Wow, I am getting excited about NaNo. Somehow I have to write around 1700 words per day. I have no idea how I'm going to do that - might as well pull out my eye teeth. But wait, it's all about positive thinking, right? So I am putting Judgement on hold - I hope Jefferson stays quiet for the next month. And River is already on hold although Maia wants to wake up.
What is my NaNo about? It is a YA dystopian following Larch and Stone. I plan on using alternating points of view so it will be a challenge for me. Here's the basic info:
In 2015 Nuclear Holocaust came to the world. America eventually fell into a Totalitarian Dictatorship. An active Underground group tries to usurp the beloved Dictator at every turn.
Larch is seventeen years old and carries a secret that even she doesn't know- she is the only successfully cloned human in the world. Her uncle, the Dictator, will keep her safe at all costs.
The Underground wants her. The failures of the cloning program live amoungst the Underground with the Scientist who created them - and Larch. Larch holds the key to the future of these clones deep in her DNA.
Stone, one of those sworn to protect her, is working for the Underground and his father - the Scientist. What began as a simple mission to help the Underground changes as Stone comes to realize the complications of Larch - she is as human as he.
So that's it. My next Teaser Tuesdays will come from this. Here's hoping I make it :-)
Friday, October 30, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Teaser Tuesday
Here is a short tease from the edgy YA. Jefferson has convinced Laura to let him drive her home after she avoided him all day long.
“Hey Laura. You can sit up, you know.”
“No, someone might see me.” She ducks lower in the seat.
She is the most paranoid person I believe I have ever met.
“And does that matter?” I ask as I get into the car.
“Yes, Jefferson. It matters. You don’t want your friends to see us together.”
Okay, now I’m getting pissed. What does she know about my friends?
“Laura, this is crazy. I don’t care if my friends see us together. I don’t hide things.”
“Really? So they know about your dad? They see your bruises?”
“Hey Laura. You can sit up, you know.”
“No, someone might see me.” She ducks lower in the seat.
She is the most paranoid person I believe I have ever met.
“And does that matter?” I ask as I get into the car.
“Yes, Jefferson. It matters. You don’t want your friends to see us together.”
Okay, now I’m getting pissed. What does she know about my friends?
“Laura, this is crazy. I don’t care if my friends see us together. I don’t hide things.”
“Really? So they know about your dad? They see your bruises?”
Saturday, October 24, 2009
More vacation thoughts
We made it home from vacation. All things work out in the end.
We took a wrong turn. I closed my eyes for two minutes, from 4:47-4:49, Hubby dazed and missed the turn. This happened 13 years ago too on our honeymoon. This time we did not fight - guess that says we have both matured :) Instead we had a mis-adventure. We had several of those on our vacation this time and we are learning to go with the flow. Why get upset? We saw some beautiful sights in the mountains and only took an hour more to arrive home.
We nearly slid off the mountain. A few days ago I wrote about picking up a hitchhiker and not hiking the Chimneys. The day after the hitchhiker we went to the Chimneys. There were no places to park so we parked in the grass like so many others.
On the positive side, we met a great man on the hike who showed us the easy way to climb to the top. The kids were unable to climb the face - there was a 7 foot climb at one point, but were able to climb up the back way. Of course my heart was in my throat the entire time because the kids are fearless and climbed everywhere. One wrong step and they could've fallen - off the mountain, at least 100 feet if they stopped and didn't keep falling. Anyway, after the hike we got in the car and put it in gear - and slid sideways. Put it on reverse - slid some more. Got the kids out - hubby slid again. By this time the Suburban had slid all the way to the tree line. Past the trees was the drop to the swollen river.
The nice man we met on the hike gave us a ride down the mountain to get a cell signal. My cell was dead so we used his. Took almost an hour til we had the wrecker coming. He called his friend who took me and the kids to the motel while he took my husband back up the mountain. Everything was fine and we made a new friend who made us promise to call him when we are in the area next time. He works with the Park Service and will take us to work with the elk and cave exploring.
