NaNoWriMo Day 27 - A Little Raw

It's the 27th. I have three more days to finish NaNoWriMo and about 10,000 words to goal. I am definitely going to make it! Pretty exciting. A bit that I wrote this evening:

"I’d picture her as if in a movie, on her knees shaking her fists at the sky and cursing god and Jesus and all his friends for the unfairness of it all. She’d have tears of blood pouring down her face, her hair loose and dramatic around her face, entire body tense with the exertion of grief. ..until she’d collapse, wrung out and intoxicated and unable to scream any more."

NaNoWriMo Day 23 - one week left!

Only one week left in NaNoWriMo! Things are going pretty well. I'm a little behind a the moment as I didn't write at all on Thursday or Friday due to choir concert stuff, but I'm determined to put some mileage in tomorrow. Today I spent a moment reflecting on some late 80s/early 90s fashion..

"We had a babysitter down the street for a bit. I got a couple hideous dresses from her (one was a button down, sleeveless flowy long dress of greys and sandy browns, with giant deep grey snails on it - yikes), and a cheap gold heart necklace. They were such treasures and I’m sure I wore that dress entirely too frequently."

I'm also pretty sure that that dress was an improvement over the sweat pants outfits I insisted on wearing every day. Some things never change - I still prefer to wear the most comfortable clothing I can get away with in any situation. Thankfully I've moved a bit beyond sweats with glittery splatter-paint on them...

NaNoWriMo Day 16 - 25,000 words!

Woohoo! I made it over 25,000 words today! I got a little behind due to a couple busy days this week, but will be caught up tomorrow. 25k is halfway, which is a major milestone. I spent today mostly writing about happy things, so here is a little bit from a remembered dream:

"Sprawling on my couch was a darkly shining alien creature. It was humanoid but every bit of its skin was sinewy and textured, as though seeing every fiber of muscle that operated its frame."

NaNoWriMo Day 13

"As she danced, the storm started outside. I looked out the window past this glowing person and it was as though she and the storm were urging one another on."

NaNoWriMo Day 11

"There is nothing like going to a school dance with a gay guy. They dance, they compliment you all night long, and they don't try to make a move on you. What's not to love?"

NaNoWriMo Day 9

One of my favorite Christmas memories:
"Precious little Dylan with his blond curly hair, a sweater, and a dog collar with bells on it."

NaNoWriMo Day 7

On keeping diaries during some of the more chaotic times in my childhood:

"Perhaps part of it was my young identification with Anne Frank. I’d always felt a kinship with that remarkable woman and her diary. Not so much now for obvious reasons of survival and the incredible safety of my current situation, but for years she felt like a dear friend. Someone who understood. I wanted to survive the chaos and come out with a similarly well-thought-out optimism and faith in humanity. And I think I have.. I really do."

NaNoWriMo Day 6

So I got a flu shot yesterday, and it turns out that I am one of those people who really reacts to it. I had the shot at 9am, by 1:30 I had a sore throat and all of a sudden at 4pm I got the chills and the start of a fever. By the time I got home at 4:45 I had full-blown chills and was headed toward the 100 degree fever that stuck with me for the rest of the night. So.. Yeah. I didn't write anything yesterday. I'm thankful that I had a little bit of extra writing done, so I didn't fall a full day behind! Today was slow too but I am already feeling a fair bit better, so hopefully I will catch up soon.

Today's last line, which was talking about a Pickle Party we threw as kids:
"I think I remember that only one or two of our friends actually took us up on the pickle juice, but I know that Tim and I definitely partook."

NaNoWriMo Day 4

"And so my life in Miami started off with great emotional difficulty. I was in a strange place where I only knew two people, and had lost a friend and been through a natural disaster within two days."

Passed the 7,000 word line today!

NaNoWriMo Day 3

"Though I didn’t have the language for it at the time, I knew that there systems of privilege and oppression in place and that I wanted to fight against them."

2,000 words today!

NaNoWriMo Day 2

Last line from today..
"Who walks past a big dog to try to get to their obviously-injured owner? Foolish."

