Two-Fifty Tuesdays #9

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

The following passage was taken from Chapter Three of my novel, Guinea Pig Maverick. 

(Pinterest)

        I fall against a boulder the size of a small car to catch my breath.  A large red streak drips down the front of my leg from when I tripped, but I ignore it for now.

Maverick is acting noticeably different.  He stands hunched over with his hands on his knees, his body shaking.  His breath comes in raspy gasps.  Sweat pours off his forehead, even more so than mine.  He lazily gestures with his hand for me to come over. 

Together, we squeeze down into a small cleft in the rocks.  This hiding place is both hard to spot from above and impossible to find from the ground.  Maverick drops to the dirt and leans his head against the rock.  He moans.

     “You okay?” I ask in a hushed voice, though I can’t imagine anyone can hear us.  Instead of responding, Maverick reaches up and yanks something from his shoulder.  He holds the object up in front of his face and blinks slowly.  It is a tiny silver dart.  He lets it fall from between his fingers to the ground.

     “I was hit,” he says.  His words are slurred. 

     “Is it poison?” I ask.  Might as well know the worst right off.  I check my own body for a dart.

     “Tubocurarine,” he says, his voice trailing off.  I pause from checking my back. 

     “Tubo-what?”
     “Sedative,” he says, just barely getting the word out.  His head rolls to the side and he’s out.  I reach into my back pocket for ...

God bless,
~Amy Rochelle

New Look and a Review

Hey guys! Today so happens to be my 19th birthday, and I thought it would be a perfect time to try a new look.  I decided to pick something green because green is a color that inspires creativity.  And as writers, any kind of inspiration is invaluable.

*  *  *

For my birthday, my dad took me out to see a movie.  (If I were to say I was addicted to anything, movies would definitely be it).

Anyway, my dad and I saw Kingsman: The Secret Service. 

Here's the trailer:

I'll start by saying that this movie was FANTASTIC.  For a spy movie, it did a great job of avoiding cliches, and kept me at the EDGE OF MY SEAT (in a good way) for the entire thing. 

The character development was very well done, the plot had good flow, and the ending was quite satisfying. 

I laughed, I nearly cried, and...

....I cringed.  

This movie is rated R for a very good reason.  

The violence is raw, and featured clearly throughout the film.  Most of it is hand-to-hand combat that goes from something as small as a punch, to as big as slicing a man vertically in half with a sharp blade.  And you see it all through an unabashed lens.  

On that note, the blood is surprisingly minimal, but you don't have time to notice the lack of it before the camera cuts away to someone else who is hacking away at yet another person.

Some other bits of violence include in-your-face threats, some of which are followed through with throughout the course of the film.

In addition to the extreme violence, there is also a lot of language.  I mean, a LOT. It got to the point where you don't even notice it anymore because the characters had already used it several dozen times in the first 15 minutes.  In my opinion, I think the movie would have done just fine without an f-bomb every five seconds. 

My closing thoughts on this movie are as follows. 

Plot was impressive, character development was amazing, and overall storytelling was brilliant. 

However, because of the gratuitous violence and the constant bombardment of harsh language, I can't recommend this movie as a must-see.  That being said, I did enjoy it quite thoroughly, and would gladly watch a PG-13 rated version of it. 

Hope you all are having a fabulous day!

God bless,
~Amy Rochelle

Story Starter Sundays #7

Featured writing prompts taken from Pinterest. 

Even though this year isn't a leap year, I thought it was fitting. 

What does it mean to be "slower"? Physically? Mentally?

Is there a way this slowness could somehow be an advantage? 

God bless,

~Amy Rochelle

Survival Saturdays #9

Writing advice to help you survive that first draft. 

How to keep your plot moving and your readers reading. 

(Google.images)

One of the most important things you can do as a writer is keep your readers engaged.  If the reader gets bored, they won't read. Simple as that. 

One way too keep their interest piqued is to keep a STRING OF LOOPS going. What do I mean by that?  Allow me to explain. 

A loop works very much like:  a plot point, a secret, or a goal. 

