In addition to having a baby, I was working on my first novel last month. While I didn't get my draft finished (I blame the baby for coming sooner than instructed, but really, I lost the pace a week or so before I went into labor), I did get more than a dozen scenes written out. I thought I'd share one of my favorites with you.
This evening takes place early in the story. The two main characters, Rosie and Stone, got together a couple of weeks previously and they have just begun to include one another in their regular activities.
Thursday Trivia Night was the busiest evening of the week at Smokey’s Pub, or “The Off-Campus” as it had been dubbed many years ago by the local student population. Thursdays at the Off-Campus were a tradition for Stone. He’d started meeting a few of the guys from his dorm for trivia and beer when he was a freshman and returned every fall when he got back to school. He greeted several other regulars as he led Rosie through the crowd to the bar in the back.
“Hey, Fred,” Stone waved at the usual Thursday-night bartender.
“Hiya, Stone,” Fred smiled, showing off a his gold front tooth, as he popped the cap off a bottle of Stone’s favorite beer. “Wasn’t sure we’d be seeing you here anymore. You graduated from the Big House this last week, didn’t you?”
“Sure did. I’m still around for now, though,” Stone drew Rosie closer to the bar. “I made a new friend. This is Rosie.”
Fred stuck out a hand, “Good to meet you, Rosie. I’m Fred, best barman south of the Mason-Dixon line.”
Rosie smiled and shook his hand, “It’s nice to meet you.”
“What can I get for you?”
“Could I get a Coke with a lime, please?”
“No challenge,” Fred grumbled with a wink to Rosie as he scooped up ice into a wide-mouth glass, filled it with soda, and squeezed in a lime wedge. He added a red straw and passed the drink across the bar. Stone reached for his wallet, but Fred shook his head.
“Naw,” he said. “Those are on the house. Graduation gift for you.”
“Thank you,” Stone and Rosie spoke together.
“Thanks, a lot, Fred,” Stone added.
“Good luck in the game,” Fred called as they stepped away to look for a free table.
Settling in at a tiny table for two near the corner stage, Rosie asked Stone about the trivia game.
“It doesn’t start until 8:00,” Stone explained, “But if you’re not here by 6:30, you won’t get a table.” He gestured at the crowd already filling most of the tables in the pub, then pointed to the small stage, “The emcee reads the questions from here, then each team has two minutes to write down their answer and pass it up. Whoever has the most answers right at the end of the night wins.”
“What’s the prize?”
“Free pitcher of your choice.”
“I think I’m beginning to understand the popularity of Trivia Night,” Rosie said, dryly. “How often has your team gotten the pitcher of beer?”
Stone smiled, “Once or twice. Some of these players are pretty hard core, though. They’ve been part of the same teams, every week, for years.” Stone pointed out a few of the long-standing competitors, explaining that each team member specialized in one or two categories so their group always had an expert, no matter what sort of question came up.
Rosie raised her eyebrows. She shook her head, “I don’t think you should count on any more free beer tonight. I don’t know if I can compete with that kind of advanced strategy.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Stone told her. “I don’t really come for the prize. Trivia Night is what’s kept me from holing up in my room too much over the years and becoming anti-social.”
“I don’t believe it,” Rosie said. “I can’t see you not playing to win.”
“I didn’t say I don’t play to win,” Stone replied. “I just know when I’m outmatched.”
Rosie nodded and took a sip of her Coke, “That’s a good thing to know.”
“How about you?” Stone leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.
“What about me?”
“Do you know when you’ve met your match?”
Rosie stirred the straw in her drink. She studied Stone’s blue eyes, dark in the dim light of the pub.
“Yeah,” She said slowly. “I think I do.”
Copyright ©2009 by Amy James Gray. No part of this text may be copied or reprinted without the prior consent of the author.
Showing posts with label NaNoWriMo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NaNoWriMo. Show all posts
Monday, December 28
Sunday, November 1
And ... I'm Off!