I am totally geeking out about all the little bits of stats the NaNoWriMo site gives you. They tell you your average word count, expected finishing date based on maintaining that average, and how many words per day you need to write to finish. So, since I'm a little bit ahead of the game, it tells me that I only need to write 1,600 words/day rather than the 1,667. If I can write a little extra every day, it will give me endless nerdy joy to see that number continue to go down. Kind-of like paying extra money off a loan every month. So good!

National Novel Writing Month

In an effort to kickstart my writing again, I have decided to participate in this month's National Novel Writing Month. I've wanted to do it for years, but have always looked at the month of November and thought 'You want me to add MORE to November?' ..and then run away screaming.

This November is no different than any other - there are choir concerts, Thanksgiving, and end of semester craziness. But I have been craving a regular writing schedule. Something to drive me to express myself with regularity, so NaNoWriMo seemed like a great way to foster that in myself. We have plans in place to start writing another Pick Your Plot book, and I am also hoping that by participating in NaNoWriMo I can prime my brain to create some quality content for that. 

Though I don't anticipate that what I write for this will be suitable for public consumption, I did think it would be fun to share some bits with you all. So at the very least, I hope to post on here my last line of each day. I do not guarantee quality :) But hope you will enjoy the snippets. 

My theme is 100 Memories. The memories will be a mix of my real memories and imagined ones, as well as maybe rewriting some memories as to how I wish they'd really ended. This promises to be quite the introspective activity. So here goes, my first 'last line' of #NaNoWriMo 2013:

"Is it by loving others that I will ensure that my eyes sparkle despite being shadowed by a wrinkled face? And is it shadow, or shelter?"

Six Word Saturday

Cinnamon breakfast puffs are sometimes food.

In a break from our usual gluten free habits, this morning I made these cinnamon-sugar breakfast puffs. They're pretty much just like eating donut holes, and are definitely sometimes food. Super rich and sugary, not something we need in our regular food rotation. But man, they hit the spot today!

This post is part of the Six Word Saturday blog hop. Stop by showmyface.com to join the fun!

Six Word Saturday!

Busy couple weeks equals slacking blogger.

I hit one of those periods where there was so much going on, much of it stuff I'd normally post, but didn't have the extra energy to say anything here. Only four more weeks of my busy season...

Thankfully my garden creates its own energy - it's going gangbusters! Soon we will have SO MUCH zucchini and loads of tomatoes. Can't wait!

Tomorrow the list gets posted for WRiTE CLUB. I did manage to get a pretty solid submission in, but it sounds like the initial selection has been really tough, so I'm crossing my fingers in hopes of making it into the actual competition. Otherwise it will be great to cheer others on. I've missed my blogging community with all the busy'ness this summer!

I did run my first road race since my foot injury two and a half years ago! One mile, downhill, on the 4th of July. Here's excited me before the race. My ability to run again has certainly felt like freedom, so it seemed appropriate to do a race on the 4th.

What have y'all been up to? (hey that's six words too!)

This post is part of the Six Word Saturday blog hop. Stop by showmyface.com to join the fun!

Oops! Missed 6WS!

Here is my belated Six Word Saturday post! Two sentences, for good measure:

Giant ponderosa pine smelled like butterscotch.

Duh, I'm a tree hugging hippie!

This post is part of the Six Word Saturday blog hop. Stop by showmyface.com to join the fun!

Garden update!

See how level it is?

One of the wonderful things we created at our home this year is a backyard veggie garden. The yard has a little hill in it, so it was quite a bit of work to lay the boards so they were flat. Lots of digging, a little frustration but we finally got it to look like this:

And afterwards I looked like this:

We've had stuff in there for almost exactly a month, and boy is it growing! This is the whole garden. The tall green plants along the fence are tomatoes and green peppers, with beans starting to climb the trellises.

Strawberries reaching for the sun and more dirt. Lots of runners.

And now, with plants!

Happy lettuce!

Mint (top), rosemary (right) and either a cucumber or zucchini plant (left) - maybe should have marked those :)

These are the raspberries we planted under our aspens last year. They've gone gangbusters! My goal is for them to take over that bed. Well on our way!

Also, a hay bale. 

I'm so glad we got all that hay for mulch. While it did have some seeds in it, we've found that a nice thick layer of hay keeps them from growing. It's nice to not really have to weed. Don't really have time for much of that this summer. 