If we would have not picked up that hitchhiker, we would not have met Buddy. All things work as they should, it just takes patience to see the positive.
We took a wrong turn. I closed my eyes for two minutes, from 4:47-4:49, Hubby dazed and missed the turn. This happened 13 years ago too on our honeymoon. This time we did not fight - guess that says we have both matured :) Instead we had a mis-adventure. We had several of those on our vacation this time and we are learning to go with the flow. Why get upset? We saw some beautiful sights in the mountains and only took an hour more to arrive home.
We nearly slid off the mountain. A few days ago I wrote about picking up a hitchhiker and not hiking the Chimneys. The day after the hitchhiker we went to the Chimneys. There were no places to park so we parked in the grass like so many others.
On the positive side, we met a great man on the hike who showed us the easy way to climb to the top. The kids were unable to climb the face - there was a 7 foot climb at one point, but were able to climb up the back way. Of course my heart was in my throat the entire time because the kids are fearless and climbed everywhere. One wrong step and they could've fallen - off the mountain, at least 100 feet if they stopped and didn't keep falling. Anyway, after the hike we got in the car and put it in gear - and slid sideways. Put it on reverse - slid some more. Got the kids out - hubby slid again. By this time the Suburban had slid all the way to the tree line. Past the trees was the drop to the swollen river.
The nice man we met on the hike gave us a ride down the mountain to get a cell signal. My cell was dead so we used his. Took almost an hour til we had the wrecker coming. He called his friend who took me and the kids to the motel while he took my husband back up the mountain. Everything was fine and we made a new friend who made us promise to call him when we are in the area next time. He works with the Park Service and will take us to work with the elk and cave exploring.
If we would have not picked up that hitchhiker, we would not have met Buddy. All things work as they should, it just takes patience to see the positive.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Vacation thoughts
We picked up a hitchhiker today.
She was on the side of the road with her backpack and walking sticks at the bottom of the mountain. We pulled over, threw her gear in the back and drove up the mountain, while she entertained us with stories of hiking the Appalachian Trail. She has been hiking for six months and has roughly two weeks to go. Over 2200 miles of hiking from Maine to Georgia.
Yesterday she hitched down the mountain to get supplies and stay at a hostel for the night. Today she hitched back up the mountain to continue on her trek. A woman alone, travelling for miles and miles, sleeping in shelters along the trail. When I was in my 20's I would have never dreamed it.
I find it interesting how the Universe works. Had we driven the car instead of the Suburban, we would have had no room for her. Had we gotten up on time and left earlier, we would have missed her. Had we not picked her up, we would have hiked the Chimneys instead of Alum Cave Bluffs (which was the best scenic hike yet). And as for our hiker; had we not come along who knows how long she would have waited. She had been there for 20 minutes waiting and probably had more than 500 cars pass her in that time.
The kids thought it was the greatest thing to have her and peppered her with questions all the way up the mountain, which she patiently answered. When we dropped her off my oldest leaned over and told me we did a mitzvah today and she is right.
She was on the side of the road with her backpack and walking sticks at the bottom of the mountain. We pulled over, threw her gear in the back and drove up the mountain, while she entertained us with stories of hiking the Appalachian Trail. She has been hiking for six months and has roughly two weeks to go. Over 2200 miles of hiking from Maine to Georgia.
Yesterday she hitched down the mountain to get supplies and stay at a hostel for the night. Today she hitched back up the mountain to continue on her trek. A woman alone, travelling for miles and miles, sleeping in shelters along the trail. When I was in my 20's I would have never dreamed it.
I find it interesting how the Universe works. Had we driven the car instead of the Suburban, we would have had no room for her. Had we gotten up on time and left earlier, we would have missed her. Had we not picked her up, we would have hiked the Chimneys instead of Alum Cave Bluffs (which was the best scenic hike yet). And as for our hiker; had we not come along who knows how long she would have waited. She had been there for 20 minutes waiting and probably had more than 500 cars pass her in that time.
