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The Evolution of a Writer
VIB PROJECT JOURNAL: Chapter 2.3
All last week I worked on Vengeance in bloom. After completing the first three scene summaries for chapter two, I added them to the manuscript without incident. Writing the scenes into the MS went pretty smooth, and mainly because nearly every word of dialog spoken furthered the story, a conflict, or helped develop the charaters overall as it should. Needless to say I was a happy with my progress.
I had time left over during the week to start working on the next three scene summaries and ran into a few minor problems with the first scene. Well, not really problems, it was just hard to squeeze anything out of my brain. I knew what was supposed to happen and what the characters were supposed to be talking about, but the juices just werent flowing. I don’t know, maybe I burnt myself out while writing the first three scenes. Who knows?
One issue, which is atcually all my fault, was that I hadn't fully developed how Dahlia, another main character, is supposed to use one of her abilities. It was hard for me to describe it in a way that I liked at the time, so I decided to sleep on it. The next morning, when I awoke, I was hit, no, I was ambushed and entangled within a logic string. I realized, that the world at large wouldn’t allow Lily, the main character, to getway with certian things she’s done without some severe consequences. So, compelled to follow the logic string, I was forced to start rewriting the chapter summaries starting from the middle of chapter four to the end of the story.
Normally, such an event would be looked at something to dread, but I am actually excited about it. Mainly because it doesn’t really change the key events that take place, it will only change how they take place. Everybody that is slated to be killed off will still die, they will just die in a different way. Another reason why I’m excited is because, this change will force Lily to be more of a predator than she was in the previous storyline.
So, starting next week, when I work on VIB again, I’ll be rewriting the chapter summaries, and importing everything for the story into LSBxe. I originally developed the story outside of the program and decided that since I have to do such an overhaul on the story, I might as well switch everything over from MSWord. This will also give me a chance to develop a few things that I did not get to before.
All in all, still writing.
I had time left over during the week to start working on the next three scene summaries and ran into a few minor problems with the first scene. Well, not really problems, it was just hard to squeeze anything out of my brain. I knew what was supposed to happen and what the characters were supposed to be talking about, but the juices just werent flowing. I don’t know, maybe I burnt myself out while writing the first three scenes. Who knows?
One issue, which is atcually all my fault, was that I hadn't fully developed how Dahlia, another main character, is supposed to use one of her abilities. It was hard for me to describe it in a way that I liked at the time, so I decided to sleep on it. The next morning, when I awoke, I was hit, no, I was ambushed and entangled within a logic string. I realized, that the world at large wouldn’t allow Lily, the main character, to getway with certian things she’s done without some severe consequences. So, compelled to follow the logic string, I was forced to start rewriting the chapter summaries starting from the middle of chapter four to the end of the story.
Normally, such an event would be looked at something to dread, but I am actually excited about it. Mainly because it doesn’t really change the key events that take place, it will only change how they take place. Everybody that is slated to be killed off will still die, they will just die in a different way. Another reason why I’m excited is because, this change will force Lily to be more of a predator than she was in the previous storyline.
So, starting next week, when I work on VIB again, I’ll be rewriting the chapter summaries, and importing everything for the story into LSBxe. I originally developed the story outside of the program and decided that since I have to do such an overhaul on the story, I might as well switch everything over from MSWord. This will also give me a chance to develop a few things that I did not get to before.
All in all, still writing.
THINGS PEOPLE DO Project Journal: Writing Week 2
December 21, 2009
Still not finished will the first three scene summaries. I’m still on the second scene because I didn't get a chance to write during the day, I have to split my evening writing time between my two projects.
I was able to get a couple things down for the second scene. It's mainly all dialog though. The three main characters are in a heated 3-way confrontatoin right now. Emotions are flying all over the place, as they should be. See what happens when you try to keep secrets? lol
December 22, 2009
I feel like I got a lot of work done today. I'm still on the first scene of chapter one, but the scene is a very powerful one so I don’t mind as much. Tempers are flareing between the three main characters, Christine, Robert, and Shanna. Secrets are exposed and emotions ripped raw.
I'm glad that I can sit back and laugh with glee at thier plight and turmoil when I'm not the one going through hell, but then again, what are characters for, right?