There is also a little rhubarb plant in the other corner of the yard, and some asparagus (though those haven't come up at all - perhaps they are dead?). We had a couple leaves of lettuce on our hamburgers last week and they were oh, so good. Tender young ones.. Mmmm... Can't wait for more to come in!

Six Word Saturday!

Battened down hatches just weren't enough.

Sometimes no matter how you prepare, there's no way to control the chaos. This was one of those weeks - we did so much prep but there were just too many moving parts. Some didn't want to move in the same direction, so we ended up scrambling to fix things. Turned out well enough in the end, but boy am I exhausted! Glad to have today to rest and play in my garden - tomorrow is our biggest check-in day of the summer.

I decided to join Write Club, which I'll do a longer post about later. But, if you're a writer and want to throw 500 words into the ring, I encourage you to check it out!

This post is part of the Six Word Saturday blog hop. Stop by showmyface.com to join the fun!

Six Word Saturday

The prep before the storm. Eek.

Our first large conferences arrive on campus starting Monday. This past week has been an exercise in simultaneously battening the hatches and opening our doors. Every day I find myself a little amazed that I am out of time. It seems like there should still be a couple weeks before everything starts. But thar she blows! Hold on tight - it's going to be quite a ride!

This post is part of the Six Word Saturday blog hop. Stop by showmyface.com to join the fun!

Summertime...

And the livin' is BUSY! (someday I'm going to learn all the words to that one. I love it and it's so fun to sing sultry songs!) 

Summer is officially here. Summer, my busiest time for work. So many people coming to and departing from campus. A staff of nine to train, and six buildings to overhaul between academic year students and our conference groups. Thus far things are fun, but not very smooth. We re-keyed two of the buildings at the end of the school year and it appears that the students never actually USED their new keys. So my staff had the pleasure of discovering all sorts of issues as we were moving people into apartments. Excellent timing. The staff handled it well though, and hopefully tomorrow we can get everything sorted out.

We decided to have one last hurrah before life really gets crazy, and had a bunch of folks over for a bbq yesterday. It was our first really big gathering in the new house and it was great fun. We had bacon-wrapped dates au flambe (oops!) and quite a few cornhole games. Made some connections between friends we'd been wanting to introduce to one another, and ate SO MUCH good food. Overall a really fun, relaxing success. Bonus: we'll have leftovers for days!

Am quite grateful for the long weekend as the next couple weeks will be intensely busy. We'll see how the summer blogging schedule shakes out. I might be able to swing by only a couple times a week. I'll try not to let 2 weeks go by again though, I promise. :P

Happy Memorial Day! I hope it is filled with love and celebrations of all the freedoms we enjoy in these United States.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Hellooo internet! Have you had a good couple of weeks since A-Z? I suppose it's time to peek out from my introvert hole and reconnect at my usual slower pace. Thing is, things haven't been slow around here at all! A lot happened during the month of April that wasn't A-Z Challenge related, and I didn't get to share because there were so many things going on. So here is a recap of April and the first couple weeks of May:

* We published the ebook of Armageddon! It is now available for the Kindle. Woo! This summer we'll be working on other formats, so look out for those.
* My P post, Percy's Pick Your Plot Prequel, got the lovely DL Hammons's attention so he sent over his Blog Blitz folks to give me some love! I gained over 50 new followers and had loads of fun with all the comments. Thanks, DL :)
* We spent a weekend in Tucson, visiting my good friend Jess and attending our friend Sam's wedding. I only see Jess every couple years, so this was particularly special. She was a great hostess and carted us all over the Tucson area to see cactus and pecans and missions, and wildlife.

Jess and me at the Sonoran Desert Museum

* We built a garden in the back yard! This is a post unto itself. Let's just say it involved one weekend of building, one weekend of moving dirt (3 tons!) and yesterday planting stuff. It's awesome though and I can't wait for all the veggies to start producing. Plus the yard just looks SO much better. Awesome.

* The CO State Science Olympiad came and went. This is the biggest event that I run on campus, involving 1300 people and a 14 hour work day on a Saturday. And this year, no damage or bad things happened, so yay for that!

