Day 13: 24,500 words. Getting in my own way.
I think I figured out my plot dilemma. When I write tomorrow, I'll be able to give Ruby some clues about Seth and get them closer to the yacht. But for some reason, I decided to throw a faux queen pageant into the middle of this whole thing. I really, really don't know why. I think tomorrow, I'll just quickly skip to the finish line of the pageant and have Harmony win the whole thing. With only 25,500 to go, I really need to get into this plot! I think it'll get pretty exciting!
Here's a quick excerpt. i tried to include a few old favorites.
When ze emerged from the bedroom, where ze had taken to stashing the laptop when the rest of the gang were hanging around – just so it wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire of a drunken meat-throwing competition (Topher’s favorite) – everyone was up and milling about, putting on jackets and shoes, chatting excitedly about their destination.
“The floor show!” Slade said, tugging on Ruby’s arm and steering her elbow towards the door. “Roux got us tickets! She said they were going to make a special exception because we’re underage. It’s a faux-queen pageant! Harmony’s flipping out.”
Harmony did, indeed, appear to be flipping out. She had her phone out and was flipping through her electronic clothing repository, to decide what her most fabulous outfit was. It wasn’t every day that you got to attend a faux queen pageant, and Harmony always had a thing about fitting in. Not only that, but fitting in at the faux queen pageant meant she get to wear all the sequins and all the leopard print her heart desired… maybe even bring her mermaid costume out of retirement. She had worn it so often, day in and day out, that Slade had banned it from all public gatherings.
“But if I wear that, I’m not sure I could wear the rhinestone necklace,” she murmured. “And what clutch can I bring? My silver clutches are all at the house in Whistler!” She continued to focus on the phone, swiping her finger across the tiny screen in hopes that the perfectly accessorized outfit would somehow be presented to her. Suddenly, she gasped. “Hey, Ruby!” She looked around, unseeing, to locate her friend. “Do you still have that white belt?”
“Dude, remember how JT stone cold snatched it from hir?” Christopher gleefully asked. Ruby just smiled tiredly. Ze remembered when getting the belt back was the most important thing on hir mind. Ze longed for the days when that was the case. Ze mechanically walked along beside Slade as everyone passed out into the hallway.
“But wait!” Topher called. “Slade, you promised me we’d make Sun Print Cards today! I really wanted to create pretty blue cards and tags with botanical prints using light-sensitive paper and plants from the garden. In other words, I was hoping to use the sun and sun-print paper to capture the shadows of our favorite botanicals from the garden. You told me that after a few minutes in the sun on a sheet of light-sensitive paper, flowers and other natural forms leave their shadows behind. The images, which bring to mind old-fashioned botanical prints, can easily be trimmed into pretty blue cards and tags.”
I did a google image search for 'faux queen pageant' and most of the pictures were uninteresting, but this nice one of Adele came up so I went with it. I love Adele! Maybe I'll find some way to work in the song 'Someone Like You.'
Here's a quick excerpt. i tried to include a few old favorites.
When ze emerged from the bedroom, where ze had taken to stashing the laptop when the rest of the gang were hanging around – just so it wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire of a drunken meat-throwing competition (Topher’s favorite) – everyone was up and milling about, putting on jackets and shoes, chatting excitedly about their destination.
“The floor show!” Slade said, tugging on Ruby’s arm and steering her elbow towards the door. “Roux got us tickets! She said they were going to make a special exception because we’re underage. It’s a faux-queen pageant! Harmony’s flipping out.”
Harmony did, indeed, appear to be flipping out. She had her phone out and was flipping through her electronic clothing repository, to decide what her most fabulous outfit was. It wasn’t every day that you got to attend a faux queen pageant, and Harmony always had a thing about fitting in. Not only that, but fitting in at the faux queen pageant meant she get to wear all the sequins and all the leopard print her heart desired… maybe even bring her mermaid costume out of retirement. She had worn it so often, day in and day out, that Slade had banned it from all public gatherings.
“But if I wear that, I’m not sure I could wear the rhinestone necklace,” she murmured. “And what clutch can I bring? My silver clutches are all at the house in Whistler!” She continued to focus on the phone, swiping her finger across the tiny screen in hopes that the perfectly accessorized outfit would somehow be presented to her. Suddenly, she gasped. “Hey, Ruby!” She looked around, unseeing, to locate her friend. “Do you still have that white belt?”
“Dude, remember how JT stone cold snatched it from hir?” Christopher gleefully asked. Ruby just smiled tiredly. Ze remembered when getting the belt back was the most important thing on hir mind. Ze longed for the days when that was the case. Ze mechanically walked along beside Slade as everyone passed out into the hallway.
“But wait!” Topher called. “Slade, you promised me we’d make Sun Print Cards today! I really wanted to create pretty blue cards and tags with botanical prints using light-sensitive paper and plants from the garden. In other words, I was hoping to use the sun and sun-print paper to capture the shadows of our favorite botanicals from the garden. You told me that after a few minutes in the sun on a sheet of light-sensitive paper, flowers and other natural forms leave their shadows behind. The images, which bring to mind old-fashioned botanical prints, can easily be trimmed into pretty blue cards and tags.”
I did a google image search for 'faux queen pageant' and most of the pictures were uninteresting, but this nice one of Adele came up so I went with it. I love Adele! Maybe I'll find some way to work in the song 'Someone Like You.'
I am probably a little too excited about this yacht party, and how amazing Just Fiddlin' Around will be on the water. Also, expert inclusion of the Martha craft. It really blended seamlessly into the conversation!
ReplyDeleteI've been listening to Adele non-stop while noveling, so I really enjoyed the picture. There are so many outrageously amazing things about this excerpt. This was one of my favourite lines: "Ze remembered when getting the belt back was the most important thing on hir mind. Ze longed for the days when that was the case." What has happened to Ruby that makes losing the white belt seem insignificant? I shudder to think.
ReplyDelete