Category Archives: Flash Fiction

Flash Fiction Friday: February 24th!

Hello, dear readers! Let me tell you, I am half-tempted to just take a picture of the scene outside my window right now and use that as a fiction prompt because it is just beautiful! We got a few inches of heavy white snow overnight, and one of my favorite parts of having moving up to the second floor apartment is that I see all the bare tree branches dressed in now, the rooftops of my neighbors blanketed in a similar fashion, and it’s just lovely. It’s still snowing a little bit, too, making me incredibly grateful to have the day off today as well. Everyone always gives me crap because I was griping about this winter not having enough snow, so it always makes me happy to see some, even if it’s only probably going to be around for a few days or so.

Let’s move onto the prompt, shall we? If you’ve been following the blog, you know the deal. If not, it’s pretty simple. I’m going to post a picture from the fabulous Five-Minute Getaway (today’s is probably the complete opposite of snow, of course!), and, if you’d like, go ahead and try to spin a yarn in about five minutes or so to go along with it. Post it here, post it in your own blog, keep it to yourself, it doesn’t matter, just have fun, and who knows what will come out of it? I love flash fiction because, sometimes, they’re perfect little nuggets by themselves, and, other times, they build themselves into bigger, better thing. Let’s go!

*****

(Image courtesy of Five-Minute Getaway)

I was surprised to see that the veranda was empty, with only the few chairs and no one in them. There were the trappings of their presence scattered around, Marlena’s towel, Scotty’s bag, Jenn’s sunglasses, and, for a moment, I wondered if they had been snatched right up from where they stood and sucked up into the endless blue sky. But then a bark of laughter rang from below, and I realized that my imagination was getting the best of me and they had merely failed to wait and had gone ahead without me down to the beach. I drifted over to the railing, peering over at the sea and the white sand, and the three bodies down there, moving and running and splashing in the sun.

I could probably stand there and watch them all day, until they tired themselves out and fell, exhausted, into the warm embrace of the sand and let their already tanned bodies bask in this tropical warmth. It had been Scotty’s idea to take the trip, and the girls were more than happy to go along with the idea, managing to procure new swimsuits and luggage sets mere seconds after the holiday was announced. They were all so overworked and tired that a get-away was just the thing they needed.

I must admit, it was just the thing I needed, too. Briefly, I realized how perfect this opportunity was. The veranda was up high on the cliff, and I looked down on their frolicking selves at a good height. I would have to go back inside to get the gun, but this was a sniper’s dream. They probably wouldn’t even realize that the bullets were raining from above until it was far too late. I could make quick work of them, and everyone would assume they were here, having a good time, giving me an entire week to enjoy myself before having to deal with the messy business of the real world.

Jenn must have spotted me, since she stopped, turning toward the veranda, and she shouted something. The wind carried away so I could hear what the words were, but she bounced, waving, and even from this distance, I could appreciate the way her pert breasts jumped in her halter. She was smiling, too, I could feel that. I lifted my hand in a little wave back, thinking to myself that, easy as it would be, I wouldn’t do the job now. Let them have this last week of paradise, and no one could accuse me of being a cold-hearted killer, at the very least.

***

Happy writing, everyone! Also, have you ever chilled out in one of those huge round basket bench/chair/bed things before? They’re awesome.

Flash Fiction Friday: February 17th.

So, my plans to get up very early this morning and start in on my much more dedicated writerly pursuits mentioned yesterday failed utterly when I slept in much too late, but I’m a big believer in the idea that if I sleep in, it’s because I needed the rest, and tomorrow is another day. Not only that, but today is a day off with very few plans except to meet my roommate and her mother and a coworker for lunch, so I’m still getting the chance to just sit and write for whichever allotted time I choose (I’m thinking half an hour), it’s just occurring much later than I had originally wanted.