December 26, 2009
Ok, I should’ve written this journal entry on Friday, but didn’t have time. Anyway, I’ve finished the scene summaries for the prologue and chapter one. The story is going well and as planned so far. Chapter one, which was explosive in the fist place, ends with a major event that sets the rest of my character’s problems in motion.
Shanna and Robert are about to do things they never thought they were capable of. Notice I didn't mention Christine, lol.
VIB Project Journal: Writing Chapter 2 Week 2
December 21, 2009
Read through the summary for Chapter 2 and started to summarize the first scene. Lily and the gang have made it to Dry Port Vassa and are taking in the sights. The gang members are not sure why they’ve come to Dry Port and their leader is being a bit cryptic about it.
Things are about to heat up.
December 22, 2009
It was slow going at first, but once I got into the groove, I started flowing. On the second scene of chapter two. The gang members still don’t know why their boss has brought them here, and Lily is brought face to face with a haunting element from her past.
December 26, 2009
Got a lot done today. Well, yesterday actually. While visiting some of the family on Christmas, I was able to write two more scene summaries for chapter 2 on a little notepad that I took with me.
Today, when I got home after work, I transfered the two scene to my digital file in LSBxe. Even after going through the scenes a second time, I liked what I wrote. The words were just flowing that night.
Well, now I have the first three scenes of Chapter 2 summarized, which means, starting Monday, I convert and insert them into my Manuscript.
So far, Lily’s got into an altercation for a couple of prostitutes, and after the little “scuffle”, she had to flee the scene. Not a good idea to fight a prostitute right outside the brothel she’s working, lol.
How I Love Scene Summaries
Scene Summaries, Oh how I love scene summaries. In my writing process, as far as any actual writing is concerned, scene summaries are my Step 4: Story Concept, Story Outline, Chapter Summaries, Scene Summaries, MS Writing, and then the Synopsis.
Scene summaries have been a part of my writing process for the last couple of years, but recently, with yet another evolutionary understanding of how to use this tool, I’ve grown to love and appreciate it even more. In the recent past, my scene summaries weren’t that much different from my chapter summaries. The only difference, in fact, was the depth of detail.
With my chapter summaries, I vaguely summarize what should happen within a chapter, highlighting all major events that HAVE TO HAPPEN in order for the story to move forward.
With my scene summaries, I used to summarize what should happen, scene by scene, as each one connects the chapter’s major events together. When I used to write these scene summaries, they were pretty much just a vague as the chapter summaries.
For Example: CHARACTERS A and B are in BAR, they talk about TOPIC and get into argument because of REASONS, and then CHARACTER A leaves upset.
This was all fine at first, because when it came time to write the scene, I knew who the characters were, where the characters were, what they should be doing, and how the scene ends. I knew the purpose of the scene and its direction. On to the next one, right? The only problem I kept running into was that when it came time to add the scene to my MS, I would get caught up on the dialog. Sure, I knew what the characters should be talking about, but having to focus on writing action, description, and dialog all at once would just slow me down for whatever reason.
Then it hit me. Why not write the scene summaries like an actual scene in a screenplay, stupid? That way, I could focus on the quick back-and-forth of character dialog to get it out of the way and throw in some basic descriptions to go along with the scene that I could use as a skeleton to dress up when I added it to my MS.
So, I tried this “new” approach with my current short story, Things People Do, and I must say it has helped greatly. Now, when it came time to write a scene into my MS, I was able to focus on writing my descriptions to paint, set, and sustain the mood of the scene, because all of the dialog had already done. Of course, if some of the dialog needed to be changed, it was without hassle, but the main benefit for me was that I didn’t have worry about the dialog as much. I was able to focus on writing environmental descriptions and the actions/reactions of my characters.
THINGS PEOPLE DO Project Journal: Week of Dec.14th
December 17, 2009
All Organized.
During my lunch our, I wrote the scene summaries for the prologue and the begining of chpater one. In my process I summarize three scenes at a time then write them into my MS, so I have a scene and a half to go before I can actually starting writing. I'm going to be short staffed at work tommorrow, so I don't think I'll have a chance to work on scenes then. I'll try to make it up over the weekend.
VIB Project Journal: Let's just call it week one.
December 17, 2009
VIB Project Journal First Entry
Okay, this is the first entry for VIB's project journal. Kind of late with it, but I only just thought about journaling my project progress a couple night ago, well at least journaling it in this fashion that is.
