MondayMadLibs - Nov 15

Ahh it's Monday again and MadLib's is upon us.

Before we start, I thought we'd get to know each other a little better. There are many things about me 'to know but the first thing I will share is the things that are short in my life.My height for one is short, my patience for another. My will power is often short lived as is my attention span. My fingernails are short and the shortness of my skirts catch many an eye. I am short on time and more often than not short of coin. My grammar falls short of the mark as does my maths, the time spent on housework is kept short and I specialise is baking shortbread.Do you get the picture?

Good, now that is out of the way I wont feel so bad in saying, today will be a shorty, which suits me just fine.

Today's MadLib will blossom from Kate Grenville's 'The Writing Book' exercise 1.9 - Use the first sentence from a piece of writing you like for your opening line.

The writing I like this morning is Nicholas Sparks 'The Notebook'. The line is -

'Who am I? And how, I wonder, will this story end?'

I particularly feel this line, the opening line of the novel, suits Jax down to a tea.

***



'Who am I? And how, I wonder, will this story end?'

'I beg your pardon?'

_________ Jax looked up from her _______ in the ________. The sun blazed behind Frank's head, throwing his _____ up the embankment making him appear like a _______. Jax stifled her giggle, Franks face was a________but the tone of his voice _______. 'Sorry.' Jax mumbled.

'What do you you mean, who am I?' Frank hoisted her up under her arms and marched her across the sand. The mouth of the crude hut Triton had fashioned under the palm trees yawned at them. Crossing the threshold Frank sat her firmly on a mat of palm fronds and paced back a forward in the small space. The walls of the hut barely stood a metre tall and the highest point of the roof pitch was only inches above Jax's head so Frank had to __________. Jax stifled another laugh, he looked like a __________. The _______of Knotted Palms! Jax cheeks burst and her laughter spluttered out in hysterical fits. Frank froze on the spot. His face went the same shade of purple as the dead corpse that lay under the sand a few hundred feet into the rain forest. That thought pulled Jax up short. 'Sorry.' she mumbled again.

Frank took a calming breath and started pacing, a sure sign he wanted to tell her something of importance but couldn't figure out how. Jax waited. Frank paced. This went on for sometime. Jax soon got bored and

 started fidgeting. She picked at the quick on her nail. It tore away from her chewed fingernail with a hot painful sting. '____!' She sucked madly on her finger as Frank stopped short again.

'Don't use that language Jax. It's not ladylike.'

'Oh what, and strangling a double agent with my _________ is?'

Frank sighed. 'I know how you must be feeling. It's not nice the things we have to do...'

'That's an understatement!'

'Okay, you're angry. I get that. This is not what you signed up for. I get that too,' he squatted bedside her and took her face in his hands, 'I'm sorry it has come to this.'

'Hrumph' Jax turned her head away, shrugging him off. The funny  had left the dingy hut and depression waltzed back in. Jax tried to shut out the gloomy, sad cloud but it swallowed her whole.

'Now is not the time to give up.' He pulled her face back forcing her to meet his eye, 'the story is not nearly over.'

'You don't get it Frank.'Jax pushed him away and stood up, 'it's pointless. I will never find my father!'

'Your father?'

'Yes! That's why I joined your stupid little mission impossible. I don't care about politics, I'm 17 for Pete's sake! What do I care who runs the country, they're all ego maniac _________ anyway. I just wanted to find my dad. I have searched this country high and low, I have double checked your stupid list of Agents, I have rescued half of them, lost  some of them, seen two of them killed and now I have killed one! And not a damn one fits my mum's description!'

'Your mum told you what he looked like?' Frank paled at her attack and stepped back.

'What? No she didn't tell me what he looked like, if she had this would be a whole lot easier wouldn't it?'

The colour drained back into Franks' face, 'What did she tell you then?'

'Nothing! That's the problem. All I know is he was a Agent working for a top secret government agency in the early 90's. He met her in the city in 92, they fell in love, she fell pregnant and he ran like hell.'

'Oh right. And now you're looking for him?'

'Duh!'Jax rolled her eyes.

'Well then,' Frank cleared his throat and relaxed, 'I can assure you, none of the men on that list were in the city in 92.'

'Then who the fuck am I?'

