A Wedding At the End of the World

Catching up on some blogging today. Just for fun, I thought I'd post my entry for Jillian Dodd's That Wedding Contest. Which I totally did not win. My entry was...different, to say the least, so that wasn't a big surprise. (See the winners here.) The challenge was to write about your dream wedding, but I've already had my dream wedding in real life, and the thought of writing a traditional wedding scene bored me. So I went waaaay outside of the box. And into the zombie apocalypse.

Before & Ashley (His Side)

The full story is told from more than one perspective, but I've decided to go ahead and post the 1/2 that's finished.  I should warn you, it will probably be more fun to read it all together since this 1/2 has major spoilers for the other side, but it's still a fun read on its own.  In the near future, I'll finish the other and put them together. 

The girl had landed in the grass, face up.

Yemi told himself not to get involved, that he needed to lay low until he found a way home. But no one else was checking to make sure she was okay. And he couldn’t sit still any longer.

He hopped over the side of the wagon and peered down at her still form. She’d been pretty from afar, but up close she was stunning, with high cheekbones, full lips, and copper skin that reflected light like a prism. Then she opened her eyes, and for a moment, he forgot to breathe.

‘Brown’ didn’t do them justice. They were more like molten lava, drizzled with caramel and sprinkled with flecks of gold.

Then she spoke. “Uh. Hi.”

OMGOSH! *Takes deep breath* I have escaped the writing cave.

So, I finally finished Before & Ashley. Sort of. This post deserves more time than I can give it right now (seeing as it 2:50 AM and my To Do list is still super massive), so I will expand later. But here are the basics:

These last few weeks have been insane. I've been absent from my blog & Twitter, and am WAY WAY late in posting Before & Ashley for the following reasons:

Coming Soon...

Indie Spotlight - Susan Bischoff's Hush Money &
Stuff For Writers - Manage Your Own Agenda

A bit behind on blogging this week, between some personal stuff and the fact that Before & Ashley keeps MORPHING LIKE SOME SORT OF ALIEN MONSTER my schedule is somewhat out of wack right now. But I haven't abandoned my poor, lonely blog. They're coming. :)

In the meantime, enjoy this photo which answers the question - What if the male Avengers posed like the female one?  (via http://twitpic.com/9i8dcn)

Freewrite Friday!: Handsome Clover

So not in the mood to do this tonight. Frantically working on an overdue story, still editing a blog post I've been working on all week, and have barely started packing for tomorrow's 8 AM flight. But the show must go on. This is gonna be done quickly and probably a whole hot mess. But here goes nothing.

Handsome Clover

“I made it to the end of the rainbow. This gold is mine, fair and square.”

The leprechaun frowned. “But you’re not supposed to be able to see where the rainbow goes. The ends should fade away into a fine, invisible mist.”

“Yeah, well, I do and they don’t. So let go of the pot and let’s both get on with our lives.”

“No!” For someone only two feet tall, the leprechaun was surprisingly strong. He gave the sturdy iron pot a tug, but I wasn’t letting go. This gold was gonna pay for my nose job. And then Bradley Strandler would have to notice me. I’d heard it a million times – “You could be so pretty if it wasn’t for that nose” – and I was ready to take matters into my own hands. Just as soon as I got this pot out of the leprechaun’s hands.

Laptop Addicts Anonymous

So I found this on a Tumblr about being a law student, but I think this picture applies to writers too. Some of us (*raises hand*) take our laptops everywhere.

Weigh in. 

What are the strangest places you've taken your laptop/spotted someone else using theirs?

Get a Hobby! Seriously...

In order to be inspired, writers need material. And while most of us have millions of pages of material already stored in our heads (especially if you had an awkward childhood), there's so much more to be discovered. And the world is changing. The only way to stay current, especially with YA trends which change at the speed of light, is to get out into the world and see what's going on.

I'll illustrate my point with personal experience. One of my hobbies is improv (I practice with a group out here in Miami and have done a few shows). And I've found that in a lot of ways, improv has helped me to become a better writer. I've got to make up stories and characters and think on my feet. I have to be creative and keep the action going and the plot exciting. And I'm learning what I need to do to keep an audience engaged as I tell a story.