free writing

A Monday Moment: Foreboding

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Monday Moment - Foreboding

Todd grasped his wife’s upper arms. “You must take the magistrate’s fastest horse and warn everyone in and around the village that they need to escape before it’s too late.”

Tears streamed down Rachel’s face. “Would it not be wiser to ride straight to Northbay and ask them to send an army?”

“You know we don’t have time for that. We’ve all heard the tales—once Antios’s men show up outside the village, it’s only a matter of time before Antios himself arrives and destroys the village. Our town only has hours left. If we can warn enough people, maybe someone will survive to tell our story too.”

She nodded and took a deep breath. “I will warn who I can.” Then she pulled her husband into a quick embrace.

“We’ll keep Antios’s men engaged as long as we can to allow those escaping to get away. As soon as you have sounded sufficient alarm, make for the nearest town.”

She pulled back and looked him in the eye. “I won’t leave without you.” Her jaw was set and eyes unwavering.

“Rachel, my love, you know that those of us staying to fight will leave before Antios arrives if we can. We must stay as long as we can, to give the rest of you a chance. But listen to me—if I do not make it, it would be better for Laura and Joshua to lose one parent, and for Shanna to lose one grandparent, than two. They will need you.”

Prompt used: After a powerful enemy destroys 2 major cities, they arrive at your main character’s city

Daily Writing Check-in: May 5, 2019

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Words/Time:  54 minutes doing preliminary work for the new outline of “Vin” as well as some free writing with a prompt.

Over half of this time was spent finishing reading through the first draft. I then used a prompt for some free writing for 10-15 minutes, which will be tomorrow’s Monday Moment.

And for the last few minutes, I got Scrivener set up to start putting broad scenes into it, to start outlining the first draft of “Vin,” so I can see what I’m starting with at a glance, figure out what needs cut and what can be kept, and decide where to go from there. I’ll work on that tomorrow, because I’m pretty beat right now.

Daily Writing Check-in: May 3, 2019

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Words/Time:  3 hours, 42 minutes doing preliminary work for the new outline of “Vin” as well as some free writing with a prompt.

3 hours were spent reading through the first draft of “Vin,” which was written in November of 2017 for NaNoWriMo. I’m now on page 109 out of 137, deep in the climax scene. This time was spent throughout the day, coming back to reading whenever I could, because I just enjoyed it that much.

When I got to my normal writing time in the evening, I decided that with so much time already on the clock for the day, it was a good day to get some writing practice in, so I pulled a prompt. It ended up leading me to a scene that involves a story I have barely even thought about yet–book 3 of the “Pursuit of Power” trilogy*. It actually led to some small ideas for a story that intimidates me, because it’s been in such darkness for so long. It’s invigorating to have some light shed onto it out of nowhere like this.

I also had a crazy, out-of-nowhere idea for the story I’m currently outlining, “Vin,” that solves one big issue I had, and also adds some serious drama and intrigue. After the free writing, I took some time to write that idea down so I didn’t forget it, and then decided that I had plenty of time in for today.

I don’t know if any of these ideas today will make it anywhere, but I’m really enjoying the organic discovery that’s been happening, after weeks of coaxing ideas for “The Seeger Book.” I know both ways of arriving at a story are valid, and it doesn’t make the plot & outline for “The Seeger Book” any less good or worth writing, just because it took more work to shape it to what it is. But the random, out-of-nowhere ideas are just so much more fun and exhilarating. And considering how light on plot “Vin” is, it’s going to take a lot of new ideas to shape it into a story anyway.

*I’m still guessing it’s going to be a trilogy. I haven’t figured out what the 3rd book will entail yet, or if it will be too much for just 1 more book after the 2 I have planned.

A Monday Moment: Favor

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“So, can you do me a favor?”

“A favor?” he scoffed. “You must be joking!”

I stared at him, trying so hard to keep my face as stoic as possible.

“Don’t think of it as a favor for me then. Think of it as a favor for your homeland. For your friends and family there. For you, even.” I could see his jaw jumping as he clenched and unclenched it over and over. He was angry. He had every right to be. Still, he had come to see me.

“If this has anything to do with Linus, you can save your breath. He’s not getting out any time soon. And neither are you.”

“I don’t want him to get out. I don’t care if I’m released either. But he can still do a lot from prison.”

“Not from prison in Pithea,” he countered.

