Month: November 2014

Secretary – A Dieselpunk Noir Superhero tale

lynnacfrost 6 Comments

Author & Blogger Chuck Wendig posted this Flash Fiction challenge http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2014/11/21/flash-fiction-challenge-superheroes-plus-2/  …

Heaven help me, I rolled Dieselpunk and had to Google it. Now I even have a Dieselpunk station on Pandora. (It’s for research, dude. Creating mood.) I also had to look up a Noir Glossary. Bet you didn’t even know there was one out there.

Right, so I’m in the middle of NaNoWriMo and wasn’t gonna even do this, but then Guy and Betty got in my head and I couldn’t resist. (Sorry Helga, Gretchen, and Oswald, I had to leave y’all out of it. 1000 words wasn’t enough for your stories too.) Anyways, this will turn up in my NaNo word count as a story one character remembers his mother reading to him when he was a kid.

Thanks for checking it out – hope the story satisfies.

And again, please forgive the rough edit. NaNo, remember? 😀

SECRETARY
A Dieselpunk Noir Superhero tale, 1000 words

If not for the skin-tight leather mini-dress and thigh-high boots,  she coulda passed for a classy dame. Continue reading →

NaNoWriMo and the Traveling Shovel of Death

lynnacfrost Leave a comment

So, I’m procrastinating and reading the NaNo forums instead of writing. And there’s a thread about this shovel! Not just any shovel. A murderous, serial-killer shovel. You can read about it here Traveling Shovel of Death if you’re interested.

I think, no way can this work in my story, a medieval romance fantasy adventure (???). The next thing I know, my characters are mucking out a stable. Wait – is that a shovel? How did that get in here??

Writing in the TSoD gave me a playful moment, and it set up a plot ‘thing’ for later on. Plus, it gave the characters an excuse to leave the stable. So – useful AND fun! I’d like to find some synonyms for shovel, however. 😛

You can read about the TSoD’s adventure in my novel below if you like. Beware, however; this deceptively mild-mannered gardening tool tends to wander into unsuspecting narratives.

(Please excuse the many typos & rough spots & * (reminders for later editing) — this is NaNo, OK?)

Devon was about to make a joke when the other boy stiffened and glanced behind him.

“What?” Devon didn’t see anything, but Cyrran’s eyes were wide.

The gypsy almost ran the last few stesp up to the stable, and dropped the pails. Water sloshed up the sides and splashed over.

Devon looked from side to side, but nothing threatening caught his eye.

Cyrran grabbed the shovel from his hands. slinging its load off to the side.

“Hey!” With Devon’s luck, Galvin would come around the corner right in the path of the flying muck. “What are you -”

Continue reading →

Nearing the end of NaNoWriMo

lynnacfrost Leave a comment

Yeah, my word count is WAY behind.

On the bright side, I’m making good progress on my story.

I think.

See, the almost-20K words I’ve got for NaNo so far belong,for the most part, in the beginning of my novel. The very first part. I’m thinking like 5-10%, based on all the other writing I’ve gotten done (Pre-NaNo) and have yet to do. So what does that say about my novel? Way too long? Far too wordy? Needs to be chunked into several different novels? (but – plot points! turning points! character development! resolutions! All that and more??) Or maybe…

BELONGS IN THE BOTTOM OF THE SHREDDER.

Wait, I know this.
Chuck Wendig & others have warned of this phenomenon.
This is one of those times when my novel sucks, right?
Just gotta keep plugging away, right?

Only, what if it really is too long?

Then I guess I’ll edit out the chaff later. Right?

Right??

**************

Anyways!
Wanted to post a sentence I’m happy with today.
(might change my mind tomorrow.)

He only knew that his own heart seemed to burn away with the map, and he wished he could disintegrate along with it and float away, white ash on waves of heat.

Mmm.
Sounds like pirates & buried treasure, right?
Only it’s nothing of the sort.
Wonder why it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.
For all I know, it’s perfect crap.
But for now – I like it.

Back to writing!! 😀

Photo 18 – Baba Yaga and the Celery Head Man

lynnacfrost 2 Comments

In response to Chuck Wendig’s Flash Fiction Unusable Photo Challenge , I took a break from NaNoRiMo and current WIP to remind myself that writing can be fun …

To my dismay, the random number generator selected # 18 . To my surprise, it turned out to be fun after all. Enjoy!

 Baba Yaga and the Celery Head Man

Slender, strong fingers caressed my ancient shoulders. These frequent visits stirred me up like nothing else could, at least in recent memory. I loved the way she left me feeling clearer, more open to new growth.

Today she was rooting out a particularly tenatious irritation, and I lay quiet under her touch, exposed to the morning sun.

“Not so fast, Baba.” The reedy voice took us both by surprise. Continue reading →

NaNoWriMo

lynnacfrost Leave a comment

NOTE – Suggested NaNoWriMo Pep Talk link …

 http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2014/11/01/you-have-permission-my-nanowrimo-pep-talk/

Sorry, Mr. W., for taking so much space on your blog when I could’ve just come here, but at the time I didn’t know! Anyways, thanks again for the opportunity to vent. Your kick-in-the-pants blog has been and continues to be an inspiration to me. I enjoy your Blackbirds novels as something amazing in a style completely foreign to me – and I can’t wait to get your latest book on writing tips & motivation. See you at http://terribleminds.com/ramble/blog/ !

** I posted the following as a Comment on Chuck Wendig’s blog  http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2014/10/31/nanowrimo-challenge/  …

Told myself I’d do NaNoWriMo LAST year … didn’t write a single word. Yikes!

So this time, I’m not “doing” NNWM. Instead, the month is for working through my 1st novel. The original idea began a couple years ago, as a short story for a contest. … Continue reading →