May 28th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Yeah, I wish my butt looked like that

Good Morning! By the time I finished my blog yesterday, I was so tired, I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I did not get much sleep the night before because I couldn’t get comfortable. Somehow I managed to pull a muscle in my butt. Go ahead, get all the chuckles out, I know it’s ridiculous, I’d laugh too if it didn’t hurt so much. I had an hour and a half cushion, so I took advantage and went back to bed.

I got to work with five minutes to spare. We got everything accomplished that RV needed, which is a good thing. It is tough on Tuesdays, because I have to rush out of there so I can get whatever I need done at my house done and then get to my writing group.

In all honesty, I was debating about forgoing last night’s writers’ group, but then a new member, Mary Ellen, texted me and asked if she could hitch a ride. I was still exhausted, and still debating whether I would go or not, when my phone rang. It was Keith, my friend who runs the writing group. He had a

minor emergency, and asked if I was going. I said, “I guess I am now.”

All I wanted to do was go home and take another nap, but now I had to not only wake up enough to drive to and from Princeton, I needed to come up with several writing prompts, find what I did with my sign in sheet, get everything printed out, and then be coherent enough to make half way descent responses to the prompts. I cannot complain though, because this is only the second time, in almost a year, Keith has asked me to fill in for him.

I’ll be honest, I cheated a little. I recycled some of my prompts, as well as a few of my responses, from last year’s blog. I figured the blog was in its infantile stage at that point, so no one in the group would have remembered them, and they didn’t. Thank GOD! The only one I was truly concerned about was Joanne, because she is one of my most faithful blog followers.

We had a pretty good turnout for last night’s group. There were ten of us total, including a brand new person, Lisa. I think Keith is going to be a little bummed he wasn’t there when he sees her name on the roster, because she was one of his former students. She’s a lovely and talented woman, and I hope she continues to come to the group.

I have an early work day today as well as tomorrow, and then right after work today, I absolutely have to go to the grocery store. There is nothing to eat in my house – yup, and adult is saying this not a teenager. I just went shopping, $200 worth of shopping, and still there is nothing to eat in the house. How does this happen? Yes, we have one more resident with Lys being home, but the child eats like a bird, so she can’t be the cause. I don’t get it.

Okay, I still want to straighten up the kitchen before I have to hop in the shower, so I need to get going. I hope you have a great day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

Reluctantly, you agree to a blind date. You meet the person at the restaurant. When you are seated, the waiter makes eye contact with you while he hands you the menu. Pasted inside your menu is a note…

SHOW NO REACTION TO THIS NOTE. Smile and appear to be perusing the menu. You do not know me and have no reason to trust me, but you seriously need to heed my advice. Do not give this man any personal information. Tell him as little about you as possible. Misleading yet believable information would be beneficial. Either make an excuse to end your dinner early, or just make sure he cannot contact you ever again. Do not let him handle anything you eat or drink. If you leave the table, do not eat or drink anything when you return. He is not who he appears to be, and he is extremely dangerous.

Charlene swallowed hard, then pasted a smile on her face and peaked over her menu, “It all looks so good. Can you recommend anything?”

“Both the steak and the seafood are exceptional, and their wine list is beyond reproach.  I am particularly fond of their Chianti.”

 

Charlene let out a nervous chuckle, “As long as you’re not paring it with fava beans, I guess I’m safe.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Your Next Challenge is (one from last night, but there was a choice of three different prompts, and I didn’t choose this one):

Friends teach you what you want to know. Enemies teach you what you need to know.

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.

October 23rd Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina – 

There were twelve of us at the writer’s group last night. Well, I should say twelve of us who stayed. One lady left before anyone even said a word to her, one gentleman left when he realized the group was not a workshop and not really what he was looking for, and the third gentleman left when he received a text telling him there was a family emergency. He left part way through the first prompt, but I think we may see him again in the future.

We tried something a little different last night in the writing group. Instead of doing one ten minute prompt and then sharing what we wrote, I had the group do four ten minute prompts in rapid succession and then we discussed them. I figured by putting all the prompts together, and not breaking in between, we could keep the flow going.

I think it went well, but if I do this in the future I will only have three prompts in the beginning and not four. I felt bad for the folks who were actually writing and not typing. Their wrists must have been sore after forty straight minutes of writing.

Finally we ended with one fifteen minute prompt and then another discussion, so it would only be sharing time and not writing time which was interrupted by the “get your junk and get out” announcements kicking everyone out of the library. Turned out the first announcement came really late and we had just finished the last reading.