“You don’t think so? Do you know anything about the operation he was running back home? About the operation he was running here?”

For as cold as he had been, his tone turned to ice when he replied, “I think I know enough.”

I lowered my gaze for a moment. I would have apologized for my part in all this, but I was pretty sure it wouldn’t have made a difference.

“I’m only saying that Linus is very connected, very smart, and very determined. I wanted him caught here in Pithea, but the truth is—”

“Wait, what?”

I looked back up at him to see narrowed eyes.

“You wanted him caught? Don’t you work for him? And you got yourself arrested too.”

“I’m well aware of that, thank you. But if you haven’t noticed, they don’t have much in the way of charges against me. My guess is the worst they’ll do is keep me here for a bit, and then send me back. I can’t go back—not after getting Linus thrown in jail.”

“I’m supposed to feel bad that they’ll hate you back home after what you’ve done?”

“They won’t just hate me.” I searched his face for the slightest hint of the compassion or kindness I once knew. “They’ll kill me.”

Prompt used: favor

Daily Writing Check-in: April 28, 2019

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Words/Time:  28 minutes of freewriting

I knew it would be difficult to find time to write this weekend. Yesterday, I managed to carve out some time in the afternoon, which was good, because I didn’t get home from a concert until around midnight.

Today, after being up super early and getting home only a couple of hours before my family we going to see Avengers: Endgame, by the time we got home from that, I was so tired, I could barely keep my eyes open. Still, I knew I had 150 minutes of writing work left to finish Camp NaNoWriMo before the end of the month, so I decided anything I could get done was better than nothing.

It seemed like a good time for freewriting, rather than trying to focus on the outline I’ve been working on, so I went back to an old word list I wrote down in my failed attempt at a bullet journal 1 1/2 years ago. I picked a word from the list and wrote 356 words. And even better, it’s not too vague, confusing, or spoiler-y to be used as a Monday Moment, an attempt at a weekly feature on my blog that has been incredibly sporadic over the last 5 months. But come Monday, there will be a Monday Moment!

A Monday Moment: Mistaken Identity

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Natos had specifically chosen to spend that day alone, not wanting to get caught up in his brother’s chaos for once. He figured Jaffna would be safe, because he’d heard Acronis discuss heading to Taellyn with some of the others. As soon as he heard the giggle right behind him, he knew he should have gone to Qulu instead. His brother and the others would never bother with that remote location.

Despite hearing her coming, he wasn’t expecting the arms to wrap around his body from behind. He let out a startled yelp and pulled away, turning around quickly.

“Inanna!” he said with a gasp.

“Oh!” Her face turned bright red and she covered her cheeks with her hands. “I thought you were Acronis!”

“I gathered,” he muttered.

“I’m so sorry!”

“Right…well, it’s not a big deal.”

“Maybe not for you,” she said breathlessly. “You’re…Natos, right?”

He refrained from rolling his eyes as he nodded his head. It wasn’t that he minded that this rather attractive young woman preferred his brother to him. But despite how little he cared to hang out with his Acronis and the others, he had been around a lot when Acronis was in Jaffna and spent time with Inanna. Was it that hard to remember his name?

“Is Acronis here too?” she asked, looking around the area.

“I don’t think so. I heard them talking about going to Taellyn today.”

She stuck her bottom lip out. “What’s in Taellyn? Who is in Taellyn?”

Natos only shrugged. He couldn’t tell her what he was thinking. I couldn’t even begin to care. Why on earth do you want anything to do with my brother or those others that he spends all of his time with? What must be wrong with you that this is the kind of attention you want?

The truth was, he had always seen signs that Inanna’s family was not much better than his own. He felt bad for the girl, but on the other hand, at least her life was better than his. At least she wouldn’t be expected to become a mercenary and assassin, living in the shadows for the rest of her life, never having the chance to have real connections with others. He could only hope that she didn’t waste her freedom—that she would outgrow this fascination with his brothers and find some better friends.

Prompt used: What if your character was mistaken for someone else?

Daily Writing Check-in: March 1, 2019

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Words/Time: 396 words of free writing.

I didn’t get to my writing time until 11:30, so I knew I wasn’t going to have an easy time getting into anything substantial. I figured this was a good time to do some free writing and try to come up with something for the next Monday Moment. I knew a prompt of some kind would help a lot in getting started quickly, so I went to a blog that I know has prompts every Friday. I looked through several of the Friday posts, looking for a prompt that sparked a quick idea, and weirdly ended up back at the prompt posted today.

