Posted by Grá on Jun 2, 2009 in
Chunks Of Story,
Words Words Words Dave made a valiant effort.
At 10:40am, he sent me a link to War & Peace, suggesting that i might like to spend the day reading.
At 1:10pm, he detailed all the things he would do with his $10, donations to despicable causes.
At 4:10pm, he sent me a study outlining the health problems associated with lack of sleep. A nap, he suggested, was in order.
It was a good try, Dave, but i am happy to report my $10 is saved.
Instead, you get a plethora of muppets!
Novel Excerpt:
———————————–
They sat around a butcher block table in a white kitchen lit with warm light. He’d offered coffee but Amp had waved it off. “We really have to get out of here soon.”
Mr. Winters looked out the window. “I think we all may.”
The kitchen was bright, feminine, whoever had designed it had hand-drawn vines as trim along the ceiling. Mr. Winters caught Ras looking at it and said, “Mrs. Winters decorated herself.” His face fell. “She passed through the veil a year ago.”
Ras looked down. “I’m sorry.”
He appeared vulnerable and old for a moment, then he straightened his back, his face fell into the enigmatic mask he’d held in the church. “We’ll all pass through the veil. I look forward to becoming an elder.”
———————————–
Tomorrow’s Contestant: Kevin Kenan
I have to get to 68,000 words by the time i go to bed tomorrow, or i owe Kevin ten bucks.
Novelburns Update
Still there, still itchy. I’ll probably dye them sometime in the next few days. Pictures to follow.
Body Update
Did some DDR and a few pushups and situps, but not as much as i’d like.
Bed!
Tags: $10, novel, stupid things to do with your money, win!, writing challenge
Posted by Grá on May 27, 2009 in
Chunks Of Story,
Words Words Words Dammit. I made myself cry again.
The end of ACT I is kind of intense for me. I guess i forgot.
Anyway, i’m on page 257, (50,243 words in.)
ACT I is done. Whew.
No $10 for Emily, so she doesn’t have to feel guilty. 
Instead, Emily gets a dragon of awesome!
Novel Excerpt:
—————————————-
Ras took Joyce’s hand, squeezed it and turned to go, But he pulled her back, leaned in close to her ear. He whispered but she heard him perfectly through the cacophonous noise. “My dear, thank you so much for what you do for me tonight. May all your dreams come true.”
She leaned away, didn’t know what to say, so she just smiled and made her way to the stage.
Backstage was almost as loud as the club. She and Beth and Brian wove their way in to the dark wings. Beth and Brian set down their bags sort through their juggling gear.
The lights flared and Beth saw a man in a side room, sitting in a wheelchair staring at the floor. He looked sad.
She wanted to go to him but was distracted when the band finished their song. The crowd swelled to a deafening roar.
Next up: Loreen Heneghan
P.S. –
Body Update:
Food: Raw and Vegan, plus juice
DDR: 0 songs
Bike: 40 mins
Walk: 6 blocks
Push-ups: 10
Abs: 0 mins
Tags: $10, novel, stupid things to do with your money, win!, writing challenge
Posted by Grá on May 22, 2009 in
Chunks Of Story,
Words Words Words The $20 dollars is saved!
I wrote for nine hours today. Wrote / edited/ rewrote a total of 8000 words. I threw away two chapters and two scenes and rewrote from scratch two other scenes that were scaring the crap out of me
Man, i am achy, sore, fried and wired.
Nina, Ethan, i apologize for stealing back my $20. As a consolation prize, Nina, you get a picture of a My Little Pony ™, Ethan you get France!
Story fragment
(Sorry, am too tired to edit it, so it’s pretty clunky):
———————————————–
The wind was warm on Ras’ face. She settled into a deck chair on a concrete patio in the Jones’ backyard.
She was finally starting to relax when Beth startled her by taking her hand. “Hey, hon. Can I ask you something?”
She leaned back. It felt so nice to hold Beth’s hand again. It’d been a long time. “Sure.”
Beth kept her eyes on the ground, like she felt shy. Ras smiled. It’d been a long time since she felt intimate with Beth in any way.
The falling sun made Beth squint as she looked out over the fence. “There’s a river around the bend. Brian and I were talking about taking a walk.”