***

Once again we will be exploring the character Jax from my WIP @jax #theinceptionofchaos

*first draft

**jax excerpts may or may not appear in chronological order and may or may not make the final cut.

copyright 2010, TBell

[Fiction] Friday Challenge #181 for Nov 12th, 2010

[Fiction] Friday Challenge #181 for Nov 12th, 2010


Utilise the T.S.O.D (Traveling Shovel Of Death) – a NaNoWriMo tradition. The rules are simple. In your story, kill someone. With a shovel.

Once again we will be exploring the character Jax from current WIP @jax #theinceptionofchaos

*first draft

**jax excerpts may or may not appear in chronological order and may or may not make the final cut.

***

Simo stood up and brushed herself down, looking around suspiciously.

'What's up?'

Simo lifted her head and smiled, 'Nothing.’ she said over brightly.

Jax watched her fidget for a while, 'You never did tell me how you came to find me out here.'

Simo laughed and avoided looking at her, 'Are we back on that again?'

Just then Jax heard the rumble of a car. She let it drop. No cars had passed out here for days, the road in was too treacherous. The ride Jax was counting on was more of the propeller variety. She grabbed Simo's arm and pulled her under the tree but Simo pulled free and ran towards the noise, her arms waving frantically.

'Simo' Jax cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted but Simo didn't listen.

Shit, shit, shit. She searched the ground for a weapon, whoever it was way out here in the middle of the northern outback was not on a friendly sightseeing tour.

Trying not to stray too far from the tree's cover Jax scoured the ground, the only thing that could be of any use was an old shovel leaning stoutly against the trunk. Rusted and splintered Jax couldn't remember it being there earlier, or how it came to be leaning against a tree in the dessert anyway, but she didn't have time to ponder. A dusty Troop carrier came into sight and Jax realised Simo had climbed into the troop tray.

Shit, shit, shit. She looked at her transmitter and noticed a second red light blinking.

She sent a silent prayer to her mother, or whoever might be listening, then picked up the shovel and stepped behind the tree. She didn't have time to wait for Triton's rescue. The Troop carrier skidded to a halt a few metres away and Simo jumped out. Her eyes were wide and terrified, which could have something to do with the crazy eyed Thug pressing a rifle into her back.

'Where is she?' he growled.

Another Thug jumped down out of the driver's seat, his rifle slung casually over his shoulder.

Jax pressed herself so close to the tree that a thick stump pressed hard against her pelvis. Rude and totally inappropriate jokes sprang to her mind. She rolled her eyes in disgust, not now!

Simo searched frantically but Jax disguised herself too well nowadays. The Thugs were pretty thick and stuck together. The driver even left the keys in the ignition with the engine running. Shifting a little to relieve the stump pressed into her groin she scraped her boot against the tree and the Thug swung around, his eyes falling on the shovel.

'There she is.' he called and the other guy and Simo swung around to look.

Jax shrugged and stepped out from behind the tree, 'Here I am. Now boys, what can I do for you?'

She lifted the shovel to shoulder height and gave it a practice swing, hoping like hell they didn't shoot.

When no shots were fired she lowered the shovel to the ground and leaned on it like a walking stick. Well she would have if she hadn't first lost her balance. With the shovel head no longer attached the handle skidded on the hard ground and splintered into two. Shocked she regained her composure only to realise Simo was screaming. She looked up and gagged. There was blood everywhere and the head of the shovel was lodged into the head of the first Thug. The second Thug was thrashing on the ground with a bullet hole in his neck. How did that happen?

Not giving it a second thought Jax realised this was there chance and dropped what was left of the handle, grabbed Simo and sprinted for the truck. Simo tried to get away from her and ran around madly like a chook with it's head cut off. Jax slapped her twice, shoved her in the truck and jumped in the driver's seat.

'You could have killed me!'Simo sobbed.

Jax shrugged, 'Yeah well, you almost had me killed by running off like that so we're even.'

Simo stared at her for a moment and then burst into fits of hysterical laughter, 'Oh my God. Oh my God,’ she panted through her tears, 'did you see the shovel?' She shuddered, 'It sliced his head almost right off!'

Jax pressed her foot to the accelerator and screeched around in a wild donut, 'Yeah, well we're not out of trouble yet!' She pointed behind them and Simo looked into the back of the truck. Somehow the Thug with the shovel implanted in his face dragged himself across the dirt and was now clinging on to the tailgate for dear life.Jax swerved madly across the hard baked earth trying to shake him but the madman would not be shook. His fingers clung to the tray and he slowly heaved himself, inch by bloody inch up onto the tray.

'You have to go back there.'

