Muse

Ahhh...a new muse has moved into one of the spaces in my brain and has decided that I should now work on a story that has the lovely working title of "Young"; therefore, you should now get to read posts about "Bullies", "Young", or "Shatter".  The purpose of today's blog is to introduce you to the story lines of the novels I am currently working on.

As a writer, I can tell you that first and foremost, I am in fact paranoid about anyone reading my work.  Part of this is because I'm afraid of failure as a writer, part of it is because I desperately do not want anyone to get angry when I change something and part of it is because I'm a coward.  Hopefully, by opening up to everyone, I can get some strength to carry on with my writing...so here goes the story lines.

The first novel I am working on that has been on the back burner for nearly two years because I want to rework it is called Shatter.

Shatter is the story of a girl named Tara who has just graduated high school and has entered in to college.  During the spring quarter of her senior year of high school, her long time boyfriend is found cheating on her.  The girl that he has been lying to Tara about for years is one of the girls who in high school hated Tara for being a social butterfly and has done everything in her power to get Joe away from Tara.  At graduation, Joe asks the other girl to marry him and effectively destroys Tara inwardly.  The rest of the novel goes on describing the girl she becomes at college until she finds someone new to help her find herself again.  There are twists and turns and unexpected surprises around every corner and nothing is ever what it seems.

“What do you want?”  There was rage in my voice as I spoke, I could feel the rage building inside of me.  The feeling behind it was different, though.  It was definitely rage…but mixed with passion.  He was here to see me…and it was slightly thrilling.

Joe’s head snapped up in my direction, the shock was evident on his face.  He hadn’t expected this type of reaction.  This cheered me up a little, I could surprise him too.  His mouth opened for a second, just a little before he closed it and watched me perplexed, trying to plan his next words.  “To talk.”

I narrowed my eyes.  Mom’s lips turned down in a deeper frown as she watched me start coming down the stairs.  The anger was evident on both of our faces, he took a step back as I took my first step as if he were retreating.

“Trey called me…”

I cut him off, “Yeah, he called me too…to apologize, but what would he have to apologize to me for?”  I made sure I said each word deliberately, stressing the fact that it wasn’t really Trey’s fault for my mood.

His face seemed to blanch at that moment and he took a step forward, toward me as I reached the landing, “Tara, I’m…”

I held up my hand this time, cutting off his progress again.  I glanced up at him; he had six inches on me.  There was pain in his eyes…was I imagining this…Joe…feeling pain because of something he did to me?  I ignored his eyes looking back down as I placed my hand on his chest.  I pushed him backward, out of the front door.  I stopped when both of us were on the front porch.  “Get out of my house Joe, and leave me alone.”

As I dropped my hand from his chest, his arms came up grasping my shoulders.  I stiffened and looked up into his face again.  He searched my face and eyes for a moment before lowering his arms.  I looked back down and past him.  It had rained this morning and the leaves were still dripping water.

“Please, just…leave me alone.”  I turned away from him and walked back into the house shutting the door behind me.  I could feel the tears building, but I didn’t want to cry them.  He had looked at me, watched me, seen me…there was still love there…somewhere behind those eyes…I wanted it…I wanted it bad.

The second novel I have been working on for over a year is called Bullies.

Bullies is a little bit scary for me to write, but I think it is important that they story I'm trying to tell is told. 

Bullies is a story that centers around four key individuals and is told from four different point of views.  The point of view of a teacher, one of the bullies, the best friend and the principal.  The story centers around a boy who is bullied until one day he can not take it anymore.  You read what happens first through the eyes of the teacher, then through his best friend, through the weaker of the two bullies and then finally through the eyes of the principal.  The reason I am writing this story is because it gives you more than one perspective.  You see the fear and self-sacrificing attitude of the teacher as she tries to stop the incident; then you see the best friend who blames herself, but refuses to leave her best friend; then I take you on a 180 to see through the eyes of Cameron as he realizes that the whole situation could have been avoided if he had just stopped the other bully; and then finally use see the calm exterior of a very scared principal who is tying to make everyone get out safe.

