Updates! WriYe and Writing

I've been working on my trilogy since February. I got off to a really slow start, but I've learned so much over the course of these past 5 months.

I've been keeping up with my progress on the National Writing Year forum, which is why you see me pump out a WriYe Blogging Circle post once a month. WriYe is also the reason my stories sidebar is filling up so well--I participated in a challenge called Laster Wriy'er Standing (LWS), which, as you can probably guess, involved submitting a piece and voting out someone every two weeks. The challenge provided a nice break from my trilogy, despite a few unsettling faults with the competition. Working with the same characters for so long has been really rewarding.

Another blurb about WriYe, it's Zombie July! I signed up for the challenge mistakenly, but once I found out what it was about, I decided to give it a try. I've never written a zombie story nor do I have an interest in zombies, but I have an idea for a zombie short that will hopefully see itself written in time this month. This month's blog post, in celebration of zombies, is about overused tropes, so stay tuned for my reply to that.

I'm also participating in July Camp to help me finish the final book of my trilogy (the first time I've ever participated in NaNo!). My recent move has taken my daily word count down by over 1K words, so I'm hoping to meet my goal so I can be free to write and edit casually. It's been a busy month!

Fresh Habits

• I've watched myself grow from a few words a day to up to 5000 at home. This habit reset each month as I started a new project. Currently, I am pumping out 2000 words a day.
• Went from writing 1/2 - 3/4 a chapter a day to writing 2 chapters a day.
• Went from writing a few times a week to every day.
• I've learned a lot from research and small critiques, but the biggest thing that improved my writing was READING!
• From critiques, I learned that I am my best (and worst) critic--if I put my mind to it, I can think of all the questions a reader might come up with, and this helps sort through rude or unhelpful critiques.

Goals for July

• I hope to finish the final book of my trilogy so I can prepare for editing. (I'll be looking for beta readers, too!)
• Outline and write zombie short, Sometimes Poison is the Sweetest

The largest goal is, of course, to finish up this trilogy. I honestly can't wait to start editing! During that phase--after July--I'm also going to start outlining my next novel, which I've decided to save for my first NaNoWriMo.

Also, did you hear? Writer's Edit is hosting a giveaway that includes a chance at a free copy of Scrivener and other books!

Castaway

Run from his home, 

he couldn't forget

the night when his family had made him forfeit

all that he owned.

Now all alone

and cold to the bone

he stared at the wall,

no paper, no phone.

No message to write, no story to tell

his own family told him to burn in Hell.

The streets, used as landfills

and the dumpsters' overspill

mocked his aching, growling stomach.

He'd bend, his ankles, knees, still swollen

as around him passed, in twos and fours, men.

But not one. Not one would lend a helping hand.

Dirty looks shot through his heart

from the ones whom this mess did start.

Kicked out of his own house into the dirt

the waist of his pants no longer girt.

Not a single coin did they leave in his pocket

for every coin was written on their docket.

In their greed, they'd met him with fire

cut him, dashed him, and called him a liar.

Without them on his side, who did he have?

No one, no Man who wouldn't take a jab

at his heart, at his mind--

whatever they could find

they took. 

Took, took.

Everything, everything was taken away

by those who he'd called family.

He huddled close to the birds and the squirrels

until the time of night when they whirled

to return to their homes and their beds and their worlds.

He stepped through the warm wind into the blue light

the moon quivering in all its glory and might.

His pockets were light and his soul was heavy

but his mind had finally been set free

of the banshee

that sung the sweet words that richness was material.

Because of that voice, his life had been serial.

He knelt on the sidewalk,

his fingers gripping the charcoal chalk

as he etched the message in his heart.

His family had given him the start

that he needed to fire the coals

to melt the heaviness in his soul.

The message was simple, straight to the point.

with greed, money did his family annoint.

But he was not innocent, unblemished, without fault--

On his sight, his material wealth had raised an assault.

But now he could see: he was rich with the word

the message, the truth, which had come like a bird.

The chalk scribbled the message in one word, six, seven

and in those words he thought he did see heaven:

"Without money, we would all be rich,

it's the material that makes us all so sick," which

darkens the mind and causes the homeless

and leaves us all with a feeling so lone'less.

The one place he had never known was Home.

Shalom.

The glow in his face

rose up to the place

where richness abounds

in a town

with streets of gold

and richness that by Man was untold.

___

Author's Note: This was supposed to be a free verse piece, but after the verse that doesn't rhyme at all, the Lord filled me with rhymes. Anyone who's read my previous posts knows I can't rhyme and typically avoid poetry.

Castaway is copyright Krystal K. Brown. All rights reserved. Do not use, copy, or distribute any part of Castaway without the express permission of the author.

The Mind Game - Chapter Seven

Chapter 7 of The Mind Game.

This is the final installment of this piece. I hope you enjoyed! Please comment below with your thoughts.

Synopsis: Chesulloth finds herself trapped within her own mind. At first, she is lured in with offerings of pleasantries while she sleeps. Then, her sleeping body is bound and she is plunged into all her deepest fears, forced to endure ordeal after ordeal. The only way out is to overcome her fears, but her fears aren't all they seem on the surface.

Table of Contents

The Mind Game - Chapter Six

Chapter Six of The Mind Game.

Synopsis: Chesulloth finds herself trapped within her own mind. At first, she is lured in with offerings of pleasantries while she sleeps. Then, her sleeping body is bound and she is plunged into all her deepest fears, forced to endure ordeal after ordeal. The only way out is to overcome her fears, but her fears aren't all they seem on the surface.

Table of Contents

The Mind Game - Chapter Five

Chapter Five of The Mind Game.

Synopsis: Chesulloth finds herself trapped within her own mind. At first, she is lured in with offerings of pleasantries while she sleeps. Then, her sleeping body is bound and she is plunged into all her deepest fears, forced to endure ordeal after ordeal. The only way out is to overcome her fears, but her fears aren't all they seem on the surface.

Table of Contents

The Mind Game - Chapter Four

Chapter Four of The Mind Game.

Synopsis: Chesulloth finds herself trapped within her own mind. At first, she is lured in with offerings of pleasantries while she sleeps. Then, her sleeping body is bound and she is plunged into all her deepest fears, forced to endure ordeal after ordeal. The only way out is to overcome her fears, but her fears aren't all they seem on the surface.

Table of Contents

The Mind Game - Chapter Three

Chapter Three of The Mind Game.

Synopsis: Chesulloth finds herself trapped within her own mind. At first, she is lured in with offerings of pleasantries while she sleeps. Then, her sleeping body is bound and she is plunged into all her deepest fears, forced to endure ordeal after ordeal. The only way out is to overcome her fears, but her fears aren't all they seem on the surface.

Table of Contents

The Mind Game - Chapter Two

Chapter Two of The Mind Game.

Synopsis: Chesulloth finds herself trapped within her own mind. At first, she is lured in with offerings of pleasantries while she sleeps. Then, her sleeping body is bound and she is plunged into all her deepest fears, forced to endure ordeal after ordeal. The only way out is to overcome her fears, but her fears aren't all they seem on the surface.

Table of Contents

The Mind Game - Chapter One

I originally said I would be releasing the first chapter of The Mind Game on June 1st. But I grew impatient. So here is the first chapter of this 7 part short story.

Enjoy!

Synopsis: Chesulloth finds herself trapped within her own mind. At first, she is lured in with offerings of pleasantries while she sleeps. Then, her sleeping body is bound and she is plunged into all her deepest fears, forced to endure ordeal after ordeal. The only way out is to overcome her fears, but her fears aren't all they seem on the surface.

Table of Contents