Simo looked at her like she was crazy, 'Are you crazy?'

'Uh uh' Jax shook her head.

'And do what?'

Jax shrugged, 'Dunno. Smack his fingers?'

***

for more Jax

Mayhem&Monday - November 8

Routine, Routine, Routine, the madness of the day begins - ten years ago I never would have imagined that so many things could be achieved before 8am. Not only is it possible to run 3 kms before breakfast; it seems it is also possible to make love to husband; submit a job application online; do 3 loads of laundry; unload and re stack both drawers of a dishwashers; empty every bin in the house; take out the recycling; feed the worms; feed Things 1 & 2; mend 3 story books and vacuum the floors. Phew!

And now to writing. On this fine Monday morn our MadLib will blossom from Kate Grenville's 'The Writing Book' exercise 1.6 - Describe a character. You will find MadLib at the end of this exercise.

Once again we will be exploring the character Jax from my WIP @jax #theinceptionofchaos

*first draft

**jax excerpts may or may not appear in chronological order and may or may not make the final cut.

The Grenville Exercise - Without trying to think of a story, describe a character. Sex, age, race, occupation, appearance, mood, city, country, inside, out, rich, poor, weather, alone or with others, surroundings, family, schooling etc

Luca- pronounced Lu-sah. Tall large man, muscular and lithe like a lion and capable of crushing small animals in his giant sized fists. In his early forties he is as camp as they come, his voice is high and light and he has a tendency to giggle like a school girl. He has never had a relationship with anyone other than his mother and he is flattered easily and has a weakness for feisty young women who need help. He is a hit man for hire and he owes a small debt to Agnes and is working it off at her hideout as a butler / thug. He dresses impeccably in dress shirts and linen pants with a frilly white apron over the top to protect his expensive attire. His demeanour is unusually friendly which works in his favour more often than not, people trust him. He grew up in a small country town, loved by everyone and hated by many more. His mother was a successful business woman, strong and feisty but screwed one too many people over and eventually succumbed to heart failure due to high stress levels. His debt to Agnes is not of the monetary variety, Luca has more than enough money to support himself. He doesn’t particularly care for Agnes's attitude particularly her attitude toward his lifestyle choices but prefers not to get into an argument with her- he knows what she is capable of as he has been known on occasion to be the deliverer of her bad news. Although people gravitate toward him he has a hard time keeping friends due to his occupation, he has three degrees including a masters. His father was never around and he hopes one day for the man to reappear but seeing as he has absolutely no idea who the man is that is highly unlikely. He has no other family and is lonely although he would not admit it. Oh and he is also in love with Gregor. Jax and he have sooooo much in common, and he love love loves her!!!!

Now describe the same things about a second character - no need for them to have anything in common with the first. Now connect these two characters.

Nix- Male, 50 something, Caucasian, short,  compact, muscular, fit,graying hair, soft baby face, kind blue eyes, nice full smile, gentle voice. He is a little bit devilish, fast witted, loyal and intelligent to boot.Nix is friendly to a fault but also little bit weary, he looks over his shoulder a lot more than he would like and living on the edge does not sit as comfortably with him as he would have others believe. He is a southern boy and likes the hustle and bustle of the big city, the quiet country air makes him nervous and jumpy and he hates the hot humid weather up north. His parents are still alive, although quite old and senile, and he has a vibrant family life back down south that he would prefer to be near but circumstances of his marriage to Agnes keep him away. On the outside he portrays a confident and happy demeanour, only those that pay close attention see that he is longing for something else. He is very good at his job and it is with his help that has allowed Agnes to be as successful as she is. As a spy he is reasonably well off, not rich, not poor. He has made sure his parents are comfortable in their retirement and his sisters need not worry about money. He prefers company to being alone and this has led him to be somewhat dependant on Agnes. For the most part he and Agnes have a good relationship, he is one of the only people she will listen too although recently she rarely pays attention.

Do they know each other, if not do they meet, how? If they do how, related, love, hate, accident, proximity.

Luca and Nix are familiar with one another. Nix likes to keep himself separate from the people Agnes employs to do her dirty work but he does do a thorough background check on everyone. Nix knows about Luca’s past, his mother’s death and the fact that the man blames the government for not protecting her from bad investments and dodgy underworld figures. Luca thinks nothing much of Nix, he sees him as Agnes’s beck and call boy and thinks he has no spine. When Agnes orders Luca to get rid of Nix Luca thinks it will be a breeze.

