WWHB Prompt

Leanne has put together this week's prompt and this month's Ad winner button is revealed. :D

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We're at the peak of the week, friends! I hope the week has proven fruitful for you thus far. If it hasn't been a great week yet, then I hope something beautifully unexpected happens in the upcoming days that allows you to smile freely.

Okay, since it is Wednesday, it's time for the next round of our blog hop! By the way, did you catch the little creative addition to the blog hop? If not, click here to learn more.

First, here is the button for this month's blog hop ad winner, Ellen Peterson. Congrats, Ellen!

 Here are the stories from last week's photo:

Lost Again by Leanne Sype

Writing Holiday by Sally Stackhouse

Ghosts of Memories Long Past are Haunting Me by Nicole Pyles

Bright Eyes by Heather Musk

How Long Had it Been by Tena Carr

Here are the rules of how this all works:

1) Use the photo and the 5 words provided in your story
2) Keep your word count 500 words or less.
3) You have until next Tuesday to link up your post.
4) Link up with your blog hostess (Nicole, Carrie, </ a>Tena or Leanne) when you’re done via the inLinkz linky below.
5) Have fun, don’t stress, let those creative juices flow.

Okay-- ready?

Your photo:

 

Photo courtesy of Leanne Sype

Your words:

letter

velcro

planet

fever

shopping

Ready? Go! Have a blast, friends!

Collaboration Challenge Sign-Up

It's been a couple months since we've had a Collaboration Challenge. With A-Z, then puppies, it wasn't high on my mind, but I'm thinking it's about time. I'm looking for 4-8 people to sign up. With four people, we'll do double weeks of writing. 5-8 people, we'll leave it at one week so it doesn't get too long. :)

You can check out past Challenges by clicking on the Collaboration Challenge Stories tab above.

If you don't know what the Collaboration Challenge is, let me help:

The Challenge is where a group of bloggers come together to write different sections of the same story, with a new section posted each Monday. We don't talk about the story before hand, or during, we just try to write well enough to turn the story in our direction while keeping in mind everything that came before.

There is no length min or max, just write enough to nudge the story along. The next author won't see the previous part until the post day, then they have seven days to come up with their portion, posting again on Monday.

Every new portion of the story will start with a link to the beginning of the story so those who come in mid-stream can start over. I will include links to each portion of the story every week on my page and I'll leave it up to you to do the same or not as everyone's blog is a little different.

A few weeks later (usually a month, though it depends) I'll post the story as a whole. You will be welcome to do the same, or to link back to mine once it's up.

This Challenge will start June 3rd, so if you're interested, make sure you have the time during the weeks following to post. I'll give from today, May 20th to Sunday, May 26th for sign-up, then we'll start selecting week assignments on Monday the 27th.

Let me know if you have any more questions or if you're interested in joining up. :) Remember I have a max limit of Challengers, and possibly different areas people are expressing interest, so I will do my best to keep you updated.

Flash 500 Ebook Announcement

4 Days to Go!

To what, you ask? There have been a few blogs and posts going on about the anniversary publication of the WWBH posts. Nicole and I collected as many of our favorites as we could hold, which was unfortunately not all the writers or all the stories. We also contacted as many photographers as we could to include the photographs inspiring the prompts. All to put together an anthology featuring stories from the first year of the Writer's Wednesday Blog Hop.

And it's available Friday, May 10th.

That's this Friday if you're curious. We'll start out at Amazon for the first 90 days, then plan to go through Smashwords as well.

Oh, and it's FREE!

Just to let you know.

So be sure to get your Kindles and your Kindle reader apps ready for Friday, when you can add a collection of amazing stories from amazing writers based on some amazing photos.

To entice you some more, here's the cover. (Joshua wants you to know he's the little boy in the far right, bottom corner.)

Beautiful, isn't it?

If you can't tell, we're pretty excited about this publication. :) A big, huge thank you to everyone who has joined in the hop. We can't wait to read all the stories this next year has to bring, and we hope we can thank more writers in this special way and others. :)

And here's a sneak peek of out everyone who has agreed to be a part of our blog hop, and now the ebook.

Anne Organista - anne-writersspace.blogspot.com

Carrie K Sorensen - chasingrevery.blogspot.com (WWBH co-host, co-editor)

Cindy Cagle - thewoodenrollercoaster.blogspot.com

Emily Jean Roche - emilyjeanroche.blogspot.com

George Beckingham - whyhowwhatif.blogspot.ca

Heather Musk - readingwritingeverything-heather.blogspot.com

Krystal Wade - kyrstalwade.blogspot.com

Leanne Sype - leannesype.wordpress.com (WWBH co-host)

L.T. Dalin - chessnysilth.blogspot.no

Melissa Gardiner - unpublishedworksofme.blogspot.co.uk

Nicole Pyles - theworldofmyimagination.blogspot.com (WWBH founder and co-host, co-editor)