I did cheat and use yesterday’s writing challenge as one of the prompts last night, and I pulled the others from previous blogs. Some were received more favorably than others. Oh well, I tried. You are not going to be able to please everyone all the time. It gave me a feel for what it will be like to run my own group. It is going to be difficult to come up with multiple prompts on a weekly basis. I only have so many in reserve. I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I did receive an email reply from the FBI with a request for more specific information, so I will be working on that today. I was shocked at how quickly I receive a response, so if the next response comes just as quickly, I will be able to finish Corporate Blues by the end of the month.

Okay, I am going to go take some sinus medicine before the pressure makes my head explode, and then I’m going to start the email. I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday, and happy writing!

 

Your Last Challenge was:

Write a letter from your future adult self to yourself as a teenager.

Knowing me, and obviously I do, you are not going to believe this when you find it, but it’s real. For reasons I cannot get into, I was given the opportunity to give my teenage self some advice. Advice YOU MUST LISTEN TO.

I know you still are thinking this is a bunch of crap and either Cheri or Lisa are playing a trick on you, so I am going to tell you things you know you haven’t told anyone. Like when Toby snuck back to our house after he walked Lisa home; his excuse was he forgot something, but what he really wanted to do was kiss you.

And then there is the coffee can under your bed that holds all your money and your Marlboro reds, which you should really give up now, because we are still struggling with them in the future. They were a stupid thing to start, and why? To impress Sue? Let me tell you now, she turns into a good for nothing white trailer trash, piece of dung, who ends up O.D.ing before she’s thirty. She’s not someone you should associate with. And while we’re at it, when she asks you for $50, don’t give it to her. She is not getting her sister a graduation gift; she uses the money to go from pot to the harder stuff.

Do you believe me yet? I hope so because here is the reason for the letter. I know you love Paul, and he does turn out to be a wonderful husband and father, but don’t give up the Air Force Academy for him. You are intelligent and gifted and talented, so you do turn out fine, but not going to the Air Force is the one regret you will carry with you for the rest of your life. Paul loves you, really loves you, and although he will be sad while you are away, he will wait for you, and you will get married, have three beautiful children, and have a wonderful life together.  

Your Next Challenge is:

 

 Write a story using the following three words, Lily, Anger, Murder

 

You have 10 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.

October 22nd Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina – 

Mornin’! Even with three bathroom breaks, two gas stops (I only put a few gallons in each time because I had an issue with paying $0.60 & $0.45 more a gallon then at home) and one stop at Panera to pick up soup for lunch, I made it home in six and a half hours. That’s not saying I wasn’t exhausted and crashed and burned when I got home, because I did, but the whole ferry route definitely saved time.

Today my back and legs are a bit sore and I have a mark from where the seatbelt was rubbing on my collarbone. I am not meant to drive fifteen hundred miles in four days, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat if it meant spending time with my daughter! My next road trip isn’t until November 22^nd when I go get her for Thanksgiving, but since she doesn’t have to go back until December 1^st, it shouldn’t be too bad. Let’s just hope the weather cooperates.

There is definitely a nap in my future today. Without one, I don’t think I would be able to stay awake for my writing group, and I’m running it tonight, so I kinda need to be an active participant. Keith, the leader of our group, is away on a week-long camping trip with his students. Monday – Wednesday half the 8^th grade class goes and Wednesday – Friday the other half of the 8^th grade class goes. It’s basically a team building retreat for thirteen year olds. Keith says he and the kids love it, and I’m sure they do, but I’m not sure I could handle a week with four hundred thirteen year olds! I shudder at the thought! God Bless teachers. I couldn’t do what they do, that’s for sure.

I have a zillion things to do today, so I better get started. I hope you have a terrific Tuesday, and happy writing!

 

Your Last Challenge was:

 

Do you have a point in your trip which signals you are almost at your destination? A particular land mark you spot where your heart does a little flutter and your brain screams, “almost there”? Over the years I have had several. Years ago, it was the sight of the Twin Towers as my plane was about to land. It signaled the end of a conference, a business trip and even a European excursion. It meant I would be home soon.

