Raven's View

Now that NaNoWriMo in not taking up most of my life, I guess I need to add some more objectives to this - writerly and otherwise.

I have the current novel to finish. While I did get past the 50k word line a few days ago, I have several scenes to add for climax and aftermath - maybe 6-8k worth. I also have the last two novels I did to finish, as both are still in early editing stages. Plus - I've been adding to my Fairy Tale Folk Flash Fiction, have maybe 25 now of these characters. There's a local book fair soon, would like to pitch all these to someone to determine what's next.  Plus of course all the blogs to keep up with , on writing, editing and publishing, and the how-to books. And finally, on the writerly theme still - fiction books, examples of good writing. I'm also taking another course, Intro to Astronomy from Duke. Lots of math in it. Finally - ongoing battle with the bulge - needs more walking, less beers. 

My abbreviated objectives have been simple for this ROW80-4 - as follows:

This week's challenge for Flash Fiction Friday was to write a story about seven days. 

Prompt:  Write a story about a character who has seven days.  What your character needs to do within that period of time is up to you.  Start something?  Finish something?  Obtain something?  Get rid of something?  Remember though, that good, bad, or indifferent, everything has consequences.  Make sure you include what will happen if they try to stretch those seven days to eight.

1000 words.

I did mine as a scene for my NaNoWriMo novel. I needed my Fairy Tale Folk – currently unemployed - to be doing a story together. It's over the limit at 1430 words – oops..

Yay me. Broke the 50k word limit yesterday, and today the #NaNoWriMo site lists me as a Winner.  Mind you, I still have several scenes to do - maybe 10-15k words worth, but it's nice to have the pressure of 2k words/day off me. Now I can re-do my goals to include more variety in the writerly department, used to have a long list of them.

There's a local book fair in a week that I would like to pitch my draft novels at, so will  need to do a one pager for each one to leave with publishers. Would also like to get back to doing regulat Flash Fictions, as I find they often push me to try something different - and to write regulary. Lots ot to be reead books waiting of course.

Other than that, am starting a new Coursera course, Astronomy.

• writing
  • #NANoWriMo done at 50,133 words. More scenes to add over the next few days
  • Book club - starting to read The Help - online I think, so I can add comments easily
• health - falling behind on this, need to lenthen the loops on my local walks
• other - some photo stuff

 This week's story for Flash Fiction Friday was to write about Thanksgiving,

American Thanksgiving is now nearly upon us.  Along with the food and the parades and the football comes all the joy and horror that family gatherings entail.

Prompt:  Write a story that takes place on Thanksgiving Day, but please EXCLUDE the following words:  Turkey, stuffing, football, parade, family.  1000 words.

I needed an idea for a scene for my NaNoWriMo novel, so used this as my prompt fot it too.

You'll need a bit of a prologue here I think. I'm writing about some Fairy Tale Folk, some characters from the Grimm stories. They've been brought to life by magic in the stories, and now are out of work in today's world. They're in seach for some purpose to their life, and along the way have tangled with some Haitian drug runners with an evil side, possessed by dark voodoo magic, an ancient evil with roots back in Africa.

The stories also have given the characters the power to change their appearance to others, and to give some of the magic back to a story, to help bring it to life as it were, to add believability and emphasis to it. The Grimms ancestors have a booking for the characters to do a traditional Thanksgiving story, sort of a Norman Rockwell meets The Waltons tale, with several generations getting together.

We have:

• Bruce (formerly the woodcutter, now living in the country doing woodwork) as grandpa,

• Agnes (formerly the witch, now a cougar prowling bars) as his widowed daughter,

• Red (formerly Riding Hood, now a Goth girl) as Agnes's oldest,

• Romulus (formerly the wolf, now a playboy, with long dark hair and a gleaming smile) as Red's fiance,

• Hansel and Grethel (yes, those two, they're on loan from their gigs doing commercials) as Agne's young twins.

Unfortunately, while these characters have the best of intentions, this voodoo spirit they are fighting likes to get in and twist their stories. Oh – and they can't really be permanently harmed in their stories. Story is 595 words.