Category: Fiction

Squeezing My Arms Around… Flash Fiction

~ Sahara ~ 4 Comments

This is my first attempt – ever – at writing flash fiction.

“Oh, shut up! You wouldn’t know a fucking thing about how to beat these guys, pretty boy.” Lorali snarled to the boy on the stairs – I still didn’t know his name.  He looked at his friends and laughed. “I don’t owe you shit, boy,” she continued, “and I’m never gonna finish squeezin’ my arms around the truth.”

I was struck by the last expression as I remembered where I’d heard it before.

I moved closer to Lorali and whispered to her, the first time I’d dared get so close. “He’s the one that did that to you.” She looked at me in surprise and didn’t have time to cover the pain in her eyes. Suddenly her cruel features were made soft.

How did I do?

You Don’t Have To Be Pretty – On YA Fiction And Beauty As A Priority

~ Sahara ~ Leave a comment

Excellent analysis and super timely.  This wasn’t something I noticed as I read the book, but I have noticed the pattern as well: The strong heroine needs is really pretty, though she doesn’t know/feel it, and the hero-love interest comes along and validates it for her.

I think a lot of young women identify with that – they don’t feel pretty, either – and then they wait for a hero-love interest to prove it. ‘Cause that’s what happens in books.

What do they do when life doesn’t turn out that way?

You Don’t Have To Be Pretty – On YA Fiction And Beauty As A Priority.

The Start of Something New

~ Sahara ~ 3 Comments

(This is my first attempt at writing in the Gonzo style. How did I do?)

I walked up the crumbling sidewalk outside a wall-less cafe on a busy corner of bright shops by a St. Maarten beach. Sprigs of grass jumping between the cracks of the sidewalk mimicked skinny black trees jutting through the clay roof of the cafe. I sat as a small white metal table. A distracted waitress with a Dutch accent brought “a coffe,” and calamari, hot and oily, and wrapped in wax paper in an orange waffle basket. I squirted thick dollop of peppery tomato sauce to one side.

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“As I See It” – NaNoWriMoS start

~ Sahara ~ Leave a comment

This is the beginning to my NaNoWriMoS project, and I would love to get your thoughts on it! 

“Good morning, ma’am,” a girl’s young voice awoke Blanche.  Blanche opened her eyes, confused, as this was a voice she didn’t recognize.  “Who is that?” she asked.  “Jolen, ma’am, I’m new to the house.” Blanche became frustrated, “Why didn’t anyone tell me I was getting a new girl?”

“I don’t know, ma’am. I only answered the notice a few days ago. I don’t know how long it was out.”  Annoyed by this new upset, Blanche flung her sheets back off her body and put her feet on the floor.

Continue reading ““As I See It” – NaNoWriMoS start” →

Blink and its 2016

~ Sahara ~ 8 Comments

My 20 year high school reunion is this fall.  I don’t know if I can make it back to the US to go to it; my research is just getting started here in Bath, and we’ve spent so much money traveling.  We’re living the dream.

I’m pretty sure I’m pregnant.  That’s the big thing on my mind, the big thing that would keep me here. I haven’t found a doctor here, yet, but I need to do that right away.  This is kind of what Cohiba and I have been planning all along, so I’m not upset, just nervous/excited.  If my baby’s born here, it’ll be a British citizen.  It may call me mum instead of mom!

C.S. Lewis’s advice on writing

~ Sahara ~ Leave a comment

My favorite author. These pages are good as well:
http://io9.com/5899571/writing-advice-from-cs-lewis-was-both-adorable-and-concise
http://www.christianwritingtoday.com/7-writing-tips-from-c-s-lewis/
http://www.tillhecomes.org/write-like-c-s-lewis/

abagond's avatarAbagond

C.S. Lewis’s advice on writing (taken from his letters):

  1. Turn off the Radio. (Stephen King says to turn off the television while Zadie Smith says to turn off the Internet!)
  2. Read all the good books you can, and avoid nearly all magazines.
  3. Always write (and read) with the ear, not the eye. You should hear every sentence you write as if it was being read aloud or spoken. If it does not sound nice, try again.
  4. Write about what really interests you, whether it is real things or imaginary things, and nothing else. (Notice this means that if you are interested only in writing you will never be a writer, because you will have nothing to write about…)
  5. When you give up a bit of work don’t (unless it is hopelessly bad) throw it away. Put it in a drawer. It may come in useful later…

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Bulleted Books

~ Sahara ~ Leave a comment

Jeananne knew she was ready for a change.  She left the Pennsylvania farming community where she had taught for three years to return to her native Missouri, hoping to find a way to indulge her passion for food into something that would also feed her soul. She grew up in the dusty musky back room of her mother’s thrift shop, her vivid imagination nurtured among the fabric colors and textures as she found and made treasure out of things that seemed to have no value.

She began to nurse the idea of having a food truck, and did research into the possibility of it.  She also scoured craigslist and looked at several trucks.  One day, she found a house in a cool part of town, pretty affordable.  Still indulging her imagination, on a lark, she checked it out.  It was a small brick bungalow by a beautiful park and a fantastic Thai restaurant. On a lark, she talked to the bank about getting a loan. Just to see. She realized how much she would save by purchasing a home rather than paying rent. On a lark, she asked a friend to inspect the unit, then had it inspected professionally.  She talked with friends and other trusted homeowners; making sure she did all she needed to do, crossed every T. She could barely sleep she was so nervous, so surprise by her own chutzpah.

Continue reading “Bulleted Books” →