Novel, Day 4

And now, for some fun at the midway...

“Now, this can not actually be a game.”

Ivy was looking dubiously at a game called Spang-Hewing. Granted, her friends were giving it similar doubtful looks. It wasn’t the rings slowly rotating over a tub of water that had them confused. It was the frogs.

Elliot was giving the man running the game a hard look. “So, you mean to tell me, if I can throw a frog through one of the rings, into the water tub, I get FIVE tokens?”

The man nodded. “Yes, sir. Underhand only, and you cannot kill or maim the frogs, either before or during the throw.”

Ivy looked horrified. “I should hope not!”

Elliot ignored her comment. “And I get three frogs per try?”

The man nodded in agreement.

“So if I make all three frogs, I would get fifteen tokens?”

The man raised one eyebrow. “Yes sir.”

“I’ll take you up on that then.”

The man turned around, to round three frogs out of the tub. Ivy looked horrified, though the rest of the group was all laughing. “Elliot, you cannot be serious. The poor frogs!”

He smiled at her. “I promise to be gentle with them. You know I’m a good throw. This should be a lot easier than a card in a peach.”

The man gave Elliot a bucket with a lid, containing the three frogs. He took one out and studied it. It was a general, every day frog, about the size of a peach. It would be oddly balanced, that was certain, and it was slimy, but the rings were bigger around than a crown, and rotating slowly enough they wouldn’t present a huge challenge. He held the frog up to Ivy’s face. “Kiss it for luck?”

She turned a bit green around the edges, not even dignifying his request with a reply. He smiled at her, gave the frog a few light practice tosses, getting the feel of the frog, then gave it a gentle underhand toss at the lowest ring.

The frog sailed beautifully, straight toward its goal. However, Elliot quickly learned that when you throw a frog for any real distance, its limbs spread out as far as possible. One of the frog’s hind feet caught the ring, and the frog swung around using that grip, missing the tub entirely and flying toward the exit. The man’s assistant instantly scooped up the frog, dropping it in another bucket. This was, apparently, a common occurrence.

“No fair!” Shouted Devon. “Interference!”

“Is it ok?!” Ivy instinctually reached out for the frog that just a moment ago she wouldn’t have dreamt of touching, which brought another bout of laughter from the group.

“I assure you ma’am, the frog is fine. They do this all day long.”

Ivy noticed Elliot’s smile didn’t leave his face, but his eyes hardened slightly. He was still having fun, but now he was taking this much more seriously. He took out the second frog, studied it more intently, including staring the creature in the eyes.

“Can I hold it for a moment?”

Elliot was shocked at Ivy’s request, but he handed the small creature to her. She cupped her hands around it, being sure that it wouldn’t hop away. She closed her eyes, as if in concentration, then handed the frog back.

The man seemed concerned. “No spell casting on the frogs, ma’am.”

It was Ivy’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Are you serious, sir? Spellcasting?? I am a healer, and well known as such at this festival. I wanted to assure myself that the frog is actually healthy. I don’t know much about amphibian biology, but it feels fine enough. That was all I was doing.”

Elliot stopped and stared at Ivy, a slight smile on his face. She turned toward him, saw the look on his face, and smiled back, blushing slightly. The moment was broken by the frog squirming, attempting escape. Elliot shook his head, as though to clear his mind, or perhaps get the hair out of his eyes, and took his time aiming his second shot. This one was slightly harder than the prior one, but this time the frog had a bit of a spin to its flight. The legs barely cleared the ring, and the group was met with a satisfying “Blurp” as the frog landed in the tub. The group burst into cheers, for which Elliot took a bow. He looked up from the bow to hold eyes with Ivy, causing her to blush even deeper.

“Now, let’s see if I can do that again.”

novel, Day 3

Meredith answered. “That is easy. I met Samuel at the last festival, two years ago. I was volunteering in the stables. I actually met Samuel’s horse before I met him. But I fell in love with the beast, so of course I fell in love with the rider.” The two of them shared a long look, to which Adina made gaging noises.

Devon seemed confused. “But you all were in the last competitions, but you didn’t know Samuel.”

Adina piped in. “I was busy winning the blue in two different archery contests, and Ivy… well.. Ivy wasn’t there.”

Ivy sighed. “My mother was, is… ill. I had to be with her, so I sent my competition pieces with Meredith, but I didn’t get to be here.”

Elliot took her hand. “I’m sorry. Is she doing better?”

Ivy smiled at his hand on hers. “She’s… stable. Comfortable. She’s not gravely ill or anything like that, or I wouldn’t be here again this year, but she will never be… I would rather not talk about it. Look, we’re bringing the group down. Different subject!”

