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A collection of snippets of the books I write and, occasionally, my life and the things that inspire my writing...

Saturday, January 18, 2020

WeWriWa: EU 12

                           







Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, where we share snips and bits of amazing tales by talented authors and writers. Each week, participants sign up HERE at wewriwa.com then post 8 to 10 sentences of their work, published or unpublished (we like it all) on their own blog to go live by 9:00 AM each Sunday. Then we visit each other, read, comment, critique, encourage--all those things that do a solitary writer's heart good. 

     This snippet is from Emmily, Unbound, and SFR story in first-person-present. 
     There could be wonky punctuation to keep within wewriwa guidelines. Emmily, the main character, has lost pretty much everything in the last twelve months: her marriage, her parents, her job, and her house. She and her dog, Murphy, are moving to an old hunting camp her parents willed to her. It's remote, in the mountains of Pennsylvania. They've just arrived, it's nearly dark, she's just contemplated sleeping in the car after something dashed off of the front porch when she opened the car door. We are still in chapter one. Last week's snippet ended with this:
      
        No. I know I’m braver than this, at least marginally braver than my knee-jerk reaction was a minute ago. 
    
Continuing from there:
     I dig around in my overnight bag and find my flashlight, then I leave Murph in the car. I have to check things out but I don’t need complications, especially if he chases after something big and vicious.
     I approach the cabin, listening. An owl hoots somewhere in the deep woods. Above me, on top of the mountain, another owl hoots back. The hair on the back of my neck stands up. I can hear dad’s words repeating country lore about listening to an owl call in the daylight. “Someone is going to die.” I won’t listen... I just won’t listen.
     I'm looking for beta-readers. If anyone is interested, I'll send you a copy. Please email me at cypherbuss at yahoo dot com. 
     That's it for this week. Thanks for visiting! I am truly grateful for comments and suggestions, and for you taking the time to read it. 

29 comments:

  1. Oh, bad time to remember such a saying! My family had quite a few of those sayings.

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    1. :-) Those old sayings like to come back to me when I'm writing. :-) Sometimes I forget how old I am, and how the sayings have lost relevance and understanding. lol Thanks for visiting, Cie
      !

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  2. Yikes! The whole situation has me on the edge of my seat, waiting for more. Who or what will she encounter?

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    1. Thanks, Jessica! The story vacillates between calm moments and crazy moments for quite a while. :-)

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  3. Wow, that line of thinking about someone’s going to die because of the owl really got to me. Very suspenseful.

    Keep smiling,
    Yawatta

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    1. It was something I heard growing up--a local myth. :-) And I always thought it was seriously spooky. Especially if it was the voice of the great horned owl or the Screech owl. Goosebumps... Thanks for visiting, Yawatta!

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  4. This is an amazing snippet where my skin shivered. More next week and I will get the shivers, my friend.

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    1. Lots of shivers in the next 24 hours of Emmily's life--then everything changes. Why oh why must we torture our characters?? lol Hugs, my friend. Thanks for visiting!

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  5. Cool snippet, full of suspense. I also noticed this interesting juxtaposition: "Someone is going to die... I'm looking for beta-readers." You're planning to kill your beta readers?

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    1. lolol! Oh, Ed, only you would notice that! Here I thought I was being so smooth about it. lol

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  6. I'd freak if I heard an owl. I'm on edge.

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    1. Cool! Makes my day to read that! Thanks for visiting, Karen!

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  7. Yikes, agreeing with everyone else, this scene really has a creepy, ominous vibe to it! I'm curious whether Emmily has cause for concern or if she's making a big deal out of nothing.

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    1. Maybe a little of both. ;-) Thanks for visiting, Emily!

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  8. Nothing more ominous than an owl screeching, in daylight or darkness. I can see how that superstition arose. I wish Emily luck--I know she's going to need it! Great snippet!

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    1. She will need it, along with courage and tenacity! :-) Thanks, Jenna! :-)

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  9. I'm wondering if leaving Murph in the car when she checks the place out is a good idea. Hope she'll be okay!

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    1. Right now, the car is the safest place for him. :-)Thanks for visiting, Kate!

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  10. Not a good omen - 2 hoots. But since she doesn't car I'm guessing...ready for it ... she doesn't give two hoots!!! sorry - couldn't resist.
    Tweeted.

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  11. Great atmosphere in this scene. Personally, I love the sound of an owl hooting, but I'm weird that way.

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    1. Thanks, Alexis. Nothing weird about it. Screech owls and Great Horned Owls have such amazing voices... :-)

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  12. She's good at psyching herself out...and I would have taken Murph, maybe on a leash...but you're doing a great job here of setting us up for something to HAPPEN. Yikes! Great snippet...

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    1. :-) I don't know. Murphy is a city dog. No country smarts--and even country dogs tangle with porcupines and skunks. lol Poor Murph doesn't stand a chance.

      Yep, she is a bit of a scaredy-cat. :-)

      Thanks, Jean! :-)

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  13. I agree with Veronica. Owls hoot often in our neighborhood. Why is she so scared?

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    1. Because of the country lore she heard her dad repeat. :-) Thanks, Aurora.

      BTW, I LOVE the sound of the Great Horned Owl on winter evenings out across Rough Run Hollow. I think they're mating that time of year...

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  14. Smart leaving the dog in the car. But he might protect her if something or someone charges her. That owl story would give me the willies.

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    1. I thought of that, Diane, but he's only a Cocker-Spaniel. Like in the case of my own Cocker, I think she'd expend energy and risk trying to protect him. I think that all the time when I let my Leo outside at night to do his business. I usually have to go out and light up the woods with my big flashlight because I'm worried about coyotes, bear, or cougars.

      Thanks for visiting! I so appreciate your comments!

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  15. It's a pity that Murph wouldn't be able to protect her. I just hope nothing bad happens between now and retrieving him, to either of them.

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