February 2 - Through the crack in the door
The first knowledge awareness brought her was pain. Her face throbbed, her ribs ached (and not in the 'I've been laughing' way), and her knuckles complained that she had fought without gloves. As the first awareness of pain faded into the background, painting the first stage of the picture, coldness made itself known. A damp cold that, while not terribly painful, was certainly uncomfortable, especially when the breeze came. A fishy, rotten, salty, waterlogged wood carrying breeze. Opening her eyes, she was not surprised to find wood beneath her face, dark with water, timbers and fibers separating after long exposure to salty air and much use, the cracks encrusted with dirt, sand, and bits of seaweed. Too trained to groan but too human to avoid a hiss she moved her head, taking in more of her surroundings. The wooden floor she was on apparently was part of the loading dock to and abandoned cannery, she could see the concrete walls nearby, the company's logo mostly faded, only the impression of a crab left. Parts of the floor had crumbled and she could glimpse water seething below. Slowly she began to haul herself to her feet. Why hadn't they bound her? Did they think she couldn't escape as sore as she was? A split lip, black eye, cracked ribs, and swollen knuckles weren't going to stop her. The sprained ankle might slow her down though. Ow. The door, like the floor, was waterlogged and splitting, making it easy for her to peer out through a gap in the wood. Her eye met with a snuffling nose. Jerking her head back in surprise she almost laughed. Did they leave these dogs here to guard her? They didn't know who they were dealing with. Nearly cooing to the dogs she set to work.
The opening for this, in my head, was black and the pieces of her awareness literally started in the forefront then zoomed out until they were in the background or each bit of information was a different color until the whole thing was filled in. And the dogs were Doberman Pincers.
Day 33 - Diving, Not Drowning
I am glad I don't really have any traumas or grief in my past, though sometimes I wish I did. My life is too perfect/average/good to write. :)
Monday, February 11, 2013
Friday, February 8, 2013
What a weekend!
Hi guys and gals!
Sorry I don't have anything for you right now, I am getting ready for a last minute housesitting/catsitting job. And I have to pack all my clothes and accessories and makeup to wear to the open house and dedication of our new Kingdom Hall! Sometimes I am such a girl! ^_^ It will be so exciting to see and be a part of! There is internet where I am going so I hope to get some writing to you guys tonight, when I can sit down. :)
- Leandra
Sorry I don't have anything for you right now, I am getting ready for a last minute housesitting/catsitting job. And I have to pack all my clothes and accessories and makeup to wear to the open house and dedication of our new Kingdom Hall! Sometimes I am such a girl! ^_^ It will be so exciting to see and be a part of! There is internet where I am going so I hope to get some writing to you guys tonight, when I can sit down. :)
- Leandra
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Day 32 - Improv when your button is undone
February 1 - Her button was undone
Rayella was startled to feel a bit of a breeze on the underside of her breasts and blushed twenty shades of crimson when she looked down. The thrice accursed button had undone itself, again! Gritting her teeth she drew her apron up, finished taking the order of the man at the counter and excused herself. She couldn't believe it! The shirt had a mind of its own! Most times she wore the white button up, identical to two others she owned, it behaved itself, remaining buttoned and modest all day. And then there were days like this. The fourth button from the top refused to stay. Rummaging in her purse Rae found a safety pin (by jabbing her finger on it) at the very bottom then stepped into the staff bathroom to begin the wrestling process necessary to secure her shirt without making it obvious or creating more of a gap. Why didn't she listen to herself this morning when she thought it would be a good idea to wear a cami? For the love of everything holy! It was one of those days. She couldn't say everything was going wrong, and really, some nice things had happened, but just enough stuff like this was happening to make her consider crawling in bed and hiding under the covers for the next two days. At the very least it was an ice cream and movie night. Wait. With the way things have been going, nothing that could spill. Did she have a sippy cup in the house? That's it, a no spill water bottle (contents open for discussion), the pre-cut cheese, meat, and crackers in her fridge (no way was she touching a knife) and Darcy. Sigh. Now to hope her shirt survived the next three hours.
