Snowing in Hell

So it is October 12, 2009 and it is snowing for the second time in 3 days. The first time was actually a new record in our area. It had never snowed that much that early in recorded history. Now it is snowing again and that just seems cruel. It makes me want to rip an icicle from my roof and beat Al Gore with it.

Today I don't know if I will work on any new stories or not. I might just work on edits and re-writes from at least 2 different stories and maybe a 3rd. I have been wracking my brain trying to come up with something for 52 stitches but I am at a loss. I haven't been able to write a flash piece for quite some time now. I think I broke that part of my brain and I can't fix it with super-glue. I tried, but now my fingers are stuck together and for some reason my leg twitches all the time.

Happy Monday!

Broken Shells

Jake looked at his friend in the ancient Humpty Dumpty costume. “I told you you were too big for it.”

“Shut up and get me out of this, it smells like old meat and cigarettes,” Bryan said. He was trying to reach the zipper on the back, spinning around in circles with his arms outstretched, hoping desperately that the next go-round would connect his fingers to the clasp that held him in.

“Hold your horses there Egg-boy.” Jake undid the fingers on his own costume, which looked nothing like the Cheshire Cat from the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland, even with the over sized smile and dark stripes, but it was the only one that fit him. He tugged at the zipper on the stained eggshell costume. “What the hell did you do?”

“I didn't do anything. You were the dumb-ass who said 'let's try these costumes on.'”

“Stop moving, I just about have it.”

“Hurry up, its getting hot in here and I gotta go.”

“Settle down, you won't be late for curfew. ” Jake said in between grunts. His fingers slipped on the clasp that held the zipper in place. “I don't know. We might have to go ask for some help.”

“I can't see a thing and I really have to pee, I don't have to be home for hours.”

“Oh,” Jake said and tugged as hard as his fourteen year old fingers could. Bryan's potty dance wasn't helping him out. “Maybe I could use the pliers my dad keeps in his truck.” Jake let go and started to cross the road to the blue Ford truck his dad had driven them in.

“Don't leave me here,” Bryan pleaded. He was grabbing himself, trying to hold back his bladder with one hand, and pulling at the top of the costume to see through the misplaced eye-holes with the other.

“Fine,” Jake said and walked back to take his friend's free hand. “Just stop grabbing yourself. What are you, three?”

“I can't help it. I shouldn't have drank that two liter of Mountain Dew.”

They started across the road as a dark GTO rounded the corner. The driver had his head tipped back, a bottle to his lips. Jake saw him and tried to pull his friend out of the way only to be clipped by the front bumper. Jake didn't see Bryan get run over by the car, but heard the crunch of bones and the thump of suspension.

By the time Jake dared to look the GTO was speeding down the road, a ragged piece of material clung to the undercarriage. Bryan, still locked in most of his costume, was twisted in unnatural forms and he wasn't leaking yolk.

The 'Ah-ha' moment

I love it when that moment comes. That moment that brings everything together, if not on the page yet, but in the mind. That point where you aren't quite sure where the story is heading and then AH-HA! Or maybe you are a Eureka type person. I don't know.

That moment happened to me this morning. I have been trying to figure out where to take this Scoiry story of mine and I have had several different paths I could take it down. The problem is that it is written in first person and you can't kill them off. Mostly because then you have no one to tell your story. I figured it out and now I can finish it and be happy because bad things can still happen to the living.

Tomorrow my flash story (that didn't make it into the finals, only the semi-finals) at the Shroud flash fiction contest will be up for flash Friday.) See you tomorrow.

One down

So we are down one week in October already. At this rate I am going to be scratching the bald spot on my head November 1st and going, Where the Hell did October go? Right after that I will be going, Crap! I have to start my NaNo project! (I would be off to a rough start on the first day of it and consider myself behind.)

I have been plugging away, a couple of hundred words at a time, trying to finish the story that I have been working on since last week. It is a slow go, but I think the effort is worth it. I am a little frustrated that the words aren't running from my fingertips like I think they should be. I have something in my mind that is making me edit it as I go. This is especially frustrating since I am not sure which information is relevant to the storyline yet. It might go in a direction I have not seen yet and wipe out half of the manuscript yet.

Anyway, that is where I sit, at a couple of thousand words and no idea where they are going, with November looming around the corner.

Have a good Wednesday. *sigh* here is the last little bit I wrote for WIP Wednesday (I almost forgot)

“Are you busy today?”

Something in the back of my mind told me to say yes, I was incredibly busy. “No, I've got nothing going on as far as I know.”

“Come on over to my friend's house.”

She hung up before I could change my mind

What weekend?

Another unproductive writing weekend. I am used to them. I have managed to submit two pieces this morning (one magazine folded, the other rejected) and continue work on my untitled work from my Wednesday post this morning. I think it is taking a dark turn for the worse for my main character. :)

I can do all of this because the boy is still asleep from last night (going on almost 14 hours of sleep now) so I thought I should be as productive as possible.

Anyway, I was told that my old heating and cooling guy in my hometown has published a book. I haven't been able to find it on Amazon or Barnes and Noble, yet, so I am assuming he had it self published. All of the proceeds go to a veterans fund and I have been told that it is actually quite good (he was a pretty good storyteller and often did more talking than working) If I ever find a link to it I will post it, but that isn't the reason for my post. I found out that my hometown (not the town I was born in with the ax massacre but the one I was actually raised in for 16 years) was the inspiration for the 2005 Pulitzer prize winning book Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. I had no idea. I still haven't read the book either, but I am planning on finding a copy now. You can read more about it HERE.

So, what are your hometown's literary backgrounds (other than you)? The world wants to know (and I am curious as well).

Doh!

I can't believe that I forgot that I had a short story published in Sand last month, plus I received a beautiful book called 52 Stitches. Yesterday my story Beneath the Willows was released at Bards and Sages.

So, yesterday I managed another 1500 words in my scoiry (to borrow a word from Carrie) story. I don't know how long this is going to end up. Something tells me far longer than will be usable in any short story market. I might surprise myself and pull it in under 7500 words. I don't know yet. I've got a few ideas where I could take it, I just don't know yet.

Last night, in one of the worst nights of my life, my boy (who my wife thinks is getting sick) didn't let me go to bed until 5. I think I am running on about an hour of sleep and I haven't had any coffee yet, mostly because I keep forgetting about it. Because of this I don't know if I will attempt any writing (my typing is seriously lagging and I am giving my delete button a real workout right now). I might try and find something on the History Channel and call it a day. At least until I have to go watch the homecoming parade that my daughter will be walking in.

Have a great weekend. A great, rest-filled, weekend.

Gone in an instant

September, hello? Are you around here? No? Who the hell are you? Oh, Hi October.

September was quite possibly the shortest month this year. It started off great. I made my only acceptance of the month in Midnight Echo issue #3 (should be out shortly) and was published in Feathertale.com on their short fiction page. Other than that I received 3 rejections and one new hold as a semi-finalist for the Shroud short fiction contest #7, where we are still trying to figure out which Monday Mr. Deal meant.

Other than that I wrote no completed short stories although I did start one, and I outlined a new YA book that I have a lot of research to do before I start. I also managed 1 query letter that didn't look like crap and did more editing on my MG book, Big Chief's Gold.

I have no goals in mind for October, we shall see what the month brings although I would like to finish this story I have started and outline the book I plan on writing for NaNo. Not real ambitious but my kids don't take naps anymore.