First things first, well, I apologize for falling off the face of the planet (or this blog more specifically) when my late son's birthday rolled around. It was the first birthday after his death, and it leveled me flat. Then came my birthday, which was equally miserable. And Mother's Day is forever unbearable for me now.
Luckily I started a new job in the video game industry around that time, so I had a lot to keep me busy, for which I was extremely grateful. So I was doing pretty well until the anniversary of his passing this past month. I immersed myself in video games for nights on end. Still am as a matter of fact.
Borderlands 2 is the first FPS (first-person shooter) that I've really truly
taken to. I love that game, mostly because it has a female character that
I can play, it has co-op so I can play with Jason, and it feels very MMORPG-ish
with multiple quest lines and lots and lots of loot! Anyway, so I'm
getting along well, loving my new job, finding things to occupy my time, and
picking up the pieces as best I can.
I have been
writing amazingly enough. I have 10, albeit small, chapters written on my
very first trashy romance novel! It won't be for everyone, my females are
less “warm and fuzzy” and more “strong no-nonsense ass kickers”...no surprise
for those of you who know me.
I recently attended a lecture for writers and learned that I may need a more organic way of writing than to plan out an outline first. It seems to take out all the fun for me apparently. I'll keep experimenting and working on the novel as inspiration hits. So far, I love the story and I have no idea where the characters are going to take me (Kim and Jake that is). That's exciting!
So I'm going to start back up with my writing
exercises, where I left off. Here goes!
Exercise 2 (from What If? by Anne Bernays and
Pamela Painter)
Using
one sentence written in exercise 1, write ten second sentences that will take
the story in entirely different directions.
1) Jenny cracked the
gum in her mouth as she looked out the filmy window of the salon and watched
Leonard Maynes wave his handgun around haphazardly while lumbering down the
middle of Main Street.
"Darlene,
yer husband is at it again!" she squawked back toward the rinsing bowls as
she locked the front door and picked up the phone and started dialing 911.
2) Jenny cracked the gum in her mouth as she
looked out the filmy window of the salon and watched Leonard Maynes wave his
handgun around haphazardly while lumbering down the middle of Main Street.
She looked down at her
wristwatch, as it was only a matter of time before the sheriff came and hauled
him off to jail to sober-up after yet another drunk and disorderly charge, and
she was hoping that Will Brutaker would go along for the ride and she'd have a
chance to chat with him and see if he'd go to the fair with her this weekend.
3) Jenny cracked the gum in her mouth as she
looked out the filmy window of the salon and watched Leonard Maynes wave his
handgun around haphazardly while lumbering down the middle of Main Street.
It took her a minute to
notice the rambling gate and green-gray of his skin...if she didn't know better
she'd say Leonard looked more like a zombie than the dairy farmer living down
on route 53 who drank too much.
4) Jenny cracked the gum in her mouth as she
looked out the filmy window of the salon and watched Leonard Maynes wave his
handgun around haphazardly while lumbering down the middle of Main Street. She pushed open the screen door of the salon, stomped right out to
Leonard, pulled the gun out of his hand, and cuffed him upside the head with
her free hand.
5) Jenny cracked the gum in her mouth as she
looked out the filmy window of the salon and watched Leonard Maynes wave his
handgun around haphazardly while lumbering down the middle of Main Street. She watched nonplussed as old Joe Moriarty walked out to him, hands
on hips, and tried to talk some sense into the recent widower that wasn't
dealing with things all too well.
6) Jenny cracked the
gum in her mouth as she looked out the filmy window of the salon and watched
Leonard Maynes wave his handgun around haphazardly while lumbering down the
middle of Main Street. She'd have just ignored him, again, but when he
got closer, she saw the blood spattered across the front of him so she picked
up the reception phone and quickly dialed 911.
7) Jenny cracked the
gum in her mouth as she looked out the filmy window of the salon and watched
Leonard Maynes wave his handgun around haphazardly while lumbering down the
middle of Main Street. Just like Lana Maynes to drive her husband to a
fit of public drunk and disorderly, that poor man never stood a chance against
the likes of that bitch.
8) Jenny cracked the
gum in her mouth as she looked out the filmy window of the salon and watched
Leonard Maynes wave his handgun around haphazardly while lumbering down the
middle of Main Street.
"Hey,
Fiona, did you piss off Leonard again?" Jenny asked casually and went back
to filing her nails.
9) Jenny cracked the gum in her mouth as she looked out the
filmy window of the salon and watched Leonard Maynes wave his handgun around
haphazardly while lumbering down the middle of Main Street. And following
four or five paces behind him was his ever-faithful hound, Ben, with his head
hung low, obviously embarrassed enough for the two of them.
10) Jenny cracked
the gum in her mouth as she looked out the filmy window of the salon and
watched Leonard Maynes wave his handgun around haphazardly while lumbering down
the middle of Main Street. As she walked out of the salon toward him,
Leonard turned toward her, put the gun in his mouth as he looked at her, and
pulled the trigger, blood and brain matter exploding out the back of his head.
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