It was really hard to start this prompt but I am very pleased with the way it went. And I am sure ladies out there know how Rayella felt about the shirt! I do! And who else has had days like that? Not really bad enough to really complain but you are a clutz and everything you can do wrong or stupid, you will? I've been having more of those lately. Hopefully as the weather improves, so will my coordination.
Day 32 - Improvisation
Writing is like an actor's improv, you begin and "characters bloom, plots come out of thin air."
Speaking of actors, who has seen Improv Everywhere? They are the ones behind the famous Grand Central Station Freeze, the Food Court Musicals, and the No Pants Subway Rides. My favorite missions though (as they call each prank) are: Free High Fives - it brings such joy to the commuters; the MP3 experiments - it is one of my lifegoals to be in NY for one of these!!!!!; the surprise wedding reception - they throw an impromptu wedding reception for a couple married at city hall, complete with brides maids, groomsmen, a cake and music, it was so sweet and kind and made people so happy; and Welcome Home - they greet complete strangers flying into the local airport!
Click on the name of any mission to be taken to their page with the video, synopsis, and reactions.
 |
| HIS button is undone!! ^_^ |
Day 32 - Improvisation
Writing is like an actor's improv, you begin and "characters bloom, plots come out of thin air."
Speaking of actors, who has seen Improv Everywhere? They are the ones behind the famous Grand Central Station Freeze, the Food Court Musicals, and the No Pants Subway Rides. My favorite missions though (as they call each prank) are: Free High Fives - it brings such joy to the commuters; the MP3 experiments - it is one of my lifegoals to be in NY for one of these!!!!!; the surprise wedding reception - they throw an impromptu wedding reception for a couple married at city hall, complete with brides maids, groomsmen, a cake and music, it was so sweet and kind and made people so happy; and Welcome Home - they greet complete strangers flying into the local airport!
Click on the name of any mission to be taken to their page with the video, synopsis, and reactions.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Day 31 - Whispered dreams
August 31 - They're talking in whispers
They are a handsome couple as they sweep the floor to a waltz and none of those watching would deny it, though they may protect in the same breath that the pair was very odd indeed. Why a man such as he would deign to dance with a lass such as she, well, they simply could not supposed. Wasn't the look in his eye that of love? Well! They wouldn't dare assume! He, after all, was a terribly rich and private person, who knew what one such as he thought. He certainly wasn't the kind to display such feelings.
Is it Elizabeth and Darcy? Belle and Mr. Gold? Anne and Wentworth? I have no idea. I have been on such an Austen/Pride and Prejudice kick lately. ^_^ No matter who is dancing, all the ladies are in floofy dresses and the men are in suits and cravats and are terribly dashing! And those whispering are doing so behind fans.
I got lost wandering the web looking at pictures of those pairings (even though I already had the Darcys), which is why this post is a little late. :) I used the 'newer' Wentworth rather than Cirian Hinds because Cirian looked ridiculous in all the pictures I could find of him.
Day 31 - Dreaming Your Ship
How much of my work is autobiographical? Well ... most of my main characters are auburn, have younger siblings, age as I do ... physically they do resemble me but that is about where it ends, which is part of the point Ms. A makes by quoting John Cheever. "As you dream your ship, you perhaps know the boat, but you're going toward a coast that's quite strange, you're wearing strange clothes, the language you don't understand, but the woman on your left is your wife."
Most authors include some aspect of their life in their work I imagine, some more transparently than others.
Is it Elizabeth and Darcy? Belle and Mr. Gold? Anne and Wentworth? I have no idea. I have been on such an Austen/Pride and Prejudice kick lately. ^_^ No matter who is dancing, all the ladies are in floofy dresses and the men are in suits and cravats and are terribly dashing! And those whispering are doing so behind fans.
I got lost wandering the web looking at pictures of those pairings (even though I already had the Darcys), which is why this post is a little late. :) I used the 'newer' Wentworth rather than Cirian Hinds because Cirian looked ridiculous in all the pictures I could find of him.