Ras smiled even bigger. “I’ll get my coat.”
Beth squeezed her hand, looked at the ground again. “Um, we’ve all been in each other’s faces for a few days. I think he and I could use some alone time.”
Ras’ heart felt a little painful squeeze.
Beth said, “That’s okay, right?”
Her neck tensed up. “Sure, of course.”
Beth gave her hand one more squeeze and let it go. “Great. We’ll see you later.”
———————————————–
Next up: My awesome friend and editor of Shimmer Magazine, Beth Wodzinski.
Tags: $10, novel, stupid things to do with your money, win!, writing challenge
Posted by Grá on May 20, 2009 in
Chunks Of Story,
Words Words Words I woke up at 5am and began writing by 7. I actually finished earlier today, getting to 30,065 words (1000 more than i needed today!) by the afternoon, but then i got so busy i didn’t have time to post. I really should be sleeping, getting ready to write tomorrow morning.
Of course this steals the $10 from the hungry mouth of AnarchicQ, but … wait, i’m not suggesting AnarchicQ eats ten dollar bills, but … well never mind. Sorry AnarchicQ.
For a consolation prize, i post a monopoly board:
Story fragment:
—————————————————-
The car’s dim headlights illuminated dripping Hornbeam trees until full daybreak burned away the moisture. The sun was high by the time they drove through Orlando, Ocala, then Gainsvile. Their pooled money bought them tortillas and beans from a tiny Hispanic market in Tifton. Four hours later they parked just outside of a small town named Melrose, on the Georgia border.
They made their bed on the folded front seats of the car. They’d only had one night sleeping apart in the big tent, but Ras felt shy with them again. The seats were uncomfortable, the stick shift and seat belts poking through the padding. It took a while to settle, but eventually they slept, leaning on each other, piled with blankets and pillows.
—————————————————-
Next up: Friend and colleague, John Burridge, who i am sure will spend the $10 on either Pepsi, chocolate or Ceylon tea.
Tags: $10, novel, stupid things to do with your money, writing challenge
Posted by Grá on May 17, 2009 in
Chunks Of Story,
Words Words Words I got 3200 words written and Sean gets no pizza, nor a robot army.
Instead, he gets a picture of awesome.
Yikes! Another fragment from today’s writing:
———————————————–
It was like the walls were angry. He dropped to his knees into the black soot but the pain still dug in deeper and deeper. Searching blindly, he crawled out of the fireplace, not even caring whether he was on the tarp, sure he was leaving sooty black hand prints on the perfect white carpet.
The zap still burned cold, but the shaking focus stayed back in the fireplace. It pushed at him, like a gusting wind. He managed to stand just as Mr. Smith came into the room. The pressure from Smith balance the angry energy from the fireplace and he felt like he’d be crushed between the two forces.
Mr. Smith looked lost, confused. “The carpet, it’s ruined.”
Amp tried to focus on him through the pain, managed to keep his eyes on Smith’s face. “I’m sorry.”
”It’s all ruined.”
Amp didn’t know how or why, but he got up and stumbled forward until his hands were on Smiths shirt, leaving black streaks across his front.
”I’m ruined.” Mr. Smith hung his head. His voice cracked like he was about to weep. “Ruined.”
Amp didn’t recognize the voice that came out from his own mouth. “I’m not ruined. I’m okay. I’m fine.”
Mr. Smith said, “I’m fine.”
”I’m okay.” Amp said.
”I’m okay” Mr. Smith repeated.
———————————————–
Something like that…
Today went faster. It only took me three or so hours to get through my words today. But i know this is just going to get harder and harder as i work my way into the more broken parts of the book. Whew!
Tune in tomorrow: Next up, Amal!
Tags: $10, novel, stupid things to do with your money, writing challenge
Posted by Grá on May 16, 2009 in
Chunks Of Story,
Words Words Words Say it again. BAM!
Well, my fine followers, i have succeeded in saving myself $10 while saving Dave from overeating. All and all a good day.
No $10 for Dave. Instead, he gets a picture of a puppy.
With much trepidation, i present a fragment from today’s writing:
———————————————–
Ras and Beth and Brian sat silently around a salad made from wild Purslane and Yucca flowers Brian had collected. He’d also come back with mulberry wine stolen from Chris’ trailer. “There’s a plan, right?”
