Wednesday, July 10, 2013

What's Up Wednesday: Ready? Set. WRITE! #4

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme created by Jamie Morrow and Erin Funk. A great way for readers and writers to keep up with each other. Thanks to tweets from Elodie Nowodazkij and Katy Upperman, I've joined in the fun of both What's Up Wednesday and Ready! Set. Write! (created by Alison Miller).



What I'm Reading

I FINALLY finished Raven Boys. And now I'm ready for the second in the series. But for now I'm listening to Ender's Game in preparation for the movie in November. I also finished Keeping the Moon and have started What Happened to Goodbye.
What I'm Writing


I have hit 2K on When the Wind Blow's! I got behind on my word count this week thanks to a crazy week at work, a holiday and family in town. But I've hit a good stride the past two days and hope to keep it up. I'm aiming for 800-1000 words a day to catch up on camp nano. I've enjoyed reading clips of what everyone else is writing so I thought I'd add one here. Please excuse the mess...this is UNEDITED! I'm trying the whole write without editing thing. It's hard!!!

“Be right out,” I yell. I towel off and wrap myself in my old blue cotton robe that has been hanging on the back of the door since I left. I take a big whiff. Mama must have washed it within the past few days. It smells like detergent and sunshine.
“Bout time,” Shawn says as he walks into the bathroom. “Oh, and Mom’s looking for you. Someone’s in truuu-ble.” He snickers before shutting the door. At eighteen, he’s a year older than me but still acts eight.
“Whatever,” I mutter and go to my room. I run a comb through my hair, pull it into another pony tail—my signature hairstyle for the past year—and throw on a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top. With a deep sigh I go downstairs and look for Mama. “Mama?”
“In here, dear.” I follow her voice to the kitchen.
“What’s for breakfast,” I ask, hoping up on a bar stool and popping one of the freshly washed blueberries in my mouth.
“Blueberry pancakes,” she says, swatting my hand away as I reach for another berry. “And what did I tell you about those?” She nods behind me.
I follow her gaze and see my shoes by the back door. “Oh, sorry. I kicked them off after my workout. I didn’t want to wake you by wearing them upstairs.”
“You’re lucky I didn’t twist an ankle when I tripped over them. And you forgot to unplug the elliptical. You’ve got to be more careful.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I say as I steal another blueberry once her back is to me. I turn around and pop it in my mouth with a smile. She bought my story. Barely twenty-four hours back and I already feel like a stranger in my own home.


What Inspires Me Right Now

My friends!!! Setting up writing dates at night (though long distance) with Ginger and Jessica is the best way for me to get motivated.

What Else I've Been Up To

Family, fun and fireworks! That was last week. This week has been work and little league soccer sign ups. I'm debating on coaching U6 soccer. I might be slightly insane.

3 comments:

Katy Upperman said...

I listened to ENDER'S GAME last summer... What a fantastic story. Check to see if your version of the audio book has talk with Orson Scott Card at the end. He chats about the story and his experiences writing it, and gives some really awesome advice on writing -- definitely worth listening to!

Love your excerpt, Mandie. It gave me a real feel for your MC and her family. :-)

Erin L. Funk said...

I'm hoping to read Ender's Game with my son before the movie comes out. I've read it, but the rule in our house is book first and then the movie, so I need to make sure he reads it too. So looking forward to seeing it in the theatre!

Thanks for sharing this excerpt of your WIP. I'm very intrigued as to why she feels like a stranger in her own home. Nice job! Happy writing this week!

Jaime Morrow said...

I love the snippet you shared, especially that last line or two. Makes me want to know what she lied about and why she feels like a stranger in her own home.

I hope you enjoy ENDER'S GAME. It's one of my favourites! :)

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