But I’ve got my coffee, I’ve got my music, I’ve even got my sunshine, so we’re going to start out the day with a little bit of flash fiction, since it is flash fiction Friday. Feel free to join in; I’m going to post a picture from the gorgeous Five Minute Getaway and try to write a quick little blurb on it to fuel the creative fires. And then the day will call for me to tackle my 750 words (probably a blurb from Gilferen’s perspective), and then it’s off to work on a short story for the collection, which I think will be a story about a robot girl in love.

But now for the flash fiction!

*****

“This is it,” he said, breathless from the hike, breathless from the stretch of sky overhead, breathless with excitement. I was breathless, too, but not nearly as excited, the pain from the twist of my stomach far greater than the pain of my achining muscles. I looked at him dubiously, but his face, even in the darkness, was alight with a certainty that I had trouble denying.

“Are you sure?” I asked, warily, almost hopefully, and he smiled, the largest grin I’d ever seen, and nodded his head.

“This is it,” he repeated. He reached for my hand, gave it a firm squeeze, and then turned away, barreling up the boardwalk toward the crest of the hill. I stood there, not sure what to do, wanting to chase after him and insist that he stayed, but I felt as thought my feet were weighted down and I couldn’t move. His form moved like a dark shadow up the hill, and the sky seemed to move with him, the stars converging and shifting around him as a center point. I thought my breath had been stolen before, but there seemed to have been a little bit more left, now taken from my lungs.

He stopped and turned around to face me, and I had to blink hard to realize that it wasn’t my imagination, but there was a great shimmering mist of stars surrounding him, and he began to glow softly with a soft golden light. “This is it,” he said for a third and final time. “I’m going home.”

****

Enjoy! Good luck on your own! And, most importantly, happy writing!

I’d also like to thank itsakoollife for recently subscribing to the blog! I started following her after clicking to her blog a few times from Francesca’s, I think, and I’m really glad to have her aboard!

RoW80 Check-in: February 12th!

“Those arms were thick as trunks, corded with veins and muscles, and Locke could only assume he was the woman’s body guard. That complicated matters if he got caught, so Locke would just have to make sure he did not get caught.”

It’s a beautiful, bright (and hopefully warmer) Sunday, which means it’s time for another RoW80 check-in! It’s been an interesting week, with a lot of great progress up until the weekend, where the irritation of the cold weather paired up with my job has put a little stunt in my progress. Also, this weekend celebrates one of my favorite special events in Fandom High, so that’s been a guilt-ridden distraction. Here’s the break-down, and then I have to flee regrettably to work, where I will long for getting a chance to return home to my computer to continue being awesome.

Serpent in a Cage: I haven’t been exactly getting a page-a-day, but I have been steadily scribbling away on this one, especially now that things are starting to spark into action. That first chapter is going to need a lot of work, but, right now, I’m resolving to not even worry about it. Just keep writing; it’ll always be there to adjust later. I’ve got a great feeling about this week, so I think things are really going to pick up. Page count: 17/42.

Featured Story: Every Sunday, I intend to change the Featured Story on the blog. This week, it’s a science-fiction-esque short story involving some of the characters from The Unknown Scourge entitled “Swing.” I’d like to thank C. Michael Hubbard again for his grammatical and technical catches on the last story, and, everyone, please feel free to critique or comment as you see fit to help me make it better for the collection, and, of course, enjoy!

Bowlful of Bunnies: I’m struggling a little bit with finishing “Black Stones” for the collection; I just feel that it’s going to disappoint since the prompt that started “Black Stones” was so well received. I’m been thinking of including the flash from this week in with a bunch of other flashes, including versions of the two I had published in Temenos, since I can’t retrieve the originals until they fix their website (which they have not done in over two years. Lame, Temenos, lame!). I’m still struggling to think of what else to write to add to the story, but I still have a few weeks to get some stuff done, and then we’ll access where we’re at.