Ras was too sleepy to look at him, and she felt unsure. “Like I said, we’ll need a car.” She hadn’t wanted to mention this part. “The client didn’t pay anything up front.”
Brian choked and ultimately spit wine. “What?”
She put her hands to her face. “I know, it’s just…”
”He didn’t give you any money, how do you know he’ll pay when we get there?”
She shrugged. There was no way she was going to convince them to do this. “I just know.”
Beth scratched her nose, looked sleepy. “I’m excited.” She took Ras’ hand. “I’ve always wanted to live up north.”
”No you haven’t.” Brian looked sullen. But he took Beth and Ras’ hands. “How will we get up there?”
Their hands felt warm. Ras felt lighter than she had in weeks. “We get a car and just figure something out.”
Brian used his free hand to pick at a fibrous chunk of carpet remnant. “You certainly have a lot of faith.”
She beamed. “You have no idea.”
———————————————–
There. Let’s move on…
Now my problem is to get 3000 words done without it taking ALL DAY. Whew!
Tune in tomorrow: As Sean Markey tries to take my hard earned $10!
Tags: $10, novel, stupid things to do with your money, writing challenge
No, seriously, keep reading.
If you’ve been tracking me, you know this book has been a major pain. Well, i’m done screwing around with it. I’m sick of whining about it, i just want it done … at least the first draft.
So i have a plan.
And you can help.
First off, i’m doing the NaNoWriMo thing. I can have this book completely done in 25 days if i write, rewrite or edit 3000 words a day (roughly 15 pages.) Hell, my friend Devon writes 5000 new words practically every day, and she knits and is raising 200 children and and and … so i can … well … she’s a lot cooler than me, but i’ll still do it!
But like i said, i’m sick of the back and forth, so i’m adding an element of danger and possibly giving away cash prizes in the meantime.
Here’s the deal.
Sign up for a day on the list below. Either in the comments or send me an email. If, on your day, i don’t increase the length of my novel manuscript by 3000 words, i’ll mail or Paypal you $10.
No catches, no exceptions. This isn’t a bet. If i DO succeed in hitting my word goal for the day, rather than getting $10, you’ll get a lovely handcrafted email thanking you for helping me motivate. See? Win win!
Sign up for a day. First come first serve! Send me your name and a site, blog, twitter to link to. I’ll put you on the calendar. Tell your friends! 25 days is a lot to fill up.
————————————-
[UPDATE] OK! Here’s the lucky contestants:
Saturday, May 16th: Dave Lerner
Sunday, May 17th: Sean Markey
Monday, May 18th: Amal El-Mohtar
Tuesday, May 19th: AnarchicQ
Wednesday, May 20th: John Burridge
Thursday, May 21st: Chris Battey
Friday, May 22nd: Ethan McCutchen and Nina Kiriki Hoffman (DOUBLE DAY!)
Saturday, May 23rd: Beth Wodzinski
Sunday, May 24th: Pati Nagle
Monday, May 25th: Kishi
Tuesday, May 26th: Emily Mangan
Wednesday, May 27th: Loreen Heneghan
Thursday, May 28th: Holly Arrow
Friday, May 29th: Arashinomoui and Bruce Holland Rogers (DOUBLE DAY!)
Saturday, May 30th: Merchimerch
Sunday, May 31st: Dave Raines
Monday, June 1st: Kevin Kenan
Tuesday, June 2nd: Rachel A
Wednesday, June 3rd: The Ferrett
Thursday, June 4th: Diana Standish
Friday, June 5th: Misa Arant and Jerry Oltion (DOUBLE DAY!)
Saturday, June 6th: Lydia Rhoads
Sunday, June 7th: Josh English
Monday, June 8th: Teng Chek
Tuesday, June 9th: J Peters
Wednesday, June 10th: Valerie Polichar and Eugene Fischer (DOUBLE DAY!)
Who wants to make some money? Well, no one, because i intend to hit my goal everyday.
Bring it on.
Tags: free money, nanowrimo, writing challenge
Posted by Grá on Apr 25, 2009 in
Chunks Of Story Whoa, i’ve been doing this for 50 days? Sheesh!