Randy Lindsay - randylindsay.blogspot.com

Scott Taylor - scottywattydoodlealltheday.blogspot.com

Roman Taylor - mistorytime.blogspot.com

Sydney Aaliyah - sydneyaaliyah.wordpress.com

Tena Carr - jottingsandwritings.wordpress.com (WWBH co-host)

Tony Roberts - writingforfoodinindy.wordpress.com

Yolanda Tong - whereslanda.wordpress.com

A to Z: X - Snapshot Reveal

X Marks the Spot - Flash Fiction

This story is in response to Wednesday's prompt post. The required words are in bold and my word count will be at the bottom. You can hop back to the prompt to read more linked up stories, or even to submit your own. :)

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X Marks the Spot

"We have been driving forever," Mel huffed, fanning herself with accordion folded brochure from the last rest stop.

"It isn't my fault all the construction has slowed us down." Kyle still had a smile on his face even after days of driving, of going to random GPS locations to get yet another random GPS location.

Melanie had been on board when he'd explained the trip to her, waving a page with a giant letterhead on it, inviting him on the scavenger hunt. Exploring the States. A road trip vacation, just the two of them. A treasure hunt filled with a quantity of dig spots.

Quantity, maybe, but there was no quality to them. Mel closed her eyes to keep from glaring at Kyle. He hadn't known the junk they would find. Each spot held a 'treasure chest' for people to leave something, and then the next set of GPS coordinates. Never mind they replaced the crap they found with cooler stuff - the next person would probably thing they're things were just as junky. What a crock.

Mel knew she was being grumpy, that she wasn't taking this trip in the spirit of things. It was exactly the fun free for all she had been expecting, and it was made worse by the broken AC in the car. But Kyle was enjoying it, and she usually loved spending empty hours with him. What was the dang difference with being in a car?

"Could we just - could we just take a day?" Mel turned sad eyes to her boyfriend who glanced over quickly, then looked again. "Please? We could get a hotel and some beer and watch stupid news and maybe go swimming."

"Tired of the car?" he asked quietly. She nodded. "Listen. The next spot is only about 70 miles away. The GPS says there's a town only a few miles passed it."

"Okay," she muttered. "Why not get some more junk." Kyle's grin was brilliant enough to almost lift her sour mood.

"Who knows this time, Mel? X just might mark the spot."

Word Count: 344

A to Z: F

This post links back to Wednesday's Snapshot Prompt, a flash fiction challenge that limits the writer to 500 words while requiring the use of 5 words and an inspirational photo. You can check back at the original post for this week's stories, or we will feature them in next week's prompt post. Until then, here's my submission.

Fire Away

"You should have gotten the sniper rifle." Kevin closed the pickup's passenger door, shading his eyes as he stared at the roof.


Brock was standing in front of the truck, judging the distance across the parking lot from his cab to the top of the closed down casino. Sunlight reflected off the windows and the lines of clear light bulbs that once illuminated the replica building. What it was a copy of, he didn't care. Those light bulbs, though, those could be fun.


"Nah. You're the one who can only hit toilet paper rolls with a cork gun. My pump action will be fine."

Brock walked to the back of his truck and reached in for the black duffle bag holding his bb rifle and bb's. Kevin watched him with a half-crooked smile as he opened the tailgate and hopped up to the truck.

"Are you gonna seesaw on the roof?"

Brock ignored his friend. Kevin didn't think he would be able to hit a thing. They were parked 100 yards from the building and the roof was two stories up. Hitting any of those bulbs should be a piece of cake, and Brock was going to prove it.

Brock loaded the gun and leaned over the cab of the truck, bracing his elbows on the roof before looking down the sight. The angle wasn't quite what he was expecting, thinking the height of the truck would ease it a  bit. The roof was one of those domed, angular things, but there were so many bulbs, he was bound to get one or two.

One shot. Miss. Second shot.

Miss.

Twenty shots later, Brock stood up to stretch his back. His bb's were somewhere, but not among broken glass.

Kevin chuckled. When Brock looked over, he saw his friend pretending to play the violin.

"You couldn't be a composer if your life depended on it," Brock muttered, glaring back at the roof.

"Don't have to be. Just have to learn to be a violinist. It'll be easier than trying to shoot those lights. The casino's been closed three years and no broken bulbs. You aren't the first idiot who thought he could do it, either."

Brock knew it. He just thought he'd be the first.

Throwing his gun back in the bag, he zipped it up, then hopped down.

"Burger?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah," Kevin shouted, jumping in the truck faster than Brock could get around to his door.


Word count: 408

A to Z is Almost Here!

I will be posting the compilation of last Collaboration Challenge soon, but we will not be starting another right away. As a reminder, I'll be joining in the A to Z Blogging Challenge for the month of April.