Day 31 - Dreaming Your Ship
How much of my work is autobiographical? Well ... most of my main characters are auburn, have younger siblings, age as I do ... physically they do resemble me but that is about where it ends, which is part of the point Ms. A makes by quoting John Cheever. "As you dream your ship, you perhaps know the boat, but you're going toward a coast that's quite strange, you're wearing strange clothes, the language you don't understand, but the woman on your left is your wife."
Most authors include some aspect of their life in their work I imagine, some more transparently than others.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Library of Lurve
Day 30 - Writing project boxes!!!!
August 30 - Write what came first
The chicken or the egg?
The goose or the gander?
The fiddle or the violin?
The monkey or the banana?
Yes or no?
Adam before Eve
Perfection before sin
The flora before the fauna
And the fauna before the man
I cannot believe this prompt came so quickly after the article in the other book! Hilarious! I feel like I've been asked this question before. :)
Day 30 - Out of the Box
Four authors (Spalding Gray, Twyla Tharp, Sherman Alexie, and Jennie Nash) are discussed, who all use boxes to organize their craft, filling a box with "art, photos, research, CDs, news clippings, ... drafts, story ideas, ... jokes" that are related to their memoirs, dance, or writing project. What a brilliant idea!
My bigger and older projects (Rae, Lori, Senya) have binders filled with printed and hand written sections of writing, character profiles, research, quotes, pictures that inspire, location references, outfit ideas, and doodles. Newer, smaller projects (Sam, Robyn, Leona, Z) have folders and folders on my computer (I would die if it did) with pictures of current characters, characters I want to include, locations, outfits, and objects that make me think of the story/character. Online, which is where I store 95% of my writing now, I have the actual writing, brief character profiles of all those involved, an in depth profile of my MC, and usually a page/doc devoted to related links, references, quotes, or plot bunnies. And don't get me started on the playlists I have all over! Windows Media Player, Spotify, YouTube! Oh my!
I've bought trinkets that remind me of characters or stories but they don't have 'homes' per se (they don't fit in a binder or online) so they clutter up my desk and window sill, but having a box would solve that. I see a JoAnns run in my future! Yay!
The chicken or the egg?
The goose or the gander?
The fiddle or the violin?
The monkey or the banana?
Yes or no?
Adam before Eve
Perfection before sin
The flora before the fauna
And the fauna before the man
I cannot believe this prompt came so quickly after the article in the other book! Hilarious! I feel like I've been asked this question before. :)
Day 30 - Out of the Box
Four authors (Spalding Gray, Twyla Tharp, Sherman Alexie, and Jennie Nash) are discussed, who all use boxes to organize their craft, filling a box with "art, photos, research, CDs, news clippings, ... drafts, story ideas, ... jokes" that are related to their memoirs, dance, or writing project. What a brilliant idea!
My bigger and older projects (Rae, Lori, Senya) have binders filled with printed and hand written sections of writing, character profiles, research, quotes, pictures that inspire, location references, outfit ideas, and doodles. Newer, smaller projects (Sam, Robyn, Leona, Z) have folders and folders on my computer (I would die if it did) with pictures of current characters, characters I want to include, locations, outfits, and objects that make me think of the story/character. Online, which is where I store 95% of my writing now, I have the actual writing, brief character profiles of all those involved, an in depth profile of my MC, and usually a page/doc devoted to related links, references, quotes, or plot bunnies. And don't get me started on the playlists I have all over! Windows Media Player, Spotify, YouTube! Oh my!
I've bought trinkets that remind me of characters or stories but they don't have 'homes' per se (they don't fit in a binder or online) so they clutter up my desk and window sill, but having a box would solve that. I see a JoAnns run in my future! Yay!
Day 29 - Putting the forbidden first
August 29 - Write what is forbidden
Potty talk (bodily functions)
Politics
Sexual orientation
Pulling sister's hair
Layoffs - 'the left the company'
Co-worker's salary
Making your own fireplaces (Dad as kid)
13th floor
Mine shaft
Medicine cabinet
Buying your own car before graduating high school (Dad)
Dad scaring/jumping out at Mom
Asking a lady her age/weight
Stupid prejudices - 'tradition'
Drag races
British man's voice
Gandalf - 'you shall not pass!'
