#WOW Writing Prompt – Trees and Magic

The matriarch of the centuries old family of trees has fallen and one lone human has come to pay his respect.  This human is among the few left who understand the magic and change that contributed to the demise of the way life that once thrived in this desolate place.

A thousand years ago, this was fertile earth with a small stream bubbling through the dark forest floor. What is left of this land and its family of trees is now divided by a gulf that became the sea. No longer is this the forest of enchantment.  Do you think trees get this big without a little help from a magical being?  The loving care and occasional sprinkle of sparkling fairy dust helped them reach towards the sun. To return the kindness, the trees offered shelter to all living beings.

When a tree had reached the end of its life, it fell to the earth amidst its brothers and sisters. They watched over it as its essence slowly returned to the earth from which it had sprung and each absorbed a part of it, helping them to grow taller and stronger.

The people arrived and began to multiply and intrude upon the forest.  They could the see the trees swaying in the gentle breeze and hear the leaves as they touched each other as if in greeting.  They could feel the rough bark under their fingertips.  Pungent mossy smells filled the forests. Most humans doubted the fairies, elves, gnomes and sprites. Soon, there were very few humans that believed and the kind and gentle fairy folk retreated deeper into the forests of the world. Look closely at the sand and you may occasionally find a dimming sparkle of fairy dust, all that remains to protect the earth and trees, its magic slowly dissipating.

The humans found the fallen trees could be used for light and heat. If the essence of a brother or sister could be helpful to the humans, the trees knew they could be of service, even if it shortened their own lives and growth.   Soon, the people began to take trees in the prime of their lives and still the trees knew their purpose would serve a great good by being transformed into an object of use. With the urge to make more space for themselves, the people removed the trees, leaving the fertile soil alone and barren.

 

With no trees to shelter, no grass to grow, and no pixie folk for protection, the small stream seized the opportunity and surged forth for its chance in the sunlight.

ROW80 CHECK IN

Time to check in on a Sunday evening and update my fellow ROW80 participants on my progress.

I finished Chapter 1 of my Piccallili, WIP and actually had it critiqued at my Writer's Group last week. This was a huge step for me, but I received extremely valuable feedback. The downside is I have yet to finish the edits on that chapter but I have the scene outlines ready for Chapter 2.

The remaining research material for the historical novel has arrived. I reading through it, marking passages and taking cursory notes. Once the research is done and all notes organized, I believe the outcome could result in two books on the same theme but based on different characters.

 I returned to Roller Derby training last week. Today I shopped and prepared to review my eating patterns this coming week. I am adding one day of endurance training on my own and I made contact with a coach from another team who is interested in attending a clinic with me next month. 


The biggest accomplishment of the week is the development of an editorial calendar for my blog. My blog is built on the Blogger platform and unfortunately, I have not found a plugin for this. I developed my own and placed it within Google calendar. 


I have participated in the workshop "Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook" workshop and am thoroughly enjoying the book and the class.  I am excited about the Historical Fiction class I will be taking next month. 


I hope my fellow ROW participants are enjoying success and I do hope you will leave hints and comments here that will help all of us reach our goals!

Heroic Qualities

What are the qualities readers appreciate in their favorite characters? 

This is a question I recently pondered as I participate in a writer’s workshop. The book used for this workshop is the highly rated, “Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook” by Donald Maass. If you have read his book by this title, I highly recommend purchasing the workbook and following the exercises. A lesson regarding heroic qualities inspired me to write this blog post.

All characters have heroic qualities as well as flaws. In my character Joey’s case, her qualities can also at times be a seen as a flaw or hindrance in her growth as a person, though fictional as she is.  Fortitude, resiliency, conviction, creativeness, patience, with a touch of vulnerability are the obvious qualities admired by most readers. Though this is a purely fictional character, in order to define her personality, I thought of two  women I admire and in the process learned facts about them I did not know.

Margaret Thatcher was originally denied entry into a chemistry program, but yet she was excepted when someone else dropped out and went on the graduate with a degree in not only chemistry but law as well.  The qualities I admire in her are her perseverance, the fact that she became the first woman prime minister, she was not born into a peerage but she earned her title.  

Ida Lupino was a talented actress who became the only female director in Hollywood in the late 1940’s. She addressed social issues in her films and took charge of her career by not only producing and directing but by determining the message of the screen play as well.

There are many more strong women who stood up for their convictions, ideals and social issues.  Some of those women are well known and have been immortalized in books and movies, but I am sure each of us knows someone who embodies heroic qualities and leads a quietly normal life. 

Though my grandmother has passed away, her sense of humor, confidence and concern for others will live on through the character of Joey Tallmadge. Please leave a comment with your favorite qualities!

It is amazing that I came across this Blog Hop today for Insecure Writers. During the long holiday, I was finally able to get some writing done and managed to finish the first chapter of my current book, and it does have a title. Titles have always been a big problem for me.  In my younger years, I longed to finally make it to High School, because there was journalism there.

I did not want to be a journalist, but I figured it was the closest thing available to assist my writing ambitions. The dream of writing my own series of mysteries, the first terribly awful one written in the seventh grade, was squashed. Squashed by one teacher, in one day, in one class and by one cutting remark. I left that class filled with bitterness and a disdain for that instructor. High school journalism was only the mecca for the select chosen few of her classes. She appeared to be more intent on winning awards in those final years before her retirement , overlooking students who truly intended to write because they have a passion for words and not just to have an award on a college application.  


I was convinced that if this one person thought so harshly of my work at age 15, I was then doomed for life. I avoided writing for many years. This blog is the first writing I have ever shown an audience of more than one best friend.  So what makes finding this blog hop so special? I am preparing to show the first chapter of my current work in progress to my writing group this week. One chapter has consumed all of my free time for 4 days and I am sure it will right up until the reading on Saturday morning. 

Blog Hop - Critique My Blog

A writer I know is hosting a Critique My Blog - Blog Hop. Anyone wishing to receive feedback on the quality of their blog is encouraged to sign up. Other areas that will be Critiqued are: appearance, frequency of posts, layout and content.  Please go over and take a look at A Writer's Journey and sign up for the HOP!
Don't forget to sign up! 

Work in Progress

I have finally posted a blurb from my current Work in Progress and this one even has a name. The town of course, is purely fictional. It is comprised of features native to many small towns in this area. Originally, the founder (fictitious of course) wanted to name it Piccadilly after the famous London Piccadilly, but locals only knew of of Piccallili (which is a type of relish), so the name was changed.

  Crime was not rampant in Piccallili, Mississippi. One murder alone would have caused a sensation, but the second one convinced the denizens of the small rural town that a full blown serial killer was on the loose.  The stock market crash of 1929 had not adversely affected the already poor economy to any extent.  Six years later, the town was still almost exactly the same as it had been before, only now someone had a secret that necessitated the removal of two of its residents at the same location.

Excerpt from my Current Work in Progress

Murder by the Backdoor

 Crime was not rampant in Piccallili, Mississippi. One murder alone would have caused a sensation, but the second one convinced the denizens of the small rural town that a full blown serial killer was on the loose.  The stock market crash of 1929 had not adversely affected the already poor economy to any extent.  Six years later, the town was still almost exactly the same as it had been before, only now someone had a secret that necessitated the removal of two of its residents at the same location.