manuscript

Very Short Stories, Week 16!!!

Hey, guys! I can’t believe it has been FOUR MONTHS since I started doing the very short stories prompts on Twitter. It has kept me writing and challenged me in new ways.

The best thing I like about the #vss365 is it continually challenges my creativity and my ability to show rather than tell. Sometimes, I don’t deliver what I really want, but most of the time I really enjoy them!

My nephew has gone home and so it is time to settle back into a familiar routine that includes working on my manuscript. I’m prepping somemore tools to really help me get it to that polished level.

Anyways, I’ll keep this short. Here are my very short stories for the week!

 

July 30th

Birds of a feather #flock together, she told her daughter and ruffled her hair. You’ll be fine! I promise.

The daughter nodded and grabbed the familiar hand of her mother, worn with age. They walked down the gravel road of their drive way to wait for the school bus.

 

July 31st

The #Queen of Darkness reigned over nightmares and relished the sounds of screams. Pained wails bounced off the remains of her stone castle that night. The cries mingled with the smell of spilt blood to soothe her soul and she dreamed of red drops in the depths of depravity.

 

August 1st

The #cellar doors were smashed bits, surrounding the poorly lit opening. Its stairs descended into the pitch black with no end in sight. The flashlight shook in her hands but she clicked the light on. Cautious steps took her down the steps. The creaking echoed for miles.

 

August 2nd

#Familiar hands clasped hers, warm and soothing. But she didn’t hear his words. She’d vanished into a funeral in her mind’s eye, surrounded by fragrant flowers and the tears of the mourning. The coffin before her was made of oak, strong and sturdy like her father had been in life.

 

August 3rd

It’s a tough lesson when it comes to #sacrifice, the teacher said. His high school students sat there, bored but silent. Their gaze weighed on his shoulders and he breathed deeply. You see, certain jobs have more risks than others. They require a willingness to give and not get.

 

August 4th

Stars shimmered in the night sky like glitter on a black cloth. The pale face of the moon was absent, waiting rebirth the next night. She moved the telescope slowly, hunting for a different celestial body. Aha! She exclaimed as #Jupiter came into focus. Just beautiful!

 

August 5th

The #Empress stood still and silent, an observer of her husband’s power. Her role was nothing more than to enhance his presence.

She loathed him for it.

Her eyes roamed the army til they spotted her soldier. His attire shone in the light. Memories of his touch tempted her again.

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Very Short Stories, Week 7

Hello! Another week of very short stories is up to read now! I think some of my favourites might just be in this collection, too.

New month means new individual in charge of the word prompts and they have been wonderful thus far. I’m looking forward to seeing the challenges to come and try and push myself further with my writing, too!

 

May 28th

The computer screens flashed on the moment she touched the mouse. Her lips turned upwards in a faint smile, and she clicked the folder where her manuscript hid. A white page covered in black swirls and lines greeted her eyes, and she knew she’d never #regret writing.

 

May 29th

The grass was soft against her hands, dampened by dew. Lips curled into a smile and the chill of the air sent goosebumps along her skin. Entranced by the #Orion, she fell away from the world and the freckled boy who saw the galaxy in her emerald gaze.

 

May 30th

The #patch stood out in the crowd since it covered a woman’s eye and hid a gruesome sight. But she had known it would.

On horseback, she moved through the men and kept her gaze straight ahead. Her face kept cold as stone, she shouted above them, “You follow my lead or you die.”

 

May 31st

Sleep shed itself from her mind and left a #reverie in its wake. Images danced beneath her eyelids, enticing her to remain coddled in bed.  Invincible in a land of her making, she found happiness in ignorance and kept the curtain drawn. Forsake the day for night has come.

 

June 1st

Stones were piled to the sides around the dig and wheelbarrows brought more in a hurry. The sound of metal biting into dirt filled the day while shouts gave further instructions.

This world beneath our feet is #ancient, he spoke to his daughter. And it needs our love.

 

June 2nd

Sweat ran down her face in drips and her heart beat in excruciating bursts. I can do this, she thought, determined to beat the #crucible before her. The gates opened, unleashing her into the labyrinth, and she surged forward. Knife in her grasp, she listened for threats.

