Writing Projects Archives - Page 21 of 31

Five Sentence Fiction: “Education” [Fearless]

by Mayumi-H | Aug 27, 2012 | Fearless, Short Stories

The prompt for this week’s Five Sentence Fiction from Lillie McFerrin’s blog is BLUSH, and I’m using it for a little bit of a side story for Fearless.

In all my stories, I like to play around with gender roles in character relationships. Most of my characters follow pretty traditional roles, especially in my romances (there’s nothing quite like having a man who knows how to be a hero), but I also like to mix it up a bit: women can be bold hotheads; men can be tender-hearted romantics.

One interaction I always enjoy is the mentor/mentee relationship, no matter who plays which role…though my women tend to be the more cultured gender:

“Education”

This rosé was making him a bit dizzy (he was used to the clean simplicity of an ale), yet, she was still talking, perfectly normally, as though they hadn’t cleared through the bottle over the last hour.

“In America,” she said, tilting her glass back and forth in opposition to her head, “they call this type a ‘blush.’”

He blinked over at her, slowly, as he swallowed back the last, then muttered, “Why’s that?”

She settled her stemware on the table, then raised her eyes to his, and traded her cool glass for the warm angle of his cheek. “Because that’s what it makes you do,” she said with a tickled giggle, as she pushed him down to the floor, the taste of her lips sweeter than any wine.

Ah. Nothing like letting affection ferment a bit with the bottom of a bottle…!

What gender roles do you like to observe – or disregard – in your stories?

What a Way [100-Word Story] [Fearless]

by Mayumi-H | Aug 22, 2012 | Fearless, Short Stories

Week 55 of the 100-Word Challenge for Grown-Ups (over at Julia’s Place) was a picture prompt of a ridiculous cat wearing a wig and glasses. Julia asked that we write a piece to go along with this picture (it doesn’t have to be 100 words). For me, I couldn’t get out of my head the ridiculousness of a greeting card like that…and how inappropriate it can sometimes be for a situation.

I’ve decided not to submit to this week’s 100 WCGU link list, because I’m not following the rules posted (my flash fiction doesn’t really go along with this picture at all). But I couldn’t let this sit on my hard drive unpublished, either. Hopefully, you don’t fault me for that.

“What a Way”

She twisted her ring, slowly. It stopped hurting, but the imprint remained, where he’d squeezed too hard with unloosed passion.

Such passion…! More than she’d bargained when she’d singled him out, on those quiet, twilit dunes. She’d thought him just a beautiful blond boy, a simple pleasure to pass the time. Who’d have guessed he’d be so…emotional? But those words, breathed longingly beside her ear:

“I love you.”

It had to end. He was too young. She was too…married.

Beside her, an advert caught her eye.

“Say it with a card.”

She sniffed. What a way to break his heart.

Ouch, Susanna. Just…ouch.

But, don’t let me depress you! Do go over to this week’s 100 WCGU site and check out some of the delightfully funny stories there!

Spot On [Fearless]

by Mayumi-H | Aug 20, 2012 | Fearless, From Hell (A Love Story)

The other day, I couldn’t get a scene to work. This happens on a lot of days, actually, but this particular one was just grinding away at me. It was so frustrating, I wanted to just throw my laptop across the room and give up, say, To Hell with it, and let the story wither in my archives, like so many others.

Then, I received this message:

…[H]ow you describe the struggles of the main characters dealing with overcoming there [sic] personal issues and the physical issues of someone who has been confined to a wheel chair…is spot on. I really appreciate and admire how you got the pain and issues that are both physical and mental correctly for both characters.

After reading that, I felt awesome.

It’s easy for me to write facts. It’s also easy, sometimes, for me to write dialogue. And characters, and plot. But emotion made true – that’s where I pour a lot of my energies. It’s what I enjoy about stories (the conflicts of personalities), and it’s one part of my writing I try to do well. For that, I dig deep, into my own experiences, doubts, thoughts, heartaches.

So, when a reader – even a beta – comes back to me and says, Damn, girl, you got that right, it makes me think maybe I can do this, maybe this story is worth sharing beyond digital clippings and drafts passed to pals. And I sat back down and cleared my head…and the scene worked.

There’s still a long road ahead of me (revisions, edits, queries), but I’ll always keep that feedback pinned close to my desk, for the next time someone makes me feel like my writing is shit.

“Spot on.” Hell, yeah!

What keeps you writing your story?

Getting to know you [Fearless]

by Mayumi-H | Aug 13, 2012 | Excerpts, Fearless, Persona 4 Fan Fiction, Process

As much as I enjoy delving into the heady depths of a good romance, one of my favorite parts of examining relationships is the dance of early affection between two characters. While not necessarily innocent (especially from a player’s point of view), it’s often full of a plain and refreshing simplicity:

They simply walked and talked: about the streets and shops, at first, but – as the steps wore on – about less random and more personal things. Such as the kinds of music they liked (she enjoyed an eclectic mix of dance hall, pop, and classical, while he favoured straight-up guitar rock, funk, and electronica), to what sorts of television programmes they preferred (she swooned over period masterpieces with the same affection he held for episodic science fiction, though they were both fans of detective dramas of any sort), to what foods they liked to eat (he was a lenient vegetarian, whereas she adored rare steak…but both of them found tandoori takeaway too scrumptious to ever pass up).

