Writing Exercise - Words: Valentine's Day, Rain

What a Valentine's Day, Lynne thought. No boyfriend to speak of and all her friends had someone. She had still managed to geta reservation at her favorite restaurant so she had been looking forward to that. They served the best steaks.

As she walked from her car to the entrance it started raining and not just sprinkles. It was hard rain like God had opened the flood gates. Needless to say she was instantly wet. She groaned inwardly, but she wasn't about to give up her reservation no matter how wet and scraggly she looked now.

However, as she approached the door a man sat there on the bench completely drenched from the rain. He looked very forlorn as he held a single red rose in his hand. She couldn't help stopping to check on this man.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

He gave her a half smile as he gazed at her with beautiful blue eyes. "I'm okay. I just got dumped by my girlfriend on Valentine's day in a text . . . a text . . ." He shook his head.

The rain was still coming down on them as she looked ast the door of the restaurant and then back to him as an idea formed.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Brad," he replied.

"Well, Brad, I'm Lynne. Want to come in and have dinner with me? I have a reservation."

"You want to have dinner with a stranger?"

"Why not?" she said. "We're both alone and it's Valentine's day."

He smiled a little more. "All right," he said as he stood up. Then he handed her the rose. "Happy Valentine's day."

Lynne smiled. "Thanks," she said as she took the rose. "Happy Valentine's day to you too."

Together they walked into the restaurant soaking wet, but glad they weren't alone

Beginning of "The Protector" (Working Title)

Emily Sinclair was just getting up from the couch. It was getting late and she needed to get home, though it was only a house away.

“Thanks for having me over,” she said to her best friend, Amanda White, who was still on the couch. “The movie was great!”

“I told you you’d like it,” her friend smiled, remote in hand shutting off the DVD player.

As soon as the machine was off the TV channel popped on. It was so late that the 11 o’clock news was on.

“It has been almost four weeks since the disappearance of Candace Langston, the 30 year old mother of two. Her car found abandoned in the parking lot of the market she regularly shopped at. There are still no leads, but it’s suspected that this ties in to the other disappearance of Morgan Leigh the month before that . . .”

“That’s just awful,” Amanda said.

“It’s sad to say but the women are probably dead,” Emily said.

“That’s horrible,” she replied. “But probably true.”

“Makes you want to walk around with a gun,” Emily replied.

“I don’t know if I could shoot someone.”

“If my life were in danger, I don’t think I’d have any trouble pulling the trigger.”

“You were always more of the defensive type,” Amanda replied with a smile.

Emily returned the smile. “Want to have dinner tomorrow night? I’ll make burritos,” she said.

Amanda groaned. “Oh man . . . my favorite! But I can’t. I’m going out to dinner with Mark.”

Emily shrugged. “Okay, next time. Just let me know when you’re not seeing Mark, or invite him! I don’t know my best friend’s boyfriend all that well.”

“That sounds like a plan!” she said. “I’ll see if he likes burritos.”

“Oh, he’ll like mine! Everyone likes mine!”

“You’re right!” she said. “I’ll call him tomorrow and let you know.”

“Great!” Emily replied. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Night!”

“Good night, Emmy.”

Emily headed to the door. She yawned. It was definitely time to get ready for bed.


He watched as she exited the house; her wavy, chestnut colored hair hanging around her shoulders, moving gently in the slight breeze. Her body was ripe. Perfect. Her curves were a woman’s curves. Her features were soft and strong as the same time. He could almost feel her struggle against him already. See her body spasm against the pulse of energy he would put her against. He could feel her body and see her blood . . . especially the blood. He would have her and no one could stop him. She would become one of his lovers.

Poem - Mistakes

Mistakes
by Lilly Blade

We all make mistakes you say
Yet home many do I forgive
When it is the same mistake
Over and over . . .

Not a shoe on the floor
Or even a broken glass
But it is your word

Your word should mean something
Your word should be unbreakable
Your word should be kept

And it's not . . .

Mistakes can be forgiven
But once trust is gone
What's left?

