31 Days of Writing: Day Nineteen "Writers Are Readers"

Writers are first great readers. Share an excellent piece of writing that you've read recently.

There are so many great pieces I could share with you! Specific blog posts come to mind, recent novels beg for attention, and of course Victor Hugo smirks at me in my mind. Nothing competes with Victor Hugo.

So maybe instead I'll give you a handful of my current favorites. If it doesn't fit with the prompt, then I guess you're at the wrong blog, because we roll with flexibility up in he-ah. And so commences the list of faves.

• Jen Hatmaker's recent post makes me go hmmmm. I love how honest and cut-the-crap she is.
• If you want excellent writing and absolutely no life whatsoever, by all means start this trilogy by Neal Shusterman. The first book is called Unwind and let's just say it will suck you into its world and you will not get out. The second book is UnWholly and the third is UnSouled. I finished the second book at 11:30 last night...an hour after I told myself I was going to bed. Yep. That good.
• I'll finish with a classic: Anne Shirley. I'm currently re-reading Anne of Windy Poplars and I just love Maud's style! Here are a few wonderful quotes from our beloved Anne:

"The Woman told her that Tomorrow never comes, but Elizabeth knows better. It will come sometime. Some beautiful morning she will just wake up and find it is Tomorrow. Not Today but Tomorrow. And then things will happen...wonderful things."

via

"One can always find something lovely to look at or listen to," said Anne.

"I hate to lend a book I love...it never seems quite the same when it comes back to me."

**linking up with Victoria.**

31 Days of Writing: Day Eighteen "Jaw Dropper"

"My jaw dropped to the floor. I couldn't believe..."


...that my mom lied to me.

She told me that my old friend Louisa wanted to get together at Skate King, the roller-blade place in town. What Mom didn't tell me was that ALL my friends from school were gathered there to surprise me for my birthday.

via

Unsuspectingly, I had walked into Skate King, keeping my eyes open for Lou. No sign of her, but then "SURPRISE!!" erupted in front of me. My friends had come to celebrate, and my mom had kept it a secret.

As my friends and I made laps around the skating rink, I kept pondering all the lies my mother had told me. When I reached the end of the rink where she stood, I asked her, "So what about not having a party this year?"

"I lied," was her satisfied response.

Another lap. Another question.

"What about your dinner party tonight?"

"I lied."

I skated another lap or two.

"So when you said..."

"All lies." My mom grinned.

I guess this was the best deception a girl could wish for her golden birthday.

{This story is loosely based on a sister's experience. Many creative licenses were taken, though.}

**linking up with Victoria. Check out her wonderful story today!**

31 Days of Writing: Day Seventeen "All-Nighter"

Write about pulling an all-nighter.

The Longest Night

Coffee in cup? Check.

iTunes set to shuffle all music? Check.

Syllabus in hand? Check.

Computer charged and Microsoft Word opened? Check.

If everything is ready, why don't I feel prepared to write this paper? It's just a simple little paper...only 10 pages long. Ok, maybe it's not that simple. Especially since I've only written the first paragraph. And even more especially since it's due at 9:00 AM tomorrow.

I have exactly ten hours to write this paper, plus print it off, get dressed, and then get to Professor Waylon's office. So nine and a half hours, technically.

The clock is not on my side. The minute hand moves  to 10:02, taunting me. Glancing out the window, I see that the moon is already out with the stars. It's beautiful, but it's a cruel beauty. I should be able to appreciate the sky for just a moment, but this paper won't write itself.

via

I sigh, taking one more moment to gaze at the stars before sitting down and resigning myself to write this paper.

Two hours later...

Well, things are cooking. I've got a page and a half done, which is about as encouraging as hearing that The Hobbit is going to be a trilogy. Hey, maybe I can work some Tolkien references into my paper...

One hour later...

Alright, I'm on the third page! And I just found a whole bunch of quotes I can use - victory!

90 minutes later...

It's 2:30 AM, and I'm on the sixth page. I guess my brain really likes this time of night. My body doesn't; my head keeps tilting downward even as my fingers are typing furiously. Only a few more pages to go now, and I tell myself that I will enlarge the font of the periods as soon as I reach the ninth page.

75 minutes later...

It's almost 4am, and I am groggy. Fortunately, the ninth page is just a paragraph away. What to write, what to write? I should check my sources again, maybe fill in with another quote. Maybe a story for my introduction? I usually go back and add to my introduction; it helps me make sure the intro is appropriate for the direction of the paper.  Back to the beginning I go.

45 minutes later...

I'm one and a half lines onto the ninth page. Barely there, but I keep my promises, especially when a couple hours of sleep is at stake. The "find and replace" tool is my favorite thing in the world right now...

30 minutes later...

I'm two "enter" strokes away from the tenth page. Conclusion. That's what I need. A good, juicy conclusion. If I can write a conclusion by 5:00, then I can sleep for 3 hours before getting up to print my paper. Just gotta conclude that my thesis is right.

