Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Scattered right now
I'm going through a time where I've just been feeling shattered and unfocused since my daughter in law passed away last Wednesday. I'm so sorry to have started this only to just mire down this week. I have a draft that I haven't published that I'm trying to work on. Hopefully I'll be able to do something worth reading by next Monday.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Lame, but I don't think this posted
At a later time I'll finish the novelette length story I started the first week. This story is just written to be anything that comes out of my head for the second story in the string of 52. I just sat down tonight to put something---anything----on the page for the sake of disciplining myself to keep up with this.
She was a tiny woman, no taller than about 4'11'. He wasn't a big man himself so he was attracted to her right away. She was only 17 and he was 27 but in 1863, women married younger and would accept proposals from men considerably older than themselves. He didn't waste any time asking for her hand in marriage once he'd known her for only a couple of weeks. Asking her father for her hand happened right away, too. The wedding took place as soon as she could be persuaded and after due celebration that evening after the wedding, the couple set out on their new marriage in a horse and wagon, headed for the prairies of Kansas. Her parents felt misgivings. John had had all the belongings they'd need in his buckboard pulled up by the church the very day of the wedding.
Jacob and Elizabeth were concerned that they might never see their daughter again. There were still problems with Indians in certain parts of the country but John was home from having served for the north in the Civil War so they had at least some confidence that he was a sensible man who could take care of their slight daughter if anything did come up that would threaten them. Jacob had shaken his head in concern when he and Elizabeth first heard of John's desire to wed Sarah. Sarah was small but she was brave and obviously head over heels in love with this dashing man just home from war. Before John proposed, he had courted Sarah for a couple of weeks. She was immediately smitten and her parents knew that if they didn't agree to the marriage, Sarah would just go anyway, so Elizabeth persuaded Jacob that at least they should let her go with their blessings, in case they never saw them again.
"John, what will we do when we get to where we're going? Will there be a house there that we can live in? Or will we have to sleep in the wagon. You said there's a million miles of prairie, but you didn't mention trees. How will we build a house if there isn't one there?"
John chuckled. "Why, we'll just go knock on the nearest tipi and see if they have room for two more while we build our house."
Sarah wasn't sure she was happy with his facetious comment. She was happier than she'd ever been being a married woman, her husband a soldier come home from the war, but she was also rather nervous about what was expected of her as his wife. Her parents didn't feel it was proper to tell their children about what happened when married people set up housekeeping together. All she knew was that when he'd held her and kissed her while they were courting, she didn't really want to hold anything back. She was willing to let whatever happens just happen but he wouldn't hear of it. He didn't want to make her a "fallen" woman before the wedding. He had convinced her that there was a lifetime ahead of them to love each other, but not a long wait to be off for the prairies before bad weather set in. She loved him even more for wanting to keep her a "proper" young lady till they were pledged before the pastor at the church they all went to. He wasn't a church going man, but he did care what people thought of this beautiful little woman who was so eager to please him.
As the sun began to set, they hadn't covered many miles yet. They were not even half the way to the state line. But John had a plan and he took her to a special place he'd already chosen as their destination for their wedding night. No man ever chose more carefully the place his new bride would spend her wedding night. In a thick stand of trees with a stream running nearby, he stopped the wagon and lifted her down. He lit a lantern and then she could see what a beautiful place this was. He'd been there ahead of time and strewn wild roses all around the clearing. He then set out on the ground the belongings that were in the wagon to clear a space where he could make them a cozy bed. Sarah was a bundle of nerves and blushing at the sight of the single bed they'd share. No need to worry at that time, though, because he'd prepared a fire pit and set the kindling and logs nearby at the same time he'd carpeted the area with flowers. He brought out the stool she used to step up into the wagon and told her to sit and be served with a dinner as fine as any that could be had in the biggest and finest restaurants of the world.
"My bride shouldn't have to cook on her wedding night. If we had gone the other direction and stayed at a hotel in the city, we could have both been wined and dined but seeing that we're just starting out on this long trip, we didn't get to go that way. It would have taken precious time away from our travel to get where we're going." He smiled at her as he prepared their dinner.
Right after dinner, he brought out a surprise he had for her. He'd gotten a bottle of blackberry brandy from his mother's pantry and said, "We need to drink a toast to our long, happy marriage and all the chubby little babies that will soon be running around."
