Dreams of the Dead

Last Wednesday for the ROW80 blog, I challenged my fellow ROWers and myself to share an image or paragraph of what sort of writer I aspired to become during my ROW80 journey.  I didn’t think of how hard this might be for me (and likely others).  Hitting a moving target tends to be more difficult than not, even when the target is barreling upon you.

Sometimes you just want to jump out of the way…

Still, I have a picture (or two) that might somewhat fit within the parameters I’d set.

Here’s the first, a picture from AnthronCon 1998 (our second convention and that last held in Albany, NY).  Taken during the panel where we were passing along the crown from Aloyen to Uncle Kage, this picture, while a horrible one of me (I’m the giggling one not really in frame), it shows joy, playfulness, an interest in sharing ideas with others, and being part of a vibrant community.

All Hail Uncle Kage! (photo cred Aloyen)

This second fits my other half…  the person who looks at what was and tries to picture the stories that lived during those time.  My husband took this in 2005 at Audley End House in the gardens (which are magnificent).  I’m listening to the audiotour for the site and looking up at a large plinth (the stature on it long-since toppled and broken) and trying to figure out why the inscription was done in cuneiform.  So many stories there… not the least being my ubiquitous Reebok sneakers and the long-suffering jean-jacket that’s been to England every time I have.

Lastly, this blurry, but all-the-niftier-for-that image my son took of me in Bristol Cathedral this fall.  I like it because it’s vague; being a black & white image, it evokes something “old” while oddly being one of the more recent photos I have of myself; and I’m looking up at the beauty and wonder around me, almost breathing the ghost-like memories of the multitudes that walked through these cloisters with me.

Cloisters, Bristol Cathedral (cred Marcus Mabee)

If nothing else, I hope these images show that I aspire to continue growing and learn, discovering and experiencing.  The writer I wish to be is based on the person I am now, a bit of a dreamer, a bit social, a bit of an introvert, the kind of person who finds and develops wonder in the world around her.  You may notice there aren’t any pictures of actual writing here.  That because the words on the page need inspiration…  they need stories to be recorded.

These pictures are about where the stories come from and hopefully where they will go as well.

ROW80 check-in

Nothing exciting to report here.  The daily writing has gone well.  I also got some photos edited and even tried a new technique [new for me that is] of creating and combining layers for an HDR-like image of the moon (for those of you who’ve seen it posted to FB already, apologies).

An HDR test

Something that’s been bothered me since this Round of Words started is how hard it has been to get my head into a space where I can finish my Futurelearn classes.  Something always demands my attention these days (usually househunting stuff, but sometimes story ideas).  This may be a goal that needs to be set aside until the move is over.  I’ll probably replace it with reading more library books since I can do those in the car or away from my PC and we have a lot of traveling coming up.

WIPpet

Lastly, here’s the next bit of this opener to my Ice Queen Beyond fanfic.  It’s not a big snippet, but next week the scene changes to the crew of the Pride of the Skies in another part of the galaxy.

Five sentences (or two paragraphs) with a repeat of the last paragraph from last week’s post, Safe:

He waited the count of twenty then nudged the door, cracking it enough to hear the sounds of water running from Brüan’s bathroom. In the line of light from the hall, he finally saw the few folds of black cloth and gold braid laid out like a tease on the back corner of the sofa. ‘Listii weighed his chances, then darted in and grabbed up the pile. Not doing more than step into his breeches, he snuck back out with the rest of the pile under his arm.

*

Opening the door to his own quarters let enough light in to remind him of why he’d taken Brü up on her offer to spend the night. Still, better to not miss morning rolls again just because he’d hoped to miss Chaz snoring.

Quietly, but not so carefully, ‘Listii stepped over to the closet and gathered a few spare blankets and pillows. These he draped over the chair as opposed to the sofa bed. There, he settled back in and tried to recover his dream and maybe find out why, so many years after her death, he was dreaming about Atyr again.

If you enjoyed this, why not head over to the WIPpet linky and visit some our other awesome members? WIPpet Wednesdays are hosted by Emily Wrayburn at Letting the Voices Out.

Thank… Whatever

Two things today… a WIPpet and at the end of this post, a brief ROW80 End of Round update.

Today’s WIPpet follows on the heels of the piece I posted two weeks ago from my The Odds fanfic. The first line today is the last line from last week.  Andy and Kieri are getting a new perspective on each other.

This snippet is a bit longer than most of the ones I post.  I hope you’ll bear with me as it closes at a good spot (imho, of course).  There are ten (mostly small) paragraphs.  There’s one 2 in the 12 for December; divide the day (20) by that 2 and you have ten…

“Did you cry when I was shot?”

His lover stopped, still turned away. Though Kieri didn’t answer for several breaths, thankfully he finally did before Andy felt inspired to head over and hound him. “Of course.”

Kieri still didn’t turn to face him, but Andy didn’t feel like a little kid chasing an idol now as he walked around look at him. The other man’s lips pursed in something close to a snarl. He practically spat as he continued. “I was damned banshee for weeks after.” Now Kieri looked at him. It was a look that made Andy’s blood freeze. “As lost as the day I’d lost Pem, maybe more… I don’t know. I didn’t feel like killing myself—I didn’t feel, if you have to know. I stopped feeling. Stopped caring. None of it seemed to matter. I stayed in our room until Vern had the rest of the guys drag us out of there so he could bury you, the second week after it had happened.”