40 minutes later...

To quote Jesus, "It is finished." Boom. Like a...not a boss, because bosses get their stuff done before the night before/morning of. But like a senior in college, not a newbie freshman. Well, not exactly that either. Never mind. I give up on analogies here. I just wrote ten pages in under eight hours, and I'm going to take a nap. Nighty night...

**linking up with Victoria. Show her some comment love, if you don't mind :) **

31 Days of Writing: Day Sixteen "Write A Monologue"

Write a monologue for the character you developed yesterday.

It is my oldest child's birthday today, and I am reflecting on that joyous and nerve-wracking day 46 years ago.

We had tried for so long to conceive, and now here we were, about to have our first child. Jim was thrilled, of course, but I was still nervous about the delivery...and beyond. Would I be able to deliver this child safely? Would I be a good mother? So many questions, but I tried to put on a good face for Jim.

The delivery went smoothly enough, for a first time; Callie's birth was much easier, as they say the second babies are. Ah, Callie. She was an easy baby, so willing to be held in almost any position, and such an easy sleeper! James and Ryan had always needed a little extra coaxing to fall asleep, but Callie usually fell asleep before you even tried to put her down.

I wonder how she's sleeping these days.

She is running from something, or to something, I don't know. Is she looking for something? Trying to get away from something here? I know I'm not sleeping well because I can't stop thinking about her, worrying about her, praying for her, crying for her.

I don't know if it's something I've done... I've apologized a dozen times, trying to make amends for something, anything I did that could have hurt her, but I don't know what I'm apologizing for, and the apologies only seem to make matters worse, make her more distant. A couple months ago I stopped apologizing and told my daughter that if she wants to talk, I'm here, and I love you, Callie. I love you so, so much.

**linking up with Victoria!**

31 Days of Writing: Day Fifteen "Develop A Character"

Name: Edna Walters

Place of Birth: Burnaby, BC, Canada

Current Residence: Clearbrook, WA, USA

Age: 71 years old

Family: married to Jim Walters for 49 years; mother to James, Callie, and Ryan; grandmother to Lily and Arthur {James' children with his wife Julia}

Favorites: driving up to Canada for the weekend; having the grandchildren over to play; holding hands with Jim; family gatherings.

Story:
Edna loves her family and her ranch-style home. Home is where the family and the home-cooking are! Her relationships with her sons are strong; they both live in the area and visit often. But Edna's relationship with Callie is tenuous, although Edna can't quite define why.

Callie moved to Oregon when she was 19, then Nevada, and now resides in Wyoming. There is the feeling that Callie is distancing herself from something or someone, although no one in the family can guess what. There is no event or conversation that can be pinpointed as the fracturing point, and this causes Edna a great deal of stress and pain.

Jim and Edna's 50th anniversary is coming up, and as the Golden Date approaches, Edna worries her daughter is running farther and farther away from the family.


**linking up with Victoria!**

31 Days of Writing: Day Fourteen “Wild Card 3”

“The Trunk That Saves the Universe”

                    image credit
Tardis in a trunk. It’s perfect. My sister and I will decorate the trunk of my car to look like the TARDIS, and then we will dress ourselves up as the Doctor {the Tenth, of course} and a companion {Rose, of course} and then we will pass out candy to the children who walk around the parking lot of church.
It’s completely brilliant.

                  image credit
I think that we will hang a blue sheet to completely cover the inside of the trunk. Gotta set the scene, you know. And then we will add some cords and tubes and scientific-looking objects, to accessorize the sides. In the middle, we will put a huge vase and fill it with colored water. Perhaps Dad can help us rig a pump of some sort…
We personally will accessorize with a Sonic Screwdriver and some Psychic Paper. We will look legit.
For candy, we’ll hand out Milky Ways and Moon Pies.
Our trunk will be so TARDIS-like that people will want to climb inside the trunk to see if it’s bigger on the inside.
And that is how we will save the universe, one trunk-or-treater at a time.

**linking up with Victoria!**

31 Days of Writing: Day Thirteen “Creative Response to Instagram”

Write a creative response to any image on my {Victoria’s} Instagram feed.

**I am responding to one of the many fall-oriented pictures Victoria has captured.**

 

Trees change colors. Leaves crunch beneath her feet. Boots and scarves are common garb for her.

A few trees shift their shade. Leaves crunch until the first rain. Rain-boots and umbrellas are common accessories for me. 

I love the Pacific Northwest. I love Kentucky. My heart belongs in both places.

Nothing can ever top {ha! literally} my Mount Rainier. Nothing compares to the sound of the Sound.

The Northwest’s falls, however, fall short. Kentucky reigns supreme in autumn; here it just rains.

Thank you, Victoria-by-way-of-Insta, for sharing your Fall with me.

 

**linking up with Victoria!**