Wednesday, April 10, 2019

ROW80 #4: Wednesday surprise

My feet keep giving up, but new shoes are on the way! Despite a hectic schedule this week with unexpected appointments, and a lower word count so far, I'm feeling pretty darn good. Forsythia, daffodils, a few hours of sunshine now and then, and that green or pink haze on some trees lets me know that spring is truly coming in the next few weeks.

PROGRESS ON ROW80 GOALS, ROUND 2:

WRITING: Weekly: Add 1K words to Seventh Tapestry. WEDS check-in: Added 437 words. No progress: family history. 

BLOG: Weekly: post x3 and read blogs by others x7. WEDS check-in: Posted ROW80 blog and have read blogs by others by Weds, 3/7.

CRIT Novels-L: Critique submissions by other writers 2x month. WEDS check-in: no critiques yet.

MARKETING:  Clarify marketing goals. WEDS check-in: No progress. Amazon pages finally linked for Rivers of Stone.

Best Writing Moment: The first pages of a romantic suspense story need to truly involve the reader. I'm just beginning to revise the first draft of The Seventh Tapestry. An e-mail invitation to participate in a writing marathon from Camp NaNoWriMo hit my inbox, starting today and 'running' through April 14. And that prompted me to write instead of revise!

 So, does this opening scene grab your interest?

----
     Sandra had to get out. Now. 
     Flames flowed up the walls, hot ribbons scorching her skin; the ceiling above her blistered by fire. Like a cockroach, she scrabbled across the carpet as fast as she could. Not fast enough. I'm going to die.
     The night light blinked. Sandra awoke on the floor, her knees burning from rug burns. There was no fire. She was safe in her dad's apartment. Her pulse pounding and in a sweat, she sat up. When will the nightmares stop?
     "You all right?" her dad called. "I'm here if you need me, darlin'."
     Sandra laughed, a shaky laugh that once started, turned to slow tears. "Maybe a cup of coffee?"
     "Come downstairs in five," he said.
     Sandra checked her knees. He didn't need to see her bloody knees. She limped to the bathroom and cleaned each knee. The bleeding wouldn't stop. She pressed bandages over both knees, as the smell of coffee lifted through the rowhouse. Sandra took a deep breath and pulled on a fresh pair of jeans. 
     It was time to talk with her father about their last case.
----

What participating in such a marathon means is that I will be pushed to explore and write even as I'm working on editing. And that's fun, even if what I write will ultimately not be used.

Check out ROW80's website at A Round of Words in 80 Days for how to get started! Or you can swing by our Facebook page to catch up on how other ROW80 writers are setting goals and measuring progress. May you have a good week, and let's celebrate spring!

Source: https://imgflip.com/i/1f6624

4 comments:

  1. The (slowly) improving weather has done a bit to recharge me as well. Here's hoping that trend continues for both of us.
    Good luck with your writing goals this Round.

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    1. Thanks for visiting, Rob. Actually, that sunshine doesn't really improve my writing, but it certainly helps the rest of the day!

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  2. The weather is doing wonders for me too!

    A lot of tension straight away in the opening scene, and it's intriguing.

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    1. Thank you, Ruichan. Still too rainy here. Ah, but spring is coming!

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