Funny Fridays #4

A little humor can go a long way.

Random bits of hilarity for your enjoyment. 

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Anyone else?  Oh good. I'm glad it's not just me.

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It was a tragedy like no other. That was the night I could no longer Ctrl+A.

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Why did I laugh so hard.

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I have a feeling that if I ever became a bird, this would be me.

And finally, this little gem from my brother:

"Singing in the shower is all fun and games until you get shampoo in your mouth.  

Then it becomes a soap opera." 

God bless,

~Amy Rochelle

Thingy Thursdays #4

A fascinating object that begged at the chance for a story. 

It's just a pen....

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     The day started out completely ordinary for Michael.  He got up.  Took a shower.  Had breakfast.  And prepared for work.  He slipped on his jacket and walked out the door.

     An ordinary start for an ordinary man. 

     The city street was already full of life despite the early hour.  Cars and people moved past, some faster then others.  Michael made sure to keep out of peoples' way, and hoped that they had the courtesy to do the same. 

     Michael glanced down at the object in his front pocket.  He had borrowed the pen from his coworker the other day.  The guy had seemed reluctant to give it to him, but Michael promised to give it back. His pens were always disappearing from his desk. But his coworker left in a hurry that day before Michael could hand it off.  So the first thing he was going to do today was give his coworker back the pen and hope there's no hard feelings.  It was just a pen. 

     Michael had been walking for about a block when he felt it.  That strange, unnerving sensation in the back of your neck that alerts you to danger.  This time in the form of a tail.

     He risked a quick glance back over his shoulder, scanning the thin crowd for an obvious suspect.  No one stood out as far as he could tell.  But that feeling wouldn't go away. 

    He picked up his pace. The sensation of danger only grew, but he forced himself to look straight ahead.  Looking paranoid only makes you a bigger target to muggers.  But Michael couldn't hold back any longer.  He turned his head just enough to look behind him.  That was when he saw him.  A gruff looking man who returned Michael's stare.  The man started to run. 

     Michael's heart rate shot up, adrenaline flooding his system.  He shot forward in a panicked sprint.  Someone was after him!  He didn't bother to stay out of peoples' way anymore.  He didn't even apologize for bumping into them.  There was only one thought on his mind, and that was to run. 

     Michael's lungs started to burn.  He needed a break.  He stumbled into an alley and leaned against one of the buildings, chest heaving.  Michael was careful to stay within full view of the public--or at the very least within earshot--in case that guy caught up to him.  

     He waited two minutes--five minutes--ten.  His pursuer still had yet to show.  Michael suddenly felt incredibly stupid.  Maybe that man wasn't after him at all.  Maybe he had just realized he was late for a meeting.  Michael must have looked like a paranoid idiot to the guy. Whatever.  Michael straightened his jacket, gathered up what little dignity he had left, and stepped back out onto the street. 

    Turns out that guy wasn't as gone as Michael had hoped. The gruff man grabbed Michael and pinned him against the uneven surface of the building. 

     "My wallet's in my back pocket!" Michael sputtered.  The man laughed at him. 

     "I don't want your money."

     Michael looked slightly terrified.  "What?"  Michael wondered why none of the passerby seemed to notice the crime in process.  

     The man let go of Michael's jacket with one hand and slipped the pen out of Michael's front pocket.  "Ah, what do we have here?"
     Michael was even more confused now.  What was so special about this pen?  The man grinned--it wasn't a nice smile. 

     "You're coming with me."

     Michael's eyes widened.  "Why? Because I have a pen?" 

     The man calmly turned the pen so that Michael could see the tiny camera lens. "This is not an ordinary pen, my friend.  This is a camera.  And that makes you the spy we've been after."
     "Spy?" 

    

     Michael's coworker was a SPY?!

     

     "Yeah. Spy."  The man freshened his grip on Michael's arm and dragged him along.
     "But I'm not a spy! You have the wrong guy!" Michael insisted.  "I'm just a quiet businessman. I have a meeting in fifteen minutes!"
     "That's what they all say."  Before Michael could plead his case any longer he was shoved into the backseat of a black van. 

To be continued....

God bless,

~Amy Rochelle

Whatnot Wednesdays #4

Info dumps on the life of an aspiring writer.

Have you ever written something in the first person point of view, but then after you finished it you realize you SHOULD have gone with third person?

Such is my most recent writing experience.

My novel White Wings is currently written from Rae's point of view.  While she does a good job of narrating the story, I am starting to realize that the story doesn't end with her side of it.

When Rae's story ends, Cole's actually begins.

Originally I didn't plan for Cole to have his own side, his own plot.  But I'm realizing that without it, White Wings isn't complete.  So Cole's story must be told.  But Rae won't be there to tell it.

At first, I was planning on having Cole narrate his side of the story in first person, but I decided that that might get too confusing.  Also, I run the risk of both Rae's and Cole's narrative voices sounding the same.  One of the worst mistakes a writer can make.

So with all that in mind, I have decided to give it a try and convert the novel to third person.  We'll see how it goes!

Be sure to keep on the lookout for new excerpts of White Wings in future Two-Fifty Tuesday posts!


God bless,
~Amy Rochelle

Two-Fifty Tuesdays #3

Excerpts of my writing consisting of 250 words. No more. No less. 

