Weekend Writing Warriors #8Sunday – Dark Journey to the Witch

On February 7, 2016February 6, 2016 By Stephanie IngramIn Weekend Writing Warriors, Writing22 Comments

Here by the skin of my teeth this week thanks to wireless issues! Eeks! Happy Sunday! Welcome to my post on the Weekend Writing Warriors – a place for authors to come together to share 8 to 10 sentences of their current WIP. Check out http://www.wewriwa.com for a list of all the participants and the details on how you can get on next week’s list!

The past handful of weeks I shared snippets from my newly finished first draft of Rise of the Angerroots. I would love to say that rewrites are coming along wonderfully but that would be a lie. I’ve managed to add it to scrivener and that’s about as far as I got. It’s going to be slow going. In the meantime, I’ve hit the rewind button to start work on the prequel which will help to introduce my story world. It seems only fair that I begin share the snippets from this new project.

Meet Serena…

The shadows cut deep into the forest. Serena kept her cloak over her head to conceal her identity as she moved swiftly along the dark forest path, never daring to look around lest she meet the eye of one who might recognize her. Eventually she stopped outside a worn down old cabin with a broken window and hesitated before taking the crooked steps leading to the front door. Serena considered her mother’s warnings but these were desperate times, she decided, and her fate was already chosen. An old woman peered out the window before letting the curtains fall back into place and Serena felt chills travel down her spine. She could turn and go but she had already come so far. She might as well hear the old woman out.

Before she could knock, the door swung slowly open and Serena found herself face to face with a short, not entirely unattractive woman with jet black hair and crystal blue eyes.
“Raven?” Serena asked, even though there was no mistaking the woman’s identity.

That’s it… I look forward to your thoughts on my snippet. Next week I will share another peek into this novella and hopefully better news regarding my rewrite progress. As always, thanks for reading! See you next time. 🙂

Reimagining

On February 5, 2016February 4, 2016 By Stephanie IngramIn Writing4 Comments

To Reimagine, according to Merriam-Webster, is to imagine again or anew; especially: to form a new conception of. To recreate.

In college, I didn’t major in Writing or English Lit, but because I’d always had an interest in creating stories, I took an Intro to Creative Writing class for fun.

Or at least, I expected it to be fun.

How could I go wrong? Easy A, I figured, after years of English teachers telling me how much they loved my writing.

That was the year I got a glimpse into harsh reality, which as it turns out means a lot more than coming up with fun stories and putting words on paper. Sat in a small, stuffy classroom in The Cathedral of Learning with about fifteen other students, we were led by a grad student. I am pretty sure she hated me. At the very least, she liked giving her red pen a workout on my papers and I blamed it on grad school angst.

Then that crazy teacher started talking about something called “revision”. After returning the short stories we put so much sweat and tears into producing, she expected us to revise them. Fair enough, I thought, and went off to the computer lab to fix my typos, move a couple of awkward sentences around, and print off a fresh copy of my story.

Turns out that wasn’t what my teacher wanted. She explained that revisions are a reimagining of the story.

“What?” I cried in horror. “You want me to write a whole new story?”

Well, yes, kind of. Begin with the story you’ve created but then try to see that story in a different way. Could it be better told from a different character’s point-of-view perhaps? Maybe the action unfolds in a completely different way?

I thought that was pretty much the craziest thing I’d ever heard. After all, I’d already turned in something that was “good enough” and I was eager to move on to the next assignment. Trying to come up with a whole new version of the same old story I’d already told felt like way too much work for an already over-taxed college student.

Darn those grad students and their angst.

For the sake of passing this class, I did that crazy reimagining thing anyway.

Guess what? I liked this new version of my story better than the original.

I suppose there is some merit to going through this exercise, as painful as it may feel at the time. It’s a little more daunting as I sit here staring at a full length novel as opposed to a short story I wrote for class but nonetheless, I’m trying to imagine my whole book in different ways.

A lot of work, for sure, but as long as I end up with a story I love and you love, it’s well worth the time.

Now… back to my revisions and rewrites!

See you Sunday for a snippet of my latest and greatest. Until then…

For the Love of Food

On February 3, 2016January 29, 2016 By Stephanie IngramIn Family and Fun1 Comment

Mmmm… food. There is such variety and creativity that can go into making a meal. It’s no wonder so many of life’s important occasions center around it.