August 4, 2009

Writing Exercise - Raspberries

Raspberries

If she closed her eyes and thought about it, she could almost taste them. The fresh, ripe berries picked right off the bush bursting with flavor in her mouth. It was one of those memories she savored.

Lilly didn’t have much in the way of good childhood memories so the few she had to took out and treasured every so often and today was on of those days. Someone had brought a raspberry tart to work for the meeting. Just the smell was enough to evoke the lovely memory.

They were a sunny days at her grandmother’s house who lived just outside the city limits. Close enough to the city, she’d used to say, but just enough out in the country to enjoy the world the way it was meant to be enjoyed. And part of that had been her fruit trees and berry bushes. Every year Lilly got to visit for a week and after dinner was always the same. “Go get some raspberries, little one,” Grandma would said.

They’d had raspberry pie, raspberry bread, raspberries on ice cream and just plain raspberries. Every time she saw raspberries in the store she also thought of her grandmother and smiled.

But her grandmother had died when she was a teenager, leaving her with a work-aholic father and an emotionally abusive mother and no happy escape. But at least she had the memories to hold on to, Lilly thought. At least she had the memories . . . and the raspberries, she added as she looked at the tart.

Poem - Influences

Influences
by Lilly Blade

You whisper in my ear
"Do it
It won't hurt . . ."
You whisper in my ear
"It will be fun"
You whisper in my ear
"Don't you remember
The times we had?
The Fun?"
You whisper in my ear
But I do not listen.
My answer is no.

July 28, 2009

Writing Exercise - Birthday Party

Your birthday is coming up. In the past, you've always gone all out to remember those you loved. You're hoping yours will wind up just as spectacular. Describe how it turns out.

My 40th birthday was coming up. The big 4-0. I didn't personally feel any different and wasn't expecting a big deal. In fact, I was expecting a quiet get together with a couple of my friends.

Boy was I surprised when I walked into Jason and Susan's apartment and saw all my friends there with "over the hill" decorations everywhere.

"SURPRISE!!" Everyone shouted

"How does it feel to be over the hill like me?" Susan asked as she put a silly hat on my head.

"The same as ever," I laughed.

"Well, I'm going to go start the coals. Got to have them ready. I'm making your favorite BBQ chicken like we planned, along with hot dogs and hamburgers."

"AND we have a cake for you too!" Susan added and showed me a cake that had a cemetary on it.

"Nice!" I laughed. "Where's my tombstone?"

"Right there," she pointed out.

Sure enough, there was one with my name, one with her name, and a few other friends' names who were over 40.

"We have to have a picture of this," Jason said as he came back in. He snapped a photo of all us Tomb Stone friends together.

After that, the evening passed with conversation, good food, a blur of gag gifts, some real ones too, but the best thing of all was just the sense of family. For someone that never had real family, you couldn't ask for a better gift or a better 40th.

Writing Exercise - 10 songs off a character's ipod

Take a character from one of your stories and examine his or her ipod playlist. What 10 songs best describe the character?

Kara Storm was getting ready for a work-out of punching and kicking at a suspended bag, but to help focus her, she had her ipod. Placing the buds securely in her ears she scanned the songs looking for the right one to get started with.

'Policy of Truth' by Depeche Mode, no . . . 'Move along' by All American Rejects . . . no . . . 'Otherside' by the Red Hot Chili Peppers? No she wasn't in the mood to start with those and kept scanning. 'Tourniquet' by Evanescense, 'Bullet with butterfly wings' by Smashing Pumpkins,'Savin' Me' by Nickelback, 'Leave Out all the Rest' by Linkin Park, 'Kryponite' by 3 Doors Down? But nothing sounded good. Then she found it!

"Ah yes . . . No More Sorrow," she said to herself. Linkin Park was good work out music and especially this song when you had things in your past you wanted to get even for. One day, she thought, but not today. Today she was going to punch and kick the bag in front of her until she couldn't move her arms and legs without aching. It would keep her sane for the time being.

Starting the music, she took her first punch at the hanging bag.