Well, any way, I've done all of the development for the story. Concept, Outline, Chapter Summaries, Characters, Organizations, World, Locations, Sciences, and Technologies, it's all done. Now, I'm writing the story as some of you may already know. I've completed the prologue which I've posted for viewing on my site, and now I'm towards the end of chapter one. The only problem is, I've been on the end of chapter one for SO long. Not sure why really, maybe story overload from the time I took to develop it, I don't know.
I love this story and will complete, but in order to do that, I had to take a step back. So, I've worked on a couple short stories "PUSHED" and "MOTHER'S LITTLE HELPER". That helped a lot. Now, I'm back on Vengeance in Bloom, and so I won't get overloaded again, I'm work on short stories at the same time.
Also, I think one other issue that interfered with my writing of this story were some changes to my writing process, and I also found myself playing around with a couple of writing programs.
Well, I'm back in the swing of things now.
Tonight, I set up my writing workspace in LSBxe and ported over my chapter summaries, scene summaries, and MS work. Tomorrow, I will actually add new text to the MS. To have the first draft done by my self imposed deadline, I'll need to write at least 486 words per day. I should be able to do that without issues. We'll see.
December 18, 2009
Actual Wordage!
Today, I actually got some writing done. 542 words. It was slow to start, but then the words seem to pile up on me out of nowhere. One moment, I was at 81 words, next 190, then 420 and before I knew it 542. That puts me ahead of my daily word count, so that makes me feel good. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
DECEMBER EXCERPT MONDAY: Vengeance in Bloom
Once a month, a bunch of authors get together and post excerpts from published books, contracted work or works in progress, and link to each other. You=2 0don’t have to be published to participate–just an writer with an excerpt you’d like to share. For more info on how to participate, head over to the Excerpt Monday site! or click on the banner above.
“Links to other Excerpt Monday writersN ote: I have not personally screened these excerpts. Please heed the ratings and be aware that the links may contain material that is not typical of my site.“How ya know she’s in here?” one of them said.
“B’cause I know.” The other replied. “Go check down there. See if there’s another way outta here.”
The one on the right walked off as told and the other, with the rifle, stayed in front of her stall. His feet shifted slightly then he took a step inside.
“Ain’t nothin’ back here, Will!” the other man hollered from the rear of the barn.
“Yeah, well, I know she’s in here somewhere.” he yelled back. He took two more steps inside the stall.
The other man walked into the stall and stood beside Will. “Why you standin’ in here?”
“Look here, Cody, we got two piles of hay. Which one do you think she’s in?”
Lily’s heart sank. She held her breath and prayed for the men to leave. She prayed for something to happen, anything to happen to draw their attention away.
“Oh, I see. How ‘bout the one on the right?” Cody answered. Amusement laced his voice.
“Let’s take a look-see.” Will agreed.
Lily could see him raise the barrel of his rifle and fire. She summoned everything inside of herself not to jump.
“Don’t look like she’s in there, huh?” Will said. “Guess she’s in the other one.” He cocked his rifle.
Lily sprang up from the pile of hay with her hands raised. “Okay, oksy, please, don’t shoot!” she pleaded. Her ankle throbbed as she limped towards them.
Will stared with his rifled aimed at her from the hip and Cody grabbed her by the shirt collar. “Get over here!” he yanked her towards him. She almost fell into his chest, but he held her up by her shirt. “Look at me!” he snapped. She winced at the pain in her ankle and looked up at him. He stared into her eyes for a second then glanced back at Will. “You ever seen a redskin with eyes like these?”
The color of her eyes was the only way in which she resembled her mother, and it was the one feature, despite the foreign nature of all her others, that her mother grew to despise most. When Will approached, she turned away, but he grabbed her by the chin, yanked her head up towards him, and peered down into her eyes. He held her gaze for a moment and his grip was like a vice. She thought he would crush her jaw before he was through.
As she got older, the men who frequented her mother’s bed began to pay more and more attention to her strange little Indian daughter with light eyes. They called her words like exotic, and she became an enticing morsel for their secret appetites. Even though her mother got paid, regardless of which one of them the men took to bed, Lily was punished for her “attention mongering” everyday; But not in ways that would show on her flesh, her mother was very clever, and she had a mean streak in her that Lily figured could rival the devil himself.
“What color are they, gray?” Cody asked.
