2016 #AtoZChallenge - the Beasts of the Battle

Well that was an overwhelming vote in favor of an Epic Battle of the Beasts!

For those who are here for the first time, this is an interactive fiction adventure. I will write a scene every day, and my visitors will vote for where they want the story to go next, by leaving a comment on the post. You can start from the beginning here.

B: 
Andy walked over to his pile of creatures - a small plastic hill of hooves, beaks, claws, and haunches that rose up next to his toybox like a lumpy on-ramp.
"Alright, troops! Time for some action. Now let's see who is fit for duty today!" he said, rummaging through the pile. He set aside some smaller animals to use as ground troops and lined up the larger animals for inspection.
"Hmm..." Andy said, picking at what remained of a tree-climbing blister. "Who to pick, who to pick?" He surveyed the troops, and suddenly grabbed ahold of a purple gorilla. "Be patient, Gorilla! It's important to make the best decisions in war!" He slammed the gorilla back in line and looked around the room, giving various spots a squinty-eyed consideration.
"I think..? Well, where should the battle be?" He eyed up a Lego castle in the corner. Its half-tumbled ramparts were the unfortunate result of a collision during a late-night trip to the bathroom.  The bed was a good spot. He could drape his covers over the head and footboard to create a world in the depths of night. Or, there was always the open carpet. The more space, the bigger the mess, after all!

Where shall be our Beastly Battlefield?

The toy Castle

Under the Covers

or the open Carpet

Please vote in the comments! Voting closes at 10pm Eastern/8pm Mountain Time (USA) on Sunday so I have time to write before bed :)
Voting has closed on this post! Please click here to move to the next part of the story! :) ___________________________________________________________
If you like what you see, sign up for my email list! New subscribers get a FREE copy of a choose-your-own-adventure style ebook novella called Percy's Armageddon: Pick Your Plot Prequel!

2016 #AtoZChallenge - Another interactive Adventure!

Welcome, welcome, everyone!

Back by popular demand, for the second year in a row my theme for A-Z is interactive fiction! So every day I will write a short bit of a story, and then my lovely readers will get the opportunity to vote for what direction they want the story to go next by leaving a comment. Is it madness to be an A-Z Challenge co-host and to commit to also writing every day? Yes, yes it is. Is it going to be awesome? I hope so!

I have absolutely no idea where this story is going to go because it is up to y'all, so it should be fun! Here we go...

A:
"Mo-ommm! Mom, I'm bored!" Andy walked into the kitchen and tugged at his mom's shirt, whining. 
"Honey, you need to learn how to entertain yourself," she said, waving him away. "You'll be home all summer and I can't tell you what to do all day, every day. Why don't you go play with some toys in your room?"
"I already played with all of them," Andy said.
"ALL of them?" his mom replied, "Are you sure?"
"Ugh. Yes." he said.
"Well, find a new way to play with them. I need to get dinner in the oven. Go! Shoo!" She dug into the open pantry, and Andy knew the conversation was over.
Andy slouched away to his room and huffed down onto his beanbag chair. The little styrofoam balls shifted under his weight and seemed to sigh along with their occupant. He looked around the room at his toys, sports equipment, and games, and debated how to spend the afternoon.

What should Andy do?

Challenge himself to a game of Battleship?

Take his Baseball into the Backyard?

or create an epic Battle for his Beastly toys to fight?

Please vote in the comments! Voting closes at 9pm Eastern so I have time to write before bed :)
Voting has closed on this post! Please click here to move to the next part of the story! :)

#atozchallenge Theme Reveal!

People. Can you feel the excitement for this year's #atozchallenge?? Because my head is about ready to explode!

We're so close, which means it is time for the annual Theme Reveal! I love hopping around finding out what everyone is going to be writing/picturing/drawing/posting about. It's like a little hors d'oeuvres for the Challenge. Yum.

By popular demand, I have decided to do another Pick Your Plot A-Z Adventure this year. That means that my ENTIRE THEME is dependent upon y'all visiting and commenting every day, because each day's post will be determined by the votes of those who read the story!

This is, yes, madness. Last year when I did it I was not working, and this year I have a lovely full-time job. And, umm, I'm a co-host. So, ya know. It's going to be a busy month. But guys, I CAN'T WAIT! 

I had so much fun writing my story last year that I've decided the madness is worth it.

What is your theme this year?

Visit the other Theme Reveal folks:

#atozchallenge Theme Reveal sign-ups!

Friends,  you still have one more week to sign up for the #atozchallenge Theme Reveal Day, which is next Monday!

The Theme Reveal started a few years ago because people were just chomping at the bit to get A-Z started, so this was a great way for everyone to be able to share their plans, and start to make some friends early. Pretty great reason, if you ask me.

If you are participating in the A-Z Challenge (and if you aren't, why not??), add your name to the list below and tell us what you'll be up to in April :)

IWSG - March 2016

The first Wednesday of every month is the Insecure Writer's Support Group, which was started by the ninja-captain himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh. Check out the IWSG page to see the list of others who participate (or to join!).

I totally initially titled this post "February 2016"... So that's a good indicator of where my head is at right now :)

I successfully submitted a story to an anthology for the first time yesterday! So that's exciting. Now, of course, we wait to hear if it will be accepted, but I'm mostly ok with whatever happens. I put something good out there, and if this anthology doesn't want it, there are always others, right?

There's part of me (a masochistic part? are all artists masochists in some ways?) that is actually looking forward to possibly getting a rejection. I guess it feels like getting rejections is part of being a 'real writer'. Someone who has been tempered and tested, so by the time there is an acceptance there is a little bit more legitimacy there. It means you've put yourself out there, had work critiqued by the industry, and been encouraged to keep working. Keep skill building, learning, reading books and taking classes. 

Not that I need any encouragement to keep learning things.

But.

Little nudges never hurt.

What little nudges have you had lately?

My "very messy chores" pants!

Look out world, it is a 'very messy chores' pants kind of day! #jeans #paint #bleach #homeownership

A photo posted by AJ Lauer (@ayjaylauer) on Jan 23, 2016 at 7:45am PST

This IG post is a little old, but I've been wearing my getting sh*t done pants a lot lately. :)
In relation to last week's post... These pants have been around for a good 8 years. Adulting. Just sayin'.
Also come follow me on IG!

What do you do when you need to tackle your to-do list? Drink caffeine? Make epic lists? Run and hide and watch TV instead?