I asked her a few questions, just for some fun.
1. Best piece of writing advice you’ve been given? There is so much wonderful advice! I would say the best piece of advice, though it wasn’t given to me, is something Ernest Hemingway said: “When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters.” -- I do not start a short story or a novel without thinking of this quote. It’s invaluable to me.
2. The first and last books you fell in love with? Hmm, the first book I fell in love with? Wacky Wednesday by Dr. Seuss (I’m pretty sure this one still mirrors my life). But the first novel I loved, I can’t remember. It was probably by Judy Blume. Last book I fell in love with? Just Kids by Patti Smith.
3. If there was a rubber stamp mark on your hand, what would it say? I’ll say a question mark because this feels like a self-defining question and I’m never very good at defining myself. Also, question marks are pretty as far as punctuation goes. If we’re talking a stamp mark on the hand, aesthetics are important. And also, who really knows oneself anyway?
4. What’s happening outside the nearest window right now? Darkness, probably a breeze in the trees. Nope, I just checked; no breeze in the trees. So just darkness then. :)
5. What’s your favourite breakfast food? Breakfast is my favorite meal. It depends on the day, really. The food I most order when I go out to breakfast is a fried egg, easy-over, toast, and bacon.
Okay ...
When BelieveItOrNot agreed to judge, the first thing she asked me to do was put all the entries into a gdoc for her, with no names attached. So when she picked her winner, and a few honourable mentions, she had no idea whose words she was reading.
Here's what she had to say:
Talk about a tough decision. Forty entries, and all of them lovely. I wanted to choose so many more. There were many I really wanted to see continued. In the end, I chose the entries that I felt were complete already, as is. And this was not easy. At all. It was a lot of fun, though, and I loved reading each and every little story. Some made me smile or laugh, others made my heart drop a little. Thank you all for participating and sharing your talent.
First place:
This entry stood out to me as a complete little story. I love the revolution it made from beginning to end. The thoughts, the movements, the images all evoked feeling. It’s the perfect little slice of youth and hope and heart. It would be great to see it continued, but it doesn’t need to be. It works wonderfully as a snapshot.
by @DarlingVeruca
She peeked through the slats of the picket fence separating their yards. She was twelve, her neighbor twenty-something. R, her neighbor, was perfect, had boobs that she’d might have one day. Maybe one day if she kept practicing those exercises. R’s clothes were perfect, too. Even though her mom scolded her over and over for “ruining brand new jeans” she still cut and ripped the knees just right.
So on her knees, the damp grass chilling the bare skin there, she watched R and R’s guy kiss and laugh and hug. She thought, I want that. I want a boy to tell me he loves me and to look at me like he looks at her. R and R’s guy nuzzled into each other as they walked inside the house. She flopped onto her back, stared at the sky, the puffy clouds. She squeezed her eyes shut, made her lips pucker and kissed the air.
From his bedroom window, R’s thirteen-year-old brother could see the weird neighbor girl lying flat on her back, making weird faces. His stomach did a flip-flop every time he saw her. And then he kissed his window and thought, One day it’ll be for real.
Second place:
I felt this one in my stomach. A story of letting go and holding on. Each sentence built on the one before it until the piece grew into a moment of both happiness and wistfulness. I felt the poignancy of the father wishing he’d set aside more time for his daughter. If only he’d known then. So easy to understand and relate to.
by @bkhchika
I watched them together. He was going to take her away. I could feel it my bones. The way she laughed when she was with him. The way her eyes shined when he walked into the room. They moved together, like they were tied to each other. She’d changed so much since she’d met him. She’d grown and matured- become a woman. I wasn’t ready for that.
I couldn’t reconcile this young lady with the little girl that used to beg to stay up just five more minutes for another bedtime story. She wasn’t the child that made mud pies for my birthday. If I’d have known that time would pass so quickly, I’d have spent less time at the office and more with her.
Even now he was replacing me as the most important man in her life. She had jumped into his arms and wound her legs around him. The skin of her knees shining through the ripped jeans. He carried her to the house and she slid down the front of him. Turning to face me, she gripped his arm tightly. Holding out her left hand, with tear-filled eyes, she told me, “I said yes!”
Honorable Mention This is just beautiful. I love the rhythm of it and that while it’s a story/poem of a relationship and a proposal, it actually reads like a proposal. It feels intimate and personal.
by @ileftmyscar
hap•pi•ness - noun \ˈha-pē-nəs\ - state of being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.
The dictionary compiled the meaning in concise fifteen words. A photographer could do it in one click. An artist in a hundred brush strokes. A writer in just a line and then a whole novel.
I am none.
When the morning sun casts you in the perfect glow and the sea breeze makes your curls caress my bare chest while I hold you as you sleep.
When you are standing in the kitchen and humming the tune of the most annoying songs on the planet, and your lips curve into a smirk because you know how annoyed I am.
When I steal kisses between bites of bacon.
When you wear your ripped jeans and my fingers want to play music on your knees.
When my lips want to devour your giggles because my fingertips tickle.
When your cheek against mine is the most perfect warmth as I lift you on to the counter.
When I kiss my love on your lips and my voice shakes upon a question.
When one word changes my entire life.
Yes.
That’s happiness.
Honorable Mention:
I loved that this was Twilight canon, but with an unexpected Emmett-twist. The dead cat on the head made me laugh, and I’d love to see Rose walk down the aisle wearing it.
by @BedeliaJane
The fifty-sixth time, she was wearing that stupid brown wig.
Alice bought it for her when she felt like a change. Yeah, thanks, Alice. I thought the damn thing looked like a dead cat, but I wasn’t about to tell Rose. I’m not an idiot.