Is there something that is important to them both, an object, desire? Do one of the five senses predominate? What is the mood?

Surviving Agnes is important to them both- Nix because he loves her, Luca because he owes her his life. Agnes rescued him from a spiralling life of crime that would have seen him dead before his 40th birthday. Both men are big aftershave users and neither likes the others scent. They dance around each other, sniffing the air in disgust and largely ignore each other.

Write a page in which these two characters interact.

And now to regale ye with the a MadLib

***

'Close the door behind you,' Agnes snapped.
Luca gritted his teeth on the way out, if she wasn't ____ he would tear her ____ off and serve it on a platter.
In the hallway he ____ by the open ____ to take a few ______. The sun set glowed pinks and oranges against a stormy backdrop. Way out to sea Luca cold make out a tinge of green in the heavy clouds and the wind whipped the _____on the shore into a frenzy. He smiled, a tropical storm would be the perfect setting.

If Agnes's calculations were right, and ________for her victims they usually were, Luca's target should be in the _____ enjoying a _______.
Luca made his way quickly towards the intricately carved wooden doors at the end of the breezeway. The victim had no need to ______of a butler so Luca threw the doors open and strolled ______into the _____.

Nix looked up ______, his face flushed with _____. Luca stopped short as the _____picked herself up off the ___ where Nix had ____her and scurried out of the room.
Luca raised his eyebrow, 'Seems Agnes has a right to be ______ after all.'
Nix ____ got to his ____ and sniffed the air, 'Is that a new cologne Luc? What is it, Eau de ____?'

Across the room Luca spied the abandoned drinks tray. He helped himself to a ______before replying, 'Don't call me Luc Nix, you know I don't like it.'
'What do you want Luca? Don't you have something better to do, like ____Aggie's next victim?'
Luca turned and smiled, 'Funny you should say that.' He sat his glass down and opened the doors to the balcony. This side of the house sat higher than the front. Two stories below the ______ glistened under the garden lights.

Nix eyed him suspiciously and inched toward the doors. In two quick strides Luca barred his way, 'Not so fast Nix. Let's have a little chat eh? What were you doing in here with the sweet Miss Lily? Not ______ the poor girl surely, I mean, you know it would be a death warrant if Aggie found out don't you. I don't mind getting my hands dirty but I would hate to make a ____ of that pretty little face.'
'You really should get laid Luca, it might help you lift your mind out of the gutter. As for Miss Lily,it's not what you think. I have been helping her with ______.' Defiant Nix side stepped Luca and crossed to the other side of the room. He poured himself a drink but his hands were shaking and the vodka slopped onto his shirt.

'Here, let me help you.' Luca whipped off his frilly white apron and mopped up the vodka, dropped a _____ into the glass and poured Nix another drink. 'There you go...'
The glass smashed against the wall as Nix reared up to his full height, which barely reached Luca's armpit, and lunged for Luca's _____. A flash of silver passed Luca's line of sight and he let out a _____scream as pain seared across his cheek.

Three doors down Jax mumbled something nonsensical into her pillow and rolled over. The guard watching her kept his eyes trained on the bed and his ears trained on the commotion in the library. Another head on a platter he thought. The commotion died down soon enough and he turned his attention back to his book, if he was lucky he would finish _________ by morning.

***

 

[Fiction] Friday Challenge #180

[Fiction] Friday Challenge #180 for Nov 5th, 2010

*Your Main Character picks a sliver of glass from their sleeve and gravely inspects it…
(now keep writing)

@jax #theinceptionofchaos continues from challenge 179
*first draft
**jax excerpts may or may not appear in chronological order and may or may not make the final cut.

***

Jax picked a sliver of glass from her sleeve and gravely inspected it. The waiter tut tutted as he swept up the broken medicine vials, 'Now that attitude will never do!'

Blood appeared at the tip of her finger. She put it in her mouth to stop the flow and studied her waiter. He wore a frilly white apron over a severely pressed dress shirt and tailored slacks. His hair flopped annoyingly over one eye and he kept blowing puffs of air from the corner of his mouth in an attempt to shift it.

The silver platter, sans head, crashed against the far wall. Jax dared a peek over the edge of the bed to see where Nix's head rolled to. Under the dust ruffle she caught a glimpse of his soft sandy hair and her stomach did a little flip. This situation could get a little sticky.

