Paula Acton and Dianne Gray have both tagged me in the Look! Challenge 🙂 Thank you so much ladies!
“The idea is to locate the word ‘look’ in whatever manuscript you have lying around and post the few previous and following paragraphs and then invite other authors to do the same.”
So I’ve been rummaging through my notebooks, trying to find a pice of writing that includes the word “look” lol. Its not a word I use very often (is that good or bad? Lol). And finally I’ve found something 🙂 This is the prologue of my abandoned MS, But Not Forgotten. It’s also part of the piece I sent to Faber.
They say that your life flashes before your eyes just before the moment you die,
but Daniel Hopwood’s had been flashing before his eyes for weeks now. He couldn’t
eat, couldn’t sleep. He knew his options, none of which were appealing. He’d lived
with the guilt for years, coped with it, but now, time was running out.
Unlocking the drawer of his desk he took out the carefully wrapped revolver. It
felt cold and heavy in his hands. It had been a while since he’d felt that feeling of
power.
Looking at the photos on his desk, Daniel smiled. His darling wife Laura, and Ruby, their daughter. Happy family memories of holidays and birthdays. His girls
were his reason for living. He existed to love them and care for them…but now, he
couldn’t risk them hating him. Everything Daniel had ever done, was for them,
they were his world, and he couldn’t bear not be a part of their lives.
He put the gun to his throat, the barrel pointing upwards and stood up. He had
never been a coward, it wasn’t his way, but yes, now, he would take the cowards way
out, rather than face up to what he’d done. It was the only choice he had left. The
cold metal on his face was comforting, and as he pulled the trigger he closed his
eyes and pictured happy times on the beach, when Ruby was five.
The pain was brief.
I’m suppose to tag fellow bloggers to take part, but I’m just gunna say, if you want to play, please do 🙂
And by the way, is there a lack of the word “look” in your work, or do you use it on a regular basis? Am I in fact a weirdo? Lol 😉
And this is just the prologue? WOW! I love it and want know what happens!
Any chance of the story being finished in the near future? 😀
LikeLike
I have 65,000 words of it Dianne! It was my Nano novel for 2010 and is in 2nd draft form. It’s the story of 2 brothers, and the woman in the middle of them. I did try to write a synopsis a while back, but gave up trying to sort the whole thing out a few months ago lol. I did Nano 2010 as a complete Panster, tied myself up in huge plot knots and lost my love for it. It’s still unfinished….perhaps one day 😉
Thanks honey 🙂
Xx
LikeLike
Oh what a sad story 😦 poor man must of done something really bad to end his life like that.
Brilliant as usual 😀 x
LikeLike
Thanks Sam 🙂
His whole world was just about to come crashing round his ear ‘oles….his wife and daughter were about to discover what a nasty man he was 😉
Xx
LikeLike
‘Look out! Stop!’ is the opening line of my WIP novel, Applause.
Ha ha ha, an easy one for me, Vikki. xxx
LikeLike
Ha ha ha! 🙂
So you DO use it lol
Xx
LikeLike
Yes. A builder tries to attract my protagonist’s attention before the roof of a building that has been hit by a bomb falls on her. Great blog post again…. xxx
LikeLike
Ooooooo, good start to a book Maddie 🙂
Thanks honey xx
LikeLike
Yet another example of your writing’s awesome-ness. I love your dark, intense style.
Hm, I think I will use the word “look” occasionally.
LikeLike
Thanks Sara 🙂
Xx
LikeLike
Searched through our first volume of short stories and, much to our surprise, only found one LOOK. Weird 🙂
My grandmother’s farmhouse lay on the outskirts of a largely deserted town in the countryside. Apart from the farm, there was not a landmark for miles; it LOOKed like the end of the Earth; frozen rocky pathways, denuded shivering trees, and icy air as brittle as glass.
“Where are the shops?” I asked.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” my father said shortly. “There’s nothing out here but the old farmhouse and your Grandmother.”
From GRANDMA SILENCE by Kurt Bachard
LikeLike
Wow, well done! 🙂
Excellent 🙂
Thanks for stopping by honey xx
LikeLike
Vicki, I was happy you found another way to give us more of your work. Look and learn … look and listen?? Don’t know how many times I use the word, but I sure loved the way you did 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks Florence 🙂
I’m afraid there won’t be much in the way of fiction from me from now on for a while, see tomorrow’s post 😉
Xx
LikeLike
I can say without a doubt there is no point in me looking for the word ‘look’ in my work…lol. I know it wouldn’t be there. I don’t know why. Never really thought about it much until I read this. May have to think about using it on occasion. 🙂
LikeLike
Lol, we’ll I’m glad to hear I’m not alone there then 😉
I tend to use stare more than look for some reason lol
Xx
LikeLike
Oooh, I like this one! Here’s mine, from one of the chapters I polished off today:
The sky above Lyla was an inky azure, almost black with night. The visible horizon between breaks in the rows of the self-storage units appeared almost foamy, infused with the eerie amethyst of the approaching storm. She stared at it, mesmerized by its misty allure. Exhaling with content, she was pleased that the debacles caused by Derrick and CJ were behind her. Even Officer Brighthouse hadn’t called upon her since he dropped by her house a couple of days ago. With another gratified sigh, she looked down to where Dr Theodore Stone lay sprawled face-down on the glacial cement floor at the entrance of her unit, his silver-speckled hair reflecting the light that spilled out into the corridor.
LikeLike
Oooooo, very good!!!!!! 🙂
I can’t wait to read it when it’s finished!
Xx
LikeLike
Thank you! And thanks for this post, because I learned that I use “look” about a billion and a half times. I had to add it to my search list for when I do revisions. Haha.
LikeLike