Wednesday Blog Hop Extra

A little extra treat for you all today, in the form of a belated Blog Hop entry.  Last week I decided to try a new strategy for writing short stories, by writing them by hand in my notebook first with the intention of typing it up and posting it before this weeks prompt.
Unfortunately I just didn't get the time to type it up and so missed the deadline.  But I have got the story ready so I'm still going to put it up for you to read.
As a result of this little mishap I am once again rethinking my writing strategy.

If you don't recall, these are the details for the prompt:

                                                      tar, lollipop, courage, figure, parasite

And here is my offering:

The Cruelty of Time

One of the highlights of the summer would always be when my big brother took me to the circus. It was always the same bank holiday weekend when all the tents would magically appear overnight, and the whole town would join together in excitement and anticipation.

When I was very small my brother always went along with his friends, but as soon as I was big enough he started taking me along too. He always used to take care of me and made sure I had a good time. The first time I was there I was amazed at all the sights and sounds. Different kinds of music came from all directions, enticing customers to the tents scattered around. All were brightly coloured and strings of lights swung back and forth between them, illuminating the network of paths. There were lots of colourful figures walking amongst us all. Some did magic tricks, some were eating fire, others carried huge trays full of various eats and treats. My brother bought me the biggest lollipop I'd ever seen, a huge globe of blue and white. My favourite act by far was the lion tamer. Every night he would show his courage, locked away in a tiny cage with the king of beasts. My brother and I would wave and cheer and talk about it for days afterwards.

When he went away to university I worried those days would be gone, but mum assured me he would be home for summer and we could still continue our tradition.

So he we were, on our way to our tenth annual circus trip. He was driving us in his banged up classic, his mass of keyrings jangling beneath the steering wheel. The heat of the summer had melted the road in places and the smell of tar filtered in through the open windows. Somehow I didn't feel quite as excited about this trip as I had all the others. Since he'd been home I'd hardly seen my brother and he'd only really brought me today at mum's insistence.

Once there, I trailed along behind as he went about with his friends and hardly spoke two words to me. When I pointed out the lollipops he reluctantly gave me some change and sent me off on my own to get one.

My heart sank as I heard his friends talking behind me. 'Give him some more money, and then let's ditch the parasite.' I felt crushed as my brother just laughed with them.

That was the day I came to realise just how cruel time could be, and how it had taken the best of times between me and my brother.

Word count: 445

 

Wedneday Blog Hop - Daddy's Little Girl

So, it's been a little while but I've got a contribution to this weeks Snapshot Blog Hop.  And it's only a day after the criteria is posted, so yay me!

 

For those of you who may be unfamiliar, the Wednesday Blog Hop is a brilliant link up organised by  Chasing Revery and The World of My Imagination, and ably assisted by a few guest hosts too.

Each Wednesday they provide a picture prompt and five key words, all of which need to be melded together to give a little yarn of up to 500 words.  You then have until the following week to knock something together, post on your blog and link up at their pages to spread the love.

This week the key elements are:

 

                               Peaked, geothermal, livestock, mutual, hydroelectric

I found this weeks prompts particularly tricky, especially with the words given, but I've given it a go nonetheless.  If I'm honest I'm not too sure about this one.  I kind of knew what I wanted to get across but I'm not sure I've achieved this.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on what I've offered.

Without further ado:

Daddy's Little Girl

I watched Hayley and Aaron heading off up the corridor, trying not to think about how I'd nearly lost them. She didn't have a scratch on her. He hadn't been that lucky, but at least he still escaped with his life. The doctors say he may learn to walk again once he gets used to his prosthetic.

I'd never considered his job to be all that dangerous. If I had I would never have let him take our daughter with him to test the new facility. For some reason I had the impression that renewable energy was safe, but I guess electricity can be dangerous no matter where it comes from.

The new hydroelectric plant had been all Aaron had been talking about for weeks. It was a nice change for him after spending so long working on geothermal recovery, a chance to stretch his wings a little. He'd managed to get Hayley interested in it too, and was keen to show her what he and his team had been putting together. I had no objections, we had a mutual opinion when it came to involving her in our own interests, plus I think he was proud to show off his little girl to his work colleagues. She was a bright little thing, even for a four year old, and she never ceased to amaze either of us with how quickly she'd pick things up.