Devon helped out. “This is both my and Elliot’s first festival.”

“First? Why haven’t you come before?”

Elliot sighed. “Well, I’ve been abroad on business for the last three years. It is nothing really exciting or anything, just a lot of traveling. Though I do have to say, I’ve been to many countries. Seen a lot of beautiful scenery. Don’t know why for Devon, though.”

“I’ve been busy, honestly. This thing happens in the late fall – and I’m really, really busy this time of year. As I am sure you can guess from this lovely alcohol, I have access to a cherry orchard, and this is harvest time. When Samuel asked me, I found some people to take over the harvest for me.” He stopped and took a long drink before playing another card. “Last Jack! Did I break the rules?”

Ivy thought about it fairly hard. “I’ll give you a pass. There is no way you could make this great sour without access to the ingredients, and you didn’t reveal a last name or if you are landed or titled or anything like that, so I say we’re ok. Everyone agree?”

Everyone raised their glasses in agreement, and enjoyed a long drink of Devon’s cherries.”

“So, you have eyes for Elliot, huh?” Meredith was sitting on her bunk, brushing out her hair. The ladies had said their good evenings to the gentlemen, but finding it hard to turn in, even with the alcohol in their systems. Adina was helping Ivy hang up her dress high above them.

Ivy’s green eyes flashed in surprise, but her cheeks turned bright red. “What? Whatever are you talking about? That is ridiculous.”

Adina gave her an incredulous look. “You offered to help him in the kitchen. You hate kitchen work.”

Meredith joined in. “You made sure you sat next to each other at dinner.”

“And at cards”

Meredith grinned. “And there was no question in the room when I asked, who I was talking to.”

Ivy sighed. “Is it that obvious?”

Adina smiled. “Only to people who know you really well. Your secret is safe with us.”

“For now.”

Ivy face planted in her pillow. “Yes, he is incredibly attractive. Yes, I find myself drawn to him, but you know this won’t work out.” She rolled over, imploring her friends. “These kinds of things never work out. Not with me.”

Adina sighed and sat on Ivy’s bunk. “I know you have had a hard time in the past. I know you, well, don’t want to get hurt again. But he’s a nice guy.”

Meredith called down from her bunk. “Just let things happen. Don’t try or anything, just be yourself this week. If he likes you, too... It’s only one week. It can’t hurt you.”

“So, Elliot, what do you think of Ivy?” Samuel was stretched out on his bottom bunk, looking up at his friend across the room. Devon was already snoring loudly above him.

He glared at his friend, raising an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, she is very pretty. She seems to be a wonderful person. And she made you smile. At least twice. And laugh. It has been a long time since I’ve heard you laugh like that, my friend.”

Elliot laid down his dagger, sighing. “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt I could, honestly. Traveling the last three years helped, I suppose.”

“So you haven’t seen your father since you got back?”

“Once. I had been sending my formal reports back during my travels, so the debriefing was quick. Since you had convinced him that allowing me to the festival was a good political move, I didn’t really need to ask, he just informed me during the debriefing that I had been entered in the ax throwing competition. Said you had made all of the arrangements. Thank you again, for that, by the way.”

“Not a problem. Having the ears of your younger brothers helped. Once I had you convinced, I knew I could convince them, and they in turn your father.”

Elliot grinned. “You sure Devon is the intrigue one of the group? You can be quite the schemer when you want to.”

Samuel laughed. “Everyone looks at me and forgets I have a brain, as well. That doesn’t make me a schemer, I just take advantage of the situation. Devon, he is more of a rogue. That boy gets in more trouble.”

“Didn’t he win his cherry orchard gambling?”

“Well, yeah, but that’s how he has won and lost everything in his life. He mouth gets him in more trouble than he is worth. But this isn’t about him. It’s about you. And Ivy.”

Elliot sighed and raked his hand through his hair. “You know I can’t… get involved.”

Samuel smiled. “You don’t have to get involved. Just be. Let go. It’s only one week, it can’t hurt you.”

Novel, day 2

Another day, another disclaimer. This is the first thousand words I wrote on the second. However, since I wrote over 2600 words on the first, this is about 1600 words AFTER the last post. Yes, you are missing stuff. The point here isn't to share the entire novel, but to get samples of my first draft out there, as well as possibly make the whole novel writing experience more transparent. Anyway, here is the begining of chapter 2. enjoy!