I'm excited about the challenge, though as of right now all I have is an empty A to Z grid. I have a few more days, though, and it will all come together, I'm sure. After all, I have a house full of heartbeats to help me out, and if all else fails, I know how to make up some great stories. ;)

Snapshot Reveal: Fading Tracks

410 words. :) I was so afraid I'd gone over this time.

This post is in response to last week's Snapshot Prompt. Click on over to read more work inspired by the same photo and words. Or even (gasp) submit your own.


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Fading Tracks

Roger flickered into sight next to the overgrown rails. He frowned down at them a moment, kicking at the wild vegetable greens. His foot went right through.

These tracks used to run straight into the city, carrying folk from all over to come try their luck under 24 hour lights. Now the living just forgot them, forgot the importance of them, lost in their need for single-passenger cars, clogging up the highways and filling the air with that smoke--

"Good morning."

Roger's frown melted away as he turned to his fellow ghost.

"Well, hello there, Miss. Going somewhere special today?"

"I'm hoping," she said with a toothy smile. The girl had obviously been around a while, dressed in petticoats and layers of muslin, holding a little purse in a white-gloved hand.

"Did it take you a while to get here?" Roger asked politely. The woman's eyes widened.

"Oh, yes. I was tied pretty tightly to my place of death. Childbirth, you know," she whispered. Roger nodded solemnly before pulling out his silver pocket watch.

"Well, my dear, you won't have to wait much longer. The train is due in three minutes precisely."

"Oh, I'm so excited. Where does the train go, precisely? I'm not entirely sure ... " Her voice faded, her hands clutching her purse. Roger sent her a reassuring smile.

"Why, nearly anywhere in the Cosmos you would like to go." Her smile lit the world in that moment.

The wind carried a heavy note followed by a whistling breeze. Roger signaled the passenger to wait a moment. The breeze kicked up dirt and ruffled the vegetables  but didn't do anything to the two figures standing by as the iridescent train materialized before them.

The lady rushed up to the ladder, cheerily greeting the conductor who opened the door for her. She paused on the landing and looked down.

"Are you coming, sir?" Roger hesitated, sharing a glance with the conductor before he answered.

"Not today, Ma'am. Have a nice trip, now."

She didn't waste another moment, slipping onto the train and out of sight.

"You sure, Roger?" the conductor asked. "It's been a long time."

"One day," Roger challenged. "One day they'll remember the tracks. They'll need me, then." The conductor set his lips and nodded goodbye. The train engine pushed the air up again as it disappeared.

Roger sighed and shook his head, looking down at his pocket watch before tucking it away and fading out of sight.

Planning Stages for a New Story

Welcome to my 200th Post!

Which is cool to note, but I have something else to chat about today. :-)

In putting away my last two projects, both years in the making, I realized something very important. Though relationships inspire me, they also drive much of my plot. This results in us getting to know the characters a lot in the first few chapters, then this leads to events developing in the second half that could have been there the whole time. Or my big problem isn't as strong as I thought it was, because it wasn't thought all the way through from the beginning.

The solution, of course, is to figure out the greater plot ahead of time. I'm, uh, not entirely sure how to do this, though I have some theoretical knowledge about it.

Usually, I just start writing and see what happens. I'm trying something entirely different this time around. This past week I've been getting together my inspirational pieces and jotting notes about characters, location, artifacts, groups and cultures, etc. I'm getting to know the world very well, but I'm still not entirely sure what the problem is beyond the dirty laundry of relationships.

This isn't an issue so far. I'm going to write Fantasy this time so there is a lot of world building, and much of the research I do is balanced with me having to make a bunch of crap up. Not having a 'world is ending' plot point yet doesn't matter much at the moment, but it will once details come into play.

So, here's my multifaceted question. How do you start to plan, particularly the 'Big Problem' piece? Do you pants it? Does it come to you first? Or does inspiration come from somewhere else?

Writing Update

I'm so far off on my writing goals, and it's only just February! But it's okay. I was struggling with two different stories I was working on, and finally came to the conclusion they need to be filed in the archives as good practice. There were fundamental errors with them that I couldn't overcome - and rewriting them was like pulling teeth. Revising and editing is one thing. Going back to write a story you've already written ... it's not something I can do right now. Maybe later.

Luckily, inspiration struck last night. Originally I wanted to have a lot of the planning for this year's project done by today. I'll just have to adjust the timeline a bit. I have plenty of other projects I'm also working on right now, so it might be better if I'm still in planning stages, rather than in the drafting zone.

So, off to work I go. :) But before I do, don't forget the Collaboration Challenge starts Monday! I'll kick it off here and let you know who the collaborators will be this time around. We have some veterans and a couple newbies, so it's bound to be another exciting challenge.

Is there anything you would like to see happen in this Collaboration Challenge? Leave me a comment and I might be able to fit your suggestion in.