* My youngest brother turned 21, thus leaving me feeling exceedingly old (he's still only five'ish, in my mind's eye). Happy birthday, little bro!

Those are the basics! It sure was a busy month. Lots of fun and great stuff happening. I would say that I will get back to more regular posts, but this month is the start of my super-crazy summer season so I will likely be a bit sporadic with my updates through July. I'll do my best though.

Happy Mothers Day!

Zelda

Zelda says uncanny things. Painted fingers stroke a ball that contains the universe, if you look closely enough. And look closely she will, at your behest. Her kohled eyes dim with futurous light, reflecting candles and mystical aethers. Her face pales and lips murmur, communing with spirits, or maybe just herself as she tells you what she knows. Some things you'll want to hear, some seem impossible. Others break your heart and you find yourself thinking of ways to beat the prophecy. Zelda is at once a terrible and wonderful experience. She is impossible to wholly believe, but also impossible to ignore.

*~*~*~*

Tada! That's Z! Thanks for coming along for the ride this month! It's been so much fun and I've learned a lot. Hope you enjoyed, and let's keep in touch :)

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

You

Hey You!
Yes You.
I want to tell You something - You're pretty cool! This morning You got up, had your day, and some how have found yourself here. You might be someone who is participating in the A-Z Challenge - if You made it this far, congratulations! You're almost done! Or maybe You are a friend from Twitter, or FB, or maybe even a real life friend! Welcome. :) 

I most sincerely hope that You are doing well, and that You enjoy what you read here. This blog, after all, is mostly for You. OK it's partly for me since I like to play with words and have a spot to communicate with friends and family. But it's mostly for You. I always hope to make You smile, or laugh, or think. (and sometimes convince You to buy a book ;) ) 

Anyway, I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge You, gentle reader. Because You're pretty great and I appreciate the moments that You come to visit my little corner of the interwebs. Thanks for the support with A-Z, and the super-amazing visits during the Blitz last Friday! 
~AJ

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot (paperback, Kindle), and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

Xavier

Francis Xavier hates students who question.

(That's a little shout-out to all my CMH peeps!)

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!
This post also brought to you by..

Wes

**It appears that I am being blog blitzed! Oh my! Welcome everyone, I am so happy to have you here :) Hope you enjoy Naturally Sweet and come back to visit often!**

We knew Wes was different from the time he was a toddler. He'd sit, tiny curls brushing florid cheeks, intently focused on a speck on the floor. It was as if he could see the universe in that small spot. He loved to be read to and would spend long minutes babbling out his own stories. Wild hand gestures and big eyes told of the import of these stories. It was impossible to focus on anything else. As he grew, his depth increased. His teachers told us of moments that he'd seem so far away, only to snap back to attention and give a thorough and complete answer. They'd see him at recess 'preaching' to the other children - holding them rapt with his stories and graceful charisma. We had endless conversations about morality and free will, thinking surely our child would grow to be a preacher or philosopher. He's a good man. A strong, moral man. And so I plead with the jury to be lenient. He would never hurt those people! He's not a bad man! If he did what you are saying it was surely because he believed it was in their best interest...

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot (paperback, Kindle), and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

Vera

She ties her shoes... deliberately, just so. Stands up, straightens her blouse, and checks her hair. There is comfort in old habits. Vera walks to the kitchen and makes breakfast. She barely counts the scoops of coffee as they spill into the filter; the grains trembling in time with her fingers. She stirs her oatmeal as the coffee brews, its complex smells awakening simple memories of morning conversations and late-night contemplation. Vera goes for her daily walk and says a prayer, thankful for another day of sunshine and memories.


This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

Underling

They clipped my wings, and forever sealed my fate as an Underling. I was a servant to my Lord, most devoted. But some thought I was trying to rise too far. My beautiful wings, they said, might make people think I was above my Lord... so they destroyed them. They cut me and made my wings non-functional, and trimmed the beautiful ends off my feathers. It will take years to regrow them. My Lord does not seek me out as he once did; my lack of beauty offends him. Even my song does not sound so melodious, as my gestures do not flow with the music, and my body tells no story.

