short story

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Elizabeth: Friday Story Time and Sprints

After Kay’s fun book cover post yesterday I spent more time than I’m willing to admit searching the internet for images for my own potential covers this afternoon.  Finding just the right image that will act as the perfect “invitation” for readers to pick up a book is even more challenging than I expected.

I’m feeling very creatively challenged right now.

Adding extra complexity to the process is figuring out a consistent style / theme to use for a multi-book series.   It’s almost enough to make me glad I don’t have a bunch of completed books ready and waiting for their covers.

Oh who am I kidding?  That sounds like a great position to be in.

Since that’s definitely not the case, and since I’ve finished the last of the ARCs pending in my reading queue, it seems like a good time to step away from the internet and get to work.  Before I go back to throwing obstacles in the way of Cassie & Nicolai’s happily-ever-after I think I’ll warm up my creativity with today’s story prompt.

Care to join me? Continue reading →

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Elizabeth: Friday Story Time and Sprints

Friday already?  How did that happen?  I seem to have lost a few days somewhere along the line; I could have sworn today was only Thursday.  I blame it on the warmer weather and all of the turmoil in the news recently.

I’m afraid I’ve wound up spending more time watching and talking about the news recently than working on my writing.  Fortunately, we’ve got a holiday coming up in the middle of next week, which means a few extra days off work and at home, which should be the perfect opportunity to get some words on the page.

I think I’ll get things started right now by giving today’s writing prompt the old college try.

Care to join me? Continue reading →

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Elizabeth: Friday Story Time and Sprints

The end of another week already?  This one has sped by without my completing nearly as many tasks from my ToDo list as I was hoping.  On the plus side, I didn’t wind up adding too many new tasks to the list, so that’s a win . . . of sorts.

The focus this week has been on taxes (why yes, I did put them off for quite a while).  While the taxes themselves were fairly straightforward, the process of making sure I hadn’t overlooked anything meant I spent a fair amount of time sorting through all the papers on my desk and getting my files organized.  Sadly, it seems the last time I engaged in that particular exercise was just about a year ago.    Ah well, better late than never.

With the paperwork and taxes taken care of I can enjoy my day off work with a clear conscience.  Judging by the height of the lawn in the backyard, my day better include a little lawn-mowing.  After that, I’m planning on some dedicated writing time, starting out with either a run at the 200-word writing contest Kay mentioned yesterday, or an attempt at the random words below.  Whichever I choose, words on the page is my end goal.

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Elizabeth: Friday Story Time and Sprints

A week ago, the sun was shining, spring had sprung, and I was getting my sprinkler system ready to go back into action.  Today, however, it looks like winter is not completely done with us just yet.  It’s been intermittently overcast and rainy most of the day and I’ve been quite glad I didn’t pack away the cozy blankets just yet.  Even the cat hasn’t wanted to go outside and has instead been curled up asleep on the couch for much of the day.

Since it looks like I won’t be working out in the yard on my day off tomorrow, I guess I better find something to do inside instead.  Fortunately I’ve got three stories just waiting for me to buckle down and get some words on the page, not to mention a set of random words to play with.  Writing will definitely be on my Friday agenda.

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Elizabeth: Up Up and Away

Just like last month, after reading Nancy’s Accountability Thread and Jeanne’s Progress Report posts this week I was feeling like quite the slacker and felt compelled to buckle down and finish writing something.

Fortunately I just happened to have a variety of random words to work with, along with a set of characters from my March Short Story just waiting to be put to good use.  So, without further ado, here’s what happened to Ben and Emma when they went on a simple balloon ride.

Enjoy. Continue reading →

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Elizabeth: Friday Story Time and Sprints

It’s another Friday and the end of another business trip.  Ah, I remember the good old days when traveling was only something I did for fun.  Now my schedule seems to be jam packed with conferences, working sessions, and (shudder) speaking engagements.  Obviously my cloak of invisibility has malfunctioned big time.  On the plus side, I’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback, so there’s that.

This week’s trip wrapped up a bit early, which is a good thing since I forgot this Sunday is Easter.  I better add a trip to the grocery store to the schedule or we’ll wind up celebrating with left-over pizza and Kit-Kat candy bars.  Not that that’s bad, but I was kind of hoping for something a little more traditional.

Once I get back from the store I should have plenty of time to do some writing and get a good number of words on the page.

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Elizabeth: March Short Story

After reading Nancy and Jeanne’s posts this week I was feeling like quite the slacker and felt compelled to buckle down and finish writing something.  Here then, better late than never, is the short story I started based on the story prompt from a few weeks ago.

Enjoy.

Stuck With You

“What do you mean it’s stuck?”

The teenaged attendant who had been manning the front desk at Lakeville’s new Escape Room Adventure when we first arrived said something on the other side of the massive oaken door that sounded like ‘the lock is jammed.’  He seemed panicked, so I made sure my response was calm and sure.  Yelling, no matter how tempting, would not be helpful. Continue reading →