Happy Wednesday! Today, I’m anxiously waiting to see if my son got his feedback from the audition he did last week. He chose not to wait for his scores, so we have no idea how it went. He has a lesson at school today, so hopefully he’ll find out.
It’s been a little rough as far as my novel-in-progress. I took all of December off, then finished up several short stories. I’m having a lot of trouble finding some direction for the novel, even though I outlined. It’s so frustrating. I won’t call it writer’s block—I’m not having trouble writing. I’m having trouble writing anything relevant to the story or, heck, even creating a coherent plot for this thing. I feel unmotivated and disappointed every time I look at it.
At least my goals are otherwise going well.
ROW80 Goal Updates:
- Read 30 minutes/day—yup, easily
- Write 1 hour/day—Yes, but probably not on what I should be writing.
- Write 1 blog post/week that isn’t ROW80 or WIPpet—wrote four guest posts, but nothing for my blog yet.
- Write 1 flash fiction/month—a bit long for a flash fiction, but yes, I did. It was the result of a challenge, and you can read it here.
- Walk on the treadmill 5 days/week—yes, and it feels good to be back.
WIPpet
If you recall, Ethan’s crushing on his much older coworker. Ethan assumed he was married. This week, I’ll give you the answer. There’s still much tension and drama, so this won’t spoil the story. If all goes well, you’ll be able to read the rest this spring. This is the last installment; I need to move on to other projects.
WIPmath: 28/2 = 14 paragraphs
Ethan sat in his classroom for forty-five minutes after the final bell, debating whether or not to make his way to the auditorium again. He wanted to see Paul, but everything in him warned that it was a terrible idea. While he stalled, he found mundane tasks to do—anything to keep him occupied and away from his distracting but unavailable coworker. In danger of missing the rehearsal entirely, he couldn’t put it off any longer and made his way back to the main floor.
Paul was positioning the students for a musical number. A woman he didn’t recognize was coordinating the dance steps, and she was demonstrating what she wanted them to do. Paul hopped down from the stage, leaving her to it. He looked up just as Ethan entered, and his face broke out in a wide grin.
“I wasn’t sure you’d show up again after I relegated you to stage crew,” he said.
Ethan chuckled, his stomach in knots at the proximity of his coworker. “I didn’t mind. Mrs. Beale is a harsh taskmaster, though—a lot like you.”
“I’m a little intense about these things,” Paul agreed.
“Are you always like that?” Ethan gritted his teeth; he seemed incapable of holding back whatever popped into his head.
To his credit, Paul didn’t cringe. “I can be, if it’s something I’m passionate about. My wife always accused me of the same thing.”
Something in the way he phrased it caught Ethan’s attention. “Wait…accused? You mean she doesn’t anymore?”
Paul shook his head. “I should have said ex-wife.” He snorted. “I assume she would still accuse me of being intense, though, if you asked her.”
Ethan’s shoulders lost their tension. He reminded himself that just because Paul was divorced, it didn’t guarantee any interest in men. Even if it did, Paul might not be open about it at work, or he might be put off by Ethan’s youth. He wished he had anything to go on other than the limited information Paul had given him in their few brief exchanges.
He licked his lips and took a chance. “Well, now I’m accusing you in her place,” he said, keeping his voice low and smooth.
The mustache-twitching half-smile appeared, and Paul moved closer, resting a hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “I was missing having someone to nag me. Good thing you’re planning to stick around and help out.” His fingers brushed teasingly as he dropped his arm and stepped back again.
Ethan’s heart nearly stopped; he hadn’t misread a single thing. “Guess I’d better get backstage and start helping, then.”
“Indeed.”
If you enjoyed my WIPpet, you’ll be happy to know there are a whole bunch more right here. You’re welcome to post a bit of your WIP, connect it to the date with Fancy Math, and add it to the rest. As always, thanks to K. L. Schwengel for hosting us. Happy writing!
First off…it’s a hot day on WIPpet Wednesday, that’s all I have to say. *whew!*
Second, oh, can I relate to having a problem with finding direction! I…um…well, I’m likely killing all of the 90k or so words I have written on EoD and starting fresh. Yep. There. I said it. Gah!!
Gah indeed! I don’t think I have to start fresh, but I have to find a thread somewhere. I usually start with a classic fairy tale and build on it, but I scrapped my first idea and never replaced it. The stories never really go exactly according to their original, but they do start there. I think I found the one I want to use–it’s just a matter of doing it.
Much as I’m generally anti-mustache, I like this. 😉
😀 I’m not a huge mustache fan, but I know many people who are. Well, I mean, there are a few men who can rock one, but they are few and far between and need a personality to match.
Funny… I don’t think I’ve ever had a problem with my husband being intensely passionate. Mustache’s ex-wife had some strange issues.
That would be why she’s an ex-wife and not a current wife. 🙂 In my head, it’s mostly that their intensities clashed but they were able to stay fairly amicable. But that wouldn’t have been terribly interesting to put in a short story.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say I think Paul is interested in men.
He just might be. 😉
It’s amazing what a change in tense can do!
Exactly! Ethan’s brain finally caught up. 🙂
Haha, excellent calculated fishing! Woo-hoo finger tease! Awesome.
Also, I totally hear you on the not-exactly-writer’s-block thing. I’m there, too. Fingers crossed for both of us! Except when typing, as that would be awkward.
Thanks! 🙂
Ha, yeah, though I’m feeling a little like it might be more productive to type with fingers crossed. At least I’d be typing. LOL
*whew* Well, I needed something to warm me up. 😀 Great snippet
😀 Glad to “help!
I’m not generally a mustache fan either, but somehow I can just see Paul being the kind of person who really suits one…
I’m glad he finally spelled it out for Ethan! Great snippet, though I think it’s now a lot warmer in here than when I started reading it… Teasing looks and touches… I think I need my desk fan.
Yay! This snippet is about the steamiest this particular story gets, which is more unusual for me.
Paul is modeled on someone I used to know. He had a mustache, and it definitely suited him. Really nice guy, too.
So intense for a short little scene. I like it! 🙂
Thanks! 🙂
Oh yes, and now the fire has been lit under those two. Nice! I really love Ethan. For a young stud he definitely dives straightforward on what he wants. I like.
Oh, I feel ya on the whole novel thing. I recently had to put my current wip down too and pick up another story. It’s just one of those times.
Yes, that’s what I like about him, too.
I think we’ve all been there on being frustrated with our work and in need of a break. Letting go of what I thought I *should* do and just letting the story take shape helped this week. But next week, I’m sure I’ll be wanting to beat it with a baseball bat. LOL
Some nice sparks flying between these two! 🙂
I’m having the same problem with my current WIP. I keep writing, but the plot doesn’t seem to want to materialize. I just try to have faith that sooner or later, something will click into place. Good luck!
nice snippet plenty of emotion – I wouldn’t worry too much about the other – let it happen – you’re writing and that’s good the rest should follow 🙂
o.O hot and steamy lol I like these two. =P