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Linna Heartbooger
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Post by Linna Heartbooger »

me, earlier wrote:But I motioned for Tamra to come over.
We waited.

He looked down at his hands.
Another point in his favor.

"I don't know what to say."
Okay. Not a bad place to start.

I looked at Tamra.
Not ready.
"Well, it's 6:00, so I vote late-ish for coffee unless you have homework due tomorrow. Some kind of tea?"

"Actually, yeah, I do have something due tomorrow," he said, trying to glance at the door and then stopping himself.
"What class is it?"
"137."
To sympathize with his misfortune, I groaned audibly.
(I had that one due too, but I didn't mention it.)

Hmm. I wouldn't have forever.
But I wasn't about to go for a power trip of "coffee for you and tea for us," implying he'd need to stay awhile.
He looked up at me.
I imagined a little brown-eyed boy, hat in hands.
And my stomach turned.
"Impartial, impartial," I silently reminded myself.
As if I didn't care about the outcome of this conflict.
(which is to say, whether Tamra would end up with him again or not.)

Why did I have to be the one to solve this one again?
Wait, no! You don't ask those questions: "For it is not from wisdom that you ask this."
Back in the room. Get your mind back in the room, I counseled myself.

Jump to next installment (a few posts down) HERE.
Last edited by Linna Heartbooger on Mon Dec 09, 2019 1:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Sorus
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Post by Sorus »

I left this one because I have no idea where it's going. I never expected it to get this far, but sometimes I just end up running with random ideas.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


"If you could go anywhere - anywhen - where would you go?"

Trying to ignore the feeling that the walls are closing in - there are no walls here, only a vacuum filled with quicksilver bubbles.

"It's an immune response," she says. "We don't belong here. The system is trying to reject us."

Before I can accuse her of avoiding my question, she looks at me sidelong.

"Alexandria, before the fall. I was a librarian there."

Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?


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Post by Sorus »

I have not abandoned my main story. I'm thinking I may have to just continue where I left off instead of filling in all the backstory. I have a fair amount of backstory mapped out, but I think it might be more interesting if I gradually reveal stuff instead of trying to hammer out new characters and 200-ish years of history in two-minute bites. I even tried to do it in the 5-to-15 minute thread, but it didn't work out at the time.

Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?


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Post by Sorus »

I think my biggest problem with the story I've been working on here - the cyberpunk/Greek mythology thing - is that the first-person character was intended to just be an audience surrogate, and loses something if I try to give her more depth, while the other character loses something if I try to take away some of her mystery.

I should just go back to my main story.

Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?


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Linna Heartbooger
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Post by Linna Heartbooger »

"Okay, so we all heard what was said. Now what?"
He looked at me, directing the beam of his eyes straight at my face.
I evaded, casting the focus of my vision against the wall.
This was hard.
But I had kept my intention.
Never told Tamra what I'd wanted when she started to let me know that she liked him.

I sighed. "Sorry; I gotta talk to you separately," I said, turning to Tamra.
I motioned to the other room.
We basically closed the door. Yeah.
Time to expose my ulterior motives to someone.

(2 mins, basically)

I continued this story on a different thread HERE.

P.S. Has anyone else noticed I don't have a name for the guy yet? :)

[Edit: added link.]
Last edited by Linna Heartbooger on Mon Dec 09, 2019 1:48 am, edited 2 times in total.
"People without hope not only don't write novels, but what is more to the point, they don't read them.
They don't take long looks at anything, because they lack the courage.
The way to despair is to refuse to have any kind of experience, and the novel, of course, is a way to have experience."
-Flannery O'Connor

"In spite of much that militates against quietness there are people who still read books. They are the people who keep me going."
-Elisabeth Elliot, Preface, "A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael"
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Post by Sorus »

Linna Heartlistener wrote:P.S. Has anyone else noticed I don't have a name for the guy yet? :)
I had noticed that.

Character names are something I sometimes struggle with.

Confession time: I have one character whose first name came from WoW's random name generator. In my defense, it was set to human female at the time.

And then I have another character whose name hasn't been used yet (at least not in anything that was fit to post), but what I settled on is an inside joke that I truly hope no one gets. It's highly unlikely, but in my head it's basically a neon sign that says "Look! Look what I did!" (That one doesn't have anything to do with WoW.)

Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?


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Linna Heartbooger
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Post by Linna Heartbooger »

(something diff.)