Chapter 2

~~~~~

They had to postpone the post dinner card game long enough to light the lamps. Even Devon had to agree that the cards would be hard to read in the dim light, though he tried to first blame it on the amount of sours everyone had been drinking. After much debate, it was decided by a roll of the dice that they would play “Chase the Jack”, which at least 4 of them knew the rules to.

“Ok, newbies between seasoned players. Elliot, you’re to the right of Ivy, and Samuel, you can be after Meredith.”

“So play goes to the right?” Samuel sounded confused.

“Unless another play changes that, yes.” Meredith smiled at his facial expression. “Don’t worry; we can walk you through it.”

The group fell silent as everyone organized their cards, each new player getting tips from their partner.

“Thank you for dinner, by the way.” Ivy was helping Elliot organize his hand. “That was a well roasted bird. What is your technique for keeping the meat so juicy?”

He winked at her, as he looked at her cards. “chef’s secret. Sorry.”

“Well, it went very well with the beverage, if I do say so myself.” She flipped over the first card on the deck. “Play starts to the right of the dealer, so Devon first. So, Samuel, and Elliot, what are you two doing in the festival? Will you also have crafts on display?”

Samuel chuckled. “No, lass. I’m a bit ham fisted for most of that delicate work. I mainly work with horses. I’ll be competing in the jousting, and perhaps riding the gauntlet, if I can get past the qualifiers this year.”

Meredith laughed. “Last time the course wasn’t designed for a steed and rider of Samuel’s stature. His mare could just step over the hurdle, but the weaving posts were closer together than one of his horse’s gaits. They had to make modifications to the course this year, to make sure it would be fair.”

Elliot played his card, after much debate. “If Samuel would have just stopped growing, he wouldn’t have needed such a monster of a steed anyway.”

“You’re just upset because we were the same height when you left school. It isn’t my fault I kept on growing. Just good living, I suppose.” That got a laugh from the group, as play paused for Meredith to help Samuel choose his card.

“So, Elliot, what do you plan to do this week?” Ivy was nothing if not persistent.

“Well, I was planning on competing in the throwing competitions. Ax, most likely.”

“You throw axes?” Adina seemed amused by this.

“I throw most anything, actually. I’ve been practicing with knives and other bladed throwing weapons since I was a boy, but I’ve expanded to use most anything, now.”

“Oh? Prove it!” Adina’s cheeks were reddened from the drink, and she was being brash. Ivy tried to calm the situation. “You don’t need to.”

“No, it’s fine. Adina, hold up one of the fruits from the bowl.”

Adina picked up a peach. She rested her elbow on the table, and let her hand drape back, holding the fruit at an odd angle beside her. Without a word Elliot flicked a playing card from his hand across the table. Everyone jumped. The corner of the card was buried deep in the flesh of the peach, far enough that the card’s number was buried completely within the fruit. Once the moment of shock was over, the table burst into applause. Adina, admitting defeat, took a bite of the fruit and offered the card back to Elliot.

“Oh, I think you should keep it in your hand. You obviously asked him for it.” Meredith laughed.

Adina laughed in agreement, and cleaned the juice off of the card as best she could before putting it back in her hand.

“It’s not your fault, Adina. More than one gambler has fallen into challenging Elliot like that during a game of cards.” Devon played his card and leaned back in his chair. “We met because I stuck my foot in my mouth and he helped me shove it in all the way to my knee. Figuratively, not literally, of course.”

Elliot laughed. “Devon thought the one card was a fluke, so he kept trying other things. Grapes. A head of lettuce. Even a watermelon.”

“Though, in all fairness, it did take you more than one card before one stuck in the watermelon.”

“Well, yeah, those things are tough. At first I thought when you chose the watermelon, that you were joking. Then I realized you didn’t mean the huge easy red center for my target – you meant the rind!”

“I should have grabbed the cantaloupe.”

“Wouldn’t have helped. I could do that, too.”

Ivy grabbed onto the one bit of that conversation she could question. “So, how many cards did it take for you to get the watermelon?”

Samuel answered for him. “Three! And then he got two more, in the same spot!”

“He said he could keep that up all day, but it would be too much fun. For the watermelon.”

The table burst into a riot of laughter, as Elliot blushed. “I don’t usually talk like that. But you had gotten under my skin.”

“It’s just a funny story, now. But anyway, that’s how we met, and how I learned when I’ve taken something too far.”

Samuel looked shocked. “You mean, you finally learned that lesson?”

The group busted a seam all over again. Ivy had to dab tears from her eyes. Elliot offered her his handkerchief, which she accepted gratefully. “Seriously, though, I don’t want you to think I am that crass. Don’t believe all of Devon’s stories.”