Will broke his gaze with her and nodded. “Yeah, somethin’ like that. Can’t tell too much in this light. It don’t matter much no way, her eyes’ll be closed when she’s hangin.” He finally released her with a shove, and she would have fallen back if Cody did not have such a tight grip on her shirt. “Let’s take her back to town.” Will turned and headed out of the stall.
“Hangin’?” Lily shook her head. “But…but I didn’t do anythin’” she pleaded. “It wasn’t me; it was them, the others!”
“That don’t matter now!” Cody yanked on her shirt again. “Should’a watched who you rode with.”
“Besides,” Will stopped just outside the stall. “I don’t think we need much any reason to hang a redskin.” he smirked back at her, then walked off.
“Come on, now, get a move on!” Cody pushed her forward. A streak of pain shot from her ankle up to her kneecap and she crumbled to the dirt floor on her hands and knees. “Come on, come on, get up!” he pulled up on the back of her shirt. Once she was on her feet, he shoved her again and pushed her out of the stable.
She steadied herself before she fell this time and limped toward the entrance of the barn where Will waited by the horses. She had to get away, but she could not run on her ankle.
“Should we go meet up with the others?” Cody followed close behind her.
“Nah, they can handle the rest.” Will shook his head. “We’ll take her straight back to town.”
When Lily stepped out of the barn, she could still see the smoke and fire from the burning house. The orange blaze radiated against the black of night, and gunfire raged in the distance. Some of the others were still alive. She stood next to Will and watched him strap his rifle to his saddle. She had to take one of their horses. It was her only chance.
Cody grabbed a fist full of her shirt collar. “She goin’ on mine or yours?”
Her eyes darted to the open grass fields.
Will shrugged, “Don’t make no difference to me—“
Lily lashed out and rammed her left elbow up into Cody’s jaw with all her might. He stumbled back and fell with a grunt. The horses stirred. Will turned towards her. She kicked him in the groin, and he dropped to his knees. She climbed his horse and “Yahh!” kicked her heals into the horse’s sides. It took off at a full gallop through the field of grass. She leaned forward, and her raven hair was like a black streak as it whipped in the wind behind her. Only the horse’s thunderous gallop rivaled her pounding heart.
A shot rang out and she jerked as it whizzed pass her head. She leaned in low beside the horse’s neck. She could not see where she was going, but it did not matter. Another shot chased her down and bit into her left shoulder. The force of it knocked her out of the saddle and she crashed to the ground. Her head thudded to the dirt and she laid there breathless for a moment. The horse thundered away into the night and left her to fend for herself.
She sat up in the dirt and rubbed the back of her throbbing skull. The way things were going, she would be surprised if she made it through the night. A rumble of boot steps sped towards her. She looked up. Will and Cody barreled down on her with fire in their eyes. She curled into a ball and let their kicks and stomps rain down on her arms and legs. Their blows were like hammers to her body. She tried to get to her feet and run, but one of them grabbed her by the hair, wrenched her head back from her shielding arms, and punched her in the face. There was a flash of white light and she hit the dirt again.
She flailed in the muddy waters of unconsciousness and fought hard to stay afloat. Something welled up inside her, dark and angry. She felt it before, as child, and it frightened her. It hated everything. It hated everyone. It wanted to be free, but she was afraid to let it go. She was afraid of what it would make her do.
She swam back to consciousness, back to the world, back to the beating Will and Cody rained on her. With every strike of their fists, the darkness within her wanted out. It surged up from her gut. A ball of raw emotion welled up in her throat and almost choked her. She had to release it; she had to let it out.
She became a torrent of fury and lashed out blindly with a wail of madness. She kicked, punched, clawed, and bit her attackers. She cursed them as her fists and feet pounded into their bodies. She bit down on someone’s hand. She tried to bite out a chunk and could taste blood in her mouth. Her victim hollered and snatched their hand free of her teeth. They forced her down on her back, straddled her, and held her arms down. All the screaming, hitting, and grabbing reminded her of the first time her mother let one of those men rape her while she sat and watched.
Lily opened her eyes and Will was on top of her with clenched teeth. He struggled to hold her arms down as she fought against him, then Cody’s boot smashed into her face. In a flash of light, her vision blurred. The cursing and yelling faded to silence and everything went black.
The muddy waters of unconsciousness consumed her.
