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

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Weekend Writing Warriors April 10, 2016


Hello all my fellow Warriors (and Snippeteers)!. :-)  We're getting a shot of winter tonight. <-- I wrote that last week, too. Two inches of snow on my tulips this morning, and 14 degrees F tonight should just about freeze any fruit buds and lilac buds. ~big sigh~
Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly bloghop.  Each week, participants sign up HERE at wewriwa.com, then post 8 to 10 sentences of their work, published or unpublished, on their own blog to go live between noon, Saturday, and 9:00 AM Sunday EST. Then we visit each other and read, comment, critique, encourage--all those things that do a solitary writer's heart good. 
              Snippet Sunday group from facebook--not us, but many of our participants do both, can be found HERE


Setup:  Earth has been invaded by aliens. Our MC, Lily fled on foot. Her and her dog, Jobe, were just captured by the aliens.
I've skipped ahead a couple of paragraphs. Lily is on the ground with her wrists and ankles secured. The aliens are falling asleep, and she's having a moment of reflection of what brought her to this moment. Jobe is right next to her. Last week's snippet ended with this:
"How stupid they'd been, counting on the mountains and rough terrain between home and New York to slow down aliens who had traveled across a galaxy, maybe even across the universe."
We pick up from there:


~As it was, Pittsburgh had still been full of people who didn't get away, adding to the thousands and thousands trapped as the Bulragers raced west. 
She and Damien discussed it. Their best plan was to make a run for Ohio, and try to stay in front of the alien advance. They’d agreed that no matter what officials said, there was no way the government could guarantee that fleeing refugees wouldn’t starve. So while she threw survival essentials into backpacks, Damien headed out to load up on anything he could scrounge. He was on I-279, trying to get back home when he called. That was the last time she talked to him.
He was still alive; she knew it.   He’d been an Army Ranger, and it'd take more than an alien invasion to stop him.~
    
Thank you for reading it. I learn from your comments--and I'm so grateful for any insight you share. Have a great week!

29 comments:

  1. Being separated, knowing in your gut that the other is okay and yet not really knowing. This is a very frightening piece of emotion. Great snippet.

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  2. Her faith in him is touching, but...a neighbor of mine had a son who was a Ranger, and he was killed.

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  3. You have me hoping he's still alive

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  4. Emotionally charged and riveting. This story keeps getting better and better, Teresa!

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  5. Good stuff...though I'm not sure Ohio would have been my first choice for escaping the aliens. At least it may have a few more hiding spots, though.

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  6. Great plotting hook -- not only does she have to escape the aliens, but she has to meet up with Damien. And who knows if he's still alive.

    After reading TM's comment, I'm curious. Why did you pick Ohio?

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  7. I love that she feels he's still alive. This sounds like a quest story. I love a good quest.

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  8. Sounds like a good plan, and I hope that means he's still alive too. These aliens are pretty formidable. :S

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  9. Excellent snippet, as always Teresa. It is magic watching you set the backstory so that we gobble it up. Nicely done.

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  10. Neat snippet of backstory - a lot of information in a few lines. Let's hope her faith in Damien isn't misplaced.

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  11. More scary stuff! This WIP feels more intense than Across the Night Sky--was any of this hard to write, or did it seem to come easily? Do you have the whole thing plotted out? For somebody who writes romance, this story seems like a big change and I'm wondering what drew you to this kind of suspense.

    You're doing it well, don't get me wrong :-)

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  12. We're supposed to get a bunch of snow here, too, this afternoon. I went out this morning and did all my running around before reading any snippets so I didn't get caught in the snow. Next weekend is supposed to be nice though. :)

    I love her confidence in Damien in this snippet. Yet, she's survived this long, and doesn't seem to have that confidence in herself. Always anxious to read more! :)

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  13. Great last line.

    We're getting snow, too. In the battle of winter and spring - let's all hope spring wins!!

    Tweeted.

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  14. Touching with bravery. This is a lovely scene of courage as she holds up her spirits.

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  15. Great way to up the stakes. Not only in an impossible situation herself, there's her family out there, somewhere!

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  16. I do hope he is still alive. I like her confidence, and refusing to give up hope. Enjoyed the snippet.

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  17. Loving this story and the heroine's determination. I hope she's right and he's alive, coming to the rescue maybe? Excellent excerpt!

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  18. I'm really enjoying this story, it's intense and really draws the reader in. Love the world it's set in also. Stay warm! We've been having that back and forth weather. Freezing one moment, warm the next.

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  19. Is he alive? Will they meet up again?? How will she get out of the bind she's in now? Such tension and always leaving me wanting more. Love it.

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  20. The tension is addictive and makes me want to find out if her husband is alive, and whether they can escape the alien advance. Good piece.

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  21. Not knowing what happened to her husband really piles on the tension in an already tense plot. Well done! (PS. It was 83 here on Thursday- by-passing spring, straight on to summer)

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  22. Oh no, I missed where they'd been captured. Hope Damien is still alive and can find her.

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  23. This is a great snippet, full of anxious tension. Love it!

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  24. Very tense. I wonder if Damien is okay or if she's doing a little wishful thinking.

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  25. Ooh, alien invasion story! I'm hooked! I'm hooked! Can't wait for more, Teresa! :D

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  26. As someone pointed out above, unfortunately Rangers die too. I hope this is not the case and they will find each other and the kids they sent ahead. Got me on the edge of my seat!

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  27. Well I hope he's alive--maybe he can rescue her! She could sure use some good luck right about now.

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  28. I hope he's alive! It sounds like they really planned as best they could. Hope they make it!

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