“Oh, it’s ok, and it’s all in good fun. We ladies can take a joke, you haven’t offended.”

Novel, Day 1

Ok, so quick disclaimer. This is a portion of the ROUGH DRAFT. There is no editing, there is nothing like that. This is just a snapshot, a sneak peek for everyone, to the ongoing literary process. Feel free to leave comments, but constructive comments only, please. Now, onto the first of my posts of a novel in progress.

“It’s beautiful!” squealed M as she clenched the hands of her two best friends. The three of them hopped in a circle of excitement, as they have done since they were children. They paused for only a moment to admire the cabin. The grass of the commons was thick and lush, right up to the front door. The woodlands were so close to the back that tree branches shaded the roof. Ivy wound around the split log structure, and flowers spilled from inside the woodlands out into the grass. The dappled sunlight shown off the three women, their pile of luggage, and the stablemen who were leading the wagon away.

Ivy broke the circle first, taking the key from around her neck and opening the large oak door. It was cool and shaded inside, with the scattered sunlight through the back window making streaks across the open room. “Looks like the boys aren’t here yet! We get first pick of the rooms!”

“Thank the Gods, I did not want to have to carry all this stuff inside.” Adina waved her hand at the pile of boxes and bags the stablemen had left for them. A rose colored glow surrounded them, and they slowly floated in front of her. The pile bottle necked in the door, and Meredith helped her reorganize the pile so it could float through.

“Please, like the boys wouldn’t feel the need to be all chivalrous and carry them in for us.”

Adina huffed a scoff towards Meredith as she followed the baggage into the cabin’s main room. “I’m sure they would. But then they would put everything in the wrong place, or have expectations of us being all girly and thankful. No thank you.”

Ivy smiled at her friend. “Like you won’t get all girly anyway?”

Adina laughed. “Shut your mouth, your highn-ASS.”

The three burst into bouts of giggling as they split into different tasks. Meredith explored the main room, Adina separated the boxes of foodstuffs from their personal effects. “In all seriousness, remember, that’s the last time you get to call me that this week.” Ivy opened one of the two doors off of the main room to study one of the bedrooms. “Rules are rules, after all. This room looks the cleanest. Two bunk beds. Who wants top bunk?”

“I do!” chorused the other two, which set off another fit of giggles.

“By the stars, if the boys meet us like this they will think us insane!” The girls followed their luggage into the surprisingly spacious bedroom. Ivy pulled back the curtains on the windows to let in more light, though it was tinged green from the leaves growing over the glass. Meredith climbed to the top of the bunk on the right wall, Adina leapt to the top of the bunk on the left. Ivy glared at them both as the luggage drifted into 3 piles. “Well, there are drawers under the bunks, and against the wall. We should have enough space to store Meredith’s things, at least.” The girls all glanced at the vastly larger of the three piles. “You know something you need to share with us?”

Meredith scoffed. “I like being prepared. Anyway, I wouldn’t trust my competition pieces to those goons at check in. I’m taking them over personally in the morning.”

“You just don’t want anyone to see what you did till the last possible moment.” Adina was lifting some of her bags onto her bunk, and hanging dresses on hangers that floated to her out of another box.

Ivy watched in amazement. “I sometimes forget just how good you are at that, Adina. The multi-tasking, the amount of minute dexterity… you are truly gifted.”

Adina smiled warmly at her friend. “I’m glad you think so. The Sisters still get on my case about the colors. Say it’s a sign of wasted potential.”

Meredith sighed. “The Sisters are a bunch of cloistered busybodies. I still say it’s just another aspect of your gift.” Her eyes unfocused, going dark and distant. Just as quickly she was back. “As far as I can See, your gift still comes with the colored light. Anyway, I think it’s beautiful, if not very subtle.”

Ivy finally chooses her bunk, under Adina, and starts unpacking herself. “That’s cheating Meredith. And calling the Sisters so harshly! They’re just trying to help.” She tried, unsuccessfully, to smooth wrinkles out of a dress on her mattress. “And Adina, why are you putting everything on hangers, there isn’t a wardrobe in here.”

“Oh, I beg to differ.” With a grin, a length of clothesline snaked out of the bag the hangers had been in, bathed in orange light. It tied itself to one of the rafters above, and began weaving itself around the beams, stretching several long pieces above the open space between the bunks. Once the line was secured on the other end, Adina’s dresses danced around the room, eventually hanging themselves on the line high above them. Adina beamed in the chorus of “Bravos!” and light applause that came from her friends.