NOVEMBER EXCERPT MONDAY: Vengeance in Bloom
Once a month, a bunch of authors get together and post excerpts from published books, contracted work or works in progress, and link to each other. You=2 0don’t have to be published to participate–just an writer with an excerpt you’d like to share. For more info on how to participate, head over to the Excerpt Monday site! or click on the banner above.
Wood and glass shattered around her as she crashed through the window frame. Landing on the short slanted roof just below, she tried grabbing hold of something, a shingle, anything to stop from falling. Her momentum was too great. She tumbled down the slope of the roof. Before she even realized that she fell off the edge, she slammed to the ground in a breathless heap on her back.
The pounding in her head dulled all other sounds. Her vision was blurred and she gasped for air. Her throat and nose still burned from the smoke, but after her fourth agonizing try, air flowed into her lungs. She coughed, shook her head, and blinked until her vision cleared. The stars in the night sky twinkled down at her in silence.
The world rushed back and engulfed her.
Gunfire exploded around her. Horses neighed high-pitched and excited. The raging fire roared and the heat was suffocating. She turned over on her stomach and grunted at the pain in her spine. While she pushed herself up on her hands and knees, the burning house began to collapse before her. Wooden support beams moaned under the rolling flames. The inferno lit the sky.
She heard voices of men, angry and yelling, calling to each other to come this way and look that way. The ground vibrated beneath her and she could feel the rumble of horse hooves in palms of her hands through the dirt. She stumbled to her feet and ran into the surrounding trees as fast as her bare feet could take her. She ducked, dodged, and swatted at the tree branches and thorny bushes that tugged at her clothes and scratched bleeding welts into her skin.
Those men had to be from the nearby town. She just knew it. Hiding in that abandoned house was a bad idea and she knew it was; but Payton did not care. Payton feared no one and did whatever he wanted. Nobody corrected him, especially not her, unless she wanted to nurse another broken arm.
As she fought her way through the woods, a thought nearly stopped her in her tracks, but she refused to stop. What happened to the others? Did they all make it out the house? Did they burn in the fire or did the townsmen get them outside? She prayed for either to be true, if not both. She was scared to indulge the idea of being free of them. It was yet another prayer that God failed to answer. She realized that this was the farthest she had ever been from anyone of them in a long time, too long.
Soon, the woods gave way to an open field of grass occupied by a single dark structure. She stumbled to a halt and panted. It loomed over her in the moonlight and its shadow stretched out to bathe her in darkness. It looked like a barn. She ran to it and pulled on the large doors, but thick rusted chains barred her entry. She clawed her way between the heavy doors and rattled the rusted chains that held them closed. With gritted teeth, she squeezed most of her body through but the doors slammed on her right ankle. She collapsed to the dirt floor and bit her bottom lip to muffle her screams. She laid there on her stomach, balled her fists, and took in the pain.
Moments later, the pain seemed to melt away and her ankle grew numb. She pushed herself up on her elbows and took a deep breath. Her heart pounded and her lungs burned, but she dared not stop. She turned over on her back and nudged the doors apart with her free leg just wide enough to yank her ankle loose. She touched it and could feel that it had begun to swell.
A faint rumble rose up in the night, and she scrambled to her feet. A bolt of pain shot up her right leg and she stumbled forward. Before she dropped, she caught herself on the barn doors in a clatter of wood and chains. “Shit!” she hissed, and her ankle throbbed hot and angry.
She hopped on her good leg and turned around to lean back against the door. Her raven hair clung to her sweaty face and she wiped it out of her eyes. Moonlight shone through partially boarded up windows and hinted at the empty stalls of splintered wood that lined both walls of the barn. A patchy blanket of musty hay covered the dirt floor, and she caught the silhouette of a ladder, which she could use to hide in the hayloft if she moved fast enough.
The rumble grew louder and vibrated through the ground under her feet, and then it abruptly stopped just outside the barn. Horses neighed and snorted in a commotion just beyond the doors. In an explosion, a hole ripped through the door beside her head. She fell to the side into a mound of hay, and a cold tingling sensation rippled through her body. She shivered. A high-pitched ringing filled her head. Her left ear burned. It stung when she touched it. There was a deep gouge in the curve of her ear and her fingers were slick with blood. Her jaw dropped. If it had been only an inch more to the right, she would have been dead.