With this in mind he was trying to get her keen on joining his campaign for renewable energy, and taking her along to see it was all part of the fun.

He only took his eye off her for a moment, but that's all it takes with little ones. Her attention had been caught by some livestock in a neighboring field and she'd wandered over to see them.

The explosion was sudden, and the sides of the building were already flying through the air by the time Aaron realised that Hayley was no longer holding his hand. He whirled around frantically until he saw her and raced over to shield her from any debris. As he was running he could see the flames as they rose and peaked high in the sky, and the large sheets of building being sent in all directions. A particularly large piece was heading straight for our little girl and he'd pumped his legs to reach her; the last time that he would. As he grabbed her he'd felt the impact against his back. It pushed them both to the ground and he tried his best not to crush her. His legs were not so lucky from the onslaught of the building fragments, one large enough to cut through his leg just above his knee. Hayley had been crying and calling out as he passed out from the pain.

I could hear her now, chattering away as she pushed her daddy along. 'Don't worry daddy, I'll take care of you. Just like you did with me.'

Word count:  496

   

Coping with permanent fatigue

This post is part of the Insecure Writers Group hosted by Alex J Cavanaugh, where writers  can share their insecurities and positive vibes with the rest of the writing community.  Offer words of encouragement or talk about your struggles, it's up to you but head on over to Alex's place to share in the ups and downs of our craft.

Right now my insecurities lie in my ability to cope with the levels of tiredness I am constantly dealing with.
My little girl started at school in September, and as a result my whole working schedule has shifted to accommodate this.  At the moment I am getting myself up around 5.30-6am to get myself ready and into work for a 7am start.  I am doing a full days work in the lab, which I am enjoying, but I'm usually fairly busy running about doing plenty.
I then pick my daughter up at 3.15pm, get home to do dinner etc. and get her to bed by 7pm so I can have a sit down.
At first the idea of this schedule seemed a good one.  I'd be home in the afternoon so there should be plenty of time to get some kind of writing done, be it planning, writing or editing.  However, I am finding myself getting more and more tired as the weeks go on and the thing that is suffering is my writing.  I'm concerned that something may have to give at some point so that I'm not so busy, and logically writing would be the thing to go.  This is a painful thing to have to consider as I've just started to get back into enjoying writing just for the sake of doing it.  I find it a kind of therapy for focusing my mind away from the everyday but it's hard sometimes to fit it all in.
Even as I write this I feel it may be coming out a little bit confused, I can feel sleep digging its heels in now, beckoning me.
It's a hard task trying to get a balance that works, so that I can do all the things I'd like to and still have quality time for my family.

How do you cope with the pressures of everyday life and fitting writing in around it?  Any tips gratefully received!

A touch of jealousy ...

So, I’ve just read that Jessica Stilwell, the mother in Canada that went on strike for a week because her children were so unbelievably messy, has now acquired an agent.  She’s having talks about a book and probably movie stuff too.

If I’m honest I’m not sure how I feel about all that.  Part of me feels a little annoyed, after all she hasn’t done much apart from rebel against her kids a little, and who hasn’t done that?  But she seems to have become a major talking point over the whole thing, striking deals all over the place.  Really, what has she done to get all these offers flooding over her?

I suppose that my feelings here are borne out of jealousy though.  I’d love to have a book deal and movie talks and all that, but I’m still working hard at getting my darn stories finished.  Part of me is niggled that she’s having all this overnight success, but then the other part of me is thinking ‘get yourself in gear girl and get your stuff out there!’  I only have myself to blame for my lack of success if I haven’t really been trying all that hard, so I’m going to use her story as inspiration for my own.

Overall I am pleased for Jessica, and I wish her every success.  I just wish she could send a little my way …

To check out Jessica’s blog go to http://strikingmom.blogspot.co.uk/

Week 42 - To Do List

I’m a touch late with my to do list this week, but I shan’t dwell on that too much.  The key piece of advice I have picked up this week is to be more positive!  

So, to update from last week’s list:

A230

• Finish Chapter 1 of module book – I had an excellent session over the weekend getting on with my Othello reading and the background to some of the play.  I’ve been totally absorbed by it and never thought I would enjoy Shakespeare as much as this.  I’m looking forward to the next part.

