Rendezvous with Destiny #WeWriWa snippet for 7/13/14

Howdy!

It’s time for the mid-summer edition of the WeWriWablog hop, and event that brings together an eclectic band of writers together as they share snippets of their writing. If you’ve never participated before, you should. It’s a good, supportive group and you’ll be amazed by the wide variety of genres represented.

The rules are simple;

•  Sign up on the Linky list
• Take anything you’ve written-it can be something you’ve published, something you’re in the middle of editing, or even a roughdraft.
•  Pick eight sentences and post them, as well as a link leading back to the WeWriWa site on your blog.
• Hop around the internet and read the samples fellow participants have posted.

It’s the friendliest writing groups I’ve ever encountered.

My contribution comes from the young adult WIP I’m floundering my way through. The story is set just in the United States, just a few weeks prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It’s a friends-to-lovers story about an all-American farm boy and his best friend, who just happens to be an German immigrant. This snippet picks up where the last one I posted left off.

Speaking of my last post. I can’t thank everyone enough for your wonderful advice about how to improve my writing and your encouragement. You’re the best!

Without further ado!

He helped Rosika into the cab and snapped his fingers; Becca, responded instantly, leaping over the side of the truck in a single, effortless bound, and settling in the truck bed. David glanced over the side. In addition to his dog, the back of his truck contained a large hamper.

            David inhaled, savoring the mouthwatering aroma of like green bean casserole, gingersnaps, and pork roast.

            He glanced at Rosika, “it smells great.”

“I noticed you've failed to bring anything, you do realize that the whole point of a potluck is everyone bringing food to share.”

            David’s mouth curved into a charming grin. “Humph, guess you’re not as clever as you think. It just so happens, I’m bringing the two most important things.”

Sorry, I had to rely on a little creative punctuation to make the snippet the right length, Also, the dog, Becca, is a brand spanking new addition to the story. She insisted on being included, and I’ve learned to never argue with a dog!

#WeWriWa Post Sunday May 18 2014-Rendezvous with Destiny Part 1

Wow, has it ever been a crazy spring! I don’t know about you, but I could really use about 6 more hours in each day … or maybe just some better time management methods. Anyway, after several weeks away, I’m finally back in the WeWriWa loop, this time with a brand new YA novella, Rendezvous with Destiny. For a few months now, I’ve had an idea for a pre-WWII story. I’ve had a couple of false starts, but hadn’t had much luck getting it down on paper. Finally, on Tuesday, I decided it was time to sit down and get serious about stringing words together, even though I only have the vaguest idea where it’s going.

So, without further ado, here are the first 8 sentences. I will warn you, this is a very rough first draft so please forgive any mistakes and feel free to make suggestions.

October 18, 1941

The sight of the pretty blonde girl sitting cross-legged on the hood of his battered Ford truck, a novel balanced on her ankles made David grin and jump off the porch, landing on a small pile of fallen leaves which crunched and turned to dust beneath his weight. He felt his mom’s eyes burning a metaphorical hole in the back of his neck while she watched him lope across the yard, but he didn’t care.

“Hey, Rosika,” he yelled. He lifted his arm and drew back his arm, taking just a moment to pick a target point before releasing the football he held. It arced in a perfect spiral, closing the distance between him and Rosika, missing her nose by mere inches before dropping out of sight on the far side of his truck.

David sensed, more than heard, Rosika’s irritated sigh.

“Are you ready to go?”

“I was ready to go ten minutes ago,” Rosika said, “which is the time we agreed to meet.”

Don’t forget to check out the great writers who have also decided to participate in this week’s WeWriWa and Snippet Sunday blog hop. There’s something for everyone.

Pig Kibble 2/23/14 WeWriWa Snippet

Welcome back for another week of great writing snippets! It's a marvelous experience.

My original plan was to post 8 sentences that follow my last WeWriWa post, which was selected from my YA WIP, Dwarfed, but I stumbled across
this particular snippet while editing the other day and it tickled my sense of humor, so I decided to post it instead. Some creative editing was required before it fit the 8 sentence limit.

Don't forget to visit the blogs of my fellow Sunday snippet and Weekend Writing Warriors participants as they post collections of sentences from their works in progresses and completed manuscripts. Every genre is represented.

If I get in the stall with the piglets, I won’t be trapped, but I also won’t be able to get out very quickly. Luke’s tall enough to jump over the side,  I’m not. I’ll be pig kibble.

I stare at the sow: her floppy ears jiggle and bounce as she leans into Luke’s touch. I swear she’s smiling.

“She's an old pro at this,” Luke says. “She knows humans aren't going to hurt her babies.”

“Will you keep scratching her?” Maybe, if his fingers keep her distracted, she won’t develop an impulsive hatred of redheaded teenagers. 

Funny, it looks like such a short little snippet, but I had to use some creative editing in order to meet the requirements and I still went one sentence over.

A farm-themed snippet from DWARFED 2/2/14 #WeWriWa

The Weekend Writing Warrior and Facebook's Snippet Sunday are blog hops that provide authors with a fantastic opportunity to support one another, promote their books, and just have a good time. Each week authors post 8 sentences from WIPS or published works. It's lots of fun.

This week I pulled a 9 (sorry moderators) snippet from my contemporary manuscript, DWARFED. This collection of sentences picks up where last week's left off. It's a scene that could only take place on farm.

DWARFED is a YA story about Grace, a fictional teen with achondroplasia dwarfisam who currently finds life a little tougher than she ever dreamt possible. 

When you're done here, take some time and read some of the great snippets that other participants have published. You'll be glad you did!

            Luke sits in a farrowing crate, his back braced against the wall, his legs stretched out in front of him. There’s a steel bucket half full of strange-looking, small, pink blobbish things and a plastic container full of hypodermic syringes wedged against his hip, another syringe is stuck between his  teeth.

            His left hand snakes out, snagging one of the piglets. He ignores its ear splitting squeal and pins it between his elbow and rib cage. With one hand he swaps a patch of skin with what looks like a cotton swapped that has been stained with some sort of reddish brown substance, I’m guessing iodine. His right hand pulls the syringe out of his mouth, and in one smooth movement, pokes the needle into the piglet and depresses the plunger. He tosses the now empty syringe into the plastic box and picks up a giant crayon and draws a slash mark between the piglet’s shoulder blades.

            The entire process takes about two seconds.

            “What are you doing,” I ask again, raising my voice.

Thanks for reading my snippet!