“Come on out, girl!” a man yelled outside the door.
She pushed herself up to her feet and hobbled over the ladder half-buried in hay. She grabbed the rungs and heaved with all her might. It scrapped across the ground a half inch if it even moved at all; it might as well have been rooted to the ground.
“Don’t make us chase you no further, hear?” A second voice called. The barn doors shook violently. "We know y'er in there!"
Lily hopped down the line of dilapidated stables, and the pain in her ankle knifed its way up to her knee, then to her upper thigh. Finally, she collapsed into a stable on her right where piles of hay took up its left and right corners.
There was a thunderous boom of a shotgun blast, and the chains on the barn doors rattled. She clawed her way over to the pile of hay to the left and burrowed into it head first. She dug her way to the corner of the stable and covered herself completely in hay. She left a little hole just big enough to see through, and took a deep breath.
She heard the barn doors slowly creak open, and pale moonlight bled inside the stables. Concealed by the hay, she curled into a tight ball, and waited in silence. Footsteps stalked through the barn and two men came to stand in front of her stall. She could not see their faces, but the one on the left carried a rifle and the other gripped a shotgun.
Wood and glass shattered around her as she crashed through the window frame. Landing on the short slanted roof just below, she tried grabbing hold of something, a shingle, anything to stop from falling. Her momentum was too great. She tumbled down the slope of the roof. Before she even realized that she fell off the edge, she slammed to the ground in a breathless heap on her back.
The pounding in her head dulled all other sounds. Her vision was blurred and she gasped for air. Her throat and nose still burned from the smoke, but after her fourth agonizing try, air flowed into her lungs. She coughed, shook her head, and blinked until her vision cleared. The stars in the night sky twinkled down at her in silence.
The world rushed back and engulfed her.
Gunfire exploded around her. Horses neighed high-pitched and excited. The raging fire roared and the heat was suffocating. She turned over on her stomach and grunted at the pain in her spine. While she pushed herself up on her hands and knees, the burning house began to collapse before her. Wooden support beams moaned under the rolling flames. The inferno lit the sky.
She heard voices of men, angry and yelling, calling to each other to come this way and look that way. The ground vibrated beneath her and she could feel the rumble of horse hooves in palms of her hands through the dirt. She stumbled to her feet and ran into the surrounding trees as fast as her bare feet could take her. She ducked, dodged, and swatted at the tree branches and thorny bushes that tugged at her clothes and scratched bleeding welts into her skin.
Those men had to be from the nearby town. She just knew it. Hiding in that abandoned house was a bad idea and she knew it was; but Payton did not care. Payton feared no one and did whatever he wanted. Nobody corrected him, especially not her, unless she wanted to nurse another broken arm.
As she fought her way through the woods, a thought nearly stopped her in her tracks, but she refused to stop. What happened to the others? Did they all make it out the house? Did they burn in the fire or did the townsmen get them outside? She prayed for either to be true, if not both. She was scared to indulge the idea of being free of them. It was yet another prayer that God failed to answer. She realized that this was the farthest she had ever been from anyone of them in a long time, too long.
Soon, the woods gave way to an open field of grass occupied by a single dark structure. She stumbled to a halt and panted. It loomed over her in the moonlight and its shadow stretched out to bathe her in darkness. It looked like a barn. She ran to it and pulled on the large doors, but thick rusted chains barred her entry. She clawed her way between the heavy doors and rattled the rusted chains that held them closed. With gritted teeth, she squeezed most of her body through but the doors slammed on her right ankle. She collapsed to the dirt floor and bit her bottom lip to muffle her screams. She laid there on her stomach, balled her fists, and took in the pain.
Moments later, the pain seemed to melt away and her ankle grew numb. She pushed herself up on her elbows and took a deep breath. Her heart pounded and her lungs burned, but she dared not stop. She turned over on her back and nudged the doors apart with her free leg just wide enough to yank her ankle loose. She touched it and could feel that it had begun to swell.
A faint rumble rose up in the night, and she scrambled to her feet. A bolt of pain shot up her right leg and she stumbled forward. Before she dropped, she caught herself on the barn doors in a clatter of wood and chains. “Shit!” she hissed, and her ankle throbbed hot and angry.