Sarah blushed again but had taken a sip of the blackberry brandy that was already starting to calm her nerves and put a warm glow on her cheeks. It was so kind of John to think of everything. As he lifted her to carry her off to bed, she wasn't nervous anymore. Not in the least.we
In the morning Sarah was awake before John and she watched him sleep. Her wedding night hadn't been anything to fear after all and she was looking forward to being his wife for as long as they both lived, like the preacher had said. As she started to sneak out of bed in order to make breakfast for him like a proper wife should. He sensed right away that she was leaving the bed and he pulled her back down. They spent a couple of days and nights in their sacred little honeymoon clearing.
Now began the journey in earnest. Long days of travel, often made interesting by new scenes across miles upon miles of jolting and bumping across the vast continent. Other times, scenery became rather monotonous and Sarah sometimes felt extremely drowsy, sleeping leaning against John or crawling to the back of the wagon where she could stretch out for awhile. She wasn't always feeling well and she didn't want John to be disappointed with her or to think she didn't have what it took to be a pioneer.
Finally, endlessly traveling brought its reward. They arrived at the spot where John wanted to make a permanent home for them. Sarah looked around dubiously because all she'd seen for days was just prairie--miles and miles and miles of prairie. They hadn't brought along any building materials. "John, how will we make ourselves a home here? Surely you're not expecting that we can just live in the wagon."
"No, we're going to build a little house using the materials provided here."
"But there aren't any, John. Just those few spindly trees and we wouldn't have shade if we cut those down."
"Oh yes there is a vast amount of building material here. We just have to use what's in front of us. This prairie grass roots deeply and the tangle of its roots is so dense that it can be carved into blocks of solid earth to build with." And with that, he got down out of the wagon and helped her down, "For now, we'll just sleep in the wagon at night and I'll set about making us the coziest little home you could ever want.
In days to come, he did just that. The first thing he did was dig down a couple of feet into the grassy prairie, doing it in sections that were of a size and weight that he could carry and stack. His plan was to have the house down one level from the height of the prairie. As he cut and stacked the sod around the perimeter of the house, making as level a floor of the dirt as he could, he told Sarah this would make a dugout that they could then live in, with more insulation to keep them warm in winter and cold in summer than if he had made the floor on the prairie grass. Once he'd dug the floor out and stacked the sod from that, he moved a little further away and began doing the same thing, but instead of using the dirt left exposed for another building, he told her this would be a great place to plant their garden.
Just about the time that their house was fully built, Sarah started feeling sick. She'd start cooking and then have to hurry away and vomit every morning. She didn't feel well during the rest of the day, either, and often took a nap in the afternoons. She was sure that she wasn't going to be able to be the wife that her beloved had thought she could be and she longed for home and her mother who could tell her what might be wrong and nurse her back to health.
John noticed the pattern without saying anything for a couple of weeks, He just encouraged her to rest when she didn't feel well and carried on with his own work while she napped. Finally, he did say something. He looked at his pale, tired little wife and asked, "When are you going to mention this?" She didn't know what he meant and was frightened that he was upset with her for being tired and sick and that he was disappointed in his choice of wife.
"Mention what, John? I know I haven't been all the help to you that you might have wanted." She started to cry, big tears running down her face and dropping into her lap. "I don't blame you if you're sorry you chose me as a wife. I truly wanted to be--and thought I could be---the hardy woman who could work beside you and be a true helpmate." Now she was outright sobbing into her skirt that she'd buried her face in.
"Sarah, you're everything I ever wanted or could dare hope for in a wife. Don't you know what's causing your illness? You're morning sick! We're going to have a child! You need all the rest you can get for our child's sake. You don't disappoint me at all, Instead I'm happier than ever with you!" By now he was holding her on his lap, her head on his shoulder.
"I never thought of that. You're so wise, John. I thought I was going to die and that you'd be left alone here to work away without a wife."
Looking into her sweet, dark eyes, John assured her that she wasn't going to die, and that he knew she could bring him a beautiful, healthy baby in due time.
She was a tiny woman, no taller than about 4'11'. He wasn't a big man himself so he was attracted to her right away. She was only 17 and he was 27 but in 1863, women married younger and would accept proposals from men considerably older than themselves. He didn't waste any time asking for her hand in marriage once he'd known her for only a couple of weeks. Asking her father for her hand happened right away, too. The wedding took place as soon as she could be persuaded and after due celebration that evening after the wedding, the couple set out on their new marriage in a horse and wagon, headed for the prairies of Kansas. Her parents felt misgivings. John had had all the belongings they'd need in his buckboard pulled up by the church the very day of the wedding.
