4.06.2013

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!
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4.05.2013

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!

4.04.2013

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!

4.03.2013

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!

4.02.2013

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.

4.01.2013

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!