I didn’t have anything immediately ready this morning, so i did some five-minute writing exercises and this little chunk annoyed me the least.
I haven’t figured out why its working title is, “Red Hot Rush” yet. Maybe it has something to do with pizza. (As always, the views of my annoying cynical characters do not necessarily reflect the views of the author. K? K!)
I think this was about to get seriously surreal when the timer went off.
——————————-
Increasing night-blindness was starting to put a real crimp in Hal’s driving. Doing pizza delivery at fifty-five was humiliating, but so would being a bum. No driving, no job. No job, no crappy apartment with cockroaches. No apartment, bum.
He already felt like a bum. He dressed like one. If he wasn’t driving a car, he might be indistinguishable from a bum. Some bums had car’s, they lived in them. That was probably a lot cheaper.
And yeah, it wasn’t PC to call them bums. Bums and bag lady’s?
Was there a male counterpart to a bag lady? Were all bums male? He’d have to investigate. He got off the pizza job at two AM and could probably sneak into the library to check Wikipedia.
He had a volunteer pass at the library, and with it he could sneak in at night. There was the constant fear of being caught, but he couldn’t let the damn pass go to waste, could he? Not when the vast Internet lay waiting for him out there.
He was lost. Or rather, he thought he was lost. It was hard to tell when he couldn’t read any of the signs.
In a minute, he’d need to pull over and examine a street sign up close.
Through the fogged window, street signs looked like dessicated trees, buildings looked like the looming walls of a sea canal.
——————————-
Tags: Chunks Of Story, fast writing, pizza
Posted by Grá on Apr 13, 2009 in
Chunks Of Story This little piece of weirdness came out of a five minute exercise:
————————————
Sometimes I type. I sit with my hands perfectly spaced, little j and f nubs under my index fingers. Sometimes I pretend to type and I sit with my hands poised as though ready for action, my brow furrowed as if I had been caught just that second in the middle of the very groundbreaking thought that would set the cardboard manufacturing industry on its ear.
I like to imagine everyone thinking, “Oh, how productive he is. That Johnson is a go-getter, he is.”
Tap tap tap.
Sometimes I type, but without intent. I just tappity tappity tappity with abandon, my mind off in the farthest reaches of time and space.
Sometimes the letters clump together and make all sorts of pretty shapes on the screen. Sometime words spontaneously appear within the noise. Sometimes they tell me things.
Tap tap tap.
Tags: fragment, story, tap, weird
Posted by Grá on Mar 31, 2009 in
Chunks Of Story This little chunk of cynical just sorta popped out. Hmmm… i haven’t figured out if there’s anybody to like in this, or … um, what anybody’s doing. Ah well, into the “Story Starts” folder with you.
——————————-
I got the nickname Nix when I was fourteen. I thought it was cool, like the guys had stopped thinking of me as the token girl, like I had finally bought some status in the gang. It was three, maybe three and a half months later when I learned what it meant. Nada. Zilch. Nothing.
After that, I think I kept the name because I wanted everyone to think it rolled off of me. Like my nerve endings had gone numb.
Not that I had much choice anyway. Once you were branded in the gang, that was it for life. The same time I figured out what Nix meant was when I started to feel more confused about what friends meant.
Don’t get the wrong idea from the word “gang.” I’m talking about a bunch of nerdy suburban white kids. Ducky, Erik and Eric. Rick, Pat and me. I found out later Ducky spread rumors they were all screwing me. Buying status with kids cooler than us.
The gang weren’t very kind to each other either. Ducky made names for everyone. Eric was Virgin. Pat was Stick. They called Rick Spoon Boy, from some drunken story Ducky made up about a boy who lives on a toilet, eating shit.
Ducky named us all. We each had a superhero name. We each had a Godzilla Monster name, and a wrestling name.
I was Nix, Capt. Pox, Rodan, and The Masked Vagina.
I never figured why we looked up to Ducky. He was our fashion. He made our fads and broke them.
And he always got his way, could lay any chick he wanted. Except for me. And to be honest, sometimes I thought about it.
——————————-
Tags: Chunks Of Story, cynical, rubber duckies, teenager
