistakes that make us more productive and moving writers.

So while it’s sometimes hard not to look down the road at that ultimate goal, we must take the time to focus on everything that’s along the side of the road. We can put on the big shoes and imagine ourselves as grown-ups but still remember to appreciate all the experiences in the meantime as we grow to fit into those shoes.


***For those interested, my current NaNoWriMo word count is 18,533.

Wednesday's Excerpt or Action #13 (with NaNo Update)

Welcome back to Wednesday's...

Excerpt or Action

If you’d like to participate, you can choose one or both topics (readers can join in as well).

If you choose Excerpt, include a short scene from any one of your manuscripts in the comments section below.

If you choose Action and you're a writer, tell us what the character in your current WIP is doing right this moment. If you're a reader, tell us about the book you're reading--what's the character doing?


Here are my answers:


Excerpt

(from Dandelion Fields - my NaNo manuscript)

Those cherry trees are blooming right outside the apartment and even though Margot intrigued me with an old Japanese tradition of flower viewing, I’ve put this off for almost an entire week. I’m going to see Alex. I’ve never lied to him before, never could lie to him before…but how am I supposed to tell him about prison?

Bridget raised her eyes from the journal and let them play across the slope in the road, waiting for the bus. Unease bubbled in the pit of her stomach and she strangled her pen. The diesel monster topped the hill and barreled her way, intimidating in its determination. If she got on, she was committing. If she turned away, she could make it to Golden Gate park and enjoy a picnic under the haze of a cool April afternoon.



Action

Alex just found out his father is sick again. There's going to be an inspection at work today and the new employee, the girl (now a woman) he'd nearly fallen in love with as a teenager, is late. Because of her drastic change in appearance, he still doesn't know who she is. And she's not planning on telling him right now.


NaNoWriMo stats:

Words written - 11, 054

Pages written - 44

Chapters written - 5

Music that inspired me to write or inspired specific scenes - Twice by Little Dragon, In the Waiting Line by Zero 7, and Closer to Love by Mat Kearney (great song - you should definitely hear this one if you haven't yet!)

I look forward to hearing about your stories!