This novel has been my pet, the one that I have spent the most time on trying to get right.  It has gone through several changes, but one thing that has not changed is that I never reveal where exactly the school is located.  My reason behind this is that I want parents, students, teachers, administrators, politicians or anyone who picks it up to read realize that this type of an incident can happen anywhere and at anytime.  There is no specific "type" that can do this...but that it is very real and that kids need to think about what they do before they actually do it.  I think that if this novel ever gets finished, or to a point that I feel comfortable sending it in to be read, that it is an important lesson for people to learn.

March 18, 2010 – 9:15 AM

Maryanne closed her attendance binder and looked around the room one more time.  “Has anyone seen Troy today?”  She asked the other’s sitting in the class.  Troy had been in the hallway during her morning locker duty, but was missing from class.

Erin raised her hand, “I think he may have gone home.  He didn’t look like he was feeling too great earlier today.”

Maryanne nodded her head.  Troy had most likely walked himself to nurse and she would get a call soon enough telling her that he had either gone home or would be in class shortly.  “Alright, open you books to page 95, please.”  She turned around to the white board behind her and began to write the instructions for the days lesson when she heard the door open.

Turning her body to face the door, she watched as Troy quietly entered the room and closed the door behind him.  He did not look toward her or offer any type of explanation but stared at two of the boys in the back of the class.  Maryanne waited a moment for him to take his seat, but when he showed no signs of movement cleared her throat.  Troy glanced at her and then looked back at the two boys.

“Do you have a pass Troy?” She asked turned her body to face him.  When he didn’t answer she made a movement toward him.  “Troy?”

He looked at her quickly and moved the arm he had been holding behind his back.  “Please, don’t walk over here Ms. Teague.”

Maryanne paused as and inhaled a sharp breath as she stared at the dark black object he pointed in her direction.  A girl in the back of the room screamed and she turned her head toward her and held up a hand toward Troy.  “Troy, what are you doing?”

The third and final project that I am working on and actually just started today is called Young.

Young is the story of a girl in her middle twenties who has always felt that her life was going to be cut short.  It follows her from the moment she wakes up on the day of her death and then through a path that explains the reasons behind why she was taken so young.  As of right now, the muse is whispering that she was taken because she is needed in a more celestial realm, but that it was required for her to spend at least two decades on earth to prepare her, but that something went terribly wrong.  Marisol has always experienced premonitions and clairvoyance's that others have written off as "deja vu", but she has always felt that it was more than that.  Two years prior to where the story starts, Marisol avoids her predetermined death while in the car with her older sister because a premonition comes to her just prior to a car accident that should have taken her life instead of the life of her older sister.  For two years she has experienced several near death experiences, until the day comes that she can no longer escape and the man who has been her companion in her dreams takes her to fulfill her destiny.  The only problem is that Marisol will not let go of her life on Earth and it could mean the destruction of both Heaven and Earth.

Standing in the shower, Marisol could not shake the dream she’d had that night.  Dreams were normally very vivid to her, in color with clear movements…not the typical quality of dreams in black and white with no real interaction.  She had interacted with the man in her dream.  She turned her back to the shower head and let the soup wash out of her head thinking.

The dreams were coming every night now.  As if her brain was trying to tell her something, to warn her against something that was coming.  She was no stranger to premonitions.  She’d been having premonitions her entire life.  In fact, Mark had been a premonition to her also.  She’d seen that she would meet him in the small coffee shop in town; that she would bump in to him and knock his coffee down the front of his shirt.  She had told her closest friend about it, but Chris had shrugged it off as déjà vu.

Standing under the warm water of the shower, Marisol let her mind wander back to the last time she had dreamed this much.  It had been the week her sister had passed away.  Elizabeth had been thirty when she had been killed in the car accident two years ago.  Marisol had been having nightmares about various situation in which Elizabeth never seemed to survive.  She had mentioned it to Mark, but he said it was only because she missed Elizabeth and was worried about her.  That had been when she had stopped talking to Mark about the specifics of her night-terrors as she called them.

I will tell you that surprisingly enough, it feels good to put a little bit of my story out here for you to read.  I am trying to let go of all the anxiety I feel toward allowing people to read what I am working on.  I am slowly beginning to realize, though, that if I put it out there and get some sort of feedback, I may not let my projects sit untouched for years upon years.

There you go, though.  I little delve in to the worlds that I create in my head and put on my word processor.  I hope you enjoyed the little bit that I am willing to give.  :)

Please take in to account that these are very rough drafts of pieces that I am working on and that none of them are the polished pieces that I would send in.