Three Words #36

One of my favorite writing games is something I call three words. I post three words and encourage you to write a flash fiction piece containing those three words. If you would like to challenge me – post three words for me and next week I will post a piece of flash fiction using your words. Enjoy!

Three Words

• Eagle
• Errand
• Error

Flash Fiction

Using the three words: Dye, Drum, and Door(from last week.)

Melissa rubbed at the purple dye on her hands. No matter how hard she tried the color would not fade. She glanced over her shoulder and the dress hanging near by. The once yellow fabric now matched the stains on her fingers.

What was she doing? The stains would give her away. No royal born would have dye on her fingers. Plus, with it matching the dress they would know she was a servant girl.

A knock came to the door. Melissa ran to the door and opened it a crack.

Kip stood in the hall. "Are you ready?" he asked urgently.

Melissa shook her head and held out one of her hands. Kip took it in his. "My mother taught me a trick for getting dye off your fingers. Come with me."

Kip pulled her from the room. As they hurried down the hall to the servants washroom the echo of drum beats reached them.

"It's starting!" Melissa said in horror.

"We have time!" Kip insisted and set to work cleaning her fingers.

Prompt Tuesday #36

Every Tuesday I post a writing prompt and my response. It gives me a chance to exercise my writing muscles outside of my WIP, and hopefully inspire you to write. So enjoy my flash fiction piece and post your own in the comments!

Prompt

Source: Creative-Writing-Solutions.com

Your character comes upon a fork in a road and has no idea where to go. How does he feel? Which road does he take and why? What's at the end of the road?

Response

Mayralee stared at the decision before her. Here the road divided into two paths. The one lead toward Canderbury and her home. The other led to Mithenspar and beyond. Mayralee looked down at the piece of parchment in her hand.

You have forgotten something important. Go to Mithenspar and find Dovan. He will help you. It read. Below the scrawled word was her own signature.

Mayralee trusted the note, although she had no memory of writing it. She had forgotten something. Something so vital that she found it necessary to remind herself somehow. It must also be a secret - or she would have explained in the note.

She knew she had forgotten something. Three days ago she woke up in a city far away from home without any recollection of how she had come to be there. Once more, it was late fall, last she remembered it was early spring. Something had happened to her in the past months. Something that Dovan in Mithenspar knew.

Mayralee looked at the fort in the road again. She was torn between a desire to see her parents, to ensure that they were alive and well. And the curiosity of the unanswered question.

"What have I forgotten?" she whispered to herself.

There was only one course of action. Resolved, Mayralee turn to the left and headed down the road to Mithenspar.

Why I write Speculative Fiction (and can't Write anything else)

I love science fiction and fantasy. Always have. I could go it detail about what it is that captivates my imagination - but that is not what this post is about.

Although science fiction and fantasy are my favorite genre's - I also enjoy many, many other genre's. Mystery, Historical Fiction, and so many more.

So why do I only write science fiction and fantasy? Because it is what I can actually finish.

I have many ideas that fall outside the realm of science fiction and fantasy. And at first they seem just as captivating as any of my speculative ideas. However, when it comes to actually sitting down and writing them. I can't.

They don't hold my attention long enough.

Again, I could give you a long winded explanation of why I think this is. But it is not important. As writers each of us has certain things that can hold our attention long enough to become a full story. And for me, it is science fiction and fantasy.

What genre do you write, and why?

Okay Fine... I Give In

Okay, so I know a lot of people get annoyed with the word verification thing when leaving comments.

Personally I don't mind it and I rarely have problems. Usually when I do have problems it is when I am using my android phone and type a letter wrong.

So I left the word verification up.

But since there was such an out cry against it I finally relented and removed it.

FYI - there is not an option in the new blogger interface (at least that I could find) to remove this option. You have to do it in the old interface. Oh, and if you still see the verification let me know. It doesn't ask me for it because it's my blog.

Sigh. If you are wondering why it took me so long - I don't like to do things just because everyone else is doing them. Unless I see value in it. And I finally see the value in taking word verification off.

