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Back for another installment of Friday Fictioneers! This one was inspired by the volatile weather that blew through here the day after Christmas. My roommate and I spent the long night watching storm track after storm track head our way gaining intensity, only to drift east. We were grateful to be spared, not knowing what was happening elsewhere. While I (tucked away safely in Fort Worth) was very lucky, eleven people in Dallas were not. Tornadoes ripped through neighborhoods, across a busy major freeway, and destroyed homes, businesses, and churches. The system moved across the United States adding to the death toll and damage. It still seems very surreal even though I live in prime tornado territory.
Whims of Fate
Photo copyright – Jean L. Hays
Sherry surveyed the damage, trying not to burst into tears.
The diner had fallen on hard times. It was in the Boecker family for generations. She was in danger of losing it in the economic downturn. Sherry considered selling it. Then the tornado blew through leaving behind one wall and a pile of rubble where her business once stood. Now she couldn’t even sell.
Her son Ricky called out, “Look, Mom! Dad’s stained glass window made it.”
The real miracle came two days later when she found the insurance policy her husband took out on the diner before he passed.
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Check out the rest of the great stories using this photo prompt by clicking on the little froggy below.
Okay, so the official NaNoWriMo was an epic fail. As usual. I’ve tried several times and have yet to win. So far. This year’s fail was a bit more stinging. It was the first time I pledged to write 50k since I realized that writing is what I want, what can make me happy no matter what I do to earn a paycheck. Though I do hope someday that my writing will bring that paycheck. But, as much as the loss felt worse, I also recognize that as long as I’m trying to work a full time job, take care of 5 kitties, and take college courses that the added pressure of a 50k word sprint was not conducive to sanity. Or happiness. Or sleep. And as the picture shows, I need to embrace the failure as a necessary part of the writing process.
Which is why I’m claiming December to be MyNoWriMo (my novel writing month) with a goal of 25k. January will also be MyNoWriMo. I’m going to set realistic goals to match my free time and finally set a writing routine. I think this will free up expectations and help me enjoy the process of pulling stories out of my head and on to “paper.”
My final papers for the semester are due on Saturday and Sunday so soon the words will flow and the nifty little word count meter will grow. More importantly, I’ll tell my cozy mysteries and have a fair trade with my writing buddy for the story she’s working on now. Coming soon…writing prompts to help me figure out my world building and character development.
00 / 25000 words. 0% done!
p.s. If you haven’t seen Inside Out yet, GO BUY IT NOW! It’s spectacular. It’s everything a good writer hopes they can achieve as well as a great vocabulary for expressing feelings. My roomie tells me I’m very much Joy, though I feel like I relate to Anger better. That might just be the genius of having Lewis Black as the voice of Anger though. Perfect. Or the retail job. 😉
