Snippets for May

Mogollon Trail by Olaf Wieghorst
via Pinterest

 I believe I have a thing going for thick books right now. I cracked open my thick red bound copy of War and Peace last week and began the journey into early nineteenth century Russia. Its 1,000 plus pages edge it out as the longest book I am reading. The Day of Battle by Rick Atkinson comes in second at 588, while The Gates of Zion by Bodie Thoene settles into a comfortable third at a mere 400 some pages.

 Thick reading aside, I have started work on rewriting the beginning of my 1930s/Great Depression novel Finding Home. It is slow going as I get back into the swing of the story and figure out the best way write my main character's POV. I have also been working somewhat on a few of my short stories.

 Here are couple snippets from my writing so far in May:

 Salty was unamused. “A cow?” The word came spitting out of his mouth like a missile. “Cows are terrible creatures. I have had to ride with far too many of the revolting beasts since my fall from the dizzying heights of wealth.”

from Finding Home

 I eyed her and she eyed me. She was even scrawnier up close, her long face hollowed and sagged. Her big brown eyes watched me intensely a moment before she starting stuffing her mouth with musty hay.

from Finding Home

 Ansel took a cup of coffee from the third man and sat down on one of the larger boulders. He took a swig of the coffee and grimaced. “Where’d you learn to make coffee?” He emptied the black liquid over the edge of the cleft and set the tin cup down.
 The third man scowled. “I make no claims to being a good cook. You get what you get, Tom Ansel. That the boy?” He nodded towards me.

from The Gunfighter

Snippets From February

 Here are a few brief snippets I wrote during February. They are mostly from a western short story I have been working on.

___

“Then just walk away.”
“I can’t and you know that.”
“Then go, Holt. Ride out of town and don’t look back.”

from The Gunfighter

He nodded stiffly. “I’m sorry, Matt.” His voice hardened.
 “It’s alright. I guess ‘cause I never knew them, losing them ain’t never bothered me much.”

from The Gunfighter

“Just a moment, young man.” Mrs. Reilly’s voice had something impenetrable about it, like a brick wall.

from The Gunfighter

__

 Yesterday, I started reading Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon and had a difficult time putting it down when I had to head off to work. So far, it has been incredibly inspiring. And, I believe, it has successfully smashed the creative fog I have been stuck in for the past week.

 So, what have you been working on recently? Are there any good books you are currently reading or have recently finished?

Summer Snippets

 Here are a few bits and pieces from by writing projects. They weren't all written in September, but come from July and onwards.

___

    "Not bad for half a day's work, is it?" She said, boiling a kettleful of water on the kitchen stove for tea. "Though, when Mum sends down the box with the last of my stuff, I am going to have to invest in a proper shelf."

  I ducked back out of the refrigerator. "More clothes?" The plausibility of more dresses fitting into Evelyn's already tiny closet was nil.

from The Letters of Lee Ames

  When I finally looked respectable again, I rushed back downstairs and made an undignified jump onto the tram towards Westminster.

from The Letters of Lee Ames

    "Londoner's might not take kindly to a Yank sticking her nose into their lives. What if I run into someone who resents the American War for Independence?"

from The Letters of Lee Ames

___

~ Hanne-col