So bloggers-who-hate-word-verification - you win :)

Emotion in Writing, Part 3: Love and Hate

In Part 1 of this series I talked about the power of emotions and why they are important in writing. In Part 2 I talked about Pain and Joy. Now I would like to talk about the two emotions that bind people and characters together - Love and Hate

Love

In my opinion - love is the strongest emotion out there. Under its influence people do the most amazing things. There are many different levels and kinds of love. Family love, romantic love, friendship, caring.

Love forms a bond between two people. I also think that once this bond is formed - it can never be broken. Although it might change its nature.

Love is a very powerful tool in writing. It can cause the pain or joy in our characters lives that draws are readers in. It is also an excellent motivator. Take Harry Potter for example - can you think of how he was motivated by love even in the first book?

I will give you a second to think about that.

Okay, times up. Harry felt unloved. In the new world that opened to him in Hogwarts - he continually tried to fill that void in his life.

Hate

Hate is second only to love, in my opinion. In fact, when love sours it turns into the most intense kind of hate. Going back to love forming bonds - if there is a love connection of some kind between to people and that turns into hate - the bond is still there it is just different.

Think of what kind of story you could build around that. Take two mortal enemies and trace their story back to the point where they once loved each other. This is not a new formula - it has been used many times. But the possibilities are still endless.

Often, we (or at least I) tend to think of hate being ascribed to our antagonist. They are the bad guy after all. But just like love is a powerful motivator - so is hate. Hate can drive a person to do many things. I bet you can already think of several examples in books you have read.

How do you use love and hate in your writing? Have you read anything that utilized these two emotions in a surprising way?

Confession

I have a confession. I haven't been writing. And as an extension of that I haven't been blogging.

Why?

That's a good question. I would like to say it is because I haven't been feeling well. Or because I have been really busy. But it's not. I got stuck with Three of Ivory. I am not sure why. One minute the story was on fire in my head and then... nothing.

The story still captivates me. I just feel lost. But the good news is - I think I finally found the problem.

I don't have an outline.

You see I am a plotter. With Shadowed Stones I had a scene by scene outline. Which really worked for me. This time around I wanted to give myself a little freedom so I could go with the flow. Here's the thing though:

Freedom kills my creativity.

Yeah, go figure. That surprised me. But then I thought back to when I was writing Shadowed Stones - and although I stuck pretty close to my outline there was still wiggle room. So I think for me having as detailed of an outline as possible is critical to my drafting ability.

So here is the plan: I am going to sit down and write a very detailed outline of Three of Ivory. And then start my first draft, again. I may still keep the first three and a half chapters that I wrote. I would like to - because I think they are good. But it depends on how the outlining goes. (Also, I think I may have started the story too early.)

Guess what, I just totally had the perfect vision of where to start the story and effectively introduce all three of my main characters. The best part - I can still use the dynamite first line I crafted! And the wheels (though rusty) are starting to turning again.

On another note: I promise to rededicate myself to blogging.

Have you ever been surprised by what kills your creativity?

The Mighty Pen #35

The Mighty Pen flash fiction contest is a just for fun writing contest (inspired by my wonderful husband). I post the beginning of a story – and you post an end! I will choose a winner and several honorable mentions. The contest is open until Sunday night and the winner is announce on Monday where I feature them on my blog. Check out past winners on the tab above.

Note: This is a family friendly blog – so please keep it PG rated. Thanks!

The Beginning

The door swung open. My heart stopped at the sound of the hinges protesting. There standing in the dark doorway...

Three Words #35

One of my favorite writing games is something I call three words. I post three words and encourage you to write a flash fiction piece containing those three words. If you would like to challenge me – post three words for me and next week I will post a piece of flash fiction using your words. Enjoy!

Three Words

• Dye
• Drum
• Door

Flash Fiction

Using the three words: Candle, Call, and Cast(from last week.)

The small flame dancing on the end of the candle cast a harsh shadow across her face.

"Call to him," the witches raspy voice echoed in her hear.

"Mythrony ispandara me opepe," the girl whispered, her breath causing the flame to flicker.

Mythrony stood in the shadows watching. He could feel the pull of the young girls summons. But he resisted.

He would resist the witches power for as long as he could. He did not want to kill again.

Prompt Tuesday #35

Every Tuesday I post a writing prompt and my response. It gives me a chance to exercise my writing muscles outside of my WIP, and hopefully inspire you to write. So enjoy my flash fiction piece and post your own in the comments!

p.s. I just noticed that Saturday and Monday's posts did not go out. I published Saturdays and will save Monday's for another time.

