To celebrate Friday, here's a little something that will likely get your feet tapping:
Bouncy and fun to end the week with: Candide Overture
Aside from the normal must-dos, I'm looking forward to working on at least one of my stories. It's funny when you create books and stories. They're never done. At least in my experience and in conversation I've had with others who write. There's always another niggle, big or small.
For me it's 'Laurentina's Lessons'. Last weekend I added a brief passage to show the reader how shallow Willis is. He asked a friend to ask Lacy out to a cocktail party at another friend's house. Kyle, the one who does the asking, is more interested in Jill from accounting than he is in Lacy, so as soon as he delivers her to the party he starts in with Jill. Along the way, Willis talks to Lacy and then to his other friends:
“Are you going to ask her?”
Willis laughed, “Hey, I just got through asking if I could take
her to dinner and drive her home. I’ll see how that goes and, if I think she’ll
play, I will. If not, or if I don’t think it’ll be good for you guys, I won’t.”
“Lucky son of a bitch and you’re already planning on taking
her to bed, aren’t you?”
“I gotta road test her, don’t I? Take her for a spin first,
make sure everything’s working properly. After all, I’d hate for you guys to be
disappointed.”
Pete and Ben both laughed and then Pete looked across the
room. “Watch this.”
Following Pete’s gaze, Willis looked over his shoulder just
in time to see Lacy find Kyle. He saw her shoulders stiffen in irritation
before she turned back, headed for the bedroom.
Smiling, he looked back at the others, “That was interesting.
I’d better get her out of here before Kyle surfaces. Will you thank him for
asking her tonight?”
“Sure, no problem,” Pete winked, “I will as soon as he’s
done with Jill.”
That wasn't in the story, before, but I think it adds depth to Willis's character - or lack thereof. This is just a little add, and it's part of my goal to increase the overall length from 62,000 words to 75,000 or 80,000, which is the 'standard' for stories of this type based on what I've found in my exploration through the internet.
I still want to add a bit more to Lacy, too. I'm not sure how or with whom, whether it's with her friend Gail who warns her away from Willis at the start of the book, or with her roommates, Maria and Lizzie. Then there's Sonya. She's a fun character to write - not too crude but crude enough. Willis's coarse match while Lacy brings out his best. I also have a niggling idea for another Lesson, so I'll see where that takes me.
I also just posted a short piece on Authonomy that I've called 'Breakfast with Tiffany'. This is in response to the prompt 'Breakfast':
Breakfast with
Tiffany
Even before I sat down the wall was up. Lines of print
marching across the page, some big and bold, most not, and squares of adverts.
It had been like that every morning for years. For longer than I could remember
anymore.
“How’s your breakfast?”
No response. Not even a shiver through the layers of paper.
They used to lie flat on the table, those pages, unless he was irritated. Then
they would be held halfway-up. Early on in our marriage I had developed a kind
of warning system to gauge his mood. Flat was a good mood, clear skies, sunny
seas. Half-staff was a warning, all was not well in ‘Nicolas-world’ and I had
to navigate carefully. Upright and rigid, as this morning, meant typhoon was in
the air and my ship would likely take a beating.
This morning, though, no matter what the weather I didn’t
care. A sea change was coming and I was ready for anything. Picking up my knife
I smiled to myself and launched my ship.
“Having lunch with Molly?”
There was a crackle when the page turned, then nothing. The
paper settled back into place.
“She called yesterday and said that she and Bradley are
heading down to Mexico for the weekend. I hope they don’t run into any trouble.
We’ve all heard stories about how the locals don’t like Americans.” I buttered
my toast, “They’ll be fine, I’m sure, but I told her to take care and stay with
her group. She really shouldn’t go off alone.” The crust crackled between my
teeth. “I expect she’ll come back with a load of junk, the way she always
does.” Lifting my fork, I deliberately banged it against the edge of the plate,
satisfied with the sharp noise. “They’ll probably spend most of the time at the
beach, crisping.” My irritation at being ignored was beginning to turn from
smolder to flame. “She said they’ll be back on…”
The wall collapsed with a crisp sound that rang through the
room. Behind it, Nicolas’s face was scarlet, his brown eyes hard, cheeks puffed
out and mustache bristling, his bushy brows faced off across the narrow bridge
of his nose. “Tiffany!” It was a shout that became a clenched teeth hiss,
“Kindly … shut … UP!”
“Here, and then I will.” I passed the envelope across the
table, my new ring glinting in the morning sun. Noting the look of confusion
when his eyes caught on the hefty diamond solitaire he had never before seen, I
smiled. The front doorbell range and I stood up, “Excuse me, that’ll be David
and the movers.” Waiting was worth it, his face went slack and blank. My smile
widened in glee, “You’re moving out, Nick. Daddy put the title to the house in
my name only when we got married, remember? David is here to make sure that you
leave.”
The chair slid backward over the carpet with such force, the
noise followed me. “Tiffany!”
Handing the lists of what was to be packed in each room to
David, I dropped a kiss on his cheek and laid my hand on his wrist for a
moment. “I’ll be home at six. Nothing but what’s on that list, everything else
is to be negotiated by our attorneys.” For the last time as a ‘devoted’ wife I
looked at the man who had made my life hell for nearly thirty years, “Good-bye,
Nick.”
* * * *
I hope your breakfast is uneventful - have a lovely day!
Best~
Philippa
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories
No comments:
Post a Comment