Jacob and Elizabeth were concerned that they might never see their daughter again. There were still problems with Indians in certain parts of the country but John was home from having served for the north in the Civil War so they had at least some confidence that he was a sensible man who could take care of their slight daughter if anything did come up that would threaten them. Jacob had shaken his head in concern when he and Elizabeth first heard of John's desire to wed Sarah. Sarah was small but she was brave and obviously head over heels in love with this dashing man just home from war. Before John proposed, he had courted Sarah for a couple of weeks. She was immediately smitten and her parents knew that if they didn't agree to the marriage, Sarah would just go anyway, so Elizabeth persuaded Jacob that at least they should let her go with their blessings, in case they never saw them again.
"John, what will we do when we get to where we're going? Will there be a house there that we can live in? Or will we have to sleep in the wagon. You said there's a million miles of prairie, but you didn't mention trees. How will we build a house if there isn't one there?"
John chuckled. "Why, we'll just go knock on the nearest tipi and see if they have room for two more while we build our house."
Sarah wasn't sure she was happy with his facetious comment. She was happier than she'd ever been being a married woman, her husband a soldier come home from the war, but she was also rather nervous about what was expected of her as his wife. Her parents didn't feel it was proper to tell their children about what happened when married people set up housekeeping together. All she knew was that when he'd held her and kissed her while they were courting, she didn't really want to hold anything back. She was willing to let whatever happens just happen but he wouldn't hear of it. He didn't want to make her a "fallen" woman before the wedding. He had convinced her that there was a lifetime ahead of them to love each other, but not a long wait to be off for the prairies before bad weather set in. She loved him even more for wanting to keep her a "proper" young lady till they were pledged before the pastor at the church they all went to. He wasn't a church going man, but he did care what people thought of this beautiful little woman who was so eager to please him.
As the sun began to set, they hadn't covered many miles yet. They were not even half the way to the state line. But John had a plan and he took her to a special place he'd already chosen as their destination for their wedding night. No man ever chose more carefully the place his new bride would spend her wedding night. In a thick stand of trees with a stream running nearby, he stopped the wagon and lifted her down. He lit a lantern and then she could see what a beautiful place this was. He'd been there ahead of time and strewn wild roses all around the clearing. He then set out on the ground the belongings that were in the wagon to clear a space where he could make them a cozy bed. Sarah was a bundle of nerves and blushing at the sight of the single bed they'd share. No need to worry at that time, though, because he'd prepared a fire pit and set the kindling and logs nearby at the same time he'd carpeted the area with flowers. He brought out the stool she used to step up into the wagon and told her to sit and be served with a dinner as fine as any that could be had in the biggest and finest restaurants of the world.
"My bride shouldn't have to cook on her wedding night. If we had gone the other direction and stayed at a hotel in the city, we could have both been wined and dined but seeing that we're just starting out on this long trip, we didn't get to go that way. It would have taken precious time away from our travel to get where we're going." He smiled at her as he prepared their dinner.
Right after dinner, he brought out a surprise he had for her. He'd gotten a bottle of blackberry brandy from his mother's pantry and said, "We need to drink a toast to our long, happy marriage and all the chubby little babies that will soon be running around."
Sarah blushed again but had taken a sip of the blackberry brandy that was already starting to calm her nerves and put a warm glow on her cheeks. It was so kind of John to think of everything. As he lifted her to carry her off to bed, she wasn't nervous anymore. Not in the least.we
In the morning Sarah was awake before John and she watched him sleep. Her wedding night hadn't been anything to fear after all and she was looking forward to being his wife for as long as they both lived, like the preacher had said. As she started to sneak out of bed in order to make breakfast for him like a proper wife should. He sensed right away that she was leaving the bed and he pulled her back down. They spent a couple of days and nights in their sacred little honeymoon clearing.
Now began the journey in earnest. Long days of travel, often made interesting by new scenes across miles upon miles of jolting and bumping across the vast continent. Other times, scenery became rather monotonous and Sarah sometimes felt extremely drowsy, sleeping leaning against John or crawling to the back of the wagon where she could stretch out for awhile. She wasn't always feeling well and she didn't want John to be disappointed with her or to think she didn't have what it took to be a pioneer.
Finally, endlessly traveling brought its reward. They arrived at the spot where John wanted to make a permanent home for them. Sarah looked around dubiously because all she'd seen for days was just prairie--miles and miles and miles of prairie. They hadn't brought along any building materials. "John, how will we make ourselves a home here? Surely you're not expecting that we can just live in the wagon."