Conversation at work have also lead to a discussion about titles, and I’m not playing around with changing it from Bowlful of Bunnies to Root Beer and Cocaine Parties. Yes, I’m quite fond of non-sequiters as titles, why do you ask?

The 100 Books Project: I’m almost finished with one more book and it’s doing that thing that books do where you seem to only have 20 pages to go, and 20 pages before took, like, ten minutes, but now 20 pages seem to be taking ten days. But I suspect I’ll have a review to put up before the next ROW80 check-in and I can focus on blowing through the next one if I want to keep up with my numbers. Books read: 4/100.

750 Words: I haven’t been keeping up with 750 words since the day I decided to go back to it. Wah-waaaaah. But I’m including it here as a way to point out that I’ve been setting lots of goals, as usual, but I’ve been prioritizing a lot more lately, and some of them, like this one, have just fallen to the wayside as I focus on more important things. I like that I have this focus now, and I’m even feeling slightly less guilty about my inability to do everything in one day. I’ve been making a check-list again, and have determined that, though I usually have about 10 items on the list, I’m considering the day a success so long as three items are done, and big whoop on the other ones. Tomorrow is another day. I’m feeling much less stressed and more relaxed with this new system in place, so I’m excited to see how it works for me tomorrow when I have the day off (although there is a voyage to Ikea planned, too! WHoo!)

And that’s all for today’s check-in. I really, really don’t want to go to work today, but, alas. So hope that it goes smoothly and swiftly for me, that nothing too terrible goes wrong, and that it doesn’t get too cold. Be sure to check out the other RoWers here and have a good Sunday.

Happy Writing!

Flash Fiction Friday! February 10th.

Happy Friday, everyone! It’s time for another installment of a Flash Fiction Friday, a prompt to throw something together in about five minutes or so inspired by whatever picture I find at the top of the Five Minute Getaway page. One day, I might start mixing it up and doing something other than Five Minute Getaway, but, dammit, the pictures are so gorgeous. There’s a problem if you don’t find a majority of them inspiring. I always just post the first one, but there are a lot of them that can be just as inspiring, if not more, so check it out and see what you come up with. (I’m particularly charmed by this one.

Feel inspired? Feel free to share your work here and on your own blog, and I’ll try to get to checking it out! Work has been weird for me lately, so I haven’t been doing as much blog visiting as usual, but it would be great to have the chance to break that unfortunate habit.

Here’s my contribution for the day:

*****


(Image courtesy of Five Minute Getaway)

The sky was darkening into the rich shades of evening, while the storefront glowed from the bright light streaming through their tall glass windows. Despite the weather, mild and warm and perfect, the streets were quiet, with the exception of a few, and it made the clomp of her heeled shoes echo more succinctly as she strolled down the street at the arm of her lover. It made her laugh ring especially clear when she threw back her head and let one go, feeling free and astounded by the beauty that surrounded them. She pulled herself closer, nuzzling against his arm, lifting her head and meeting his mouth with her for a kiss. There were so few people to see them, and even if they did, so be it. She was at the top of the world, unabashedly in love and not afraid to let the world know it.

They turned the corner, and she knew what waited for them there, but that still didn’t prepare her for the splendor that faced her when they turned into the courtyard and the temple rose up before them like an ornate mountain, all curves and details and decadence. It took the breath away from her, the gasp lifting up inside of her as she tried to comprehend the majesty, but couldn’t. “Oh, Henry,” she breathed, when she could find her words, though she still found them whispered and hushed, “it’s so beautiful.”

“Wait,” he said, giving her hand a small squeeze; he glanced her way and smiled, and she could only smile back, wondering what she was supposed to wait for. She tried to banish the thought that, right then and there, in the shadow of the temple, he would lower himself to one knee, attest to the happiness she brought into the world, and extract a small velvet box from his pocket to present her with the promise of eternity. If she thought about it happening, then it wouldn’t happen, so she tried to breathe, tried not to expect anything, and just looked with wonder at the building.