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

Time

Time had always kind-of resented her parents for giving her that particular name. Not only because kids at school had an easy time picking on her - "Hey look, it's potty-Time!" and "Can I be a Time Traveler? It won't hurt, I promise!" - but also because it gave her teachers ample fuel for calling on her - "Given your name, you must have thought about the impact on Time and xyz." Umm no, she hadn't actually. She tried not to think about it whenever possible.

In college Time started introducing herself as Ty. It saved her the pain of having to explain her name, and the inevitable "clever" jokes afterward. Under that guise she was finally able to really think about her name and its influence upon the world, and even herself. She began to wonder if her parents hadn't been on to something as she learned the true value of Carpe Diem and understood why people might want to travel back in Time to change things. Time slowly changed, and began to see herself differently. The more she reflected on her name, the more she cherished her parents, as she knew that her time with them may be limited.

She asked her father why they named her what they did and he said, "We were young, but just realizing our mortality. We hoped that you would learn to value every day and live your life to its fullest. Your name was also a reminder to us to value every moment we had with you as a child. It worked, and we hope that someday it will remind you of the same." Time determined that she would do her best to live up to her parents' hope, and once again began introducing herself with her full name. For those who would listen, she would tell her father's story. For those who made jokes, she took a moment to cherish their joy, for that was a happy moment in their time on Earth.

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

Sam

Sam has these bright blue eyes that you'd swear never stopped sparkling. His dark curly hair, endless energy, and love of food makes a Hobbit costume strangely believable. Not that he's fat. He just likes to eat :) Also I don't think his feet are hairy. When he juggles a lot he could be Popeye - forearms grow larger with the exertion. Though juggling is not generally a useful skill for rescuing damsels in distress, his introducing me to it gave me a good extracurricular focus during school. Maybe not a full-on rescue, but certainly a flotation device. He taught me how to cook stir-fry and enchiladas. I fed the roommates chocolate chip cookies. It was a good arrangement. This week Sam is getting married to a lovely, fiery lawyer. She certainly doesn't need any rescuing. They compliment one another beautifully and I am so excited to get to go see them wed. Cheers and love to you, my friend!

(Ok this one isn't fiction. But I am feeling nostalgic, so there you go :) )

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

Ringer

The man behind the counter stirred.  (There are your six words! And how about some more?)

He’d been sitting perfectly still for over half an hour, the kneading of his powerful jaw the only sign of inner turmoil. The man stretched and looked around his shop. Nothing had changed. No one came to eclectic Baraway Lane when the weather was bad, and oh.. it was bad. It had been sleeting cats and dogs for three days keeping the buskers, and the onlookers, at bay. It was bad for business, but great for thinking.

It was three weeks since the girl had gone missing from Ringer’s shop. Vanished, into thin air. Leaving nothing but a smell of perfume and a phone receiver, swinging from its cord. That rhythmic swing haunted Ringer, taunting him in his dreams. Every lead he’d followed led to a dead end and even three days of thinking hadn’t left him with anything new to follow up on...

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy! Ringer is a character I created last spring who is part of a work in progress.
This post also brought to you by..

Quentin

Querulous Quentin whines at the questions of Quinn. "Why must you be so quarrelsome? It's bad for my qi!"

A short entry, on account of the length of yesterday's P post. Go check it out! :)

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

Percy's Pick Your Plot Prequel

My co-author Daniel Keidl is joining me today to introduce you to Percy, who is a character from our book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot. Here we’ll follow him on some (obviously somewhat abbreviated) earlier adventures. This blog post works much like a Pick Your Plot adventure; click the link to follow the path you want Percy to take!

-o0o-

You, Percy Lewis (Parzival, for those in the know), are a dashing specimen of a high school boy. A bit taller than most of the other lads, with hazel eyes and an inquisitive mind that doesn’t miss much, you are aware of your impact on others. However few of the girls in the school hold your interest as none of them seem to appreciate the full weight of your hefty, Arthurian name. While many of your classmates seem to spend their time searching for one *ahem* Holy Grail or another, you are much more interested in your studies and preparing for a life of adventure.