"No, we're going to build a little house using the materials provided here."
"But there aren't any, John. Just those few spindly trees and we wouldn't have shade if we cut those down."
"Oh yes there is a vast amount of building material here. We just have to use what's in front of us. This prairie grass roots deeply and the tangle of its roots is so dense that it can be carved into blocks of solid earth to build with." And with that, he got down out of the wagon and helped her down, "For now, we'll just sleep in the wagon at night and I'll set about making us the coziest little home you could ever want.
In days to come, he did just that. The first thing he did was dig down a couple of feet into the grassy prairie, doing it in sections that were of a size and weight that he could carry and stack. His plan was to have the house down one level from the height of the prairie. As he cut and stacked the sod around the perimeter of the house, making as level a floor of the dirt as he could, he told Sarah this would make a dugout that they could then live in, with more insulation to keep them warm in winter and cold in summer than if he had made the floor on the prairie grass. Once he'd dug the floor out and stacked the sod from that, he moved a little further away and began doing the same thing, but instead of using the dirt left exposed for another building, he told her this would be a great place to plant their garden.
Just about the time that their house was fully built, Sarah started feeling sick. She'd start cooking and then have to hurry away and vomit every morning. She didn't feel well during the rest of the day, either, and often took a nap in the afternoons. She was sure that she wasn't going to be able to be the wife that her beloved had thought she could be and she longed for home and her mother who could tell her what might be wrong and nurse her back to health.
John noticed the pattern without saying anything for a couple of weeks, He just encouraged her to rest when she didn't feel well and carried on with his own work while she napped. Finally, he did say something. He looked at his pale, tired little wife and asked, "When are you going to mention this?" She didn't know what he meant and was frightened that he was upset with her for being tired and sick and that he was disappointed in his choice of wife.
"Mention what, John? I know I haven't been all the help to you that you might have wanted." She started to cry, big tears running down her face and dropping into her lap. "I don't blame you if you're sorry you chose me as a wife. I truly wanted to be--and thought I could be---the hardy woman who could work beside you and be a true helpmate." Now she was outright sobbing into her skirt that she'd buried her face in.
"Sarah, you're everything I ever wanted or could dare hope for in a wife. Don't you know what's causing your illness? You're morning sick! We're going to have a child! You need all the rest you can get for our child's sake. You don't disappoint me at all, Instead I'm happier than ever with you!" By now he was holding her on his lap, her head on his shoulder.
"I never thought of that. You're so wise, John. I thought I was going to die and that you'd be left alone here to work away without a wife."
Looking into her sweet, dark eyes, John assured her that she wasn't going to die, and that he knew she could bring him a beautiful, healthy baby in due time.
Friday, March 27, 2015
First one is Percolating
I'm writing the first story. I started it last night. These short stories are literary fiction based on fact. I love the idea of that and was very excited when Truman Capote "invented" the genre. I've changed things here and there so that if you think you see yourself in a story, it's purely accidental. The stories I'll post on Mondays will be just what came out of my head and won't be totally edited and polished, but I'll try to do some editing and polishing as I go so nobody will take a snooze when reading them.
I'll post my week's story on Mondays but the month of November is the month of NaNoWriMo and I plan to take part in that so November might be a month of no stories posted, but I'll still post an extra month of readings tacked on at the end to make up a full 52 short stories.
I'll post my week's story on Mondays but the month of November is the month of NaNoWriMo and I plan to take part in that so November might be a month of no stories posted, but I'll still post an extra month of readings tacked on at the end to make up a full 52 short stories.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Self-discipline----Gotta Practice That
I read a quote by Ray Bradbury that said it's not possible for a writer to write 52 bad stories, so I'm going to see if he's right. It would be kind of disappointing if I prove him wrong but I think the fact that I have 52 weeks to write those stories is going to be psychologically freeing for me. I won't be so precious about each story so the "blank sheet of paper" won't be so intimidating.
My first story will be posted in a few days. I not only don't mind you commenting, I'd love any critique you have for what I write. I don't have a thin skin where that's concerned and all comments and suggestions are given due consideration. Some of this work will hopefully go into a book of my own short stories in time.
For now, on with writing 52 stories in 52 weeks.
My first story will be posted in a few days. I not only don't mind you commenting, I'd love any critique you have for what I write. I don't have a thin skin where that's concerned and all comments and suggestions are given due consideration. Some of this work will hopefully go into a book of my own short stories in time.
For now, on with writing 52 stories in 52 weeks.
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