Hi it’s Christina –
Good Morning! I’m not
overly thrilled with our recent weather pattern. It seems Tuesday is monsoon
day around here. For the second Tuesday in a row, I’ve had to drive through
blinding rain in order to participate in my writing group. At least this time I
was only dealing with flooded streets as opposed to last Tuesday when I was
dodging falling branches. It figures, doesn’t it? I really don’t venture far
from home, if at all, the other six days a week, but on the one day I do…
It was a very small group
yesterday. At first we thought it was only going to be four of us, but by 7:30
we were up to eleven. Of the eleven, only five of us read. The timing was
perfect for a small group. We have roughly an 1,100 word max on what we read,
so there will be enough time for everyone who wants to read. Since my stories
are comprised of short chapters, staying under the 1,100 words has never been
an issue.
However, last night’s
chapter went over the max, but because the group was small, it wasn’t a
problem. Still, in the back of my mind, I knew the piece was longer than
allowed, so I picked up the pace while I was reading, and I got yelled at to
slow down, twice. Chapter seven of Faerie Tale Queen was well received, (I’ve
been reading a chapter every time we meet). I got chuckles in the appropriate
places, and they seemed to enjoy the main character’s quirky relationship with
her GPS. I got some good feedback which I will be able to use when I sit down
to work on my initial edits (the ones I do BEFORE I send the manuscript off to
be edited).
Two gentlemen, ironically both
named Alex, read last night. One Alex is a regular to the group, and a majority
of the time he writes plays or performance monologues. Last night he read an
excerpt from a performance piece which was hysterical. I’m talking, I couldn’t
catch my breath, had tears in my eyes, and snorted because I was laughing so
hard. I’m still chuckling right now, just trying to tell you about it.
The flip side of the coin
was the other Alex. He is brand new to the group, last night was his first
night, and he brought us into a dark place. He also accomplished an extremely
difficult task, keeping us engaged in a fiction piece told in first person. The
story was, I don’t want to say creepy, and I don’t want to repeat myself by
saying dark again, but I don’t know a better way to describe it. What I can say
is I am looking forward to hearing more of the story in the weeks to come.
With a little luck, I will
hit the 25K mark today. I’m close, but it will still take a fairly good push to
get me there. Considering today is the halfway point of the month, I’m only a few
hours behind.
On that note, I should get
writing because I only have two hours and 2,300 words to go. I hope you have a wonderful
day, and happy writing!
Your Last Challenge was:
The
morning light looked strange
Out of desperation to come up
with a challenge to give you yesterday, I looked up, in hope to think of
something, and that’s when I noticed the strange light coming through my living
room window. It reminded me of another time, many years ago, when I saw a
similar light.
I’m not sure exactly how old I
was, but I do remember I was a teenager, and I was home on summer break. My mom
had left for work already, but it was still early when I padded downstairs to forage
for something to eat. I looked through the kitchen window and was greeted by a
weird orangey yellow haze. Figuring my sleep filled eyes and summertime hazed
brain were playing tricks on my, I ceased my breakfast preparations and went
out on our front porch to investigate.
From my new vantage point I was
able to see a sight I hope to never experience again. The sky to the south was
blanketed in varying shades of amber and brown, and there was an acrid stench in
the air. I quickly reentered my house, then ran from room to room and closed
all the windows and doors. I than began to furiously flip through the radio
dial to find a news station, or any station which would be able to enlighten me
as to what was going on.
***
I ran out of time, but I
figured if I had left the story there, I’d get hate mail. I found WCTC, which
is a central New Jersey new station. Since sunrise, their radio station had been
inundated with calls. It turned out the haze and the smell were due to a
wildfire, raging out of control, in the Pinelands, over seventy-five miles away
from my home. It was days before the sun could penetrate and the smell dissipated,
and until it did, most of the state was shroud in an unnatural light.
Your Next Challenge is:
I
am…
You have ten minutes (be
honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t
count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.
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