Today is a heady spring day in your Junior year of school. The halls are abuzz with rumours and excitement surrounding the upcoming Prom festivities. You’ve heard your name whispered in a couple corners, but have thus far avoided paying too much attention, and certainly have not made any commitments. You weave your way through the hall between bells, debating how to spend the lunch hour.

Where do you head?

Feeling a bit more introverted...? To go to the Library to do some more research about your namesake, click here.

To make use of open campus and pop over to the Diner down the street, click here.

It’s giant cookie day! To head to the Cafeteria, click here.

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

Opie

Opie dances. Skirt swirls green around rhythmic ankles, making their own beat there.. where our paths cross. Hands and eyelids flutter, flirting with someone only she can see. Her brown skin shines with the inescapable joy of one who knows she is beautiful. She loves and is loved; by the earth, the wind and her invisible dance partner.. Swaying there on the corner, making love and sharing it with all who pass.

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

Nathan

I have short brown hair. My eyes are hazel and I guess you could say my nose is somewhat hawk'ish. I've always been thin. Never did beef up like I should have. My beard, when I grow it, is patchy. Got about four hairs on the left side that turned white in my twenties. A girl I dated in college said it was my wisdom poking out. Nowadays I stay shaved; never know how someone might react to seeing your wisdom out in the open like that.

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

MacMillan

MacMillan is a character in my book, Armageddon: Pick Your Plot. He doesn't get much facetime there, so I thought I'd give him a bit more description for y'all..

I spend a lot of time with dead people. In fact, I spend more time with dead folk than with the living. A lot of people find that creepy, but for me there’s something reassuring about being with someone who can’t talk back. It’s.. predictable. Mind you - the dead tell stories. Yes they do! Their bodies tell me all sorts of things - what they liked to do, what they didn’t like, in some cases where they’ve traveled or what kind of people they spent time with. But even the teenagers don’t talk back. That’s what’s nice, see. They tell their stories, but it’s at my own pace, bit by bit as I want to hear it.

Well that was always true, until the day.. the day that Mr. Kramer sat up on the table and came at me. He brought his story right over and chomped it into my arm. There was nothing I could do! It stung like hell, and then burned, and it spread through my body until I couldn’t see right.

Now I’m one of them. My leg doesn’t work right anymore, neither does my head. All I can think about is going to find something to eat. Something human, something that moves.. We’re all stuck in the hospital basement, but I know that at some point that door is going to open and we’ll have access to an all you can eat buffet. Just gotta get past the others, just gotta keep pushing, just gotta find that warm, delicious flesh...

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

Liza

Liza turns, deeply wounded, envy green.

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!
This post also brought to you by..

Karl

"Karl has these shoulders. You know the kind.. The ones that look good in a muscle shirt. He has a strong jaw, and arms, but has just enough of a belly to make him not completely hard. His hands are calloused, extra on the tips from a few too many swipes at wet cement, but there's a way he moves them.. Like he always knows what he's doing. Anyway he always knows with me. He's got a C tattooed to the inside of his bicep - here - that's how I know he's mine. We got ourselves tagged after that week in Tulsa. I'll never forget it. He's mine after that week. And then he left. You don't leave Charlie. I'll find him. He will be mine again.."

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

Jo

My name is Jo and I have a confession to make - I have no idea who I am or who I want to be. I mean, I know who I am. I remember my childhood, know my family, am able to live day to day with no trouble. But I don't know who I am. Seems like up till now I've spent my whole life being the person everyone else wants me to be. Go to school, play sports, work. But what do I want? How do I want to be spending my time? ...I don't know. I've never had a chance to really think about it. I'm not sure even how to start figuring that out! Someone told me to do something I enjoy, but I'm pretty sure painting my toenails and watching TV with my cat are not things I can monetize. Oh but wouldn't it be great if that job came with free chocolate too? Anyway, I'm just not sure how to figure all this stuff out. And now I have to go to work so I'm out of time to think about it. Maybe tomorrow. Yeah. Tomorrow I'll have time to figure out who I am. That can be done in one day, right?

(This post not autobiographical. ..I don't like cats that much, and for years had a thing against painting my toenails. Free chocolate at work would be pretty awesome though!)