He was quiet for a long time, and she began to worry, but finally he asked, “Ready?” and she could only blink and ask, “Ready for what?” and he smiled back at precisely the moment that the explosion ripped through the air. The magnificent dome seemed to burst open, fire ripping through the ancient mortar and sending pieces of it flying. Another explosion. Another. She winced and cowered, realizing she was too shocked to even scream, and watched in horror as the temple started to crumble, the few people in the street rushing around. But she realized that they were not running away from the temple, but toward it, their arms raised and shouts lifting up from their open mouths. Shaking, she turned to Henry for answers, and he just smiled and tugged her arm, starting to run with them.

“Come on,” he said, and lifted up his voice. “It’s time for the Revolution!”

****

I’ll admit that took a lot longer than five minutes….they usually do! But there you have it! What will the picture inspire for you today? I’d love to see it! Happy writing, and have a fantastic Friday.

Flash Fiction Friday!

Ugh, what a weird week, guys. I’ve been in an unprecedented funk since Tuesday; I think I’m starting to come out of it, which is good, but there’s still a little bit of the bad feelings and lack of motivation lingering around. Last night ended with a spark of inspiration, and I hope it manages to carry on through the day, but we shall see. I failed to get a post up yesterday, which just makes me think I should give myself a free pass every month to skip a post, because, you know, some days, you just can’t bring yourself to write one.

Thankfully, today is Friday, which means taking a little bit of a break, going on a five-minute get-away with some flash fiction! So, below, I submit to you for your consideration this week’s pretty picture from Five Minute Getaway. May it inspire you for a little blurb of flash fiction, about five minutes or so, about anything at all, so long as it’s inspired by the picture. Below you’ll find the picture and my contribution. Good luck!

*****

The wind swept up, warm, but cooler than one would expect in the summertime, chilled by the thin mountain air. It sent a curtain of hair across her face, and she futilely tried to tuck it into submission behind her ear. Looking out over the verdant slopes and the purple mountains jutting up into the clouds in the distance, she supposed some people might find it beautiful. She just felt her heart drop heavily into her stomach, splashing up a horrible wave of dread and distress.

“There’s no way,” she murmured, shaking her head, and she turned her wide, pleading eyes toward her companion beside her. “It never ends, does it?”

“No,” he admitted, morosely, avoiding her eyes and scanning the stretch of valley below their feet, the jagged peaks rising above their heads. “It doesn’t. But we have to keep going.”

He stepped forward before she could argue, his steps surprisingly sure and bold despite the weariness they must be feeling. She followed a moment later, descending down into the green valley, reluctance weighing her down as he words drifted back to her with the faint howl of the wind.

“What else are you going to do?”

*****

And, lastly, I have two new subscribers to welcome aboard! Limebirdbeth and The Midnight Disease have both recently subscribed to this here blog, so thank you guys for following! Good to have you with us!

Flash Fiction Friday: A Day Late and a Dollar Short Version.

So, a flash fiction prompt didn’t go up yesterday because I’m a spaz and, while I completely knew it was Friday (Friday being my only day off this week), I completely forgot about the Triple F. I don’t see any reason why we can’t have Flash Fiction Friday on Saturday, though, especially since it’s just so cool how some of you have really picked up on it and it makes me bounce happily in my chair and want to pull out alllll the pretty pictures from Five Minute Get-Away, but I’m going to stick to my guns and always use the first one I see and today’s beauty can be viewed below:


(Image courtesy of Five Minute Get-Away and Conde Nast Traveler)

The “rules” are simple. Just write a short blurb, about five minutes or so, to accompany the picture above. Then, from there, do with it as you will. Who knows? Maybe it’ll inspire a great new novel or be perfect for some flash fiction contests and magazines. What follows is my own entry:

****
Frowning, Zaria thumped her walking stick on the wooden platforms, once, twice, a third time, and then she let out a long sigh. “I just don’t understand it,” she complained to her companion. “It seems to pointless. It’s their leaving their mark on our landscape and our lives until one day we forget what it was like before they came in and gave us these ridiculous paths.”