A Monday Moment: Engagement

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“Aunt Winnie, why are you acting so nervous?”

“Am I?” She absently pulled on the end of her sleeve.

“Winnie,” Nathan said more firmly.

When she finally looked up at him, her face made him concerned.

“Is everything all right?” he asked, suddenly worried about what might have happened.

“Yes, everything’s fine. I just have…news, and I’m not sure how you’ll take it.”

“Just tell me. Is someone hurt? Sick?”

“No, nothing like that. No, Nate, it’s good news. I just don’t know…”

“Just tell me,” he repeated.

“Brian has asked me to marry him. I’ve accepted.”

“What?” Nathan broke into a wide grin. It was completely the opposite of what he’d expected with how she was acting. “Why would you be worried about how I would take that news? That’s wonderful!”

Oh,” she said, smiling with relief. “I’m really glad you think so.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, it’s just that I know you and Brian have gotten close—”

“He and I are close? You’re my aunt.”

“Of course, I know, but I worried it might be strange for you.”

Nathan put his hand on her shoulder and tried not to chuckle at her ridiculous concern. “You saved my life, at the risk of your own. You have to know I want nothing but happiness for you. Even if it had been strange for me, I would never have stood in your way or made you feel bad for this.

She pulled her nephew into a hug, and he thought back over the time he’d known his aunt. He pulled back so she could see his sincerity when he spoke again.

“When I was in Maebor, my favorite days were those that you or Brian would visit. The only thing that topped those days were the ones when you and he came to visit together. It felt like…” He paused for a breath when he felt the emotion rising to the surface. He forced past a sob and continued, “It felt like I had real parents, for the first time in my life. Now you tell me that my surrogate mother and my surrogate father are going to be married? I don’t think anything has made me happier, except of course meeting Penny and making her my wife.”

Daily Writing Check-in: February 9, 2019

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Words/Time: 30 minutes contemplating the outline for “Outcast,” and then abandoning it to free write, and finally come up with my first Monday Moment for this month.

I’ve been thinking about what to do next in the outline off and on since yesterday, but I think the next thing I need to do is write down what needs to happen during the next few days of the story, which will mostly be character development, so I can make sure it happens at a decent pace, so it doesn’t get too slow. I didn’t have the energy for that tonight. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be more rested.

A Monday Moment: Batman

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My friends and I stopped in the coffee shop to sit and drink and talk. I almost ran into Jessica, who had stopped in the doorway. She ushered us back outside quickly.

“Batman’s in there,” she whispered frantically. Her face was red and there were tears forming in her eyes.

“What?” Grace asked. “Seriously, why’d you make us come back out here?”

“Seriously.” Jessica pointed at the door. “Batman is in there.”

“What does that mean?” I asked. Jessica always was one who would say something cryptic and expect us to follow her thinking.

“It means—” She opened the door so we could see inside. “—freaking Batman is in the coffee shop!”

Seated at a table not far from the door was a man wearing black clothes and a black hat. He was watching us peek in the door at him, and I wondered just how crazy he thought we were.

Jessica shut the door and we backed away as we saw someone else walking toward it.

“So…he’s Batman why?” Grace asked.

“What do you mean, ‘why?’ He had the whole get-up.”

Grace looked at me and I sighed.

“A black hat and sweater aren’t exactly a Batman outfit,” I said. “Maybe he’s just not a colorful person.”

“That wasn’t a sweater! Or a hat. He had the mask and all. You guys didn’t notice? Over in the back corner?”

“Oh…no, I was looking at the guy right up front here.”

“I was looking at the guy in the corner,” Grace said. “But isn’t Batman a fictional guy?”

Jessica stared at Grace silently for a few seconds before looking back at me. “Okay, look in there again, but this time look in the back.”

“I don’t want to stand out here looking in there again like some idiot. Let’s just go in.”

“But—”

The door opened then, and out walked a man in a full Batman outfit—cape, cowl, and all.

He turned our way and walked by us while we stared at him.

“Ladies,” he said in a gravelly voice.

After he left, Grace whispered, “He is Batman.”

Prompt used: You walk into a coffee shop and see Batman sitting in the corner booth.