A Round of Words in 80 Days is a blog challenge that knows you have a life. It's a Blog Hop. Stop on in, meet some new friends and learn a thing or two. Oh and there's cheesecake and lemonade!
*Reading: almost a hundred pages into The Golden Compass (Phillip Pullman) and started Wicked.(Gregory Maguire), only 1 chapter in actually. Been really good about getting up and reading before work, sometimes even on my porch.
*Writing: wrote 1285 words yesterday, another branch to my Love in Ferns story. Might actually be a longer story or just a separate one. Not sure if I want to connect the two or not. Monday was my ROW80 check-in. so that is two days of writing, plus today's ROW80 check-in makes three in a row!!
*Social Media: reading 8 blogs on Monday for both Sunday and Monday. 4 read yesterday. On track. Participated in Tuesday Night's #writestuff Tweet Chat.
*Blogging: Posted yesterday (Tuesday) for #IndieRoar 10 day challenge presented by TheNotebookBlogairy.
*Housework: dishes and laundry are caught up and staying caught up. Well...Okay, I have a few dishes in the sink and a small pile to put away still. But that is caught up for me. Trust me! :-)
This Week (upcoming):
*Reading: continue with The Golden Compass and Wicked.
*Writing: write daily
*Editing: This is a BIG one! Work on Love in Ferns, currently WIP, and post it to #writestuff's monthly challenge.
*Submissions: not done this week. 1 new submission this week.
*Housework: vacuuming and maybe steam cleaning the carpets this weekend.
I am in week two of my vacation from theatre this summer. Still feels a little odd, like I should be doing something else. But then I see my progress on ROW80 goals. And things that I have written and I feel good. Like today, I am on my porch writing this listening to Paul McCartney's Off the Ground album and listening to the birds sing.
It's also WIPpet Wednesday! The creation of K.L. Schwengel and also a Blog Hop. Come and visit with us WIPpeteers. The math is weird, but so am I. Today's date is 6/10, so 6 + 10 + 3 = 19 lines from Love in Ferns.
Here Callie and the narrator take a walk. Sorry. That's all the lead up I can give today. This is the middle of this part of the story.
“You excited?” Callie called back. I looked up to see to the slight frame, willow-like dancing in the afternoon breeze. “This is gorgeous you know,” she said and spun around ducking below the waving branches and ferns, disappearing for a moment. My head looked around to see on the horizon dark clouds pressing closer, thunderheads. My hand pulled up over my eyes and I watched their slow march as I turned to see Callie reappeared and giggle. She was wearing a crown of buttercups, foxgloves, and daisies. Her hazel eyes looked back at me and she smiled. “You gonna tell me now?” she asking coyly.
Feeling much less nervous without a single person nearby, I put my arm around her shoulders, “not yet. Need to get to where we are going first,” as I pulled her closer.
“Don’t those look like thunder clouds?” she pointed, yet didn’t sound worried.
I tried to be protective and pulled her closer, trying to sound like I knew everything, “I think they are.”
“What type of clouds are they then?” she said sounding callous and cocky. "Go on, tell me" she said in a mocking jest and I realized I had no response for her.
Callie pulled away, turning her hazel eyes from mine, “Can you just tell me here?” she sounded a little desperate as she motioning to the field of fern fronds, wildflowers, and trees that made the whole area look like some sort of abandoned cathedral.
I guess I was determined to have my way, “But this place is not THE place,” and I motioned past the Elms Gate up ahead. The wind slowed down and I felt the temperature rise. Or maybe it was me, but Callie looked like she had beads of sweat on her brow. I turned to look at the elm trees, the thunder clouds were closer, "Cumulonimbus Clouds," I said.
Feeling much less nervous without a single person nearby, I put my arm around her shoulders, “not yet. Need to get to where we are going first,” as I pulled her closer.
“Don’t those look like thunder clouds?” she pointed, yet didn’t sound worried.
I tried to be protective and pulled her closer, trying to sound like I knew everything, “I think they are.”
“What type of clouds are they then?” she said sounding callous and cocky. "Go on, tell me" she said in a mocking jest and I realized I had no response for her.
Callie pulled away, turning her hazel eyes from mine, “Can you just tell me here?” she sounded a little desperate as she motioning to the field of fern fronds, wildflowers, and trees that made the whole area look like some sort of abandoned cathedral.