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, http://amzn.com/0679734031 others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, http://amzn.com/0615715850 and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

Isabel

Oh I do love it this time of year! Everything holdin' on to the last bit o' summer. The shadows reach fingers to one another, just askin' to stick around. Flowers by the barn window dried out already - it's been awful dry. But I don't mind. They last longer this way. I went in to see Bess and she looked at me all mournful, battin' them big eyes like she's seen the world. But Bess don't know.. All's she knows is where to find the sweet grass in the pasture out back. She don' see how sweet those flowers are, or the way the sun keeps shinin' with no mind to the time o' year. I'll shine right back up at the sun if it means this summer won' end. I don' want this summer to ever end!

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

H is for 'enry

Barn's empty now. The cows chew their cud, sure, and the 'orses stamp, but there's no life there. E'en when I enter, I can feel their eyes - unforgivin'. Indian Summer gives every peel in the paint a shadow a mile long. Even the flowers by the window've dried up. They're pale, washed out. Don' understand how all the color left...  I go 'bout my business but nothin's the same - it's just lonely eyes starin' and me all et up inside. All et up.. Ain't nothin' the same..

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

G is for Goldie

Goldie only wears silver.

..sorry guys. That's all I've got today. G has just left me feeling uninspired. I promise the rest of the week will be better :P

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

F is for Fritz

Doctor Fritz is ill at heart.

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!
This post also brought to you by..

Elisabeth

Elisabeth was born a protagonist. She took charge of her life as a young child, playing willfully and exuberantly with any concept that came to mind. Her parents would teach her little things and find that they played a huge role in her later imaginings - Elisabeth as both Prince and Damsel Distressed whose plant hadn't received enough water and was wilting (after a lesson in caring for the family's little kitchen garden). Or the classic day that she asked her Father about atoms and was later discovered making (admittedly inaccurate) circle diagrams of protons, neutrons and electrons out of doll accessories and building blocks. In Elisabeth's world, that day she was a scientist making Very Important discoveries.

This protagonism continued in school where Elisabeth was the star of every spelling bee and the winner of every science fair. Her love of mythology and vivid storytelling skills made her a schoolyard favorite, with friends clamoring to hear the tales she would spin. In this she began to learn the important lesson that it is not always the main character who is most important - the narrator can also play a starring role.

Elisabeth's young life was full of of swashbuckling adventure and voracious consumption of all things mythological, scientific and fantastic. But no one could know just how important those things would be...

(To learn more about Elisabeth and the things that await her, check out my book! Armageddon: Pick Your Plot )

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

D is for Dell

Soft curls rest on impossibly smooth rounded forehead. Slopes down past sleepy eyes to a button nose and apple cheeks, flush with dreaming. Little chin pulls in as impetuous mouth murmurs; someday those tales will enthrall more than just dreamer. Fingers tangle through blanket holes, testing movements not quite mastered. 

Eyelashes flutter as murmurs turn to wailing. Dark hole of mouth begs attention as caught fingers and toes flail.. Big tears roll.. and stop.. joy that is Mother bursts as eyes sparkle and body calms. Reassured by love, baby's worried forehead becomes smooth once more.

(Ha! I wrote the whole thing without using the word 'the'! That was my challenge today :) )

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

C is for Charlie

That skinny look. Not the "I'm trying to be perfect" kind, more the School of Hard Knocks kind. The kind that says, "Yeah I've missed a few meals in my time - so what?" She wears her cargo pants low, with a black tank tucked in. A heavy belt keeps pants on narrow hips that sway like a bull dog as she stomps down the hall. Thick eyeliner matches the roots of her hair, barely highlighting dirty green eyes. A tacky tattoo inscribed with "Karl" marks her right arm and one wonders what he did to warrant being indelibly stabbed with a glittering knife. You doubt Karl's name is the only thing that has met Charlie's ire. You catch Charlie's eye just as the door swings closed and wonder where she's headed. Can't be anywhere good, but you hope for her sake it's nowhere too bad, and you hope for Karl's sake it's not wherever he might be.

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

Bella

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

She stretches, extending limbs to toy with sunbeams. Tail flicks at the edge of shadow, daring it to move closer, to remove her warmth. A favorite plaything, Shadow reminds her that things can disappear. Sometimes the chase is worth leaving her favorite spot. Bella kneads at the carpet, catching fibers with her nails. Languid eyes close and she rests, waiting for Shadow’s next move.

