I’ve decided to do a post of first lines from my numerous stories/story beginnings/story stuff. A few warnings before we start… When I first began writing, I had a “thing” for fairy tale endings, beginnings, and everything in between. “Once upon a time”, “they lived happily ever after”, etc. Later, I had an obsession with high fantasy (C.S. Lewis, Lloyd Alexander, etc.) and heavy accents that I knew nothing about (mostly influenced by Redwall books). Also, I was heavily under the influence of a… um… a writing program that was… less than desirable? And it told me to use lots of modifiers! Lots and lots and lots! And never use the…
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What I Think Of Emma Woodhouse
A poem in the style of Doctor Suess // Expressing my righteous indignation at Emma Woodhouse from Jane Austen’s Emma I do not like her in a book I do not like her in a nook I do not like her personality She would not win Miss Congeniality. I do not like her here and there I do not like her in her lair If people heard the things she said Behind their backs, they’d flush red. Perhaps I’d like her with some kindness Her biggest fault might be her blindness Her prejudice could be much less She’s worse than Miss Elizabeth*. I do not like her…
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When Inspiration Fails…
When I first get a spark of an idea for a story, it’s wonderful. The characters are fantastic. The plot is flawless. I write in a frenzy, trying to get it all down. But when I look at it a few days later, suddenly this alien Cinderella story doesn’t sound so good. (Spoiler: I am not writing, nor do I plan to write, anything like this.) Every word I put down is an effort. Every scene I put down is a nightmare. And guess what? My perfect plot is full of holes. And I find that, suddenly, I’m not inspired to write this story anymore. What I do when I…