With the official start of NaNoWriMo today, and the impending birth of the newest little Gray, I have decided to take a blogging break for a while. If I have the energy, I may be back now and again through the rest of the month, but maybe not.
I've scheduled some of my favorites to run while I'm gone, just to keep you interested. If you'd like to follow my novel-writing progress, you can check out my author page on the NaNoWriMo site.
Until next time ....
I've scheduled some of my favorites to run while I'm gone, just to keep you interested. If you'd like to follow my novel-writing progress, you can check out my author page on the NaNoWriMo site.
Until next time ....
Wednesday, October 7
Thanksgiving Dinner
I read somewhere recently that no one who says he wants to write really wants "to write." Instead he wants "to have written." I'm not sure I entirely agree with that--I do actually like to write. By the same token, I can see how it does get frustrating to write. Sometimes, things just don't flow.
Lately, as I've mentioned, I've been preparing to write a novel for NaNoWriMo. So far I have a plot and a bunch of characters whom I am trying to get to know better. It's a little odd to me, never really having gotten this deep into noveling, that the characters are creatures of my imagination, yet they're starting to have ideas of their own.
In order to get a better feel for writing the main characters, I decided to interview them. I wrote out some questions and I'm having my characters answer in their own voices. It's a really interesting experience. I started with the main male character, since I figured he'd be the hardest for me to get a handle on (never having been male myself). I definitely have seen a difference in the way I would explain his answers than the way he needs to do so. I keep running things past Adam to make sure my character has a strong enough masculine identity. I've started writing a few of his answers and had to stop, go back, and begin again because I was using my own voice and making him sound too prissy.
As for the dinner aspect (from the post title), I made a discovery the other day. Writing a novel is like making Thanksgiving dinner. To make a real, traditional meal from scratch, you need to start at least a couple days before the holiday, spend hours chopping and stirring and baking, getting everything just right. Then the meal is served and your houseful of guests eats everything up in 45 minutes. To make a good book, so you need to choose just the right ingredients, spend days (or weeks or months) letting everything simmer together, then when it's finally done, your readers gobble it up in a few hours.
Lately, as I've mentioned, I've been preparing to write a novel for NaNoWriMo. So far I have a plot and a bunch of characters whom I am trying to get to know better. It's a little odd to me, never really having gotten this deep into noveling, that the characters are creatures of my imagination, yet they're starting to have ideas of their own.
In order to get a better feel for writing the main characters, I decided to interview them. I wrote out some questions and I'm having my characters answer in their own voices. It's a really interesting experience. I started with the main male character, since I figured he'd be the hardest for me to get a handle on (never having been male myself). I definitely have seen a difference in the way I would explain his answers than the way he needs to do so. I keep running things past Adam to make sure my character has a strong enough masculine identity. I've started writing a few of his answers and had to stop, go back, and begin again because I was using my own voice and making him sound too prissy.
As for the dinner aspect (from the post title), I made a discovery the other day. Writing a novel is like making Thanksgiving dinner. To make a real, traditional meal from scratch, you need to start at least a couple days before the holiday, spend hours chopping and stirring and baking, getting everything just right. Then the meal is served and your houseful of guests eats everything up in 45 minutes. To make a good book, so you need to choose just the right ingredients, spend days (or weeks or months) letting everything simmer together, then when it's finally done, your readers gobble it up in a few hours.
Monday, September 28
Notes from Far-Flung Corners of the World
Well, not quite. They're all from right here. But, hey, depending on where you live, Sioux Falls may well be far flung. I haven't had a "real" post for quite a while ... so instead of offering one now, here's some highlights from the past few weeks.
I'm interviewing characters for my book. I'm trying to help them ... or, maybe they're trying to help me ... find their voices. So far, I feel like I have a pretty good start on the male lead (is that what you call them in books?--I'm used to theater talk), but I have at least a dozen more interviews to finish before NaNoWriMo kicks off November 1st.