“But you must admit, Zaria,” Melana, quiet as always, gave her friend a shy smile, stepping down from one set of wooden blocks to the next, “it does make it much easier to get to market or the washing pond.”

“And also makes us better targets for bandits and thieves, no doubt,” Zaria murmured, mostly to herself, since Melana continued forward all the same, her baskets balanced, one on her hip, the other on her round, colorfully wrapped head, and she didn’t want to lag behind too much. The last thing she needed was another scolding from Mama Tataba about being late and lazy and good-for-nothing.

“Besides,” Melana’s voice was almost melodious as it swept up with the wind that rustled the familiar branches and leaves surrounding the ugly slash of wooden modernity through their wild green foliage. “Everyone knows that, out here, nature is stronger than progress. Give it time, and I believe our benefactors will realize that this place has a way of keeping itself the way it wants to. In the meantime, though, we’d best appreciate and enjoy it while we can.”

***

Good luck, everyone! I look forward to reading what everyone else comes up with; they’re always so creative and cool! And, of course, I have to take a moment to thank my latest subscriber, Francesca! Thanks so much, Francesca! Welcome aboard!

Flash Fiction Friday!

Okay, everyone get out the party hats and the noisemakers, because it’s Friday! Whoo hoo! Fridays are excellent days because they are tending to be my day off, and it’s also the day I post a pretty picture and ask people to write crap about it. Also, there’s said to be a nice six-incher snow storm coming in later today, which, since I don’t work, is even better. It’s going to be an awesome, productive day, and I’m really looking forward to it. The main items on the agenda are to finish up the outline for the reboot of Serpent in a Cage and get the rough of the novella for Bowlful of Bunnies done. I’m also thinking I might finally be close to finishing a book, so keep your fingers crossed that I don’t get distracted by silly things like television and I’ll have a pretty sweet day on my hands.

Working in an outdoor mall in 10 degree weather for a company with a literal “open door” policy and a store with a broken heater really puts this whole “I want to be a writer” thing into perspective. This week has easily confirmed in my mind that if there’s a way to make some money from writing, I want to do it. But, like all things, work first, and I’ll also start babbling at you and get to the first picture that popped up on Five Minute Getaway today. The object of the game? Just write a blurb (in about five minutes or so) to go along with the picture. Share it either here or on your own blog, and just have fun and be inspired! Here’s today’s picture, followed by my contribution:

******


(picture credit to National Geographic Daily)

The gods were not pleased.

One could tell by the angry red tongue seeping out from the sacred mountain, gushing out and pushing slowly toward the village at the bottom of the hill. Even with the cold, clear night, the snow on the ground, one could feel the heat pushing off from the flow of lava as it crackled and burned and melted its way down. Watching the slow encroachment, Ana wanted to melt right into it herself, feeling a strange ache in her chest that nearly made her whimper. This was her fault; all her fault. She was supposed to give herself to the gods to satiate them, but she had tricked them instead, and now she intended to flee into the night and never return, leaving the village to suffer the consequences of her insubordination. Her eyes filling with tears, she moved to rush toward the flow; perhaps it wasn’t too late! But there was a hand on her arm, stopping her, and she turned with desperation toward the person who held her.

“Don’t,” Ashra said, shaking his head. “It’s too late now.”

So she melted instead into Ashra, into his firm chest and the strong arms that wrapped around her. It felt safe there, safe enough to cry, and she knew he would protect her. It had all been his idea, after all, so if he did not, well, then, he would have far more to fear than the wrath of the gods. He carefully drew her away out of the hug, looking deep into her eyes to bolster her before he took her hand and turned away from the sacred mountain with its angry tongue. “Come,” he said. “We had best be going now.”

