Ali Isaac tagged me to participate in a Facebook project. I don’t have a Facebook account, and don’t particularly want one. I mentioned that to Ali, as I slipped toward the door. She said, “That’s okay, I posted my stuff on my blog too. You can do that.”
I read her post, here. It’s kind of a combo about her slowing down blogging for a bit to make some writing time. The part for me involves sharing the first seven lines of my work in progress.
I never quite do these things right. It isn’t fair for me to tag others, when I don’t Facebook personally. I also recently posted something about my novel in progress. I’ll run it out there again, but am giving it an extra line or two to get to the creepy part.
The Playground
Tommy Fazio lit the black candles in his seventeenth floor office and pulled down on some surgical gloves. The faint light revealed a bank of computer systems with cables leading to an autopsy table. The smell of burning tallow mingled with that of bleach.
He pulled on a white lab coat and walked up to the girl on the table. She was six or seven years old, it didn’t matter. Cables ran into every opening in her body, with a large one stitched inside her abdomen. Bloody slobber hung out her mouth and dripped into a plastic bucket. He wiggled the cable between her legs and she coughed.
“This one’s about finished,” Tommy said.
He spoke again, but in a deep baritone voice. “Yes. We need another one within the day.”
***
What the heck, here are some lines from a short story I wrote.
A Humid Business
The antiquated chunk of metal spun lazily in its weightless environment. As it passed over Germany it finished its final orbit and atmospheric friction started to warm it. The glowing purple growth on the exterior doubled in size at the onset of heat, much the same way a loaf of bread expands in a hot oven.
There were reports from Japan of a strange flash in the night as its orbit disintegrated and it burst into flames. Several ships reported the same thing further to the east.
I pulled on my coveralls and started my truck. We were stringing wire for the new high tension lines that would bring hydroelectric power to the coast…
Because I don’t Facebook, I’m not tagging anyone. If you want to play along, please feel free. If you leave a link in the comments I’ll read your post.
A Twofer! I love Twofers! That first one sounds really creepy, but I’m gonna HAVE to read it… you got me hooked already!
Thanks for playing along. I know you dont really like these tagging things, thats why I tagged you! Lol! Only joking, I just wanted to snoop on your WIP… this ones dark!
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I like the blog hops. It’s the awards I avoid. If I ever finish the darned thing, you can see it ahead of everyone. I’m struggling with a short overall word count — again.
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Ah… you need to develop some flowery language! Only joking, dont throw your phone at me! How many you got?
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I’m in the mid 50s today. There is success for the heroine that will be snatched away by the anti hero. The main showdown where most of the characters meet up. The denouement will show a positive change for my victim character. You’ve seen how I write. I’ll be hard pressed to hit 80K. I may have to go back and kill a few more people. (This one isn’t young adult, you know, unless you’re a strange young adult.)
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Yeah… I kinda guessed that! I dont think you need to worry about word count. Over 50k is a novel, under is a novella, and anyway novellas are getting more popular these days.
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I was always taught that 80K was a novel. Things are changing, and with ebooks shorter reads are gaining in popularity. I just need to finish the darned thing. I’ll pigeonhole it later. (Kind of like my genre post.)
Did you write anything today young lady?
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I did thank you! I wrote a chapter for my book. Its been so long, its gonna take a while to get into the flow. I think after Conor I’d like to try something darker and more adult, but I dont know if I’ve got it in me!
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You know I’m all about personal challenges. I set one for every story. I improve by pushing myself. You can keep one foot in Irish history, and still find some pretty dark stuff. That way you still have some familiarity. I say do it.
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Yes, there’s lots of dark stuff there! I did have the idea of writing a series about Ireland’s High Kings… lots of murder and intrigue… and cattle raids lol! Thanks for the encouragement, appreciate it!
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Cool. Sounds like a western; murder and cattle raids.
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It does haha! But without the guns… and the Injuns…
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Never say never. John Wayne made The Quiet Man in Ireland.
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That is very true. The Irish are very proud of that.
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Ok, so the first one totally creeps me out and the second one has me imagining something of epic sci-fi proportions. I do so love spaceships and aliens!
I’ve got a Facebook fan page that I neglect horribly and a Facebook friend page that I probably haven’t posted on in close to a year. I’ve never been a fan of Facebook (I’m only there because my publisher expects it), so I can relate. Blog posts are much better!
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FB seems like one more thing to babysit. I love the blog and the interaction it provides. (The short story becomes kind of superhero- ish, except he’s not quite a hero.) Having the novel opening creep you out is a good sign.
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Sweet! You already know how much I’m hooked on The Playground, but the short story sounds awesome, too! YAY! 😀
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I think Monday may have to be my writing day.
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