This was really interesting. I decided to get some input from my family on what they thought of when they heard 'it is forbidden'. Most of their responses (see list above) were very serious or work related, whereas I had though of lighter things like whispering in the library, pulling a sibling's hair, or a giant 'Do Not Enter' sign on a mine shaft. To draw out more of what I was looking for, I asked what things they remember being forbidden as a child and my dad immediately came up with being forbidden to make his own fireplaces, even if he was using firebrick. I laughed so hard!! It illustrates his personality so well, being independent, an engineer, and willing to try things a little dangerous with safety protocols in place, and speaks to why he won't tell us about his childhood until we are twenty-one, and hopefully past the point of copying him! My sister heard a British man's voice, like Gandalf saying "You. Shall. Not. Pass!" and my brother had an immediate, negative reaction, the word bringing to mind stupid prejudices and unreasonable minds.
Day 29 - First Things First
The first step in a novel or story can be the hardest, the first step in to infinity, when you can't see the rest of the steps. No matter how much planning you put into a story, you have no idea how it will truly turn out until you actually begin to write, alternately swept along with or dragging along your characters into the void. There are those who begin writing at the beginning, those who begin at the end, and those who begin somewhere in between, but no matter where you begin, no matter what the project, that first leap is the hardest.
I wanted to include a picture of mossy/ivy strewn stairs disappearing into fog but I couldn't find any that worked! The pictures were either from the bottom of the stairs looking up, or the stairs from across the way, or stairs that you literally stopped in the middle of nowhere. No pictures from the top of the stairs, looking down. I guess I'll just have to go to the Japanese Gardens some evening and snap some pictures of my own.
Vorboden
You can't do that,
Don't bite your sister,
It is forbidden
Say "pain" in the hospital?
Speak in the library above a whisper?
You can't do that.
Don't go in your parents' room
Don't go in the dragon's lair
It is forbidden.
Cheat on that test?
Scare your mother?
You can't do that!
Don't ask a lady her age,
Don't ask a man his religion,
It is forbidden.
Don't question tradition,
Don't say God's name,
You can't do that,
It is forbidden.
-----
Potty talk (bodily functions)
Politics
Sexual orientation
Pulling sister's hair
Layoffs - 'the left the company'
Co-worker's salary
Making your own fireplaces (Dad as kid)
13th floor
Mine shaft
Medicine cabinet
Buying your own car before graduating high school (Dad)
Dad scaring/jumping out at Mom
Asking a lady her age/weight
Stupid prejudices - 'tradition'
Drag races
British man's voice
Gandalf - 'you shall not pass!'
This was really interesting. I decided to get some input from my family on what they thought of when they heard 'it is forbidden'. Most of their responses (see list above) were very serious or work related, whereas I had though of lighter things like whispering in the library, pulling a sibling's hair, or a giant 'Do Not Enter' sign on a mine shaft. To draw out more of what I was looking for, I asked what things they remember being forbidden as a child and my dad immediately came up with being forbidden to make his own fireplaces, even if he was using firebrick. I laughed so hard!! It illustrates his personality so well, being independent, an engineer, and willing to try things a little dangerous with safety protocols in place, and speaks to why he won't tell us about his childhood until we are twenty-one, and hopefully past the point of copying him! My sister heard a British man's voice, like Gandalf saying "You. Shall. Not. Pass!" and my brother had an immediate, negative reaction, the word bringing to mind stupid prejudices and unreasonable minds.
Day 29 - First Things First
The first step in a novel or story can be the hardest, the first step in to infinity, when you can't see the rest of the steps. No matter how much planning you put into a story, you have no idea how it will truly turn out until you actually begin to write, alternately swept along with or dragging along your characters into the void. There are those who begin writing at the beginning, those who begin at the end, and those who begin somewhere in between, but no matter where you begin, no matter what the project, that first leap is the hardest.
I wanted to include a picture of mossy/ivy strewn stairs disappearing into fog but I couldn't find any that worked! The pictures were either from the bottom of the stairs looking up, or the stairs from across the way, or stairs that you literally stopped in the middle of nowhere. No pictures from the top of the stairs, looking down. I guess I'll just have to go to the Japanese Gardens some evening and snap some pictures of my own.
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