*****

There we go! If you whip something up, make sure to share it and I’ll try my best to go have a look! Happy Friday, everyone, and happy writing!

Flash Fiction Friday!

At the moment, I’m deciding to keep the Flash Fiction Friday challenges. Fridays are usually a little low on creative juices for me, so it’s a good way to spark them up again, especially since I’ve been getting Fridays off lately (blissful!), and I’d love to get a lot of catch-up work on my RoW80 goals today. So here it is, a picture from the fantastically beautiful Five Minute Get-Away, followed by a five-minute (or so) flash fiction to accompany it. Of course, I encourage anyone to take up the challenge and write their own, too, either in their own blog or in the comments, because it’s always fun to share!

Today’s photograph is not the most inspiring one on the page today; it’s not the most beautiful or fetching (not to me, at least), and that’s part of why I’m sticking with it. It was the first one and sometimes, you have to push past the easy ones for something a little more challenging. According to the credits, the castle is located in Northumberland, England, and I will continue to be envious of places in this world where there are just castles sitting around, being all beautiful and stuff. I don’t think driving around Oak Brook and Hinsdale and seeing houses big enough to be castles can count…

****

Building the bridge stone by stone, he straightened, stretching out his aching back and brushing the damp hair out of his eyes. The island, the sentinel of a castle perched upon it, seemed close enough that he could almost reach out and touch it, open his hand and close his fingers around it and bring it in close to his heart, but he could only look across the channel that separated him from it wistfully. He sighed, reaching into the wheelbarrow for another rock, dropping it lazily. It clattered against the others, rolled into the water without so much as a splash.

“That’s the last of them,” he announced, brushing his hands against each other, then against the salty stiffness of his pants. “Let’s call it a day.”

“This is ridiculous,” said his friend, surly and sour with his stooped shoulders and scowling face. “We’re never going to make it across this way, not until we’re old men, bent and crippled. And by then, your princess won’t even want you, George, and you may not want your princess.”

Despite the harsh words, George gave his friend a small, faint smile. “I will always want my princess. And she will always want me. This must be done. Black stones to lead the way and, once I am across, the great waters will take the stones away, and she and I will be kept safe in our stronghold until the end of time.”

George’s friend shook his head, turning away, ready to be finished with the work and his friend’s lunatic ravings, muttering under his breath. Everyone knew the castle was empty, had been for centuries, and yet, as he drifted and the sun turned red with the bleeding of the setting sun, George lingered, staring at the highest pulpit of the tower. It was shrouded in shadows, but he liked to think, if he looked closely enough, he could see a flash of the white of a handkerchief, the princess waving to him, surrendering to her hope that, one day, the bridge of black stone would be complete, and they would be together once more.
***

Have at it, friends! Also, wordpress tells me that the fantastic Lauralynn Elliott has subscribed to my blog, which….I thought she already had. So I don’t know if she was just really good at catching up with me and only just now subscribed, or if wordpress is just being a little funny right now, but, either way, she’s definitely deserving of an extra shout out anyway. So, hi, Lauralynn! Thanks for subscribing and keep being awesome.

Five-Minute Flash Fiction Friday.

Okay, so, I’ve been thinking about doing a “themed” post like this for a while and, as I struggle to get my coffee maker to work again (why, why, why is it not brewing? Why are you doing this to me, coffee maker? What have I ever done to you except use you to excess?), I figured I might as well give it a shot. I know I sort of blew it on my last attempt to do a flash fiction thing last year, but, hey, that was then, this is now. It’s a new year. Time to turn over a new leaf. And try a different approach.

Instead of doing a flash fiction contest that will most likely get lost in the cracks, I figured I could just throw out a prompt in the form of a picture from the amazing Five Minute Get Away and anyone who wants to write one, can write on. If not, ah well. I myself will write one and, to keep up with the five-minute part, I will set my timer to five minutes and just write. I figured it would be a good little exercise to hone my skills. Let me know if this idea is kind of lame. Or if you like it. Or if you know why my coffee machine is still not brewing.