Prompt

Source: Creative-Writing-Solutions.com

A stepparent has placed his/her ancient family portrait in the characters house. Describe the portrait.

Response

Alice gazed up at the giant portrait spanning a third of the hall. The people in the portrait were nearly life size and their staring eyes sent a shiver down her spine.

I tall, gray haired man with a haunted look in his eye, stood in the center of the painting. His sharp chilled features and stern stance made Alice step back a pace. His left hand was wrapped around a cane and it looked as if at any moment he would raise it an strike her. His right hand gripped the should of the young woman seated in front of him.

The woman had long black hair. Her soft features were made harsh with lines of worry. She smiled but her eyes were sad. In her arms she held a small boy in her lap. The child's arms were out stretched as if to snatch at Alice. She took another step back.

Standing next to the woman was a little girl, the spitting image of her father in every detail, save for the dark hair and green eyes. Alice studied the girl. There was on odd smile on her lips that spoke of mischief. A defiant sparkle in her eye.

"Alice!" her stepmothers sharp voice cut through the silence.

Alice started and turned to face the woman. She could see the little girl in the frightening woman standing before her. But she could also see the stern man. For one moment Alice thought maybe she understood her step mother.

Then the cane which her stepmother held descended and all thoughts of understanding fled and were replaced by pain.

Emotions in Writing, Part 2: Pain and Joy

In Part 1 of this series I talked about the power of emotions and why they are important in writing. Now I would like to cover two of the most basic and powerful emotions we can inject in our writing: Pain and Joy.

Pain

All the most interesting characters in fiction experience pain at some point. It is why we care about the story, it is what draws us to them.

In The Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond Dantès suffers the pain of being falsely accused and loosing everything he cares for.

In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo must bear the heavy burden of the ring all the way to Mordor.

In Harry Potter, Harry is an orphan who feels unloved and out of place.

In The Hunger Games, Katniss sacrifices everything for her own survival and that of those she loves.

Pain gives us something to identify with. We identify with Edmond because we have all felt betrayed. We identify with Frodo because we all have burden's to carry. We identify with Harry because we have all felt alone. We identify with Katniss because we can imagine giving up so much to save what we love.

We can inject pain into our writing by giving our characters something tragic in their past and having them face difficult circumstances and set backs in the course of the story.

Joy

On the other side of pain is joy. After travelling with a character through their journey we learn to take joy in what they take joy in. We celebrate their success and find home in the victories. Some stories, by design, lack joy. But for me a fulfilling story always has one ray of joy shining at the end.

But the joy most worth having comes at a cost. It is by pushing through the pain to find the joy on the other side of the trial that our characters overcome. They turn the pain into joy.

In most stories the joy comes at the end. Some endings are happy. Some are bittersweet. But both will linger.

What stories with pain and joy have you read lately? Do you prefer a happy ending or a bittersweet one?

Blog Tag and A Little About Me

Emily Moir blog-tagged me on her blog.

As part of being tagged she is forcing me to answer some questions and then tag some other people :)

Here are the questions and answers:

1. What is the strangest talent you have?
Writing - well more creativity and thinking out side the box.

2. Have you ever had a poem or song written about you? (If the answer is yes you totally have to give more details)
Hmm, not that I know of.

3. What's your strangest phobia?
Being buried alive. Or drowning. Or being stuck in a small space.

4. What's your favorite, non computer related, time waster?
Sleeping. - Because I don't think reading is a waste of time :)

5. What do miss most about being five-years-old?
Not having to go to work.

6. You know that time you called in sick to work, but not because you were sick, because you wanted to do something awesome? What was the awesome thing you did?
Well, I must be a fuddy duddy because I have never called in sick to work to do something awesome. I have called in sick to give myself and extra day off though.