When I was a teenager, I’d often take trips to the shore and we would travel the back roads to get there. We’d have to make a right at a farm, and that road eventually wound its way to the highway which led to the beach. On our second trip, we weren’t exactly sure where the turn was, so we were watching carefully so we wouldn’t miss it. As we neared the farm, my girlfriend Laurie said, “There’s the turn. I remember the cow.” and the rest of us started laughing hysterically. She had no idea why we were laughing until we pointed out that cows moved. On all subsequent trips we would rib Laurie if she saw her cow. One time I told her we couldn’t turn because the cow wasn’t there.

On trips to Florida, the sight of the Mickey Mouse telephone pole was our land mark. To this day, whenever one of us or one of the members of the other family who went with us on that first trip sees the telephone pole, we take a photo and text it to the others with “MICKEY MOUSE TELEPHONE POLE” as the comment. The random texts make us smile and remember the wonderful vacation which started it all.

 

Now, the sight above, tells me I am almost to my daughter’s college. In less than an hour, I’ll be able to see her, to give her a hug. The remaining drive time goes both quickly and slowly, and it is filled with anticipation which wasn’t as prevalent in all the hours preceding that point in the trip.

So whether it is South of the Border, the Maryland House rest stop on Route 95, Big Bird and Elmo on the water tower, or the first glimpse of Penobscot Bay after cresting the hill, there will always be certain things which make my heart sing “almost there”.

 

 

 

(I did add all the photos AFTER the ten minute time limit.)

 

Your Next Challenge is:

 

Write a letter from your future adult self to yourself as a teenager.

You have 10 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.

September 25th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina – 

UGH! My husband has lousy timing. He got up to use the bathroom half an hour before my alarm was to go off, so now I’m awake even more ridiculously early than usual. I tried to go back to sleep, but then I heard what I thought was one of those emergency alarms you get on your phone, so I got up. Again UGH! I checked my phone, but there was nothing on it. I remained confused about the alarm until my daughter woke up and told me she had fallen asleep with her TV on and it was one of the emergency alert tests. Cryminies! Why would they test that thing so early in the morning?

Writer’s workshop was fun last night. We only had eleven people because three of the regulars were attending another function at the library, and another one got a flat tire on the way. The young kid I told you about, the one we were all so impressed with, he won’t be coming until soccer season is over and I think the others only came the first week to see what the group was about. That’s fine though, twenty-two was a bit too big; ok, way too big, at least for the room they gave us.

 

The group was in a mood. Some of the responses to the prompts were hysterical. Even this one adorable couple, who are considerably older than the rest of the group, came out with a few whoppers. Just like here in my blog, the group is given only ten minutes to write their responses to a prompt. It really blows my mind what people can produce with very little forethought in such a small amount of time. Todd, the gentleman who runs the our critique group, is also a member of our writer’s workshop, and the stuff he comes up with is absolutely amazing. Last night one of our prompts was it was either December 24^th or 26^th, but either way we were Santa, and he had us in stitches with his story about a Jewish tailor who took a job as a Macy’s Santa. We were literally rolling.

 

And then there’s Joanne (you’ve seen some of her responses to my prompts here on the blog), she has an uncanny ability to catch a mood or tone and make her reader be right there in the moment with her. Some of her things are witty, some have a twist you never saw coming. She can make you laugh, think, and, what I think might be her best talent, feel.

 

Week after week, between the writer’s workshop and the critique group, I am in awe of the incredibly gifted writers who surrounded me. Each with their own completely different writing style and voice; yet almost everyone has impressed me and I have enjoyed listening to what they have written even when it was something I never would have chosen to read. The perfect example is Keith. You know, because I have mentioned it a few times, I don’t read horror. I don’t care for it. It scares me. Being scared is not an enjoyable feeling. I avoid it. Keith writes horror. Keith’s writing is marvelous. Am I going to sit down and read his entire book? No. I probably wouldn’t be able to sleep for a month. But when he reads excerpts, once every two weeks at critique, I can handle it. I am instantly mesmerized when he begins to read. So much so, in the moment, I’m too distracted to be scared. (When I think about it afterwards is when I get the willies.)

 

We have others who are doing memoirs, again something I would not choose to read, but I find myself looking forward to hearing the next installment. Granted there have been a few pieces which were not my cup of tea, but even within those, there were certain phrases or observations, which were truly brilliant. I’m not delusional, I know what I write does not appeal to everyone. Some are going to love it, some are going to hate it, and that’s ok. But, even if what I write isn’t someone’s “cup of tea”, I hope they can at least find some redeeming qualities within the work.

 

I hope you have a great day, and happy writing!

 

Your Last Challenge was:

       

Describe something edible without saying what it is - let us try to guess.

