Flash Friday 5-9-14

Picture Prompt for Flash Friday @ http://flashfriday.wordpress.com/ 

Click the link for rules and to enter your own flash, then read my response below.

Past and Present No 2, by Augustust Leopold Egg, 1858. Public domain photo.

The Strong One

I heard Mama scream and ran into the bedroom. I watched her lift his lifeless body. She held him for several long minutes. I broke the silence. “Mama…” She looked toward me and then blankly past me. Absently, she passed baby Jonah to me and stumbled across the floor to her rocker.

Mama was still rocking when I saw Lizzy coming up the lane from school. I wanted to keep from upsetting Mama more, so I stepped out to meet Lizzy. I explained what had happened in the best way I knew how, but I mustn’t have done a very good job, because she ran inside and buried her face in Mama’s lap.

I re-entered the house to find Mama absently smoothing Lizzy’s blond curls and felt a pang of jealousy. I wished momentarily that I was small enough to crawl into Mama’s lap and let her take away my troubles.

Now it’s my turn to be the strong one...

(The above is a (condensed) excerpt from the historical fiction novel I am writing.) 

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 Here is my second entry.

No More Secrets

Loraine’s sentient hair curled around her mother’s fingers, drawing her closer. Warmth spread through her body under Leda’s touch.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“I’ve kept this secret for sixteen years. Your father doesn’t know we lived and I didn’t think you would understand.”

Loraine pulled back from the embrace. “Understand what? That my father tried to kill both of us—simply because I was going to be different than other kids?”

“He was trying to protect us both—or so I am told.”

“From what? And you don’t protect people by killing them!”

“Your father was confused and scared—he didn’t know any better way.”  

“Loraine, I want you to know; you saved both of our lives.”

“Me? How? I wasn’t even born yet.”

“I didn’t understand until later, but somehow a tendril of your hair coiled around my heart—and started it beating again. I thought I had dreamed it until you were born with these abilities.” 

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Edited to add: I won honorable mention for this second piece at #FlashFridayFic. I am truly grateful.

I'd love to know what you think--leave me a comment!

You can also follow me on social media.

Twitter: @CharityPaschal2 https://twitter.com/CharityPaschal2 

Google+: https://plus.google.com/111131437103050318091/posts/p/pub 

The Morling Stronghold - Picture Prompt

500px originally shared:

"1000 Years" by Impossible: http://bit.ly/1lC5rjT

The Morling Stronghold

Loraine gazed over the city from her vantage point on the cliff. The fog hung low in the streets and cracked with electricity. Her hair twitched nervously. She knew this must be a Morling stronghold and that she had no choice but to enter. It was her duty as a Protector. If there was any chance her charge might be there, she must risk all to find him and return him to his parents.

Looking over her shoulder, she interrupted the whispered conversation of her companions--her parents. "You don't have to come with me," she said, half-hoping they would agree to stay behind--at least then they would be safe. "Balderdash," her father said, "This little boy may be your charge, but the fate of an entire race is at stake--you're not going in alone."

Thanks for reading. Constructive criticism or unfettered praise is welcome.

Flash Friday 5-2-14

Picture Prompt for Flash Friday @ http://flashfriday.wordpress.com/ 

Click the link for rules and to enter your own flash, then read my response below.

The Sea Horse. Photo and sculpture by Jeffro Uitto

No Escape (158 words)

Loraine always enjoyed her early-morning run along the beach. She ran as her true self. Her hood fell back, allowing her black tresses to tangle in the wind. With fog thick around her, she felt safely anonymous on the deserted beach. As she ran, water droplets clung to her skin, creating iridescent arcs against silvery scales—her webbed feet left extraordinary marks in the wet sand until the tide swept them away.

Loraine’s thoughts were on her promotion. At only thirteen, she had been chosen to join the most noble of factions—during tonight’s ceremony she would become a member of the Royal Order of Protectors.

“Crack!” The sound echoed against the bluffs. Loraine whirled--every muscle tensed. Twenty yards away stood a driftwood sculpture of a wild mustang. It beckoned. She stepped closer. Her hair whipped about her shoulders—a warning!

As she dove under the waves, Loraine realized there would be no escape—she was targeted.

Thank you for reading! Let me know you enjoyed it! Leave a comment or connect with me on Twitter @CharityPaschal2.

Flash Friday 4-25-14

Picture Prompt for Flash Friday @ http://flashfriday.wordpress.com/ 

Click the link for rules and to enter your own flash, then read my response below.

Canal Workers (Suez Canal). CC Photo by Hossam el-Hamalawy.

A Daughter in Peril (158 words)

Leda donned the black hood nervously. "What if he refused to help?" She rapped on the door of the dilapidated apartment building.

“May I help you?”

Leda took a deep breath. It had been years since she had seen him.

“I need your help Beck. Your daughter is in trouble.”

“I have no daughter,” he replied wistfully. “I almost did, once.”

“Remember this picture?” She handed him the device. “Leda had just told you she was pregnant—scroll through—that’s your daughter.”

“Impossible,” Beck muttered, returning the device. “Leda is dead—I killed her.”

Leda removed her hood and stared into the eyes of her husband. “You did. Our daughter saved my life.”

“You kept her from me all these years--why?” Beck challenged. “I didn’t even know she existed.”

“You tried to kill us, remember? But now she’s in trouble and you are the only one who can help. She was taken by Morlings a week ago.”



Thanks for reading. Let me know you liked it. I love comments!

A Temporary Change in Writing Focus Can Increase Your Productivity

How do you know when the story you are working on is the one you need to be working on at any given moment? For me, it has to do with focus. If things that couldn't possibly happen in my story keep popping into my head, I take that as a sign I need to take a break and work on something else for awhile...namely whatever it is that keeps popping into my head.

I consider myself to be a historical fiction and poetry writer with a few true stories from my own life thrown in for good measure. However, I recently had this great idea for a story in the science fiction/fantasy genre and no matter what I did, I could not get rid of this idea that had taken up residence in my brain...but then when I tried to focus on it, it felt forced because it is different than what I am used to writing. I felt like I really didn't have a good plot, just a good scene or two really--that's when I decided to take advantage of the one great scene and try writing some flash fiction. I am still in the drafting stages but I think flash may be just long enough to use the material that inspired me without forcing me to create a full plot in a genre I am unfamiliar with. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

I have another story in the works as about an Army Sniper in Vietnam which I began writing to show my husband that I have ability as a writer and that I could even write something he would be interested in. I think it may turn into another flash fiction also, or possibly a short story due to my personal interest in the story waning. Each time I think about trying to create a full novel from that story, I find myself unable to come up with a full plot, or even other characters that seem believable.

The novel I originally started is about a young girl growing up in rural Kentucky during the depression, who is suddenly thrown into an adult role where she has to make adult decisions and take care of her family herself when her mom falls ill. This was my main focus when I started writing, and I think I have plenty of material, as well as ideas for a second and third book already--but I don't want to get bogged down in a novel for the next two years and come to the realization that I am the only person who is interested in such a novel. So, I am splitting my focus a bit in order to get my feet wet and discover my niche.

If you find yourself staring at the blank page, try putting it away for awhile. If you feel the need to write something, try going for a different genre or writing just for fun--see where it takes you.

Update: I have a fully written children's book ready to publish, and a rough draft started on another (with ideas for several more.) My writing journey has been full of twists and turns, setbacks and bursts of inspiration. I don't think I will ever be on the straight flat road as a writer, but I am enjoying the bumps and twists of the scenic route right now.

How do you determine what you will write on a given day? Do you have more than one thing going at a time, or do you have to focus solely on one story in order to make it work? What are you writing today?