We found a great deal on a new digital camera, so we are now officially back in business, picture-wise. Unfortunately, the USB port on my computer is buried way in the back, under the desk and I am too ungainly at the moment to attempt such acrobatics. I keep forgetting to ask Adam to plug it in and I don't trust Rosi with it. You'll all have to wait a few more days (weeks? months?? I hope not!) for new pix.
Did you know you only have 88 crafting days left before Christmas? I've completed 3 gifts, started 2 more, and only have another 19 to do after that. Hmmm ... some of you may not be getting your gifts until Valentine's Day. Or maybe Easter.
Last night I got a call from Adam as he was on his way home. He asked me to listen to a noise the car was making as he turned the steering wheel. It didn't sound good, but I suggested he try to make it home (he was only about half a mile away) and we could take a look at it once he got here. Five minutes later he called back to say the car now wasn't steering at all. He called to have it towed to the garage and walked home. This morning we got the estimate for repairs. It's twice as much as we were hoping, but less than half what we were afraid it might be. Thankfully, we'll only be carless for a day or so. Adam was able to get a ride in to work this morning and he's off for the rest of the week, so, all things considered, now is as good a time as any for the car to break down.
Tomorrow my in-laws arrive. This is the first time they've been able to visit since we moved here (almost a year ago, now). We've been trying to make a list of stuff we'd like to do together, but keeping it low-key so as not to exhaust everybody and their pocketbooks. I may or may not be up for blogging while they're here, but I'll try to take some pictures of our adventures to post later.
I'm interviewing characters for my book. I'm trying to help them ... or, maybe they're trying to help me ... find their voices. So far, I feel like I have a pretty good start on the male lead (is that what you call them in books?--I'm used to theater talk), but I have at least a dozen more interviews to finish before NaNoWriMo kicks off November 1st.
We found a great deal on a new digital camera, so we are now officially back in business, picture-wise. Unfortunately, the USB port on my computer is buried way in the back, under the desk and I am too ungainly at the moment to attempt such acrobatics. I keep forgetting to ask Adam to plug it in and I don't trust Rosi with it. You'll all have to wait a few more days (weeks? months?? I hope not!) for new pix.
Did you know you only have 88 crafting days left before Christmas? I've completed 3 gifts, started 2 more, and only have another 19 to do after that. Hmmm ... some of you may not be getting your gifts until Valentine's Day. Or maybe Easter.
Last night I got a call from Adam as he was on his way home. He asked me to listen to a noise the car was making as he turned the steering wheel. It didn't sound good, but I suggested he try to make it home (he was only about half a mile away) and we could take a look at it once he got here. Five minutes later he called back to say the car now wasn't steering at all. He called to have it towed to the garage and walked home. This morning we got the estimate for repairs. It's twice as much as we were hoping, but less than half what we were afraid it might be. Thankfully, we'll only be carless for a day or so. Adam was able to get a ride in to work this morning and he's off for the rest of the week, so, all things considered, now is as good a time as any for the car to break down.
Tomorrow my in-laws arrive. This is the first time they've been able to visit since we moved here (almost a year ago, now). We've been trying to make a list of stuff we'd like to do together, but keeping it low-key so as not to exhaust everybody and their pocketbooks. I may or may not be up for blogging while they're here, but I'll try to take some pictures of our adventures to post later.
Friday, September 18
Insomnia
Things to do in the middle of the night when you want to be asleep but can't seem to manage it:
Maybe I should try counting sheep.
- Catch up on your friends' latest posts
- Clear out your e-mail spam folder
- Create a spreadsheet for your sister
- Listen to your husband snore
- Mentally catalog all the Christmas crafting you've been planning
- Plot your book for NaNoWriMo
- Write utter nonsense on your blog in hopes of amusing your readers
Maybe I should try counting sheep.
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