Here goes:

****


(picture credit: Mike Warren)

Jane almost couldn’t hear him over the sound of the roaring waterfall. “What?” she called out, leaning heavily against the rock face to keep from falling. The stones were slippery with the splashes from the water, making her glad for her comfortable shoes.

“We’re almost there!” Sean shouted back, looking over his shoulder and smiling at her. Any tension or concern she had melted away with that smile, and Jane felt a crooked smirk surface in return.

“This better be worth it!” she informed him, mostly teasing, but she was already feeling her t-shirt cling to her body as they got nearer and she knew he was going to make her go through it. Whatever was on the other side of that waterfall, they were going to get soaked trying to get to it, which was probably his plan all along. They’d have to take off all their clothes to let them dry, but her heart thumped to think that perhaps what was behind the curtain of water was something to make her want to take off her clothes.

It was exactly the sort of elaborate scene he’d put together for something like a proposal, too. One of their first dates had been traveling this forest trail, and they’d fallen in love with each other making speculations as to what might be on the other side. Hidden pirate treasure, a tunnel to China, passage into Narnia, you named it.

Sure enough, when it came time to go through the falls, Sean leaped through without hesitation; Jane was a little more reluctant. It was a warm day, but the water spraying on her was cold, almost icy, and the thought of a diamond was still not enough to make the icy chill and the clinging clothes worth it. But Sean’s hand emerged through the curtain and, smiling despite herself, Jane reached out to take it. He pulled her in, through the icy blast, and into a cool cavern where the thunder of water was louder than it was outside, and there was nothing but wet dull rocks and….something else. Sean knelt down in front of it, his head hung. He took off his battered adventurer’s hat, placing it against his chest.

It was the same hat on the corpse in front of him. The same khaki button down shirt, weathered jeans, hiking boots, and the same face as Sean’s, but faded, decaying, diminishing to bone. Jane stared, not sure of what she was seeing at first until Sean started to explain.

“Jane,” he said, shaking his head. “I meant to tell you sooner. I’m sorry, but I just didn’t know how to tell you.”

It seemed to impossible to believe, but it hit Jane like a brick, and she dropped her mouth open and let out a scream. It echoed in the small cavern space behind the waterfall, but she realized it was pointless. Even with Sean right there, there was no one alive around to hear her.

*****
Technically, this took me longer than 5 minutes to write, by the way, but I hadn’t finished it yet, so I kept going….Your turn! Share your own 5-minute flash fiction prompt from the picture, too, or just admire the pretty some more.

And thanks to Carl for subscribing to the blog! I hope you’re as entertained by my ramblings as I am by your cartoons!

RoW80 Check-In: December 4th!

“‘Temperamental?’ asked Jaxson, who didn’t know any better, his voice dripping with his sarcasm. ‘I know our young Gilferen here has a penchant for putting fire in women’s hearts, but this easily exceeds any prior scorned lovers thus far. What’d he do, love? Nasty disease, was it?’”

Though this Sunday seems distinctly lacking in sun for us thus far in Chicagoland, it is still time of my weekend ROW80 update! As typical for a Sunday, after the blur that is usually my weekends (and this weekend was exceptionally blurry as a social life seemed to blossom like a wildflower in springtime), I don’t have a great deal to report, though I have steadily been adding to the revision piece, I’ve done some brainstorming for BDS, and this morning’s shower inspired a whole new project. My cat has knocked over my coffee in an effort to get me to cuddle with him, and all I can do is wistfully sigh, wish I didn’t have to go into work in a little bit, and desire to just sit and write.

Tomorrow’s Monday, though, usually my day off, so unless that’s changed, I will always have tomorrow. Time to break it down now!