I guess I was determined to have my way, “But this place is not THE place,” and I motioned past the Elms Gate up ahead. The wind slowed down and I felt the temperature rise. Or maybe it was me, but Callie looked like she had beads of sweat on her brow. I turned to look at the elm trees, the thunder clouds were closer, "Cumulonimbus Clouds," I said.
Ooo... What is she wanting to know? I assume the clouds are more of a test of the POV's knowledge than the thing she really wants to be told about. Mysterious!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Some secrets are better for the waiting.... ;-)
DeleteI've always liked the name Callie.
ReplyDeleteAnd man, I tried re-learning all the cloud names this year while homeschooling - it was too much for me!
Clouds were one thing I absolutely loved learning about Cirrus, Stratus, Nimbostratus, Cumulonimbus, Cirrostratus....they are sexy names. Oh, I have an idea....
DeleteThe part about the temperature rising and the thunder clouds--we actually had that today. It got suddenly hotter, then the sky went almost black in the middle of the day right before a huge thunderstorm. I don't know if this is what you intended, but the scene gives me a suspenseful feeling. There's all this beauty, with the flowers and trees, and then there's this foreboding with the thunder clouds.
ReplyDeleteI'm psychic! :-) Yeah, it was kinda intentional. I love the dramatic shift of the scene from one to another.
DeleteThe first paragraph -- I tumbled on this. "I looked up to see to the slight frame" Not sure if there's a typo in there or if you worded it that way on purpose, but I had to read it three times to get past it. Other than that, a very moody piece here. I get a flitting, dancing, feeling -- like fairies fluttering about but something looming. And what is it she wants to know so badly that is being withheld??? Interesting.
ReplyDeleteI went back and read it. Yeah, not sure where my head was. Thanks for noticing. I think I get so wrapped in the story that I think before I type. I guess that's what edits are for.
DeleteThanks! :-)
Fun snippet, Cindy (btw, welcome into the WIPpet Wednesday nice to see you jump here from the ROW80).
ReplyDeleteI tried reading The Golden Compass and just couldn't get into it. My husband loved it, but I never connected. I like what Pullman wrote about his experiences writing it, but the book itself just wasn't where I was at the time I started it. I should probably try again, huh?
Yeah, some books are like that. I have a few that I just CANNOT get into or finish, one being Lord of the Flies. To this day I cannot get into it. I am going to re-watch the movie and do a lengthy comparing review on it in the next week or two (time depending).
DeleteIt's a good book, with a lot of excellent characters and an intricate plot. I also really enjoyed the daemon/soul concept.
Even between theater commitments, lots is happening here. Your goals are so clearly laid out. What a neat place to consider the morning and write! That mix of sunshine and clouds as Callie frolics in the flowers hints at conflict between the two, though I don't quite understand why the strong emotions and why he can't just tell her what he wants. Sigh. That's the pleasure of WIPpet, though. A snippet from the middle. So I hope this holiday keeps you writing. Re the carpets, I can only encourage you. Ours look amazing; after a whole week, I can't quite get used to the absence of dirt!
ReplyDeleteThe mornings during the spring and summer are my are just gorgeous and really inspiring. Also it's lovely porch to sit on now that I have furniture to sit on. :-)
DeleteI love your porch, and it's inspiring me...ours is screened in, set back from the road, and screened by a pair of arching lilac trees...every other summer, we've used the air conditioner a lot, and it vents onto the porch- this year, we've got a light-colored roof that isn't soaking up heat, and a new layer of insulation in part of the ceiling, and those are keeping things considerably cooler...so I think I'm going to prioritize getting the clutter out of there, and make myself a little writing space, where I can sip my coffee and write...
ReplyDeleteThe snippet is moody and tense, while at the same time light and free. The tension's a little like a soap bubble, or the moment before that first clap of thunder - I can feel the percussive force of the coming explosion...
Beautiful use of imagery, your cloud-passion, and language!
that part of the story has been rather fun to explore. More to come on Wednesday!
DeleteSounds like a couple of fun blog hops. I am cruising through on my A to Z Road Trip....Hope to see more of you
ReplyDeleteThanks for crashing my party!!! :-)
DeleteDropping in on the A-Z road trip. I read all of the Dark Materials trilogy and really enjoyed it. I managed to get through Lord of the Flies but am struggling at the moment with Catch 22. I'm working my way through a particular list of books. Your porch looks lovely and you clearly enjoy writing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by! :-)
DeleteHis Dark Materials is a delightful romp through the realm of the whimsical and probably never finish Lord of the Flies. I just cant....