~~~~

“Well, isn’t this a toilet?” sighed Devon.

He stared unbelieving at the run down old cabin. Weeds covered the majority of it, like the woods behind were trying to reclaim it. The peeling oak door was slightly ajar, revealing nothing inside but darkness.

“It’s not THAT bad. It’s rustic.” Samuel pulled the last of his luggage off of the wagon, and nodded thanks to the stableman.

“I’m terrified to see what the bathroom looks like.”

Elliot beamed. “It won’t have one. There is a privy house between this cabin and the next one, over that way.”

Devon looked horrified. “No indoor plumbing? You have got to be kidding me!”

Samuel laughed. “This is CAMPING, my friend. Roughing it!”

“I don’t think so, Samuel. This isn’t camping. Camping is a tent and a bed roll, not a cabin with a kitchen.”

Devon looked like he was going to cry. “but.. but the privy…”

 “You’re a male, the whole world is your privy. It will be much worse for the girls.”

Elliot and Samuel started hauling in their equipment. Devon trailed behind, carrying the sacks of food. “I can’t believe I let you two talk me into this.”

Samuel sighed. “If I remember correctly, it was Elliot who needed the convincing, not you.”

They stopped in the main room. Two crates of food were already on the table in the middle of the room. The door to the right was closed, but light filtered under it. Light sounds of conversing welcomed them.

“Looks like they’re already here. I’ll set up the kitchen, you guys bring in everything else, K?” Elliot took the bags from Devon and went to the kitchen, which was really just the back of the main room.

Welcome June!

208 words into my new novel! I'm excited about writing my first stand alone novel. I realized the reasons I've had difficulty with my prior novel was that it was designed to be a part of a series - I was working with a group, and we were all writing within the same universe. So my book was designed to be the second or third in a series, but I'm the only one who got to my "the end" page. I'm going to have to really rework that piece to make it a stand alone work.
So... I've decided that I'm going to post parts of my writing daily in my blog. Not the whole thing, perhaps a thousand words a day or so. Just enough to get opinions and such, make sure others find it interesting. I find that the entire writing process works so much better for me if I have constant feedback. It should be a shared experience. So... by end of day today, expect to see the first thousand words of my new fantasy novel here on Blogger!

So, after a lot of introspection, I have decided that part of my issue is burnout. I’ve been working 10 hour days, volunteering, and going to school full time. Though those are all things I want to do, I need to switch it up and spend some time on my creativity. I felt wonderful when I won NaNoWriMo in 2010, so I looked into it, and there is a Summer Camp version of the competition! So, starting June 1, I will be participating in another NaNo. I am honestly very excited about this. I remember last time this really helped my creativity flourish, and was quite a wonderful experience. I look forward to it helping me out of my slump, while giving some of the non school and work related things that have been bumping around in my head an opportunity to get out.

My mate and I are discussing doing this together, again. I’m working on my characterization at this point, trying to nail down ideas about how this will go before the story gets started. I am also collecting sponsors, to help fund this little adventure in novelization. The website for my sponsorship page is: http://www.stayclassy.org/fundraise?fcid=198395

Hello Again

So… it has been more than a year since I have written on this blog. I could cite many “reasons” – working full time & going to school full time, my failing health, many other factors I’m sure. But the fact of the matter is that I have been afraid. Procrastination is always based on fear, and after a certain point in procrastinating, you don’t see the point of even continuing, because you have put everything off for so long already.

I admit to past fears, both of failure and success. I’ve let the negative attitudes of others pollute my attitude. I’ve had small setbacks, and taken them as huge signs, yet had positive results elsewhere, and taken them as flukes. I’ve put everything as more important than working on my health or my business, especially doing the laundry and washing the dishes. I have let the small details of my life RUN my life; let the “to do” lists in my life take up all of my personal time, and all of my energy.

I would like to say “NO MORE!” I would like to believe that I can draw a line in the sand and decree that I will be an organized person with a clear understanding of all priorities from this moment forward. However, I am realistic, and I know me. I’ve lived with me my whole life, and I know I’m not like that. Every few years or months or weeks I scream “no more” to the heavens and dedicate myself to a particular area in my life, and a little while later I’m the way I was before, all over again.

I’m not sure why. I don’t know if it is a lack of willpower, or energy. I don’t know if it is an overabundance of excuses. I understand, logically, that if I truly want my life to be different in certain ways, I have to make changes. I cannot continue doing the same things I have always done, and expect the world to change for me. I have to be the one to change. But I am not traditionally very good at that. And every once in a while I get sick of myself and try to change. And every once in a while I change, for a while, and then revert.

So here I am, trying yet again to climb the mountain I have made of the mole hill of personal improvement. I started with having a booth at a local street fair over the weekend. I’m continuing by posting this blog. Perhaps tomorrow I will go for a walk around the lake instead of turning on the TV. We’ll see.