I like to picture it like a piece of string that is threaded through the inner workings of the story, but still hidden from view.

Now, a loop does not necessarily last the length of your entire novel, so the trick is to have several loops that intertwine from beginning to end.  Before one loop ends, you should have already begun another. 

Let's say for example that your character has a secret.  For the first third of the book, he's managed to keep this secret up.  But now it is time for the readers to learn just what that secret is.  Before you give it away, however, you should reveal a second secret.  (it doesn't have to be a secret, but it SHOULD have an unanswered question that the reader will crave to know the answer of).  

The first secret is finally resolved, but now there's something new to worry about.

Example: 

Your character has come clean about stealing that special key.  He plans on turning himself in, but before he can follow through, someone from his past suddenly comes to town. You character doesn't know why this person is back, except that now he knows he can't return that key.

Loop #1: you character admits to stealing the key.  

Loop #2: someone from his past has returned for a reason unknown. 

Not only that, but there is a THIRD loop:  what is it about this person that causes your character to change his mind about returning the key? 

What makes this powerful is not the secrets themselves, but the fact that they overlap. 

If you can keep up a string of such loops, then you will be able to keep your readers glued to the page, unable to put the book down until they have their answers. 

God bless,

~Amy Rochelle

Funny Fridays #9

A little humor can go a long way. 

Marvel edition. 

Just wow. 

Bucky. No.

"Guardians of the Galaxy:  a summary" <<<This is accurate. 

Haha!

This is one of my favorite things.

'nuff said.

All images are taken from Pinterest.

God bless,

~Amy Rochelle

Whatnot Wednesdays #9

Info dumps on the life of an aspiring writer. 

And...I'm back!

Taking a week break from the internet is harder than it looks.  I wish it only upon my greatest of foes. 

Anywho...it has been quite the eventful week for this writer. 

I had a rehearsal performance at a local library for an 8-minute skit that a few friends of mine and I are doing for a competition called Odyssey of the Mind. 

Here is a description of the guidelines that our skit must follow:

Problem 3: Pandora’s Box 
Divisions I, II, III & IV
In this classics problem, teams will put a video game spin on the story of Pandora’s Box. A gamer character will take on this multi-level game inspired by the Greek myth. The game will include a prologue that depicts the original story of Pandora’s Box, three characters representing different evils that escaped the box, and a power meter that represents the gamer character’s health. To beat the game, the player will advance to the final level where it will release hope into the world.
Cost limit: $125 USD.

It has been a fun experience so far (although the upcoming competition is already making me nervous!), and we actually have our skit just about solid.  The official competition date is March 7th. That's less then two weeks left! (*gulp*)

***

(Google.images)

In addition to rehearsing at the library, I also had my very first road test.  I can't remember ever being so nervous for something in my entire life. 

I was about to drive a stranger around. Alone. On a (busy) city street.  Past the police station.  And he's going to judge me. (And don't even get me started on the parallel parking).

Okay, I know my nerves blew everything out of proportion, but knowing that doesn't always make it better.  I remember telling myself as the instructor got in my car, "Hey, everyone takes this test.  It's no big deal.  And if I fail, I just schedule another test and try it again."

The test begins and the first thing I do, I do wrong.  Oh, good job, Amy.  Great. Start. (Not). 

And THEN, I get caught in a 3-way car freeze.  Everyone waiting for everyone.  The car to my left is waving me on, so I'm about to pull out onto the street when the car BEHIND the one waving me on decides he's just gunna skirt around and completely disregard the fact that someone was pulling out onto the street. (That someone being me). 

Basically, I almost got into a wreck.  During my road test. 
Of course this happened to me. 

But despite it all, I'm proud to say I passed. 

***

Oh, how I've missed all you guys!  It's good to be back.  Hope you all are having a fantastic rest of your day!


God bless,
~Amy Rochelle

See you guys in a week!

Hey guys! This is just a quick post to let you know that I'll be gone until next Wednesday (the 25th). Until then, hope you all have a fabulous week!

God bless,
~Amy Rochelle