She hopped on her good leg and turned around to lean back against the door. Her raven hair clung to her sweaty face and she wiped it out of her eyes. Moonlight shone through partially boarded up windows and hinted at the empty stalls of splintered wood that lined both walls of the barn. A patchy blanket of musty hay covered the dirt floor, and she caught the silhouette of a ladder, which she could use to hide in the hayloft if she moved fast enough.
The rumble grew louder and vibrated through the ground under her feet, and then it abruptly stopped just outside the barn. Horses neighed and snorted in a commotion just beyond the doors. In an explosion, a hole ripped through the door beside her head. She fell to the side into a mound of hay, and a cold tingling sensation rippled through her body. She shivered. A high-pitched ringing filled her head. Her left ear burned. It stung when she touched it. There was a deep gouge in the curve of her ear and her fingers were slick with blood. Her jaw dropped. If it had been only an inch more to the right, she would have been dead.
“Come on out, girl!” a man yelled outside the door.
She pushed herself up to her feet and hobbled over the ladder half-buried in hay. She grabbed the rungs and heaved with all her might. It scrapped across the ground a half inch if it even moved at all; it might as well have been rooted to the ground.
“Don’t make us chase you no further, hear?” A second voice called. The barn doors shook violently. "We know y'er in there!"
Lily hopped down the line of dilapidated stables, and the pain in her ankle knifed its way up to her knee, then to her upper thigh. Finally, she collapsed into a stable on her right where piles of hay took up its left and right corners.
There was a thunderous boom of a shotgun blast, and the chains on the barn doors rattled. She clawed her way over to the pile of hay to the left and burrowed into it head first. She dug her way to the corner of the stable and covered herself completely in hay. She left a little hole just big enough to see through, and took a deep breath.
She heard the barn doors slowly creak open, and pale moonlight bled inside the stables. Concealed by the hay, she curled into a tight ball, and waited in silence. Footsteps stalked through the barn and two men came to stand in front of her stall. She could not see their faces, but the one on the left carried a rifle and the other gripped a shotgun.
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Playing on the Screen
Ever watched something on TV, or in the theater and stared horrified at the crap on screen and said to yourself, "My God, man! Who the hell gave this garbage the green light?" Well, I've often blurted that out aloud more times than I can count, and mainly directed at the SyFy Channel, lol.
When I first started writing seriously, once it passed the point of just being a hobby, I wrote screenplays, but then, I was quickly pulled away by the intimacy of novel writing. Recently, I've gotten the bug to write screenplays again, especially to convert some of my short stories into screenplays.
So why not do both?
Along with my novel, Vengeance in Bloom, I'll be working on the script for a Science Fiction piece. It's kind of loose right now, still working on the entire story concept, sub plots and all, but like any story the charm and individuality will come out in the details. I've come up with at least seven characters, a couple bit's of technology, and a ship. The opening action sequence is solid in my head, and three other dramatic scenes are coming together.
I was trying to decide between two free script writing programs to use: good ol' ScriptMaker, which I've used a million times, or Celtx which I've just run into. Celtx has my vote so far, it comes with a slew of features for pre-production work for film, theater, radio, audio visual, and comic books like built in story boarding tools. So right now, ScriptMaker will be my faithful backup program in case something goes wrong with Celtx.
My goal in all of this? To submit my script somewhere once it's complete. Who knows, maybe someone will watch it on screen one day and wonder how the hell it was given the green light, ha, ha!
The Ever Evolving Writing Process
I've added anothersection to my growing writing process, but it's one that needs to be in placeanyway: The Synopsis.When submitting your work, a synopsis is needed, so I might as well get into thehabit of writing one, right?
I've read that someauthors write a synopsis for their book before they ever put anything down forthe manuscript. At the moment, thatdoesn't sound appealing to me. I guessit's just the concept of writing a clear and concise synopsis for a story whenI'm not absolutely sure exactly what's going to happen in it.
At the moment, whileI'm still learning how to write an effective Synopsis, it will most likely be the verylast thing I write in a project, at least until I can get my head wrapped around it.
THE STEPS IN MY WRITING PROCESS
1-Story Concept
2-Chapter Summaries (world map)
3-CharacterDevelopment
4-OrganizationDevelopment
5-World Development
6-LocationDevelopment
7-ScienceDevelopment
8-TechnologyDevelopment
9-Scene Summaries (road map)
10-The Manuscript (the journey)
11-The Synopsis