Andy grimaced. “Two weeks? Not that I don’t—ugh, that’s just wrong.”

“Yeah, maybe. But I didn’t care. It was my fault you’d died, and I..I just wanted you back, maybe I thought I could trade places with you. I don’t know.”

He nodded, though like the story of the Andar’s wife, he really didn’t understand. To do such a thing and yet not be able to share his feelings… Even now the man was evading him. Though maybe the barriers were down enough. “Why?  I don’t see how it would have helped.”

As close as they’d been, sex, passion, great talks, all the closeness and ideas they’d shared, he’d never seen Kieri shed a tear or show tenderness in any way for him.

Now he was seeing it; it shook him. It had taken his death to do this. Andy had always hoped to crack Kieri’s shell with who he was, not with what they’d suffered. He couldn’t love a rock.

Still, the words came, unwanted now. “That didn’t matter though. I loved you—you’d been everything to me, and I’d been too stupid to understand that until it was too late.”

Andy wasn’t sure what to say. It nothing like he’d hoped, and he needed to understand why. He looked at the floor, tracing the lines of the pattern in the tiles with his gaze. “We should get going.”

Thank the god, goddess, whatever… Thank Whatever that the other man just agreed.

Hope you enjoyed that piece.  If you’d like more head over to our special WIPpet linky and visit our other awesome members.  Thank you, Emily Wrayburn, for being such a gracious host.

A little ROw80 update

Today, for those of you who participate in the A Round of Words in 80 Days writing challenge, is the last day of Round 4.  It’s the last day of the year in ROW80 terms as well.

I’d like to say I ended the year on a high note.  True, I don’t feel this was my most productive year as a writer—instead it became a year for different discoveries and developing new skills.  The biggest would be learning how to understand the patterns both in my writing but also that in others’ writings.  And to recognize where some of my limits actually lie and devising strategies to work around them instead of trying to press through difficulties, failing and then bashing myself against those walls in frustration.

I’ve also learned how to better handle time constraints, and how to make the best of inspirational sparks when they arrive.  It’s been a year of reading, as I’ve rediscovered a love for books that had faded for a time after some particularly wall-worthy texts had landed in my hands.

In all…  not a bad year.

 

Why Would I Want…

Remnants of a Paint & Sip

Another Wednesday… well, Thursday, but you know what I mean, hopefully.   I did plan out this post Tuesday, and if I’d been on the ball a bit more, it would have gone out yesterday the way I’d intended.

Oh, well…  at least it’s being posted now.  Still in time to get in a ROW80 check-in and post this to the WIPpet linky….

It’s also the last day of November, which means the last day of NaNoWriMo 2017.  I didn’t win, and that’s OK.  I didn’t go into this year’s challenge with a goal of 50K words for a new story.  My goal at the moment is to finish a 20K proposal for the Golden Heart Awards by Dec 9th.  I’m not really on track for that either, though… and I’m not as okay with that.

Fortunately, I can submit a rough draft into the contest, because a lot can happen in a month, and I’m not that far behind with that goal.  I’m not even that far behind in most of my goals. The ROW80 website probably could use a bit more love than I’ve bee giving it, but… except for a sponsor-post image courtesy of Shan Jeniah, and some more help with sponsor visits (Thanks, Beth, Kim, Alberta, Mike… and everyone), I’ve not had the backup with keeping things growing the way I’d hoped. We’re a great group, but…  well, I knew things would be rocky this Round, and guess what?  They were.

This isn’t to say I’m upset.  Things were rocky, but not insurmountable.  The unsteady progress of this Round of Words highlighted  one of the great things about our group.  Life happens, and we all know it and deal as best we can.   We don’t point fingers, we just move forward.  Because things may not have moved forward the way I’d hoped, but they did move forward.

So, for this upcoming week, my goal is my RWA entry and the maintenance on the ROW80 blog but little else.  I can do that.  🙂

And now…

Today’s WIPpet maths are on the weird side, mostly because I really wanted an excuse to post these six small paragraphs. 😉  So here we go…  This post was planned and  set up on the 28th, was supposed to be posted on the 29th, was tweaked and posted on the 30th: three days with two involving actual work…  2 x 3 =6

This excerpt comes out of my fanfiction, the Odds.  (Yep, I really rock these filenames, don’t I?)  In trying to capture some of Alanii and Atyr’s less romantic playful sides, I’ve put them together after a long estrangement into a sandbox with a “BBB” (Big Bad Boss) and another BBB (Big Bad Bureaucracy).  Somehow romance still seems to follow them though….  jut not in this snippet.

More sterile surroundings. Alanii considered the office, his brow rising uncomfortably. The room was teeming, and not all of the wilderness was paperwork.

He nearly sat on a small, brown house mouse that was munching away at the cushion of the chair Atyriia had directed him toward, a solid straw pad once in a long distant past.

“I see you don’t get much work done here, my lady.”

She was nonplussed by his dry tone. “Most of this concerns matters I’ve already dealt with. These are simply records. Paperwork and filing.”

“Ah.” He scanned the room again. “You need a computer in here then.” At her cocked brow, he hastened to explain. “To store these on.”

“So it will be neat and more organized?” She smiled. “Why would I ever want to do that?”

Enjoyed that?  Then why not head over to the WIPpet linky and visit some our other awesome members. A huge thank you to Emily, our gracious host. 😀