All along the way, Ross found himself becoming more and more curious about discovering what made pretty, perky, adorably sexy Amber Baelin tick, that he almost forgot how easily she could set his nerves on fire. Until they approached the heavy wooden door of the narrow two-storey row house she called home, that is, because it meant their time together was over.

I’ve occasionally spent a good deal of time with two would-be or could-be lovers breaking through the initial barriers of mutual ignorance. But, for this story, I felt the time would be better spent on the more pressing conflicts of self-doubt, past heartaches, and unexpected physical limitations. Still, it’s always fun to imagine how two characters can come together.

“Waltzing Together” by gnlogic

Someone might say that this is too much outright “telling” for a story. As for me, I like to think these smaller details are just icing on a bigger cake I’m trying to “show.”

How do you approach the blossoming of love in your stories? Or, do you think it’s just a bunch of rubbish, and bring on the bodycount?

My Dos

by Mayumi-H | Aug 11, 2012 | Persona 4 Fan Fiction, Process

I follow a lot of people on Twitter. Most of them, I follow for fun: they’re insightful, amusing, friendly folk. But some are on my “understanding the business of writing” list: agents, editors, writers, publishers. Some of these people offer the same insightful, amusing, friendly 140-character glimpses into their daily lives that the others do. But, lately, I’ve seen a trend of negativity in this latter crowd that makes me wonder if I’m right for this want-to-be-published storytelling game.

One person offered up a tweet that was basically, “Don’t send me your manuscript if…” Another said, “Don’t expect me to read your book if…” A third mentioned, “Don’t even think of querying me if…”

Many of these “don’ts” are valid, valuable points to know and understand…but I’ve gotten a bit fed up with seeing so many “don’ts” all over the place. As someone who’s chosen an art (storytelling) for a personal outlet, I’ve had to deal with a lot of naysaying and doubts already, and it does very little for one’s sense of self-worth to be told “Don’t” all the time.

So, I’ve decided to share in this space my list of “dos.” Hopefully, at least one of these will help you get through your slower days.

Do be engaged with your own story. Love it, to help it grow beyond those scratchings of loose plot outlines and vague character sketches.
Do respect your readers’ intelligence. The good ones want and deserve a story worth the time of picking up and reading.
Do finish your story, even if that first ending isn’t all you’d hoped and dreamed. Qualification and strength of your story will come from revision, but you can only get to the point of revision if you manage to finish the story first.
Do try your best. You will be more proud and pleased with your story if you know you’ve given it your all. Other people will see it, too!
Do listen to critique. You won’t be able to please everyone, of course, but any well-thought critique is worth considering.
Do remember that this is your story. Write it for you, first. If your goal is publishing and making millions, you may have to revise parts (or all) of it…but it should always remain your story at its core.

And, most importantly:

Do have fun!

By Thomas Tolkien (Flickr: Surfer girl (2 of 2)) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I had to link to this in honor of my surf mentor, Fiona. 🙂
Photo by Tom Tolkien.

“Your hero’s a jerk.” [Fearless]

by Mayumi-H | Jul 30, 2012 | Excerpts, Fearless, Process

A friend of mine asked to read my latest project, which happens to be Fearless. I don’t usually share my work with people I trust so early in the game, but I offered him the first two (draft) chapters, mostly just to shut him up.

It didn’t.

What I got back was an earful. He made some good points, but this had to be my favorite critique: The best friend is more likable than the hero. To quote: “Your hero’s a jerk.”

That one actually made me grin. Because yes, he is. But, that’s a big part of the story.

One of the things I love about my main characters is that they’re flawed. Some more than others, of course, but I try to help them all grow. That’s the beautiful thing about heroes and heroines. They’re like you and me (sometimes scarily so), but, over the course of the story, they push themselves to be better people. They don’t always get what they want, but they’re stronger men and women for the effort.

Which is why it’s so much fun to write them as jerks in the beginning:

Ross felt a grin creep to his face. Then he raised his free arm and called out, “Mornin’, Beth!”

Neville clicked his tongue, muttering, “Grow up.”

Ross ignored him, swinging his board up as he approached both fruit and filly. He bent his head, offering the Crispins’ youngest daughter a leering smile. “You look as scrumptious as those apples!” he told her.

Beth laughed and blushed bright red under her kerchief. “Thank you,” she said, her voice mostly squeal.

It took some effort for Ross to keep his smile in place; hopefully, that voice would one day mature as nicely as her tits had already done. Still, he wasn’t interested in her, just the apples, so he offered her a charming flare of his nostrils and asked, “Think you could let us have a taste?”

Photo by Brocken Inaglory

What do you like best about your main character(s)? Are they the ones who grow over the story, or do they spur the growth in others?

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