7. Do you find inspirational quotes, posters,etc. inspiring or annoying?
Yes.

8. Are you more likely to watch a video blog or read articles?
Read. I do most of my blogging at work on lunch - so it is easier for me to read an article really quick then to pull out my head phones :)

9. What's your favorite book?
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

10. What's your guilty pleasure?
Chocolate and Video Games

11. Two guys walk into a bar. What happens?
The third one ducks.

Now, I have tagged the following bloggers. I am picking on my ten most recent followers who have blog or other link on their profile - but if you read this post and want to participate in the tag too - consider yourself tagged :)

And since I think Emily's questions are so awesome - I want my taggies to answer the same ones.
Jennibellie
Chantele Sedgwick
Mrs Tea
R. Mac Wheeler
R.J. Ropsen
Stephanie Scott
Stephanie Thornton
Julius Cicero
Kate
Kelly Valentine

p.s. If you follow my blog and I haven't followed you back yet - it is probably because I can't find a link to your blog on your profile. So leave me a link and I will gladly follow back :)

The Mighty Pen #34

The Mighty Pen flash fiction contest is a just for fun writing contest (inspired by my wonderful husband). I post the beginning of a story – and you post an end! I will choose a winner and several honorable mentions. The contest is open until Sunday night and the winner is announce on Monday where I feature them on my blog. Check out past winners on the tab above.

Note: This is a family friendly blog – so please keep it PG rated. Thanks!

The Beginning

The drum beat rolled along in the silence of the rising sun. The men stepped forward together ready to face their fate...

Three Words #34

One of my favorite writing games is something I call three words. I post three words and encourage you to write a flash fiction piece containing those three words. If you would like to challenge me – post three words for me and next week I will post a piece of flash fiction using your words. Enjoy!

Three Words

• Candle
• Call
• Cast

Flash Fiction

Using the three words: Bubble, Blue, and Bay(from last week.)

The almost transparent blue haze of the bubble floated past her view. Ana blinked and looked up from her wandering thoughts. A cloud of bubbles drifted around her driven by the gentle sea breeze coming off the bay below. Ana reached out her hand and cupped her fingers around one of the fragile bubbles. In it's shining surface she could see the reflection of her haggard eyes and tear stained face.

The bubble burst.

Ana dropped her hands. "How brief your existence is," she whispered to herself as she watched the other bubbles. "How little you must face in the time you have." Ana sighed. "I wish my life were so simple."

There was a knock at her door. Ana straightened and called for the visitor to enter. Lord Morandin, one of her court advisers entered and bowed. "Your Majesty, the prisoners are ready for their sentencing."

Ana closed her eyes. The moment had come. No more time for deliberation. She had only one choice before her. She must sacrifice her own sense of what was just to keep her kingdom intact.

She squared her shoulders. "I am ready."

Prompt Tuesday #34

Every Tuesday I post a writing prompt and my response. It gives me a chance to exercise my writing muscles outside of my WIP, and hopefully inspire you to write. So enjoy my flash fiction piece and post your own in the comments!

Prompt

Source: Creative-Writing-Solutions.com

Finish this thought: "I didn't go to ____ looking for redemption, but somehow I found it."

Response

I didn't go to Mars looking for redemption, but somehow I found it. Somewhere among the bio-domes and transport tunnels, the rolling red landscape and hazy sky - I found redemption. Not release, not forgiveness, not an escape from my past, but redemption. A chance to leave the person that I was behind and move forward with a new life free of the consequences of the past.

Mars gave me my new horizon. I cannot abandon her now.

A Second Post to Announce a Winner

Apologies for the double post today. But, it's time for me to announce the winner of The Mighty Pen award.

Krista M

Krista's entry was really really sweet. I loved it! Be sure to check it out on the original post. And if you haven't already - stop by and check out her blog at The Jelly Beans of Writing.

Be sure to check out her Tuesday blog posts as she does writing exercises.

Yeah Krista M!

What I learned about writing from I Am Legend

Have you seen the movie I Am Legend? I think it is a great movie. And I actually learned something very important about writing from it.

Some time ago my husband and I rented the movie and watched it together. After the movie we were like - that was pretty good, not the best but good.

Fast forward two weeks later and we were still talking about it. So how did we go from thinking the movie was good to constantly talking about it? Well, the movie makes you think. It doesn't hit you right away. You have to let it sink in and then the wheels start turning.

I looked back over other movies I have seen and books I have read. The ones that have lingered the longest, have been the most memorable, and been my favorites - made me think.

So I learned that making the reader think, presenting them with something that is interesting and thought provoking, is one of the best ways to get a story to stick.

