Doubts

As my parents drove away, I felt the lump in my throat. This is what I had wanted but it was still scary. I was on my own. What if I failed? I couldn’t go back home. What would I do? I looked at the ancient buildings that had been a sanctuary of learning for a hundred years. I would be walking the same halls as presidents had walked. Could I do this? The self-doubt grew inside of me.

I breathed in deeply then let it out slowly, releasing the doubts. No time for that. I had things to learn!

---

Word Count: 100

Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields.  This week’s prompt is here and uses a photo PHOTO PROMPT © J Hardy Carroll.  Read more or join in by following the InLinkz “linky“.

Read Full Post »

Just A Smidgeon

Just a paragraph of the current NaNoWriMo project. First draft.

 

God, he was good looking! He actually looked even better in the morning than he had looked the night before. Angela wondered how she could find out his first name without asking him. She didn’t want him to know that she hadn’t paid attention. She didn’t want him to know that she hadn’t been interested in his name or anything else. She had only been interested in one particular activity the night before. She wasn’t like that. She blushed again. She had never doen anything like that before. She had always been more than careful; more than safe. But things were different now. She would never see him again. Who cared what Tommy, Teddy, Timmy thought? Timmy! That was it. It was actually Timothy, so much more grownup and sophisticated than Timmy.

Read Full Post »

Stuffies

I know. Silly title. But at the moment, that’s all my brain can do, come up with quick and silly titles!

As most of you know, I’m participating in NaNoWriMo once again. I have been reading a lot of the posts in the various Facebook NaNoWriMo groups to which I belong. A lot of people need a push or a shove in the direction of finding some words. So this is for them and this is for YOU. Yes, you.

Below are some words, phrases, etc., that are meant to introduce a situation, character, sub plot, etc., into your writing. They may also be good ideas for blogging topics. My advice is to copy/paste them into a new document then add some spacing (maybe triple?) then print them out, cut them into strips and put them in envelopes, or into a jar where you can grab one at random. Sometimes it may take two or three together to get you going in another direction that can help your writing ideas. I hope you find something you can use!

right before my eyes

he/she was the stranger he/she would never forget

nothing but a broken umbrella

the loneliest meal

different kind of dream

being young

love moods

lonely in that way

down the flight of stairs

the hospital chapel

the bread had turned purple

the little things

he didn’t remember

if I had known

it wasn’t until

no one would understand

stop me, please

heavy hitter

not exactly best friends

control

first blush

photo finish

the last bus

conquer

personal power

just sitting around

light up the room

If only she hadn’t missed the bus

 

Read Full Post »

Not A Chance #MicroMondays

He tried to convince her to go out with him. She kept listing all the negative experiences she had been through. All ended badly; some began badly, never getting off the ground. He kept trying.

“I’m sorry. I’ve learned my lesson. There will be nothing but platonic relationships for me.”

He pleaded. “I’m different. You’ll see. Good and bad do exist.”

Micro Mondays is a weekly blog link up hosted by Varad. The prompt is “good and bad do exist” and the word limit is 61 words. Go check it out here. There’s still time to join us this week.

Read Full Post »

There Was A Criminal

This week’s Micro Monday prompt to be used word for word, is “but there was a criminal.” The length for this week is thirty-three words. You can find the scoop here. 

Melanie realized that not only had it not been an accident, but there was a criminal out there. He couldn’t go free. She was going to find him. This was her mission now.

Read Full Post »

Wake Up, Little Susie

photo by Sarah Potter

Susie headed toward the door. She had allowed just the right time to run across the street and through the yards five blocks down to her house. She would climb up the tree and into her bedroom window with just enough time to get into her nightgown before her mother came in to wake her. Susie always had perfect timing.

Opening the door of her boyfriend’s apartment building, Susie couldn’t believe her eyes! It couldn’t be. It hadn’t been in the forecast. Now her secret outings would be uncovered.

If the snow didn’t, her mother was going to kill her!

100 Words, Fiction

_________________

#FridayFictioneers is a weekly blog link-up hosted by Rochelle and dedicated to 100 word stories to go along with a photo prompt. Check it out and give it a try!