We filed on to the subway.
Stephanie Jackson was like a drill sergeant in her tall black boots.
Lily and her, and I together were perhaps the most unlikely trio, if you only judged based on outward appearances.
Lily so shy unless communicating in Mandarin, so gentle... me, just an ordinary Oklahoma girl from the sticks.
We found a place with actual seats consecutive to each other - go us!
(2-3 mins, something like that.)

Sorus wrote:Character names are something I sometimes struggle with.
Ree-aally...?
Coz like, in general, I really like naming characters.
Sorus wrote:Confession time: I have one character whose first name came from WoW's random name generator. In my defense, it was set to human female at the time.
:thumbsup: The name generator I have familiarity with was from a mud I was playing.
Had some fun syllables for fantasy char. names.
sorus wrote:And then I have another character whose name hasn't been used yet (at least not in anything that was fit to post), but what I settled on is an inside joke that I truly hope no one gets. It's highly unlikely, but in my head it's basically a neon sign that says "Look! Look what I did!"
I'm amused.
"People without hope not only don't write novels, but what is more to the point, they don't read them.
They don't take long looks at anything, because they lack the courage.
The way to despair is to refuse to have any kind of experience, and the novel, of course, is a way to have experience."
-Flannery O'Connor

"In spite of much that militates against quietness there are people who still read books. They are the people who keep me going."
-Elisabeth Elliot, Preface, "A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael"
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Post by Sorus »

Linna Heartlistener wrote:
Sorus wrote:Character names are something I sometimes struggle with.
Ree-aally...?
Coz like, in general, I really like naming characters.
There are times when something just clicks and feels right, and there are times when I agonize over names.

In addition to using WoW's random generator (which is nice when you want something scifi/fantasy-sounding but not too weird or unpronounceable), I have also borrowed names from the animal shelter I volunteer at.

I remember reading an interview with Glen Cook where he mentioned that several of his characters were named after streets in his hometown, and others were homages of various types.

I guess I need to find my own little niche.

Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?


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Post by Sorus »

This is something that came to me at about 3AM, and did take about two minutes. Aside from that, I'm not sure what it is. Sort of a stream-of-consciousness not-quite-a-poem.


They've got...

An eye to every keyhole

In the gutters, in the trenches

In the high-moon shadows

(We built this city...)

On the bones and the sinews

In the name of

Design was an afterthought

Plagued by memories

Pulled under by the riptide

(There's no going back)

Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?


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Linna Heartbooger
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Post by Linna Heartbooger »

Neat. Pretty eerie.
"People without hope not only don't write novels, but what is more to the point, they don't read them.
They don't take long looks at anything, because they lack the courage.
The way to despair is to refuse to have any kind of experience, and the novel, of course, is a way to have experience."
-Flannery O'Connor

"In spite of much that militates against quietness there are people who still read books. They are the people who keep me going."
-Elisabeth Elliot, Preface, "A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael"
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Post by Sorus »

There was a whole second stanza that slipped through my fingers. When I hit the right frequency (which usually involves zoning out from being tired), I can go on forever, but if I stop, I can never get the rhythm back. All I can remember is it started with Under the radar...

I parenthesised "We built this city" because it's not original and I really didn't want to include it, but it insisted on being there.

Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?


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Post by Sorus »

Coming out of...

Nine days of radio silence

There's nothing but white noise

The occasional burst of static

Like seismic activity

Or the wrong answer on a polygraph test

Never been any good at lying to myself

It's always there

Written across my face

Tattooed across my heart

Indelible ink

No plausible deniability

Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?


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Linna Heartbooger
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Post by Linna Heartbooger »

I like it.
esp. how the seismic activity links to the polygraph..

"No plausible deniability."
"People without hope not only don't write novels, but what is more to the point, they don't read them.
They don't take long looks at anything, because they lack the courage.
The way to despair is to refuse to have any kind of experience, and the novel, of course, is a way to have experience."
-Flannery O'Connor

"In spite of much that militates against quietness there are people who still read books. They are the people who keep me going."
-Elisabeth Elliot, Preface, "A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael"
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Linna Heartbooger
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Post by Linna Heartbooger »

I pulled up to the red light and stopped. Two young guys were off to my left in the left-turn lane blaring there music. Pumped it up when they heard me coming with my music. Didn't care for it, so subtly reached over to roll up the windows. One of them turned and looked straight at me with a grin and a wink that seemed to signal some mixture of combativeness and lasciviousness. I looked back, grinned since it might have been combativeness, and combativeness is half a virtue. Then I turned my head and looked at my kids in the back seat. Guess that could have been interpreted in more ways than one, now that I think of it. Since humans are dorks, it could have been interpreted as, "Not in front of the children," but what I'd meant was different. Shrugged and trained my eyes on the right hand side of the windshield.
(3 min 30 seconds, basically.)
Sorus wrote:I parenthesised "We built this city" because it's not original and I really didn't want to include it, but it insisted on being there.
Ah!
"People without hope not only don't write novels, but what is more to the point, they don't read them.
They don't take long looks at anything, because they lack the courage.
The way to despair is to refuse to have any kind of experience, and the novel, of course, is a way to have experience."
-Flannery O'Connor