Blog Posts:

• Wednesday Blog Hop – I posted a story for the blog hop this week, and I’ve actually had thoughts on developing this one into something bigger. The creative juices are starting to flow.
• Review latest book read – I have written the first draft of my review and I’m leaving it a couple of days before posting.  It won’t be long though.
• Weekly to do list – a day late but I’m still going!

Writing:

• First draft of competition entry – time constraints have meant that I’ve only done the planning stages for this, but the story is in my mind simmering.
• 15 minutes of free writing each day – after trying this for a couple of weeks I’m not sure free writing is for me.  I struggle a bit when I manage to sit down to do it, so I may leave this for a while.

A productive week I think, certainly one that has left me feeling more positive about things.

As for this week’s list:

A230:

• Read Othello Acts 2-5 
• Read Chapter 2 of module book 
• Watch Othello videos

Blog Posts

• Weekly to do 
•  Post book review 
•  Wednesday Blog Hop 
•  Think about blogging strategy

Writing:

• First draft of new competition entry 
•  Start to outline novel plan

Wednesday Blog Hop: Do you believe in folk tales?

It has been far too many weeks since the last time I posted anything for the Wednesday Blog Hop, I'm utterly disgusted with myself.

For anyone who needs a reminder of the format, this blog hop involves one picture and five random words, all of which have to be included in some way in a short piece of no more than 500 words.  There is a week to post your contribution and link it up to Chasing Revery, one of our lovely hosts for this weekly event.

This weeks prompts are:

                                           weather, cemetery, lump, printer, recipe

And here is my contribution this week:

Do you believe in folk tales?

Terri crouched down behind the bushes to keep out of sight, she didn't want them to know she was here. She'd had to wait all week to come back, the weather had kept her away with its continual wind and rain. She peered down into the pool below, the noise from the waterfall filling her ears. There was no sign of anyone yet, but she was patient, she could wait.

She'd heard all the tales of this place since she was in high school, but had thought them nothing but folk stories. That was until the night her and Steve had come this way, looking for a good spot. All the usual places to go had become much too crowded for them these days so they'd had to seek out there own space. It was purely by accident that they'd found their way here. She could still feel the lump on the back of her head from where she'd fallen half way down the hill.

Steve had come racing down after her like some sort of sprinter to see if she was alright and they'd both been stunned to see the reaction from the water. They'd seen nothing until that point, when three huge splashes were heard and three dark figures disappeared under the waterfall.

Ever since then Terri had been captivated by what they'd seen, or thought they'd seen anyway, and was determined to find out what they were.

After a few visits after hours she knew that they would mostly come out at night, and would sit quietly in her hiding place and just watch them. Her friends never knew where she was, they were more interested in hanging out at the cemetery, trying to decide what the occupants had done in a previous life. She was more fascinated by this other world that was thought non-existent.

She brought her flask of tea and her homemade muffins made from her nanna's recipe, and tried every now and then to get a bit closer.

One night she'd left a muffin out on a rock to see if it would attract interest. The only interest there was came in the return of the muffin sailing through the air in her direction. She was pretty sure she knew they were watching.

It had been too long since her last visit and she'd worried they'd moved on, but she didn't have long to wait to be assured of their presence again. They were all out tonight to bask in the fresh evening air, the first night without rain for five days.

Tonight Terri had moved a bit further down towards the waters edge, the closest that she'd ever dare go. She was so intent on watching across the water she didn't even notice the figure watching her from nearby. 

Word count: 467 

 

Week 41 - To Do List

So, it's (past) that time again for the weekly to-do list.  First, here's a quick update of last weeks list and how I got on with it:

A230:

• Read Othello, Act I  Check!
• Read Chapter 1 of module book  I have made a good start with this, but it's not quite finished.

Blog Posts:

• Post update for IWSG (I will have plenty of material for this one I think!) Check!
• Wednesday Blog Hop  Fail - I had every intention but must do better.

Writing:

• 15 minutes of free writing each day  I managed three days of free writing, with 600+ words each.
• First draft of a 1500 word short story  Fail - didn't even get past the planning stage.

I think that's round about a 50% success rate for my first to do list.  Not bad I suppose but I could definitely do better.

So, here's for next week:

A230

• Finish Chapter 1 of module book

Blog Posts:

• Wednesday Blog Hop
• Review latest book read
• Weekly to do list

Writing:

• First draft of competition entry
• 15 minutes of free writing each day

 Here's to achieving more than 50%!