This month we celebrate Valentines Day and some of you may have romance on your mind. What is your favorite meal to share with the one you love? Is it a bottle of wine and chocolate covered strawberries? Lobster and shrimp? Or a healthy salad filled with plenty of tomatoes, avocado, and almonds?

It seems that no matter which way you turn, you’re bound to come across a food that will inspire passion from the obvious choices like bananas and cucumbers for their suggestive shapes to foods like oysters and chocolate which are known for their aphrodisiac qualities.

And it’s no wonder that phrases like “the way to his heart is through his stomach” come into being. That may be typical of men but it’s also true for me! I love a good meal and a man who cooks is about the sexiest thing there is. Bonus points for inspiring the mood right there.

Did you know that when the tomato was first introduced to Europe, it was called a “love apple” because of its stimulating effect. Turns out there is some truth to that due to the lycopene in them (good for your prostate, guys).

An aphrodisiac is defined as a food, drink, or drug that inspires sexual desire. Since this is the month for getting romantic, I’ve researched the top foods to add to your lover’s plate. Bon apetit and enjoy. 😉

Seafood ( oysters, cavier, prawns, lobsters, shrimps, abalone, and others), Tomato, Avocado, Honey, Garlic, Basil, Wine, Asparagus, Chocolate, Strawberries & Raspberries, Almonds, Bananas, Cucumbers, Peaches, Apricots, Figs, Eggs, Nuts & Seeds

Personally, I love garlic shrimp scampi and a glass of red wine followed by a little melted chocolate drizzled over just the right places. (ahem) What is your favorite food to help set the mood?

Why Hello There, February. How You Doin’?

On February 1, 2016February 1, 2016 By Stephanie IngramIn WritingLeave a comment

Love is in the air…. or maybe it’s sweat mixed with tears? I don’t know. Either way, it’s February and the first draft of Rise of the Angerroots is complete. (Can I get a whoop, whoop?) I won’t lie to you, it’s a mess, but then, aren’t all first drafts? During the month of February I will be dedicated to pulling it all apart and fitting it all back together again. Rewrites. Yay. Can you hear my enthusiasm? I’m kicking myself for not using scrivener software for this one.

All kidding. aside, I am excited about it, really. It’s been a while since I have written something from start to finish that I feel actually has potential to become a good story. Yes, I completed NaNoWriMo back in November but that one … well, let’s just say it won’t be seeing the light of day anytime soon.

Plans for the next book are already underway and I’m eager to get plotting. My time will be split between the rewrites for Angeroots and starting the novella that will set the stage for the entire series. While each book will stand alone, I thought it would be fun to dive a little deeper into the world I created and see what happens. With a bit of luck, we’re looking at a May release date.

In the month of January, I wrote 48,543 total words. Heck, that’s like nearly finishing NaNoWriMo in January! I accepted the challenge of writing at least 1,000 words per day (or 365,000 words for the year) and I’m holding myself accountable to that. I’ll keep you posted on my progress at the start of each month.

The NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge is also underway. I received my first round assignment on January 23rd – to write a story of no more than 2,500 words using an immigration officer and a séance in the suspense genre. I submitted my story on Friday so now I wait with fingers crossed. There are so many participants in this challenge, I don’t expect to win, but I do hope to be one of the top 5 in my group to advance to round 2 in March. If I do, I will share my short story, Point of Entry, on my blog. If I don’t … Well, I will take into consideration the feedback I receive from the judges and try to make it better. Then perhaps I will share it. 🙂 Either way, I’ll share the contest results in a future post.

Remember ‘The Ghosts in my Attic’ last April? That was my theme for the 2015 A to Z Blog Challenge. I didn’t manage to complete the 2015 challenge but I’ve signed up for 2016 and this year I’m in it to win it. I’m still up in the air over a theme, however. Any suggestions? All your ideas are welcome. As much fun as it would be to revisit those ghosts, I kind of feel like that might be cheating. You know, been there, done that. I would love to find something as equally unique though. Hmmm…

Anyway, have a cup of hot chocolate to celebrate the beginning of a new month, keep warm, and stay tuned for more. Until we meet again… un beso.