Six Sentence Sunday – What Kind of Kidnapper Are You?

On By Stephanie IngramIn Six Sentence Sunday, Writing4 Comments

The funny thing about November and Nanowrimo is that the days keep passing whether we sit down to write or not. This post finds us already eleven days into the challenge of writing 50,000 words in only 30 days. We’re almost at the halfway point! I’ve never struggled to write that many words in the past so this year I wanted to mix things up a bit and challenge myself to write 72,500 words – or about 2,500 words per day, minus Thanksgiving.

Is it working? Well, not so much. I mean, I’m managing to stay afloat but it’s more taxing than I’d banked on and some days I produce over 4,000 words while other days I spend more time staring at the computer than I actually spend writing. But heck, that’s what Nanowrimo is all about, right?

By the 30th, I’ll have more than 50,000 words. I’ll be a Nanowrimo winner as far as the official challenge is concerned. Will I step up to the plate and answer my own challenge to write 72,500? Well, probably not … but it’s early days yet so we’ll see.

In the meantime, it’s one of our favorite days of the week – Six Sentence Sunday! And without exception, I have returned to share a snippet of my madness. Cassie, our 17 year-old runaway, has found herself mixed up with a potentially dangerous fugitive named Ben that kidnapped her in order to ensure a passage across the country to find the girl that might be able to save him from a bleak fate. Cassie has no reason to trust or to like her kidnapper but she finds herself drawn to him…

***

She knew she shouldn’t care about him, especially under the circumstances, and she hadn’t known him long enough to think of him as anything other than a monster, but still, she just couldn’t bring herself to believe it. She wanted to know why she sat there with him in this moment because whatever that reason may have been, it felt somehow pre-ordained.

“How will you get your guarantee?” she whispered. He looked at her for a long time and a strange understanding passed between them that she couldn’t put into words.

“I don’t know yet.”

“What kind of kidnapper are you?”

***

According to spell check, “pre-ordained” is not actually a word. Hmmm… Really? Have I gone that crazy already?

At any rate, whatever sort of kidnapper Ben may be, it’s clear that things will get shaken up a bit for both of them this November, even if I have to make up lots of new words to do it.

Thanks for stopping by and sampling my six. Be sure to hop over to the main Six Sentence Sunday website and check out the other participants as well.

Until we meet again…

Six Sentence Sunday – Teen Angst and Nanowrimo

On By Stephanie IngramIn Six Sentence Sunday, Writing1 Comment

Happy Six Sentence Sunday and look, it’s day four of Nanowrimo and I’m still pretty much sane and speaking coherently. (Enjoy it now because it won’t last.) Best of all, I’ve managed to scoot over to my blog to share with you a snippet of this crazy work-in-progress in honor of Six Sentence Sunday.

In typical fashion, I approached Nanowrimo with no plan, only my love of writing and my desire to produce at least 50,000 words in a single month. Where I lack in plot, I make up for in enthusiasm (and maybe even a little bit of creativity? Or is that craziness? Who knows.) But I sure have fun with it and that’s the main thing. I always say that the rest of the year is for serious writing and November is just for letting loose and seeing where it takes me. I don’t plan to change that.

Since I seem to toggle between semi-serious stories and downright comical and I did a pretty lighthearted story last year, it was time to change gears and go for serious this year. I had this idea a while ago inspired by an REM song. For some reason, I like the characters and I felt compelled to follow them to wherever they may lead me. I’ve never ventured into young adult territory before but this year I might cross that border and see how it fits. But what it is or where it ends up is all yet to be determined. Still early days yet…

So, let’s keep in mind that Nanowrimo is about plugging away and racking up the word count even if that means sacrificing quality for the time being. I’ve tightly restrained inner editor in the dungeon until December so take this with a grain of salt.