What have you learned about writing from watching movies? Have you read any books that made you think?

Emotions in Writing, Part 1: The Power of Emotions

My husband and I have a running joke about emotions. You see - women are emotionally complicated, so much so that we can feel two conflicting emotions at the same time. Men, on the other hand are simple. They have four emotions, happy, sad, hungry, and sports. Anyway, this got me thinking about how important emotion is - especially in writing.

Recently my mother in law suggested I read Chinese Cinderella. It was an amazing story based on the true story of the author. It was stuffed full of emotion. Yep, went through about a box of tissues reading. Needless to say I really enjoyed it.

On the other hand I have read some books - can't think of any right now which shows how memorable they are - that have little to no emotion in them. Not so enjoyable.

And on to the point - I thought I would do a series on emotions in writing and how we can use it (without using it). Or, my thoughts on the subject. First I would like to discuss the power of emotion.

The Power of Emotions

Emotions are how we connect with, experience, and react to the people and events around us. This is why I think emotional writing strikes a stronger cord with us. Especially if it is an emotion that we can identify. For example, in Chinese Cinderella she felt awkward and like she did not fit in. I think most of us can identify with that on some level. Which made the story have more of an impact.

One of the main reasons why I read is to experience a story along with the main characters. This is why my favorite types of stories to read are character driven. I like characters that I can identify with - or at least empathize with. I recently started a new WIP and have been thinking lately about using emotions in writing to make it more powerful. I want my characters to be real, the situations they go through to be memorable, and for their story to make an impact.

How do you use emotion in your writing.

The Mighty Pen #33

The Mighty Pen flash fiction contest is a just for fun writing contest (inspired by my wonderful husband). I post the beginning of a story – and you post an end! I will choose a winner and several honorable mentions. The contest is open until Sunday night and the winner is announce on Monday where I feature them on my blog. Check out past winners on the tab above.

Note: This is a family friendly blog – so please keep it PG rated. Thanks!

The Beginning

"And that is how it is done."

Three Words #33

One of my favorite writing games is something I call three words. I post three words and encourage you to write a flash fiction piece containing those three words. If you would like to challenge me – post three words for me and next week I will post a piece of flash fiction using your words. Enjoy!

Three Words

• Bubble
• Blue
• Bay

Flash Fiction

Using the three words: Blasphemy, Kittens, and Chubby (from Krista M from last week.)

"Ugh," Kari sighed, "I hate kittens."

A chorus of gasps erupted from the four blonds sitting around Kari.

"You don't love kittens?" Briana asked.

"That's just, just, just," Samantha started.

"Blasphemy." Bianca finished for her.

Laura just had a stunned expression on her face.

"What?" Kari asked. "Their furry. I don't like furry."

Another chorus of gasps. Briana snatched the magazine out of Kari's hands. Samantha began pulling the curlers out of Kari's brown hair. Bianca grabbed Kari's purse and coat. And Laura finally found her voice.

"Out, chubby."

Prompt Tuesday #33

Every Tuesday I post a writing prompt and my response. It gives me a chance to exercise my writing muscles outside of my WIP, and hopefully inspire you to write. So enjoy my flash fiction piece and post your own in the comments!

Prompt

Source: Creative-Writing-Solutions.com

A jewel-encrusted box is found in an ancient abandoned temple. Describe the box, what is in the box, and the temple.

Response

The small rectangular box fit in the palm of Anya's hand. Here eyes took in the rows and rows of sapphires winking in the faint light. In the sea of blue stones, to rubies like eyes looked back at her.

A dark whisper sounded in Anya's ears. "Open, open, open," it repeated over and over.

Her hand moved toward the lid.

Then the whisper and the box were gone. Anya blinked and looked up to see Brynner watching her.

"Don't open the box."

Another Controversy: Tense and Urgency, POV and Closeness

(Apologies for the long post.)

A while ago I read a post by Ava Jae about making the choice between present tense and past tense. She also briefly discussed point of view. I went to comment on her blog and found myself typing a dissertation on the subject :) So I decided to write my on blog post on the subject.

Tense

Many people feel that present tense gives more sense of urgency then past tense does. I can see how that would be since it feels more like the here and now. But guess what - like many other things in writing and reading - it is different for me. Sigh, I am such a black sheep.