The man busily cleaned the tray in a fussy, bordering on obsessive compulsive, kind of way. She considered trying out the self defense Nix taught her back at HQ but then it occurred to her that it hadn't done much good for the master and she never was a very good student.

Finished with the tray he turned to Jax and offered her his hand, 'I like your style. I'm Luca, maybe we could be friends?'
His voice was softer than his build belied and the request sounded more like a little boy's plea to be loved than a fierce captors brainwashing attempt.
'Jax' she croaked. His hand felt like an over sized baseball mitt in her grasp.
'So, what do you say?' he smiled hopefully.
'About what?'
'Friends?'
'Uh-sure?'
'Great!'He clapped his hands like a over excited school girl getting ready to meet her favourite vampire/secret love interest and then daintily perched himself on the edge of her bed. 'I've been waiting for you to wake up for weeks. It's so quiet around here when nothings happening- you're the most exciting thing that has happened all month.'

Confused and still a little groggy from whatever drugs she had been forced fed Jax didn't know what to say so she said nothing. Luca didn't notice, he kept babbling on about how boring his job was and how crazy Aggie (Agnes? she asked and he nodded) could be. Ever since she cut off her arm...
'Wait!' Jax sat up, 'She cut off her arm?'
'Yes!' Luca squealed in delight. Out in the corridor a noise like a chair scraping across tiles cut him off. Luca clamped his hand over his mouth and his eyes darted to the door. Jax held her breath but after a moment, when no-one appeared, Luca relaxed, 'It was drama, drama, drama around here for days after that! You should have seen her, she looked a fright. And poor Gregor, oh the poor baby was in such distress!'
'Gregor was here? After the arm, thing...'
'Ooh, does someone have a bit of a crush?' Luca teased.
'What? No!' Jax looked away, 'No way. I am just interested is all. The last time I saw Gregor he was on my side and he was heading into a building to save our friends. Next thing I know he ambushes me on the job, Agnes is his mother and she knocks me out and I wake up here. God knows how long I've been here and you come in with a head on a plate and want to be my friend!'

'Phew' he fanned his face with his over sized baseball mitt hands and winked, 'don't get your knickers in a knot.' He shuffles about on the bed so he is laying down with his head over the edge. A bit more shuffling occurs and he sits up, Nix's head in his hands. He tosses it between his palms like a basketball.

The vacant eyes roll around in their sockets and Jax gags.
'Stop it!'
Surprised Luca looks at his hands, 'Hmm, sorry.' He puts the head on the platter and covers it over with a starched linen napkin. 'So you have questions?' He asks.
Jax rolls her eyes.
'Ok, shoot. Ask me anything!'

***

or

***


Jax picked a sliver of glass from her sleeve and gravely inspected it. High on adrenalin she giggled at the sight of blood. A warm trickle oozed down her left leg and her head felt hot. The remains of broken window crunched under her feet as she hid behind a swath of bamboo. On top of the giggles her head wouldn't stop spinning and shakes surged through her weak body. All she could do to stay still was think about the boat out at sea waiting to pick her up like a forgotten crab pot.

 The curtain twitched and a red hibiscus dropped to the ground. Luca's signal. She wanted to reach up drag him from behind the broken window  for one last hug but decides that would not be the wisest of moves when making the great escape.

It's now or never. Ducking her head and scurrying like a frightened crab across the sand she plowed into the clear warm water, sending up a flurry of white foam and promptly  froze.

The wild surf scared her, swimming in the ocean was something she would never get used to, too many creatures lurking in the depths waiting to take her as bait. The speck on the horizon, that she could only hope was the boat Triton promised would be waiting for her, seemed impossibly far out to sea. How he  expected her to swim that far out without the aid of a flotation device was beyond her. Clearly he had not heard about the time she sank to the bottom of the pool during the school carnival 50 metre dash.

A shrill whistles cut through her thoughts causing her to throw an anxious glance over her shoulder. The scrubby tropical bush revealed nothing but that was definitely the alarm signal they agreed upon. Jax giggled again imagining the camp Luca putting his fingers to his mouth and producing such a masculine sound.
With a deep breathe and a new found confidence born out of fear of being the head served on a platter to Agnes's next victim, Jax plunged into the surf.

The waves crashed at her feet and sucked the sand out from beneath them. Stumbling to gain her footing she pinched her nose and pitched in head first. The white water rushed around her and dragged her back out to see. She flailed her arms and legs in a pathetic attempt to swim through it and felt relieved as she made some progress. Another wave swallowed her whole, forcing her to squeeze her eyes shut. As she did over her head she glimpsed what looked like a box shaped balloon with long dangling tentacles. Her brain seized - the Irukandji!