Cassie is a 17 year-old with all the usual teen angst that comes with the age. It’s August and senior year looms ahead with responsibilities and choices in deciding what to do after high school. If that wasn’t daunting enough, things are not going well at home. Mom and Dad are getting a divorce and Cassie is getting caught up in the middle…

***

By the time evening came, she lingered outside in Mike’s car as long as she could reluctant to go back into the house that had started to feel more like a prison than a safe haven. Mike held her hand and watched her, no doubt trying to read the expression in her eyes.

“We should run away together,” she said at last breaking the silence between them. Mike inhaled sharply but didn’t respond right away. She stopped staring at the drape covered curtains hiding the shadows that moved within the walls and looked back at him.

“It’s going to get better, Cass, I promise.”

***

Be sure to hop on over to the official Six Sentence Sunday website to check out the other writers. I would venture to guess than more than a few of us are posting our latest and greatest from Nanowrimo this month. Is that a good thing? I sure hope so. 🙂

Six Sentence Sunday – Nanowrimo Rewind, Part 2

On By Stephanie IngramIn Six Sentence Sunday, Uncategorized, Writing7 Comments

It’s the last weekend before Nanowrimo begins. Sensible people are preparing for their writing frenzy. I’ve been called a lot of things in my lifetime but I don’t remember anyone ever calling me sensible. Nonetheless, I’m one step ahead of my usual routine. I actually have an idea and I might spend some time this weekend sitting down and getting to know my characters. When Thursday arrives, I’ll be ready to rumble.

Well… assuming, of course, that the superstorm hasn’t knocked out power…

To celebrate this awesome time of year, last weekend I chose to share six sentences from my very first Nanowrimo. That was a great year writing even if I didn’t end up with a story that I could share with the world. (It was tough enough pulling out six sentences!)

After that first Nanowrimo, I was hooked. There was no resisting the temptation of joining in a second year. Today I’m picking out six sentences from my equally crazy second year disaster from 2009. That year I wanted to go for a bit of a comedic story and I came up with the vague notion of a single mom turned porn star. (I know, I know…) I wasn’t sure exactly how this would happen but I knew I wanted a lot of laugh-out-loud moments to get from point A to point B. I didn’t disappoint myself.

Granted, just like the first year, I didn’t end up with a story that I felt worthy of revision and sharing with the world and it never really did take the porn star turn that I’d originally envisioned … BUT I did end up with something quirky and fun that maybe someday I will revisit. You never know. There might be the seeds of story in all that craziness that is just waiting to grow.

So without further ado, let’s dive into my six for this happy Sunday…

Poor Amy. Her husband has up and left her in favor of a sunny life in Florida. Amy has to find a way to move on with life for the sake of her nine year old daughter Casey but despite the ways he’s devastated her, she still believes he’ll wake up one morning and realize the mistake he’s made and return for her. She sleeps with his photo by her side. Amy’s sister Mary is quick to push Amy back into the real world leading the way through disastrous job interviews and the craziness of online dating. (Ah, who couldn’t love a character who becomes infamously referred to as ‘Fish Guy’.) In the meantime, a mysterious, yet handsome stranger, shows up looking for Mary and he’s got something urgent to tell her that will plunge them both into a perilous mystery. The mutual attraction hits hard but Amy still clings to the life she had before … at least for a while.

Here Amy meets our mystery man…

***

I got up to rummage through the nearby desk looking for anything that would pass as paper. He didn’t look convinced but he’d relaxed enough that he didn’t make a run for it like a scared rabbit when I got up. He was watching me closely when I turned back to hand him the yellowed envelope and pen.

“What?” I asked. Okay, so I wasn’t wearing my most attractive outfit but I didn’t think I looked that awful.

“Nothing,” he said as his cheeks flushed.

***

Make sure you check out the official Six Sentence Sunday website for more fun from fellow writers and tell them Stephanie sent you!

Next week (gasp!) I’ll be ready to share my first six from this year’s Nanowrimo fun.