 

June 3rd

The #willow tree stood tall in the meadow and wildflowers bowed to it in the breeze. Its branches swayed to nature’s tune whilst birds fluttered underneath its canopy. Tickled by the sun, the rustling of leaves became its laughter, and joy shimmered through the grasses.

Time is My Enemy

Last week, I mentioned I was really excited to start editing/revising my book again. And I was. Honest.

However, I didn’t touch it. Not even once.

Instead my time was consumed by starting a freelance transcription job and a paper route. I was anxious about the flyers being delivered, and waited until they showed up on both Tuesday and Wednesday. For no real reason.

Wednesday night, I started delivering the flyers and my husband helped me after I had started. Thankfully he did, because there was no way I was getting it done on my own! As I type this, my feet still hurt and I think I did something to a nerve in my right leg ’cause it ‘shivers’ randomly.

Needless to say, I have quit the paper route.

My time needs to be focused on my book more than anything else, and it is tough to do that when I’m stressing out about other things. Plus, the route was something I wanted to do by myself, but the size of it makes that impossible which means I’d always need Andrew’s help. That isn’t fair to him.

The transcription job is a different beast. It is something I choose to do on my own time, but I wanted to see how feasible it is. Now, even with a wonky left ear (lately), I’ve managed to transcribe pretty well, and my metrics (which focus on accuracy, formatting, and commitment) are very good for the time being.

What sucks is how time consuming it is to do a short audio clip. Decent audio quality doesn’t take too long until you factor in the speakers and whether they are formulating clear sentences or not.

Still, everything I’m transcribing seems to be interesting and I’m learning in a way I did not expect. I’ll keep going at it, but…

My husband has made it pretty clear that my time should be spent on my book, and transcribing takes a second place to it. Which was super nice to hear.

Sometimes, I mess up my priorities based on what I think he wants me to be doing. I don’t want to disappoint him, but I do need to put myself and what’s best for me first from time to time.

Anyways, moral of this story is… I WILL be editing my book this week or so help me, I’m gonna lose my freakin’ mind!

Take care of yourselves, everyone!

 

Tools of the Trade

Sorry for not posting anything yesterday, but I had a brainstorm session about the feedback I’d received for my book. It was awesomely fun, and I feel really good about the changes I’ve decided to make (thanks to amazing individuals with great feedback)!

As much as I want to start on them today, I want to stew on them over the weekend (plus when Andrew’s home, I’m often not as productive as I’d like). I also want to retrieve a bound copy of my manuscript my father did for me. It should help immensely for referencing instead of pinpointing sections on the computer.

I still plan on posting something daily while I go back to work on my book though forgive me if I miss a day here and there. The list of things I’m incharge of at our house has yet to shrink or shift to another’s shoulders (though I do enjoy it), and so certain things may drop every now and then.

Anyways to the point of my post!

Tools.of.the.Trade.jpg

The picture above are the things I use most frequently when writing my book!

A dictionary and a thesaurus are a must. I use the dictionary to make sure I am using words correctly (I have an awful memory on occasion). The thesaurus helps me change up words if/when I feel I am using the same one too much.

The green book holds ideas for my manuscript, and I write other novel ideas I have in there. One project at a time or I get overwhelmed!

The fox pen adds things to the green book (I love foxes and wolves, stereotypically!), and makes me relax at the sight of it.

The most important component though is my USB drive on an Eevee lanyard (yes, love Pokemon, play Pokemon Go!). I back up EVERYTHING onto it. My character details, plot, and of course, the chapters written first.

I do have a corkboard that has printed copies for me to reference as I write, and I have to find a new spot for it since I have upgraded from my crappy ASUS laptop to an actual desktop. (Andrew knows some IT stuff, and so it is a beaut!)

I am looking forward to imploying all these tools again, and revisiting characters I have shelved for longer than liked.

Wish me luck!

 

An artist is a sort of emotional or spiritual historian. His role is to make you realize the doom and glory of knowing who are and what you are. ~ James Baldwin