Once An Imago

Once An Imago

The clock strikes twelve and Annie trips on the third step, embarking on the tumble to her near-death. Tommy's Grandmother hands him a carefully-wrapped present; her hands are shaking and the box slips through Tommy's fingers; everyone watches its descent. Lauren pauses in the act of reaching for her hand mirror as the doorbell rings. Rowan shakes his head, which is full of thoughts about how gorgeous Sandra looks tonight, and how he can't believe he ever thought Denise Rowland was hotter.

The cripple emerges from the condemned building, beginning his morning shuffle downtown. He wafts in a miasma of decay, an excellent example of what not to become. He's a survivor who foolishly refused to let the war kill him when he had the chance. The promise of what might have been haunts him every moment of every day, a giant lacuna lurking in his shadow. He passes people on the street and imagines the way his tale would make them oscitate. Their faces would turn bright red as they realised their bodies had betrayed how little they cared. He reflects on where he came from, and where he's ended up.

He thinks, Synchronicity.

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I was tempted to let this post stand on its own, without any 'non-fiction' addition. That way it would truly be a 200-word post. But I just have to explain that this post is counting not only as my 2nd Campaigner Challenge entry but also as my first post for NaBloWriMo, which I am insane enough to have signed up for at sort of the last minute.

I also have to say that during October, and therefore NaBloWriMo, I am going to be reporting on how my transferral of paper edit notes to my Scrivener file for SUNDOWN goes - because yes, today I finally finished the paper edit!!! So now it's time to get that all into digital format. In time for November to start. Yes, friends, I've got a month to get this off my to-do list so I can relax for the rest of the year (and by 'relax' I of course mean write 2 novels in November, then spend the rest of the year scrambling to get my other 2011 goals finished). For the record, my word count before beginning to transfer edits is 101,459. I want it to be more like 95k by the time I'm done.

First Campaigner Challenge!

Yes, I surely am! And it's time for the First Campaigner Challenge. Dude, sometimes it's not easy saying 'campaign' instead of 'crusade', but I'm doing my best to get used to it! Anyway, the challenge involves the following: Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “The door swung open” These four words will be included in the word count.

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), use the same beginning words and end with the words: "the door swung shut." (also included in the word count)

For those who want an even greater challenge, make your story 200 words EXACTLY!

Now, before anyone leaps upon my post accusing me of being a liar, my story is precisely 200 words...in Scrivener. I don't know what it is in your word processor, but I have no doubt at all it's either over or under 200 words. But I SWEAR to you that Scrivener tells me 200. So, without further ado, here's my little ditty, all glorious 200 words (and by glorious I mean forced and unpolished and all that stuff, yeah):

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The door swung open and Elsie staggered through, crystal glass flying from her hand. Bennett's heart stuttered then swelled. Elsie hit the ground seconds before her glass. The crystal came apart as if in slow motion, glittering shards spraying out. Mother and father care more about the family crystal than they do a human life, he thought. But now wasn't the time for bitterness.

It was time for Elsie.

She was all he cared about. And she was here, alive. With him.

"Elsie! Oh God, I thought— I thought they'd…"

Bennett trailed off, staring at her still form. She hadn't stirred since landing, and she lay so still. Too still. Fighting back fear, he sank to his knees beside her and reached out a hand, scared but compelled to touch her. "Elsie?" He gripped her shoulder and shook her, first lightly, then harder. "Elsie?"

Then he saw the dark tide of crimson pooling beneath her, and he knew. They'd got to her after all.

"Oh, how sweet," came his mother's voice behind him. "You two, together at the end." He looked up into her haggard, bitter face, and knew it really was the end. Behind them, the door swung shut.

Campaign group(s)... I am in many!

First off, this is me:



I know, crappy excuse for a Michael Jackson white glove, but it was all I had on hand (no pun intended). It was from a Michael Jackson tribute night my mum and I went to. It was so crap we went back to my place, got my MJ CDs, and headed over to mum's to party on in style. Now that was a tribute! I'm not going to show you the moonwalking videos though.

But none of that was the point of this post. The point was for me to share with you a list of which Groups I joined as part of Rachael Harrie's 3rd Campaign. They are:

• Adult Fiction (All Genres) - group 3
• Contemporary/Mainstream Fiction - group 2
• Science Fiction - group 1
• Romance, (all things) - group 1
• Short Stories
  
• Australian/New Zealand writers
  

Think those'll be enough to keep me busy?!

I think the point I'm trying to make is that what you see above is really just the beginning for me. There aren't any genres I've ever sworn off attempting to write. I have interests in many places. My characters are of varying ages, sometimes depending on what age I am myself at a given point. Some of my characters aren't even people. Some of them aren't human. Most of them are. Some are guys, some are gals. Some are dead and some are alive. Some are currently living only in my head, set to be unleashed in the coming months (hello NaNoWriMo 2011!). In short, I never know what's around the corner, and I love it that way!

Hello to all my fellow Campaigners. I'm pleased to meet you. But now it's your turn: what genres do you write?

Crus...I mean, Campaign time!

Earlier this year, Rachael Harrie ran her 2nd Platform Building Crusade, and I was a participant. I found it a REALLY worthwhile (not to mention awesome) experience.

This time around, there's been a name change and instead of Crusaders we are now Campaigners! See Rach's blog for more information on the changes. Meanwhile, I highly recommend that you all sign up for the Campaign! It helps you find new cool blogs to read, gives you a large new network (and smaller, more intimate networks in the form of Groups) and provides you with fun activities you can participate in with your fellow Campaigners.

And look at that pretty badge! Don't you want to flash that around on your blog too?