And just in case you are curious what happened to my third and fourth Nanowrimo endeavor, well, let me tell you. During my third year, I expanded on a short story that I had written for a contest. It was a little messy, of course, but after November I kept at it and eventually rewrote most it – turning it into my first published novel titled The Between World.

During my fourth year, I decided to take the comedic turn again and played around with a girl and her demon lover. That story is undergoing yet another round of edits and will soon make its way into the world as Ghosts Don’t Wear Silk Stockings.

And this year? Who knows! Let’s see where this takes us, shall we?

Until we meet again…

Six Sentence Sunday – Nanowrimo Rewind Part 1

On By Stephanie IngramIn Uncategorized3 Comments

I feel a little guilty about indulging in Six Sentence Sunday when in fact, I haven’t actually written many sentences this week. I suppose it’s just as well that October is nearing an end and November is upon us. You know what that means, right?

Yep, that’s it – Nanowrimo. National Novel Writing Month.

The goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days and I’ve always managed that easy peasy. This year for my 5th anniversary I want to up the stakes a bit and challenge myself to write at least 60,000. Maybe more? Who knows. How adventurous am I really feeling? (or how insane, depending on your perspective?) More to come on that …

At any rate, November will bring a fresh well of sentences to choose from when it comes to sharing. I hope you’re ready because I know I am.

But, for the moment, let’s concentrate on the task at hand – it’s Six Sentence Sunday and I am to share six sentences of something. Hey, I know! In honor of upcoming Nanowrimo fun, let’s press the rewind button and share six sentences from one of my past crazy November concoctions. How about it?

And once you have finished reveling in my genius, please feel free to visit the official SSS site in order to sample some of the other super duper fantastic writers. You never know what you’ll find there but I guarantee you won’t be disappointed…

Right … So, we’re scrolling all the way back to my first year with Nanowrimo. It’s November 2008 and I found out about the challenge and signed up with very little time to spare. I had no idea what to expect when I sat down on day one and I didn’t believe for a second that I’d actually write 50,000 words in a month but I was willing to give it a try. I had, of course, no idea what to write so on day one I just started typing and waited to see if it actually went anywhere.

I started with Lisa who had just finished hauling the last of her boxes into her boyfriend Ron’s house. They were (finally) moving in together and she should have felt happy but now that it was real, something didn’t feel quite right. Turns out that Lisa should have listened to that little voice because of course, Ron has a secret. It lives in his attic and isn’t too eager to welcome the new girl. To complicate matters more, Lisa quite literally runs into Steve shortly after … like with her car… and those two find they have an inexplicable bond despite the fact that they are both involved with other people. They exchange more than car insurance details. Oh Lisa, how could you?

So, let’s see… random page jump into madness? Pick a number, any number? … (but I warn you, no page is safe.)

What’s that? Did I hear page 22? Alright then, you asked for it …

Ron is remembering his ex, the one that is now dead and haunting his attic. (umm, yeah, okay…)

***

“Amy?” he yelled. There was no response, not even laughter, only a violent crash of thunder following a brilliant bolt of lightning overhead. He instinctively cowered before getting hold of himself again. The rain beat against him harder despite his efforts to shield himself by pulling his jacket up around his head. He was about to give up any hope of escaping the woods before the storm let up and instead started scanning the land around him for any obvious hiding place that would suffice as a shelter while he waited.

Amy jumped out in front of him scaring him off balance, which resulted in him hitting the mud with a thud.

***

Crazy!

Come back next week and I’ll offer a snippet from my second year’s Nanowrimo disaster. It just might be even crazier than the first year. 😉

Six Sentence Sunday and Blog Challenge – Year 7

On By Stephanie IngramIn Family and Fun, October Blog Challenge, Six Sentence Sunday, Writing5 Comments

Oh boy, maybe I’m getting in a bit too deep with all these challenges and things to remember. Pretty soon I won’t know whether I’m coming or going. It’s Sunday and I have two wonderful things to share with you today. First of all, one of my all-time favorites, Six Sentence Sunday, where I get to share a snippet of whatever I happen to be focused on for the moment, and secondly, my newest Blog Challenge, where I get to reminisce about my life one year at a time. I skipped age six but it’s just as well because I couldn’t come up with anything significant to say about it, and per the challenge, I need to write at least 25 posts during the month of October so it doesn’t hurt to skip one here or there. Today I focus on age seven.