The kids thought it was the greatest thing to have her and peppered her with questions all the way up the mountain, which she patiently answered. When we dropped her off my oldest leaned over and told me we did a mitzvah today and she is right.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Teaser Tuesady
I am giving more of Alexandria, Josh and Aris since they seemed to be popular last week. This scene happens a couple of weeks before last week's teaser:
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Community
I was just reading the comments left yesterday on my teaser and I felt inspired with my wip. This got me to thinking about community and how important it is for us to be a part of it.
When I joined AW, I made friends. These friends have trusted me with their babies (manuscripts), given me advice on plot points, been supportive when I received rejections, and critted my own work. For this I am grateful. It is really a great group.
Another community I am part of is my local Jewish community. It is great to talk to others preparing for Shabbat, building their Sukkah or discussing concerns to being Jewish. It also makes fasting on Yom Kippur so much easier to be in a building full of others who are not eating - far better than sitting on the couch at home thinking of what's in the fridge.
A third community I am part of is the homeschooling community. Wow, this is a huge support group. Comparing curriculum, getting the kids together and being able to complain about how hard life is when a child refuses to do school work.
All of these communities make up a bigger community. These are places to be with others like myself and around people who understand what I am going through. I think of a lady I know who is not part of a community and I wonder how she does it. Life is hard enough without the pressure of feeling like we are alone. Look around you and see what communities you are a part of. It is rewarding to give back to these groups.
When I joined AW, I made friends. These friends have trusted me with their babies (manuscripts), given me advice on plot points, been supportive when I received rejections, and critted my own work. For this I am grateful. It is really a great group.
Another community I am part of is my local Jewish community. It is great to talk to others preparing for Shabbat, building their Sukkah or discussing concerns to being Jewish. It also makes fasting on Yom Kippur so much easier to be in a building full of others who are not eating - far better than sitting on the couch at home thinking of what's in the fridge.
A third community I am part of is the homeschooling community. Wow, this is a huge support group. Comparing curriculum, getting the kids together and being able to complain about how hard life is when a child refuses to do school work.
All of these communities make up a bigger community. These are places to be with others like myself and around people who understand what I am going through. I think of a lady I know who is not part of a community and I wonder how she does it. Life is hard enough without the pressure of feeling like we are alone. Look around you and see what communities you are a part of. It is rewarding to give back to these groups.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Teaser Tuesady
Okay, I teased. As always this is rough and written yesterday.
edited: served it's purpose.
edited: served it's purpose.
Sick mothers
I step out of my sick room and survey the house. It is trashed. What could I expect with three children who have no direction for almost a week? The oldest has been wonderful taking care of meals and bringing me tea and such, but running a household is just too much for her slim shoulders.
It takes a good hour to get everything picked up and put back in order. Then the cleaning begins: yellow toilets, sticky floors and a poor parrot's cage that is disgusting. After two hours of cleaning, with me giving directions to the children, the house is looking normal.
Laundry. Wow, what a mess. Even with my mother's help it is a mess. It takes another few hours to sort it all out, get it to the proper rooms and start in on the pile that never ends.
I stand back and survey the house. It is in order and smelling clean. And I wonder...how do mother's with young children do it? How did I do it when they were younger? It seems as life goes on, memories fade. We live in the present and forget the past. Perhaps that is the way it should be.
My thoughts and good wishes go out towards all those mothers and fathers with little ones at this time of widespread flu and I hope for health for all of you.
It takes a good hour to get everything picked up and put back in order. Then the cleaning begins: yellow toilets, sticky floors and a poor parrot's cage that is disgusting. After two hours of cleaning, with me giving directions to the children, the house is looking normal.
Laundry. Wow, what a mess. Even with my mother's help it is a mess. It takes another few hours to sort it all out, get it to the proper rooms and start in on the pile that never ends.
I stand back and survey the house. It is in order and smelling clean. And I wonder...how do mother's with young children do it? How did I do it when they were younger? It seems as life goes on, memories fade. We live in the present and forget the past. Perhaps that is the way it should be.
My thoughts and good wishes go out towards all those mothers and fathers with little ones at this time of widespread flu and I hope for health for all of you.
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