A lot of books that I have read that are present tense have made me feel more further removed from the story action. I am not sure if this is because I am used to past tense so present tense is harder for me to read - or for some other reason. It just is.

For me urgency comes from a combination between what is happening to the characters and how much I am invested in them.

Examples

1. Present Tense: The Hunger Games is written in present tense. But I don't remember feeling much of a sense of urgency and danger. I mean not a really intense one either. I felt more like a spectator and less involved in the story.

2. Past Tense: Lord of the Rings is written in past tense. For me the danger, emotion and tension is these books is very intense. So much so that I actually found my self worrying about the characters when I was not reading :)

Point of View

I have heard it said by many that the first person point of view brings the reader closer to the narrator. This is because we are seeing the story through their eyes and hearing it in their voice. But guess what?

Yep - me the black sheep again.

Unless I directly identify with the narrator - I actually feel more distant when reading first person. Again I am used to the third person point of view. Also, often times I don't like the character that is the narrator which taints my perception of everything he or she reports.

For me closeness is born from a sense of connecting with the character or identifying with them.

Examples

1. First Person: The Hunger Games is also written in first person. First let me say that I did enjoy reading these books. They were very interesting and thought provoking. But I did not feel very close to Katniss. I just did not connect with her - even though the story was written in first person.

2. Third Person: The Prydain Chronicles and written in third person. Right now I cannot think of a set of characters in fiction that I have ever felt closer to or more connected with. The characters in these books have ingrained themselves into me.

In short - choosing the right POV and tense for your story is important. But for some of us black sheep readers out there - it does not make all the much difference.

So what do you think?

Leadership and Writing, Part 2

In January my husband took a leadership training class. Two of the things they listed as being essential for a leader were having someone you trust completely and knowing yourself.

The very next day I read Cherie's post about Live What You Believe which struck a similar cord with me.

So, I am sharing my thoughts on trust and self in writing. I discuss Trust in the first part.

Self

When I was a teenager I read the What I Wish I'd Known In Highschool books by John Bytheway. One of the things he discussed is that self-esteem is a myth. It does not exist. I found this discussion fascinating because I was struggling with low-self-esteem.

What John Bytheway suggests instead - is that we should respect ourselves. We should have self respect. I can't remember all the details but this concept changed my life. It was then that I realized that nobody's opinion of me (save myself and God's) mattered and started a journey of self discovery. This is when I started 'settling into my own skin.' It was not until college that I really became 'comfortable in my own skin.'

No I have a strong sense of self that stands up to most bombardments. It does not mean that I don't change. My self is flawed and when I find a flaw I work on removing it. But it means that I understand the core of who I am and I stay true to it.

So a great lesson for life - but how does that apply to writing?

My Self = My Writing

Because we as writers put so much of our personality and who we are into our writing - we must know ourselves before our writing can truly be great. Our self and our perception of our self affects our voice, the content of our writing, and the overall tone of a piece.

Do you have a strong sense of self? How has it helped you in your writing?

The Mighty Pen #32

So... I totally spaced posting yesterday.... and today :)

Instead of and update - here is The Mighty Pen contest. The beginning is inspired a little but by my forgetfulness.

The Mighty Pen flash fiction contest is a just for fun writing contest (inspired by my wonderful husband). I post the beginning of a story – and you post an end! I will choose a winner and several honorable mentions. The contest is open until Sunday night and the winner is announce on Monday where I feature them on my blog. Check out past winners on the tab above.

Note: This is a family friendly blog – so please keep it PG rated. Thanks!

The Beginning

My stomach sank as I realized that I had forgotten...

Three Words #32

One of my favorite writing games is something I call three words. I post three words and encourage you to write a flash fiction piece containing those three words. If you would like to challenge me – post three words for me and next week I will post a piece of flash fiction using your words. Enjoy!

Three Words

• Apple
• Ant
• Ankle

Flash Fiction

Using the three words: Wick, Stripe, and Blast (from last week.)

"Wick, what happened?!" Brass said, grabbing my arm and inspecting the red stripe of blood running down it.

"Shrapnel from the blast," I replied.

"Come on, let's get you to the medic," Brass grabbed my other arm and dragged me towards the medics tent.