A is for the woman with Almond-shaped eyes

The woman's almond eyes gazed across the table toward a playground opposite. Her eyes melted into wistful puddles as her would-be daughter skipped across the grass of her imagination.. Refocusing again upon the appearance of a towheaded boy chasing a ball. "Some day." she thought, "Some day it will be my turn." A drop slid down the side of her glass as she stood, forcing a smile, at the sound of her sister's voice. "Just not today. Just not yet, not yet."


Welcome! This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge (sorry to start it off on a kind-of sad note..). My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random people I make up. I hope you enjoy!

6WS

Recovering from a crazy busy week.

Y'all.. Wow it's been a nutso week! Last weekend was the ARCh Reunion, and our book signing event, and hanging out with people and eating lots of yummy WI food (potato pancakes! and frozen custard!) and NOT sleeping. My work week was packed full every minute, including working late most days. This morning I managed to sleep in until 7:15, and later we'll go hiking and lunching with friends, and tomorrow an Easter luncheon. A nice restorative weekend to catch up after last weekend's craziness awesome'ness. 

I'm off to keep writing posts for Monday's start of April A-Z! Meanwhile, here are a couple pictures from the book event, for your enjoyment.

Me and co-author Dan - aren't we cute?

We left a copy in the Little Free Library just outside the coffee shop. 

This post is brought to you by Six Word Saturday! It's harder than it looks (but also really fun :) ).

Featured :)

Am going home for a reunion and a book event this weekend, so am feeling pretty nostalgic. That means this week we're going to get a little retro. Enjoy :)

I think I've pointed out my badge on the right that identifies me as being part of Tina's Terrific Team for April A-Z (have you signed up yet? huh? huh?). Well, one of the perks of being one of Tina's minions is that she is featuring me on her blog today! Fun!

I mentioned we were doing retro this week, and here's the deal - you have to head over to Tina's blog to see it. It's worth it, I promise! I'll wait while you go look. It will only take a second. 

..ok.

Didja see it?

How about dem kitties? And those adorable glasses? Yeahhhh... Told you it was worth it! Happy Wednesday! :)

Youth Team anniversary

Am going home for a reunion and a book event this weekend, so am feeling pretty nostalgic. That means this week we're going to get a little retro. Enjoy :)

Occasionally on this blog I'll talk about my love for women's issues, identity, LGBT folk, and other topics relating to social justice. Something I haven't talked much about is how all of that started for me.

I was a nerdy kid. We'd moved around a lot, and changed schools a lot (8 schools in K-12!) so I never really had a chance to find my people. My posse, the ones who'd stick up for one another and anti-bully for one another. It was rough. I'd always fought it in my own ways, by doing things like sticking up for those who were getting teased more, etc but that would only work for a short time until I ended up switching schools again.

In the 7th grade I saw a "Differences: Gotta Have 'Em!" presentation by the ARCh Youth Team and suddenly that changed a bit. Here were people who recognized that it was ok to be geeky, or chubby, or have a disability. The presentation made a huge impact on me and I immediately joined the Youth Team. I spent many, many, many hours volunteering for the organization through the rest of middle and high school.

A group of us after a Differences: Gotta Have 'Em! presentation 

The Youth Team not only does presentations, but also monthly get-togethers with teens who have disabilities, and workshops on Shaken Baby Syndrome. We once did a prayer service at my HS for victims of child abuse, and I hear they are using the text I wrote for that in presentations even today. It is very much a theory-to-practice group, where middle and high school students learn what standing up for what you believe in is really all about.

Me, performing the Balloons skit

Differences presentations were about acknowledging and celebrating the differences and similarities among us all. They were about bullying, about respect, and about learning about people before you judge them. They were the start of my social justice education (though we didn't call it that) and I must have done over 100 of them during my 5 years.

This weekend is the 25th Anniversary of the Youth Team's beginnings. I've somewhat lost touch with them since I graduated from high school and am looking forward to going back, seeing old friends, finding out what the YT is up to these days, and perhaps sharing with its current members the impact that it still has on me today.