"In spite of much that militates against quietness there are people who still read books. They are the people who keep me going."
-Elisabeth Elliot, Preface, "A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael"
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Post by Sorus »

Linna Heartlistener wrote:combativeness is half a virtue
I like that.

Oh, a change is coming, feel these doors now closing
Is there no world for tomorrow, if we wait for today?


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Linna Heartbooger
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Post by Linna Heartbooger »

It was an aurora borealis. The cold light of the northern skies. Drapes shifting and shimmering in a fictive breeze. I just sat back and watched. The guard shift had been horrible so far, but it had its perquisites. Mostly this. Well, winter was almost over, too. So very, very tired. I sighed, wondering if I could associate a soundtrack with the northern lights, and turn up the volume.
(woot! fairly random, and almost exactly 2 minutes.)
"People without hope not only don't write novels, but what is more to the point, they don't read them.
They don't take long looks at anything, because they lack the courage.
The way to despair is to refuse to have any kind of experience, and the novel, of course, is a way to have experience."
-Flannery O'Connor

"In spite of much that militates against quietness there are people who still read books. They are the people who keep me going."
-Elisabeth Elliot, Preface, "A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael"
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Linna Heartbooger
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Post by Linna Heartbooger »

She remembered his voice over the phone: "ashes for breakfast. every day. That's what my life is now."

And she'd thought of saying: "Call me up every day - I'll have breakfast with you!"

Why didn't she? Well, for one, could she have actually done it? There was time, and there were the kids, and it seemed so impractical.

Can't go back. Ashes for breakfast, every day.
"Weep with those who weep."
Why didn't I just stop what I was doing and have a few ashy breakfasts, a few mornings, with a friend?

She imagined ashes in the milk, on the cereal. Which was of course ridiculous.
(3 mins)
"People without hope not only don't write novels, but what is more to the point, they don't read them.
They don't take long looks at anything, because they lack the courage.
The way to despair is to refuse to have any kind of experience, and the novel, of course, is a way to have experience."
-Flannery O'Connor

"In spite of much that militates against quietness there are people who still read books. They are the people who keep me going."
-Elisabeth Elliot, Preface, "A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael"
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Linna Heartbooger
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Post by Linna Heartbooger »

Blessed. Blessed. Blessed. That was me. It was like falling backwards into a warm ocean, and being buoyed up by sheer joy.

I sat in my room and thought back on the conversation from this afternoon, relishing it and cherishing it. Right now, there was just a plain white wall, a wooden desk, a bright lamp, and my memory of what she'd said. I sat and thought again in wonder: "So this is what it's like to have a best friend."
"People without hope not only don't write novels, but what is more to the point, they don't read them.
They don't take long looks at anything, because they lack the courage.
The way to despair is to refuse to have any kind of experience, and the novel, of course, is a way to have experience."
-Flannery O'Connor

"In spite of much that militates against quietness there are people who still read books. They are the people who keep me going."
-Elisabeth Elliot, Preface, "A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael"
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Post by deer of the dawn »

Salt in my nose, my hair, and every possible crevice of my anatomy; but I was in the zone. I love the pull and push of the ocean and kept going in up to my neck, and returning to the tidal pools full of multifarious life. I was oblivious to the burning of the sun on my moon-pale skin.

"Honey, time to go!" the cry I dreaded like my life's ending, like a plunge into darkness. My teeth were chattering, my fingernails were blue. But I had never been happier.
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle. -Philo of Alexandria

ahhhh... if only all our creativity in wickedness could be fixed by "Corrupt a Wish." - Linna Heartlistener
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Linna Heartbooger
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Post by Linna Heartbooger »

I love... pretty much every part of that one!

Mine:
As I drove past, I hoped I'd catch her eyes. I was in the car, and she on the sidewalk. She was a heavyset older Chinese woman. I noticed her purple jogging suit and silver-peppered hair, and the rhythmic push, slide of her walker. She did see me, and rewarded my smile with a beautiful one back.

It looked like life would have to be pretty troublesome for her, but she was still smiling. What a rockstar!

(about 2 mins, 45s)
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