“Where you going, pretty lady?” the tallest of the trio called out. One of the others laughed, one of those full-mouth-open laughs that sounded almost like a hacking cough. Angelica turned away from them, pressing her phone against her cheek. There was nobody on the other end, but these guys didn’t know that. Didn’t need … Continue reading Inktober52 2023: Angel
snippets
Inktober53 2023: Shadow
Yeah, I wasn't quite sure how to end this, but I'm not mad. Wisps of darkness cling to the ground where Ryker stands. His body is taunt, the muscles in his back rippling like a sail billowed with wind. “Ryker?” Wren’s voice is a whisper but it echoes over the deck of the ship. Rip’s … Continue reading Inktober53 2023: Shadow
Inktober52 2023: Puppet
This drabble kind of ran away from me and the focus (puppet), but I'm okay with it because it's helping me understand my characters and their world better. “Wren?” a voice piped up from beyond the tent flaps. A voice of honey and sugar and all things sweet. Eliza. With the golden curls that Wren … Continue reading Inktober52 2023: Puppet
Inktober52 2023: Build
My cold fingers scramble to light the match that will build this fire into a blazing inferno. Over and over, I scrape the match against the rough red of the matchbox. But again and again, the match snaps in half. Unlit. I toss away the broken pieces, adding more kindling to the growing pile of … Continue reading Inktober52 2023: Build
Sunday Snippets: Opening Line Prompt
This past week I gave my teen writers an opening line and then they had to write what happened next. Of course, I participated in the writing exercise as well and I didn't expect to go Jurassic Park on everybody, but here we are. The opening line is italicized to distinguish what I came up … Continue reading Sunday Snippets: Opening Line Prompt
Sunday Snippets: Show vs Tell
We discussed show vs tell, briefly, during my last meeting with my teen writers. It's a tricky element of writing that is super important but hard to grasp. So I had them do a fun exercise where I gave them three phrases to pick from and then they had to write a scene that depicted … Continue reading Sunday Snippets: Show vs Tell
Sunday Snippets: Dialogue Exercise
It's been a while since I shared a writing exercise. This one was paired with a mini-lesson on avoiding info dumps in writing for my teen writers at the library. Basically, I challenged them to write a scene that explains the culture // world // time // etc. a character is living in entirely through … Continue reading Sunday Snippets: Dialogue Exercise
Sunday Snippets: Haikus
The Teen Writing Club I run at my library decided to continue with poetry for a little while. We'll be going over the more popular forms of poetry, exploring the specific structures as well as the poets that are known for writing those specific forms. And we'll also be experimenting by writing some of them … Continue reading Sunday Snippets: Haikus
Sunday Snippets: 5 Words
I lead a writing club for teens at my library. Almost every time we meet, I give them some kind of writing prompt to challenge them. This past week, they picked a random slip of paper with five words that they then needed to incorporate in their writing in some way. Since I usually participate … Continue reading Sunday Snippets: 5 Words