The following passage is taken from Chapter One of my novel, White Wings. 

White Wings is currently under revision with the hopes of self-publishing by the end of 2015.

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     “Well, I bet if you got rid of those clouds and let some Light through, you would see a lot more colors. All of them, not just red.”

     My heart thundered in my chest.  Was blasphemy going to follow me around all day?  “How do you know this?”

     He looked at me strangely.  “Don’t tell me that you’ve never seen Light.”

     I shook my head firmly.  “People here get punished just for talking about it.”  I gave him a pointed look.

     Rilind made a face.  “Well, then, my stay could prove interesting.”  I gnawed on my lower lip.  There were so many questions I wanted to ask.  So many answers that I craved.

     “If there really is Light, then why—” I stopped and stared at his coat.  It had begun to move.  Rilind opened an inner pocket and a little creature leapt out onto his arm.  It was a tiny dragon, small enough to fit in my shoe.  It flapped its brown leathery wings and tilted its head in my direction.  I gave a small smile.  I hadn’t seen a dragon in years.  I reached over and stroked its pointy head.  A purring sound vibrated in his throat.

     “This is Leaf,” Rilind told me.

     “That’s a strange name.”

     “I decided to call him that because when I found him I thought he was a leaf.”  I chuckled lightly before catching myself.  I couldn’t remember the last time I had laughed.  It sounded so foreign. 

     The little dragon hopped off ... 

God bless,
~Amy Rochelle

Mature Mondays #2

Something that is thought provoking and/or inspiring. 

Puzzle Pieces~

Yesterday my little sister and I started on a 750-piece puzzle.  To my dismay and disappointment, out of the 750 pieces, one was missing.

And that got me thinking. (as conceptual things usually do).

The world is like a giant puzzle; each person a unique puzzle piece.  We're all different, and we all have our place.  No one is the same.  Some pieces are big.  Others are small.  Some jagged.  Some s m o o t h.  But we are all important.  If even one piece is missing it does not go unnoticed.

Maybe you feel like the missing piece in the world--but you don't feel noticed or seen.  You are as absent as you feel.

And it's true that when you first dump out the box of pieces, you won't be able to tell if anyone is missing.  And who cares, right? There are plenty of other pieces happy to show up; happy to sprawl out on the table in a mess of colors and shapes.

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It's not until someone takes those individual pieces and puts them in their places--creating a bigger picture--that the lost pieces are always noticed.

Even if you feel like a missing piece, forgotten by the world, there IS Someone who sees the bigger picture.  Who notices you.  Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  He sees you, and He will always have a place for you.  A special place that only YOU can fill.

Remember.  YOU are important.  YOU matter.  YOU have a purpose.  You were not put here by accident or by mistake.  Without you, the world would be a puzzle with a missing piece.

You are loved.


God bless,
~Amy Rochelle

Story Starter Sundays #2

Featured writing prompts from Pinterest.

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Why is this?

Are you in an alternate universe? A different dimension? 

When you walk over to your sleeping body, do you realize with horror that you are, in fact....dead?

What if you are not staring at yourself, but at a twin.  A twin that you never knew about.  And the killer is still lurking in the house somewhere, waiting, watching.  But they don't want to kill you.  They are here to talk to you.  To tell you who your mysterious twin is, and why he is dead. 

What if the twin isn't dead? Does he have a secret message for you?

God bless,

~Amy Rochelle

Survival Saturdays #3

Writing advice to help you survive that first draft. 


It's pretty straightforward. PEOPLE WON'T READ WHAT THEY DON'T LIKE. As writers, it is our job to deliver a compelling tale that satisfies the reader's inner hero.

But with this can develop a serious problem.  If you're giving your readers everything they want, doesn't that make your book PREDICTABLE?

The way to fix this problem is to: "Give your readers what they want, but not in the way they expect it."

This can apply to things as simple as getting from point A to point B, or as big as a hidden plot twist.

Example:

In my current work in progress, Somnia, my main character, Wiles, is trying to reach the second floor of an abandoned mansion.  He gets to work repairing the broken staircase, working quickly and efficiently.

As the readers, we want him to reach the second floor.  In fact, we EXPECT him to.  The trick now is to give it to them in a way they weren't expecting. Something needs to happen that keeps Wiles from reaching the top so easily.

So, before Wiles can make it to the top, the staircase breaks and drops out from under him.  At the last possible second Wiles reaches up and grabs hold of the floor above him, swinging freely over the fallen staircase.

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But we still have a problem.  You were expecting the stairs to break, weren't you?  Not to mention Wiles' last-second save is a bit cliche and boring.  Therefore, I take this scene one step further and allow Wiles' grip to slip.

So after all that work of rebuilding the stairs, and even managing to catch himself, he still crashes back down to the first floor. Back to square one.  Eventually, Wiles does make it to the second floor.

In the meantime, not only do the readers get what they wanted (Wiles reaching the second floor), but they will also get to witness how Wiles handles himself in a situation that doesn't go as planned or go his way.
The readers will get to see character development on top of a little extra adventure.

In conclusion, the more you "give readers what they want, but not in the way they expect it", the more exciting and adventurous your story will be.  And your readers will trust that they won't be bombarded with predictable scenarios or cliches along the way.


God bless,
~Amy Rochelle