 

The smell permeates the air, bringing with it a flood of childhood memories. The temptation to peek into the oven to see if it’s ready is almost overwhelming. Five, four, three, two, one, the buzzer sounds. Carefully I remove the pan and set it upon the cooling rack. Juices still bubble through the slits in the bumpy crust. My mouth waters as the aroma, a combination of spice and sweet fruit, assail my nostrils, but I can’t cut it yet. It’s still too hot. I need to wait until it has time to cool, to set, or the filling will ooze everywhere and make a mess.

Every five minutes I touch the pan. It needs to be warm, but not hot. As my patients starts to wear thin, I move the cooling rack closer to the open window to allow the cool autumn air to speed the process along. I touch the pan again, almost ready. I get the vanilla ice cream from the freezer and set it on the counter so it can thaw slightly, enabling an easy, perfectly formed scoop. Plates, forks, a knife and a server join the ice cream on the counter. I touch the pan a final time. Perfect.

With great anticipation, I hold the knife over my masterpiece, making sure the first cut falls dead center. Slowly I let it sink in through the layers of crust and fruit. When the tip reaches the bottom of the plate, I drag the knife to the edge, ending with a decisive snap to get through the thicker fluted rim. I continue the process until eight perfectly formed wedges appear.

 

The time is at hand. The moment has arrived. The first slice is removed and placed on a plate. Some of the juices spill out, but for the most part, it holds its form. Next comes the scoop of ice cream to top it off. As the frozen confection meets the still warm crust, it begins to melt and mingle its creamy goodness with the escaping filling. I hand off the first piece to my youngest child and watch her eyes light up with excitement. She forks the first bit into her mouth. Her eyes close and she moans in complete bliss. I still have three more slices to deliver to waiting hands before I can have my own piece, so I quickly repeat the process.

 

Dang, less than a minute and I would have been done. So, what am I eating, or was about to eat? Funny, I now have a strange urge to bake today...

 

Your Next Challenge is:

 

Just one bite…

 

You have 10 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.

September 11th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina – 

The line above my greeting is for a company who sponsors blogs and helps writers. It’s really a cool idea for the professional blogger. It was neat the way it works, but it didn’t like the way I wrote the next paragraph with the “____” or the “kinda sorta” or the alphabet sentence. It found 34 things in first five paragraphs below. I told them I would acknowledge them on my blog today, but I didn’t know if any of my audience could benefit from their services. Whatever, if they think my saying is catchy, it puts me in a drawing for $100 gift card.

J

It’s hard to believe it has been twelve years since the attack. So much has happened in that time, so much has changed. I have noticed, as I’ve gotten older, I have said many times “____ was really that long ago? Wow, I thought it was only___.” Whether this has anything to do with a failing memory, I have no idea, but I think it has more to do with the hectic lives we lead.

Think about it. Haven’t you been surprised to find out so-and-so has been dead for ten years, not six or seven? Or, they’ve been married twenty years already? Really? I can’t be the only one who experiences this…

Last night my writing group started up again, well kinda sorta. It’s a writing group and there are some of the folks from the original writing group, and the group is now being run by my friend Keith instead of my friend Beth, so actually, we didn’t start up again, it’s a new group. The turnout was huge, I think there was close to twenty-five people. It was nice seeing several new people, even a thirteen year old boy came to the group. Keith did this one challenge where you had to write sentences where each word had to begin with the next letter of the alphabet. Here’s one of mine as an example: Only Persnickety Quilters Ruthlessly Stitch Tablecloths Under Verandas With Xavier Youngblood. Needless to say, there was a lot of giggling going on as we shared our ridiculous sentences. Todd, the guy who runs our critique group swam circles around us when he wrote a cohesive story which went through the alphabet three times.

It is time for me to start getting into a routine again, and get out of summer mode. I need to make a “To Do” list so I can stay focused. With my daughter off at school for seven hours, and no one in the house, I have no excuse not to have the place clean and to pound out a minimum of 1K words a day. I need to finish Corporate Blues and send it to my editor so it can be released in November. I also have to write the dreaded blurb for the back of the book and get it to the graphic designer. The cover is finished and it looks amazing, but he is still waiting for me to provide the teaser on the back so he can be done with the project. I also want to have Simply By Chance out in January, so I really need to get my butt in gear.