So, anyway, there I was with another ring in my pocket, waiting for my wife to stop wearing a cat on her head. For once, I didn’t know how to propose. I’d already done dozens of big ones: hot air balloon, flash mob, the cliche of half-time, and so on.
To be honest, all of the weddings are my fault. I just can’t stop asking her.
She leaned against my chest, fitting there the way she always does, and just like that, the words wouldn’t stay locked up. It was like seeing her when I woke up to this life: sharper than need, more natural than breath. On bended knee, I asked her to marry me. Again. Leaping into my arms, she gave me her answer.
I’ll never get tired of hearing her say yes.
First place:
This entry stood out to me as a complete little story. I love the revolution it made from beginning to end. The thoughts, the movements, the images all evoked feeling. It’s the perfect little slice of youth and hope and heart. It would be great to see it continued, but it doesn’t need to be. It works wonderfully as a snapshot.
by @DarlingVeruca
She peeked through the slats of the picket fence separating their yards. She was twelve, her neighbor twenty-something. R, her neighbor, was perfect, had boobs that she’d might have one day. Maybe one day if she kept practicing those exercises. R’s clothes were perfect, too. Even though her mom scolded her over and over for “ruining brand new jeans” she still cut and ripped the knees just right.
So on her knees, the damp grass chilling the bare skin there, she watched R and R’s guy kiss and laugh and hug. She thought, I want that. I want a boy to tell me he loves me and to look at me like he looks at her. R and R’s guy nuzzled into each other as they walked inside the house. She flopped onto her back, stared at the sky, the puffy clouds. She squeezed her eyes shut, made her lips pucker and kissed the air.
From his bedroom window, R’s thirteen-year-old brother could see the weird neighbor girl lying flat on her back, making weird faces. His stomach did a flip-flop every time he saw her. And then he kissed his window and thought, One day it’ll be for real.
Second place:
I felt this one in my stomach. A story of letting go and holding on. Each sentence built on the one before it until the piece grew into a moment of both happiness and wistfulness. I felt the poignancy of the father wishing he’d set aside more time for his daughter. If only he’d known then. So easy to understand and relate to.
by @bkhchika
I watched them together. He was going to take her away. I could feel it my bones. The way she laughed when she was with him. The way her eyes shined when he walked into the room. They moved together, like they were tied to each other. She’d changed so much since she’d met him. She’d grown and matured- become a woman. I wasn’t ready for that.
I couldn’t reconcile this young lady with the little girl that used to beg to stay up just five more minutes for another bedtime story. She wasn’t the child that made mud pies for my birthday. If I’d have known that time would pass so quickly, I’d have spent less time at the office and more with her.
Even now he was replacing me as the most important man in her life. She had jumped into his arms and wound her legs around him. The skin of her knees shining through the ripped jeans. He carried her to the house and she slid down the front of him. Turning to face me, she gripped his arm tightly. Holding out her left hand, with tear-filled eyes, she told me, “I said yes!”
Honorable Mention This is just beautiful. I love the rhythm of it and that while it’s a story/poem of a relationship and a proposal, it actually reads like a proposal. It feels intimate and personal.
by @ileftmyscar
hap•pi•ness - noun \ˈha-pē-nəs\ - state of being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.
The dictionary compiled the meaning in concise fifteen words. A photographer could do it in one click. An artist in a hundred brush strokes. A writer in just a line and then a whole novel.
I am none.
When the morning sun casts you in the perfect glow and the sea breeze makes your curls caress my bare chest while I hold you as you sleep.
When you are standing in the kitchen and humming the tune of the most annoying songs on the planet, and your lips curve into a smirk because you know how annoyed I am.
When I steal kisses between bites of bacon.
When you wear your ripped jeans and my fingers want to play music on your knees.
When my lips want to devour your giggles because my fingertips tickle.
When your cheek against mine is the most perfect warmth as I lift you on to the counter.
When I kiss my love on your lips and my voice shakes upon a question.
When one word changes my entire life.
Yes.
That’s happiness.
Honorable Mention:
I loved that this was Twilight canon, but with an unexpected Emmett-twist. The dead cat on the head made me laugh, and I’d love to see Rose walk down the aisle wearing it.
by @BedeliaJane
The fifty-sixth time, she was wearing that stupid brown wig.
Alice bought it for her when she felt like a change. Yeah, thanks, Alice. I thought the damn thing looked like a dead cat, but I wasn’t about to tell Rose. I’m not an idiot.
So, anyway, there I was with another ring in my pocket, waiting for my wife to stop wearing a cat on her head. For once, I didn’t know how to propose. I’d already done dozens of big ones: hot air balloon, flash mob, the cliche of half-time, and so on.
To be honest, all of the weddings are my fault. I just can’t stop asking her.
She leaned against my chest, fitting there the way she always does, and just like that, the words wouldn’t stay locked up. It was like seeing her when I woke up to this life: sharper than need, more natural than breath. On bended knee, I asked her to marry me. Again. Leaping into my arms, she gave me her answer.
I’ll never get tired of hearing her say yes.
CONGRATULATIONS @DarlingVeruca!
@DarlingVeruca, I can't wait to see what prompt you pick for us next week!
Congratulations to @bkhchicka, @ileftmyscar, and @BedeliaJane, also.
Thank you to BelieveItOrNot for judging--it was a tough decision to make!
Most of all, thank you so much to everyone who participated! So many talented writers!
Keep writing, and we'll see you next week!
Wow! This is pretty fantastic considering the amount of wonderful writing! Thanks for hosting, Shell, and thanks for judging, believeitornot. Congratulations to everyone. :)
ReplyDelete--Veruca Darling
Congratulations to you!
DeleteThanks for your lovely words! I'll DM you on twitter, but start thinking about a prompt for next week ;)