Read Full Post »

Expectations, Part 3

As she stood just outside the motel door, she thought about the last time she had seen him when they had both been seventeen. His family was moving away. He came in on the last day and got his things and left. He had looked at her for a long time and, turning is head, had said goodbye to her and walked away. Now, all these years later, he was coming toward her, not away from her and she was there to meet him. She wasn’t sure if she would even recognize him. The car drove up and she was sure, yet not, that it was him. Once he stepped out of the car with a big smile on his face, and began to walk toward her, she knew it was him. He had a distinctive gait and this was it, coming toward her. They embraced quickly and headed to the room.

They talked. He asked her a lot of questions and asked her to read to him from some of her journal. She did so willingly and yet, as she did it, she got the feeling that she was performing for him. He sat on the bed and watched her in a sort of detached way. It made her feel as if he was sitting outside a glass wall watching her; not participating; just observing. It was a little creepy but it was all she had.

After a while, they went for a walk down the street for sodas. Just a walk. A special walk. He took her hand as they walked and that was special to her. Never in her life had she had a man take her hand as they walked; not even the man she had been married to for so many years. This was was full of promises for tomorrow and regrets of the past.

That was the most special thing that night; a special walk, holding hands in the brisk November night.

There was a slow down in the talk as the time for him to leave arrived. All in all, they had spent about five hours together. Not a lot but so much more time than they had spent together in the past. She asked if she would see him again the next day. It was only Friday and she had the room through Sunday afternoon. He said he wasn’t sure but he would call her and let her know.

When he left the room after a long embrace, she couldn’t walk him out. She had that memory of him walking away from her all those years before. She didn’t want to watch him walk away from her again. That couldn’t be the last thing she remembered of him.

The door closed, and she listened to his steps as he walked away.

---

I think this is the last part. There’s more but I think I’ll write those bits and pieces as another series of short clips.

Read Full Post »

Expectations, Part 2

She was nervous. She was anxious. Another look at the clock and she realized it would be at least another six hours before she heard from him. She looked at the little map next to the phone and found an area a few blocks away where she might be able to shop and get some coffee. She knew she would be better off killing time there than in the room.

The bookstore yielded a new deck of Tarot cards on clearance, and appropriately enough, it was the Tarot of Love! She bought a new writing journal and headed for the coffee shop to get some coffee. A quick look at her watch and she figured she would head back to the motel and take a long relaxing bath before dressing for his arrival.

Before long, his call came saying he would be another hour or so but he’d call her when he was on his way. She dressed and tried to relax. She had brought beer and a few snacks but she didn’t know what the plan was and didn’t want to ruin anything. She laughed at herself when she thought about how she had called the motel to make sure they gave her a room that had a couch. Not just a bed, chair, and desk. She specifically told them she was expecting friends and didn’t want the bed to be the only place to sit on. Silly maybe but she really didn’t know what to expect.

The phone rang and he said he was on his way. It would only take less than ten minutes. Would she wait for him outside? She told him which driveway to take and that she would be waiting outside. Taking a big breath and checking her hair in the mirror, she headed outside.

The stage was set.

Read Full Post »

Expectations, Part 1

The smile on her face could not hide the excitement inside of her. She was racing three hundred miles to see him. She had talked to him and written to him but she had not seen him in almost thirty years. They had reunited online…through and email he had written to her. And just like that, their relationship was off and running.

This long weekend would be perfect. Her kids were with their father, visiting his parents. She had spent the holiday with family but all her obligations were over and the rest of the weekend belong to her…and to him…to them. They had both written a variety of scenarios for this meeting and shared them with each other. If the weekend turned out anything like those scenarios, it was bound to be the most perfect weekend.

The closer she got, the wider the smile. And when she checked into the motel room she had reserved for herself, she couldn’t contain herself. She knew she would have to wait until he arrived and it would be hours but the wait would be so worthwhile. As she entered the room, full of expectations, her body buzzed with excitement.

Read Full Post »

108

Yesterday I mentioned that I am going to write a minimum of 100 fiction words each day this month in an effort to get back to fiction writing. Here’s the first installment, written late night on January 1. I won’t always share them but, as it’s the beginning one, I’m sharing this one. It’s 108 words so it fits the minimum.

 

She stood above the desk staring at the blank piece of paper. It was at an angle, as if someone had been about to write something. Who could it have been and to whom was this bit of writing for? What was going to be written? Was it business or was it personal and did it have any connection to her job here? Like any good detective, she was filled with more questions than answers. She took one last look at the desk and everything on it before returning to the adjoining office where the body lay waiting for the CSI team to finish their work.

Read Full Post »