On that note, I should get a move on. I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

I remember where I was that day…

Growing up, my grandparents talked about knowing exactly where they were, what they were doing, and who they were with when Pearl Harbor was bombed. For my parents, it was exactly the same when they heard President Kennedy was shot. At that point in my life, the only monumental thing that had happened was a man landed on the moon, and my memories were sketchy at best; but then again, I was only three, so I really couldn’t relate.

Then, on a cold January day in 1986, I got a small piece of what they had been talking about. I was in my apartment, alone, getting ready for work and I had the TV on watching the space shuttle launch. I watched in shock and I thought it was a Hollywood prank, but no. Seven people were dead. I can still picture the smiling teacher Christa’s face. Yes, it was a horrible memory, but it was not earth shattering, at least not for me personally.

The next disaster, I was clutching my two month old daughter and watching the havoc Timothy McVeigh wrought in Oklahoma. Images are vivid, but life moved on pretty much as usual. Two years later, hearing of Princess Di’s death also left an imprint, but it wasn’t until September 11, 2001 that I really understood what my grandparents and parents meant.

I remember every minute from when my mother called me at work to say they think a small commuter plane had just crashed into one of the towers until I finally passed out over two days later from exhaustion. The images still haunt and the emotions can be brought up with very little effort.

Totally ran out of time, but I am sure you all have your own memories of that fateful day and you do not need my full recount.

I do have a confession to make though. When you see these long responses to a ten minute prompt, I do, after the ten minutes are up, go back and put in the paragraphs to make it look a little neater. The writing itself though IS done in the ten minute time allotment, it’s just usually in the form of one giant paragraph, and if there is dialog, I do make sure I did not miss any quotation marks to minimize any confusion, but that is all the editing I do.

Your Next Challenge is:

It is the first really cold day and you decide you need your coat. You have not worn your coat since last winter. You put it on, reach in the pocket and find…

You have 10 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.

Day 1 Challenge - April 18, 2013

OK, I give up. I cannot figure out how to make myself not be "Anonymous" on my own blog, so If it's coming from me, I'll just start with "Hi, it's Christina" until someone out there can walk me through fixing it.! So, here goes...

 

Hi, it's Christina.

 

I attended my first writers' workshop last night and quite frankly I had a blast. The moderator, Beth, is an amazing woman with an amazing story. She is fun to be around and has truly motivated me already. It nearly blew me away when I found out she is twenty years older than me, she looks fabulous and has such a young spirit, I had her at 15 years younger at minimum.

 

Last night’s group consisted of Keith, the catalyst for me joining the group, is a middle school English teacher somewhere around my age, but probably a bit younger, who writes psychological horror novels; Joe, who I have children older than him, who writes fantasy; Angita (I probably slaughtered her name here, she is a very soft spoken woman and I doubt I got her name correct) who is one of those people who looks to be anywhere between 25 and 35, but you just can’t tell and I’m not quite sure what she write because she is just starting to write for herself as opposed to just helping others write; Jillian, a beautiful senior who is writing a memoir of the trials and tribulations of building a home in South Africa; Stephanie, an unemployed  fortyish year old who is just starting to spread her writer’s wings; and myself, a 47 year old writer of romance novels.

 

Needless to say, we are an eclectic group, but somehow we all seemed to gel. We each have very unique writing styles, as became apparent during our writing exercises, each truly gifted in our own way.

 

There is only one rule for the group – check the editor at the door. This means our own internal editor as well as any need to critique the others in the group. Beth has created a “safe haven” where we can share without recriminations and there is no set format other than you must introduce yourself to the group as a writer and participate in at least one (time permitted for two last night) writing exercises. We are given a scenario and then given 10 uninterrupted (except when I came out with a one-liner during the silence) minutes to write. Then, if we chose, we share what we’ve written with the group. Our scenarios last night were – “You wake up one morning and all of a sudden you can sing opera” and “Princeton needs some swagger”.  Some of the submissions were beautiful and poignant and some were tongue in cheek, but all were wonderful in their own way. The really interesting part was watching the one timid member of the group who refused to share her writing the first time, share the second time and gain some confidence because of the group’s reaction and encouragement. It is very frightening and intimidating to read out loud something you have written.

All told, there are actually almost 40 in the group and the sampling will change from week to week, so I am looking forward to meeting the other members in the weeks to come.

 

OK, I doubt anyone is reading this blog just yet, but I’m going to put this out there any way. Your writing exercise is:

 

You’re walking along the beach and you find a bottle with a message in it.

 

Go. You have 10 minutes (I’m trusting you to be honest here.) 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.