***

copyright T.Bell 2010

Meet Jax - the fictional heroine driving this blog

See, I told you, average.

If someone asked you to describe Jax, the first thing you would say is ‘Oh you know, she’s average looking’ and she wouldn’t mind because it’s true.

She’s average height, if a little on the short side, 162cm, not tiny but not tall. Slim but not skinny nor chunky, light brown hair bleached by the sun. Her mum used to say it was honey blond but that was before she was hit by a bus and killed instantly in front of Jax and the entire school. When Jax is feeling down she talks to her mum and remembers the nice things she used to say. Jax would murder me for telling you that!


Anyway her eyes are sometimes green, sometimes grey and sometimes blue, depending on her mood and the time of day. She has straight-ish teeth, a few freckles, a normal sized nose, average smile, and an average figure.

The second thing you would say is ‘Be careful’.

Your listener would probably cock their head to the side and inquire why? You would lean in real close, so your lips are almost brushing their ear. With a quick look over your shoulder to make sure Jax was not around you would say in a hushed whisper, ‘She hears and see’s everything!’

Now, don’t get me wrong, Jax is not nosy, you would reassure your listener, no not at all, in fact she tries her hardest not to pay attention— she just can’t help it.

You see she has 20-20 vision and 100% hearing accuracy, acute attention to detail and a memory to boot. Her mother would tell her she inherited it from her father; he was a mysterious spy working for a top secret government agency. Not that Jax would know him if they bumped into each other on the street. He shot through on a mission long before Jax arrived and he hasn’t been heard from since. Jax’s mother died before Jax had a chance to wrangle any further information out of her.

In a strange twist, Jax actually enjoys her talents but hates the attention people pay to them. Determined to find her father – dead or alive as it may be – Jax really wishes everyone would leave her alone and let her get on with it – people rarely do.

Jax is not the kind of girl that blends into a crowd. If the things I’ve already told you don’t make our average girl stand out, then her smart mouth, clumsy demeanour and quick wit certainly make you sit up and take notice. Kids in school flock to her, parents love her, teachers have tried (and failed) to tame her, and most interesting - the government has their sights set on her.

***

@jax #theinceptionofchaos is the author's current WIP. 

if you are intrigued, join us here for Mayhem&Madness, WordsOnThePage and FictionFriday and witness Jax's character as it unfolds in a series of writing exercises.

Words On The Page

get the voices out of your head

and the

 words on the page.

a weekly exercise in just writing.

we all know how it goes-

you have planned a few quite hours to sit behind the computer

 or with pen in hand and paper balanced precariously on knee

(or laid flat on smooth table surface if you are more sensible than me)

and you have a purpose

 you wish to start that dastardly novel that keeps you awake a night

or a short story to entertain the masses,

a poem perhaps?

but nothing comes...

arrggg!

where did all those great ideas go?

where have all your wicked cool characters disappeared too?

they've all gone to a posh fancy hotel for a quick bet on the races and an expensive lunch, that's where!

Words On The Page

aims to help you collar those wayward characters,

pilfer their winnings and

drag them back home again

to be immortalized as

words on the page.

Once a week (probably Thursday) i will post

a writing exercise

procured from a writing book

(currently Kate Grenville's 'The Writing Book')

between 1pm and 3pm (AEST)

 i will sit down for two hours

and

JustWrite

at 3pm I will post my success

i invite you to join me...

post the link to your

words on the page

in the comments section

and i will be sure to comment

how many

 

Words On The Page

 

did you reach?

Progress of a novice novelist

The journey of first time novelist is indeed an interesting one. Several months ago, Cat and I found ourselves discussing the mountain of projects I had accumulated over the last 12 months. His concern was that I, a woman who has not exercised with any great regularity since she was 15 years old, would not be able to scale the mountain without causing a landslide of epic proportions. I assured him that it wasn't as high as it appeared and I was already at the top.
Cat put his hands on his hips, cocked his head and quite firmly (in a sexy Tony Danza from 'Who's the boss' kind of way) asked me to come down right now!

Now don't get the wrong impression here, Cat is the most understanding and supportive husband a girl with plans could hope for, very rarely does he say no and more often than not he is the one to encourage my harebrained schemes- even the idea I had that involved packing Thing 1 & 2, ourselves and my mother into a camper van and touring New Zealand for two weeks in the middle of the coldest winter ever.As it turned out it was a great holiday and fun was had by all, nevertheless even I have to admit, this year I may have taken on one too many a project.