Serpent in a Cage: Despite my busy weekend, I made some pretty steady stabs at SiaC these past few days; I’m nearly finished with the current chapter, and then they’re finally out into the desert, we learn more about Locke’s parents, and we’ll get to the cave where Jaxson takes over what was previously Awngel’s part and Megg will join our ranks. I’m excited about that, because I always love Megg, even if she makes me nervous about introducing a character half-way through the story. It sometimes feels just tacked on, but I love her too much, and she’s actually incredibly important to the plot. So half-way it is, and so it shall be. Page count: 135.

Novel in 6 Months: Busy as I’ve been, I still had Friday mostly off except for in the evening, and most of that time was gloriously spent reconnecting with my horror story. I’m still behind on my word count thus far (yeah, thanks a lot, NaNo!), but I managed to get out two really amazing scenes that I’m very excited about and are helping to make this story much, much better. I’m exciting to get the chance to start working on it again, buff up that word count, and polish up the scenes so that the book seems less like a hodge-podge of ideas and more like a phenomenal story. Word count: 30,520.

NaNoWriMo: …which will be continued to be called such until I can think of a title for the thing. It’s a big fat mess right now, but now that the actual event is over, I plan on writing more on it in the upcoming month, as well as going back every now and then and cleaning up, a sort of pre-edit editing to just make the thing more solid before it’s completely finished. All inspired by an incredible guest post by Gary Gauthier over on Hawleyville about pacing and productivity. It inspired a new approach to this piece that really charged me and inspired me and regained my hope that it could be good and that I didn’t just waste my November. I haven’t touched it in a few days, though, trying to focus more on the Ni6M (also in need of a title, yeesh). Word count: 44,313.

Black Dome Society: I managed to get a start with Black Dome Society, albeit a small one, and I’m really excited of the way it’s starting out. Even better, I had dinner with my co-creator in this project last night, and when I nervously, tentatively, terrified, told him what I had written and planned for it so far, he got charged up for it and we had a great brainstorming session, so it’s finally off to a great start. I think it’s going to be a really interesting journey, and I’ve never really written something with someone before, so that’s kind of new and exciting, too. Like I said, there’s not much yet, but I have a feeling I’ll have a lot more on this WIP soon. Word count: 485.

L.S. Engler’s Essential Guidebook of Courtship Etiquette for Young Gentlemen: To be known as simply Etiquette for Young Gentleman from here on in to save my fingers a little, this is a new book I thought of in the shower this morning, I jotted down a little bit of it and a few notes, and I’m really excited to see if it’s something that sticks. Partially fictional and partially autobiographical, I thought it would be kind in interesting to write a book in the style of Victorian guidebooks to etiquette, but for modern dating. I’ll admit, this was specifically inspired by dinner with the above BDS creator when he asked to try a piece of my tuna….after he had completely devoured his chicken, so I didn’t exactly get to try any of his at that point. It could be quirky and fun, and very interesting as I’m trying to explore the idea of dating again and, heck, it might even inspire me to take some chances and go on more dates! So there’s another project on the roster to keep an eye out for, and, of course, I’d love feedback on what you all might think of the concept!

Short Stories: Still nothing new to report on my short stories, but I’m hoping to get a chance to pull “Just Right” out of the coffers soon and return to brushing that up again.

100 Books Project: Not a whole lot of time to read lately, much less put up a review for the book that’s been sitting there waiting to be reviewed. It will get there, though, and until then, I just try to read, read, read some more. 23 books in one month is a pretty tall order if I want to make it to 78, so reading will probably be taking a precedent over writing for December. Which could be a nice departure after NaNoWriMo! Books read: 55/100.

I believe that’s all (har har) for this check-in! Tune in Wednesday where I hope to have lots, lots more to say from at least one day off (finally!). Until then, be sure to check out other RoWers and share your support! And I’ve also got a wee little flash fiction prompt up! The winner gets nothing more than bragging rights, but it could be fun, so check it out.

Happy writing!