2021, I am so ready to put you in my rearview! Going into the last month of the year this week with an attitude of gratitude for all I have and have survived. And especially for those who encourage me to get back to the keyboard. You gotta have friends who understand you and your passions . . . just like Lu and Nora in my WIP, A RISK-TAKING RANGER.
“So,” Nora drawled out as she navigated the whoop-de-dos of the dirt road, “why have I never heard you talk about your ranger friend? Afraid he’d turn my head with that slick smile and tight butt?”Lu snorted, obviously uncomfortable with her accurate assessment. “He was part of my past at the time. ‘Sides, you weren’t much for sharing, either.”Her jaw tightened. “Not much there I cared to dump on a stranger.”She flinched when he pressed her shoulder in an empathetic gesture, then forced her muscles to relax by reminding herself that it was Lu, her trusted wingman who’d had her six throughout their years in law school, she let her breath shiver out when he drew back his hand.Sensing he’d crossed that unspoken boundary, Lu pretended he didn’t notice.(And a few more lines . . .)“Z and I go back practically to our first steps. Since I had a single mom and he had none to speak of, we grew up tight as brothers at my gran’s house. He’s a good man, an honest one. You can trust him, Nora. If you’re with me, he’ll consider you with him.”A quick glance cut his way. “Is that how you see it? That I’m with you?”He grinned, teeth flashing bright against bronze skin. Maturity had given his striking knife-sharp features a hard, handsomeness. “Always have been. Always will be. Just like me and him.”
I don’t think I’ve managed more than a handful of new words this month. Too much busyness in the day-to-day life. But now that all but the last holiday has gone by and the house is already clean, I’m ready to put butt in chair to begin that rush to the end of the book . . . or at least the middle! Need to sit down to some serious plotting that will carry my characters where they need to go – this being one of the few books I’ve ever started without a full outline in place. Just read through what I have to build up momentum and ready to roll.
How about you? Have you shaken off the tryptophan lull of the holiday table to confront that blinking computer cursor? Notice I didn’t say “curser!”
Leftovers, here I come . . . as soon as I get some new words done!
Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.
Ah, they're all close with him, but if they get close with each other, will that cause some tension? Love how this story is unfolding!
ReplyDeleteThey're BFFs. Lu's got someone special out there . . . somewhere.
DeleteExcellent excerpt, some difficult conversation going on!
ReplyDeleteThese characters are so much fun to develop because of their history with one another. I'm a sucker for backstory.
DeleteDespite the trust between Lu and Nora, I get the feeling they're carrying a lot of unspoken baggage here.
ReplyDeleteAbout as much as I was lugging on my three week trip to Ireland. Hopefully there's will wash and wear as well.
DeleteThe story is going very well so far. I'm very interested in it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Elaine. Just the push I needed to get back into it.
DeleteThis sounds like a love triangle in the making. Makes for mighty good tension and conflict too. Great snippet, Nancy. I'm currently writing outlines for 4 books for 2022, all very different. Hope to get my butt in the seat and words on the page soon.
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Jenna!! I've got tons of ideas and plans but can seem to stop flirting with them to get down to a serious relationship.
DeleteThat touch and flinch may say something though. (or I may have missed something in an earlier excerpt)
ReplyDeleteI love the way this is going. Three characters getting closer, but with tension. Great snippet!
ReplyDelete