Fiction

Happy Wednesday! My kids are home for the morning doing homework and reading. It’s state testing week, and we opted them out. So instead of writing in my WIPs, I’m reading and blogging.

I currently have four projects going: Two short stories, a flash fiction, and a novel. I’m trying to keep better track of my progress on those as well as on projects that are in the background to be worked on at a later time.

Today’s snippet is still from the short story about LR. Last week, she told Cat she’s not pregnant. This week, he tells her what’s wrong between him and David.

WIPmath: 3/29/17 = 2 + 9 = 11 paragraphs

“What?”

She groaned and turned over to bury her face in the pillow, immediately wishing she hadn’t when it made her a little seasick. “I’m not giving you a lesson on human anatomy right now, Cat.” She felt him shaking against her and knew he was laughing, even though he was obviously trying to be silent. “It’s not funny,” she snapped.

“It kind of is. I already know how things work. I did wonder, but I figured probably not.”

LR sat up, and Cat copied her movements. She crossed her arms. “Yeah, well, you and David don’t exactly have to worry about this crap.”

Cat’s expression turned stony, and LR wondered what she’d said to upset him. She put a hand on his arm, but he shook her off. They sat side by side in the dark, but all the warmth had leeched out with her comment. Something was definitely bothering Cat where David was concerned.

“What’s going on with you and David?” she asked.

Cat’s shoulder wiggled against hers. “Nothing. We’re fine.”

“You’re not, or you wouldn’t say it that way. You’d be running off at the mouth about life, the universe, and David’s awesomeness.”

There was a long silence, followed by Cat’s deep sigh. “I love him. That hasn’t changed. But…I don’t know. Sometimes I think the only reason it works between us is that we don’t have to explain anything to each other.”

“So you’re not sure you want to be with him?”

LR heard Cat’s swallow. “I do. It’s just…” He stopped and nestled closer to her, putting his head on her shoulder. “I’m worried about him. Like, all the time.”

Like what you read? Be sure to check out the other entries and add your own. Just post a bit of your WIP, connect it to the date, and link up with us. Many thanks to Emily Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!

Happy Wednesday! My big news for the week is that I’m getting a new laptop. I’ve settled on the MacBook Air, which suits my needs perfectly. I need to go test it out in person before I make a final decision, so later this week, I’m off to brave the store and try it out. I’d already decided to go with a Mac when I knew I needed to replace my laptop, so I don’t have much to do for the transition except make sure I have access to all my passwords.

So far this week, no snow days. I’ve been catching up on all the things I couldn’t get to while everyone was home. My checklist for the week:

• Beta read three chapters of a suspense/romance
• New editing job, over halfway through
• Reading two pre-release novels
• Read one short story (it was…weird, but good)
• Skimmed a freebie novel someone recommended and decided it was definitely not for me
• Wrote roughly 3k on Drumbeat (the next Notes from Boston novel)
• Wrote about 1k on a short story for submission
• Revised LR’s story

It’s LR’s story that I’m continuing to share from today. I’m still not happy with it. I don’t know why, but I feel like she’s very difficult to write about. I understand where she’s coming from, but it’s hard to capture it. If I keep posting from it, I’ll eventually get around to what’s under the surface. But today’s snippet should at least help clear up what’s not going on.

WIPmath: 3/22 = (3 x 2) + 2 = 8 paragraphs.

LR’s door creaked open, and she opened her eyes. She’d left a beside lamp on, knowing Cat would sneak in like they used to do when they were younger. It amused her. Their parents wouldn’t think it was strange, and it wasn’t as though they had a bedtime they were breaking. Cat probably should have been getting sleep, since he had to work in the morning, but LR wasn’t going to tell him that. He would be annoyed with her, and then they wouldn’t talk.

He peeked in, and she looked up. “Hey,” she said.

“Hey. Can I come over there?”

“How do you know I won’t make you sick?”

Cat rolled his eyes. “If you were really sick, I’d have known already.”

That was a fair point. LR motioned for him to join her. A moment later, Cat’s cold toes were on her leg. She squirmed, and he giggled. Deciding not to shove him out of the bed, she pulled the covers up over both of them and snuggled down.

“Why are you really home?” he asked. He certainly didn’t waste any time.

LR thought about lying to him the way she’d half-lied to Mom, but it would save time if she told Cat the truth. “My life right now is kind of a mess. I couldn’t go away because I have too much work to do, and it’s stressing me out like you wouldn’t believe.” She sighed. “I seriously thought I was pregnant, but I’m not.”

Like what you read? Be sure to check out the other entries and add your own. Just post a bit of your WIP, connect it to the date, and link up with us. Many thanks to Emily Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!