Six Sentence Sunday, you go first. I’ll keep this brief. If you are interested in checking out the other participants, click HERE for the list. They are always fun to read.

So, pick a page, any page?? Pick a story, any story?? This is, indeed, the difficult part of the challenge. I’m going to hop back over to Nathanial and Sarah’s story even though I’ve not written anything new to add to it recently. I’m still stuck in la la land with no idea which way to run. Don’t you hate when that happens? There is so much from their story that I still haven’t shared, however.

If I have learned anything from my participation in Six Sentence Sunday over the weeks, it is the fact that I generally write really short sentences and a lot of dialogue. But here you go, I came across this little segment which I hope you will enjoy. Grandmamma had been kidnapped by the angerroots but now she’s inexplicably back and Sarah has a lot of questions about how and why, not to mention how their new (albeit handsome) neighbor Nathanial fits into the equation. We can assume at this point that Grandmamma is a lot more than she seems…

***

Grandmamma accepted the tray quietly and began eating with an appetite that Sarah was not accustomed to seeing in her. She lingered, trying to busy herself with cleaning up as she tried to find the right words to phrase her questions. It was a delicate subject to broach.

“Grandmamma,” she said at last, “Do you remember our nice neighbor Nathanial?”

Her grandmother stopped mid-bite and set down her spoon. She looked suspiciously at Sarah as though she had just said something illogical and when Sarah did not continue she huffed and went back to eating.

***

Next up, it’s the October Blog Challenge courtesy of Jane McLachlan and I’m focused today on years six and seven. Awww… look at me, growing up so quickly! It seems like only last week that I was just a baby and here I am in first … and second grade. Where does the time go?

First day of school, first grade. We sat in desks that had metal loops on the front. Not sure what the purpose of the loops would have been but several of the other kids were being silly sticking their feet through them while we waited not-so-patiently for the teacher to enter the room. Being the silly girl that I was, I stuck my feet through the loops as well, only mine didn’t slide right back out like the other kids’ did. My first introduction to my new teacher involved her taking off my shoes and disconnecting me from my desk. Enter embarrassing memory, number one!

Second grade I’d had enough of school so I quit. Well okay, I tried to quit. Actually, I remember it as first grade but my parents still insist that it was second grade, the infamous bad year for everyone in my family. They are probably right. I don’t know what possessed me to want to quit school. As far as I can remember, I’d always enjoyed it. I don’t remember having trouble with the work or any of the other kids at that point. I guess I just woke up one morning and said, nah, I don’t feel like it. Besides, baby brother got to stay home all day and play so why shouldn’t I? Being the Aries that I am, once I’d set my mind on it, that was it. There was no convincing me otherwise.

Therefore, second grade meant a torturous year of my parents trying to send me to the bus stop and me turning around midway and walking back to the house. My parents driving me to school and dragging me to the classroom kicking and screaming my head off. I held my own and insisted but I guess eventually they wore me down because in the end, I finished second grade and went on to third.

Later on down the road when my brother started second grade, he went through a similar experience. At this point, I’m hoping it’s not genetic and if it is, please tell me that I didn’t pass it along to my own kids. I have #1 starting second grade next year and I know I don’t have the patience that my parents had when they dealt with me. I am reminding time and again that my second born has inherited my stubborn streak. Perhaps he will be the one to carry on the family curse? Ah, the joy.

We shall see.

Thanks for stopping by to share my six and reminisce about my early years. It’s been fun. Come back tomorrow for year 8. (Another year closer to when I started writing!)