It started out innocently enough, really. After 17 years I was only 8 units away from completing my degree and I thought to myself  Eight units is only one full-time year of study. I could be finished uni by the time Thing 1 starts school! Over Christmas further rationalising occurred and a serious conversation with mother secured a 2 months visit in the new year. My little mind started ticking over, I could finish the 3rd draft of 'Elysium' while mother spent quality time with the Chillin's all through February/March. Come first term I would be free of my WIP that had dominated most of my head space for the past two years (slowing the progress of the degree somewhat dramatically) and ready to sink my teeth in to full-time study.
Further more, Thing 1 was starting two days in kindy, which I decided would give me some extra time to study.

So far so good, come 30th March, the 3rd & 4th drafts of Elysium were complete and I was able to put it aside for a planned 6 months to mature before tackling the final rewrite. In the mean time I had committed to hosting a Steiner based playgroup in our home one morning a week. I also had agreed to be part of a New School Initiative to start a Steiner School in our region and further I started another book and a second blog. But it was all fine, really I was on top of it.

So although suddenly my days were not as free as I had imagined I happily ticked the months of the calender and managed to keep my head above water. Come the middle of the year I was starting to get antsy and a little bored with how well I was managing it all so I decided to add another few feet to the already extremely high mountain, I committed myself to a Collaborative Writing Project and agreed to pen another book.

Then quite suddenly a friend came to me and very gently asked if I was doing OK? At first I looked at her strangely, smiled through my shock and said 'Yes of course' and promptly started putting the clean laundry in the refrigerator.

I closed the fridge door and paused. My stomach flipped and I found it hard to breath. I rolled my neck to release some tension. It was really sore and tight. I should see a physio I thought. I turned back to my friend and smiled, 'Do you know a good physio?' I asked. She said yes, found me the number and we resumed drinking our wine. Later that night I considered what she had said and dismissed it. The next day after I snapped at Thing 1 unreasonably I dismissed that too. A week later when I sat on the closed toilet seat and wept because I was too tired to have a shower I thought about the comment again. Still I dismissed it.

It was only after Cat  found me perched atop my mountain hissing like a wild animal and firmly asked me to climb down that I actually gave weight to the situation. Okay, I admit it, I think I am super woman.

Yep, that's right, I was raised in an era where I was told I could do it all and I believed it. Delusional for sure but even now, after spending months going to bed at 8pm and being unable to drag myself out of bed in the mornings in any kind of good humor, I still struggle to admit that maybe I don't have to do it all. The trouble is, there is so much that I want to do, so much that I have convinced myself I must do, I find it hard to separate the want from the must.

fast forward a month or two and here we are. I have agreed with Cat that I will focus solely on completing the degree and polishing ' Elysium' to the stage where I can happily start sending it out to agents. This is a good strong sensible plan and it is plans like these that make Cat and I perfect for one another. He allows me to go off on a wild ride of fun and crazy scheming and I allow him to reign me in when I get out of control.

Thus far I haven't found it hard to let go of the obsessive cleaning, that was an easy one. After having a meeting with local councillors regarding the Steiner School I even happily relented on the hardcore campaigning and I have agreed to relinquish our beloved playgroup after this last term of schooling. But...

I have to admit, the extra curricular writing is continuing to grow, much like mushrooms in a dark damp corner. Now the fungus has taken hold, it is proving hard to eradicate and truth be told, I am not trying very hard. There has been no industrial strength fertiliser, no shovels and compost heaps, and certainly no hand weeding will be taking place any time soon. The writing has a mind of it's own and it has planted it's roots firmly in my life and I am happy and comfortable with this development. Thus I have taken the writing underground. It is all very hush hush at the moment and Cat is confident that I am once again safe at the bottom of my perilous mountain. And I am positive Cat will be more than understanding of this little underground activity when I secure my first deal and all is revealed.

So that is where I find myself. I have 2 more units of uni to complete over the Christmas semester, I have no less than four new WIP and I am standing at the bottom of my mountain where it seems I did manage to climb down one step at a time without causing a major landslide. However I must give credit where credit is due, the sides were safely secured with a strong sturdy wire frame provided by my own personal super supportive construction company.

Tell me, do you ever feel like the need to write is almost organic?