A Little Less Silver

She was silver. Sleek and shining, she stood only a few yards from me, making some obscene honking noise that was disturbing the entire parking lot. I wondered who would just leave her there all alone-shrieking and beautiful-without even caring to check on what was wrong.
“Turn it off!” my dad said, amused at my bewilderment. He handed me the keys. She was mine.
I quickly quieted her alarm and ran over. There was nothing wrong. It was only a trick, a ploy by my parents to grab my attention, and it worked. I slid inside her, giddy with anticipation to see how well she rode. Driving home, I pressed every button I could find, adjusting every setting until we molded together. We were perfect.
She was a Dodge Charger, a 2006 model-the first year they brought the Chargers back since ’87, though those were the Shelby editions and almost everyone only remembers the muscled up Chargers from ’66-’78. The black interior contrasted her glossy silver body, and the little V-8 engine was just enough for 16-year-old me to handle without getting into trouble.
I got her home, took her to my softball game that very night, and driving back with her already covered in dust from the fields, I decided she should be a “he”. The next day I hung a baby blue bow on the rearview mirror, piled all my CD’s in the console (I wasn’t cool enough to have an iPod) and named him something that must not have been very memorable, seeing as I’ve long since forgotten it. Whatever it was, I knew we would be thick as thieves, best buds, partners in crime.
There was never any telling who would be in the passenger seat. One day it was my softball teammate explaining how blasting the heater would get rid of the smoke smell faster than the air conditioner. We burnt up in 100 degree heat that afternoon so she could smoke a Marlboro Light. Senior year my best friend would ride shotgun as I sped down the highway to a Subway in the next town so we could eat sandwiches during our lunch hour. The summer of 2007, my boyfriend sat in that seat and cried with me the day he moved to a college two hours and a heartbreak away. Then, he dried his eyes and got out of my car for the last time.
Somehow, my Charger drove me through the tears, the laughter and the memories of my senior year in high school. I drove him to my first job, then my second, and a third shortly after that. He took me to college and, for the first time, I scarred his silver paint, running into a log of firewood that tumbled down the freeway while I was on my way home for Christmas break. Now he was cracked and I couldn’t afford to fix him, but I figured it wasn’t that big of a deal.
It wasn’t until a few weeks after my twenty-first birthday that I really let him down. After having a few drinks, I hit a curb on my way home and broke his axle. He slumped on the side of the road as I waited for a ride but the only one I got was straight to jail. My charger got towed and ended up with ugly shoe polish writing on his windshield, sitting in car jail until I got released and could bail him out too. Since he wasn’t drive-able anymore, he got loaded onto a too-narrow trailer, and was left to sit until almost a year later when I finally got my license back.
When I did see my Charger again, I smiled exactly the same way I did the first time I had seen him 6 years before. He wasn’t shiny, stunning, or even completely silver anymore, but he was still beautiful and he was still mine. The trailer he had been transported on left long, deep scratches down both sides and the bumper would need to be completely replaced. Now, there was black and white and shades of grey where everything had once been that shimmery silver. I took him that day to get inspected, washed, and the title transferred to my name. Legally mine, a little worse for wear, but my charger all the same. I may have been a little reckless, and I certainly didn’t always treat him like I should, but he was always good to me.
Right this moment, he’s sitting outside waiting on me to get in and drive, just like the old days-but with a little less silver.

lovelove
kembra.

Chuck Palahniuk Essay Collection

-Chuck Palahniuk

Greetings, readers! I have an interesting link to share with you today, especially my many fellow NaNoWriMo’ers. Some of you may know that Chuck Palahniuk began a series of essays on the craft of writing in 2005. He ended up posting 36 of these mini-workshops with his tips, advice, and lessons learned through his career. Now, his site no longer has the posts, and the only place they’re supposedly found is http://www.litreactor.com. However, I take pleasure in announcing that you don’t have to become a member of LitReactor-although the site does seem helpful for hopeful authors-because there’s a free version of Palahniuk’s collection here.

You’re welcome 🙂

I’m starting to read through his essays, and am already intrigued by the first one on establishing authority as a narrator. There’s homework at the end of each of his lessons, so I’ll probably post mine here. More prep for November! Let me know if you all try out Palahniuk’s suggestions; I’d like to compare results of the “homework” assignments and get some constructive criticism. How lucky are we to get a mini-workshop from a master?! Take advantage, folks.

lovelove
kembra.

The Game We Play

Well readers, I got a lot of pre-writing and planning done for my novel today! Some character development, introductory setting, basic outline and plot points all came together very well and gave me a strong sense of the story I’m going to tell. Here’s a short synopsis:

Harry Bleake, a young college graduate, finds himself out in the world with a Liberal Arts degree and not much else. To earn a living in a bad economy and fulfill a lifelong dream of travel, he picks up a job as a freelance writer for a little known American destinations website. After landing a gig visiting and documenting “The 10 biggest party schools of America”, Harry gets a second chance at the college experience he never had. Harry Bleake changes his name to Harrison B. and dives headfirst into a second life revolving around a world of sex and drugs. He gets very good at the game of pretending, but will he ever quit?

Let me know what you guys think! Mind you, it’s literally the first draft I’ve ever written for this book so don’t judge too harshly 🙂

Still, is it too cliche? Sound like something you could find in about 300 other self-published books floating around amazon? Be honest here-I know this isn’t going to be a bestselling masterpiece but it’s an idea; it’s a start. Plus, I think any story is as good as you tell it. Add a fast moving plot, realistic situations, and a wide range of emotions evoked from the reader, and a mediocre story can be great. At least that’s what I’m aiming for.

I think I’ve become a little obsessed over NaNo. I spent all day today reading forums on the site, checking out other webpages with writing tips that people suggested, and bought a $10 app just for writing novels. Yeah…I’m crazy.

In the meantime, I submitted my app to the grad school and went there in person to turn in a transcipt. I was literally breathless as I walked through the door. The administration building on Texas Tech’s campus is beautiful inside.

Anyways, got all that shizz turned in so now it’s just a waiting game.

And praying, if you’re into that kind of thing 😉

Last but not least, you’ll love these tips on how not to get shot in the depot district. Thanks to my buddy Big at KissFM for helping out my fellow Lubbockites who just can’t figure out how to avoid trouble. Apparently that’s an issue these days…

lovelove
kembra.

T-minus Twenty

That’s right…today is October 11th which means exactly 20 days until National Novel Writing Month. To start getting myself prepared for such a ridiculous task as writing 50,000 words in a month, I’m going to be completing short excercises on my blog through October. Today, I figured I’d start with something pretty basic, and all-too-obvious. It’s also something I think many amateurs don’t often consider when starting their first book: what do people want to read about? What keeps them interested? What makes people shut a book and forget they ever started it?

Here’s some of my opinions:

Format: I love a book that doesn’t follow a predictable, day-by-day, strictly chronological format. Rather, I find it more interesting when various character’s perspectives overlap through time. See the Game of Thrones series and Colum McCann’s “Let the Great World Spin” for excellent examples of character’s point of views intersecting over time. Keeping the perspective limited and specific helps to avoid repetition in events that both characters experience.

Description: I’m a wordy writer…too wordy probably. But I can really appreciate a vibrant description that pulls a reader into a scene. On the other hand, too much wordiness can do exactly the opposite: detract a readers attention. One thing I’ll try to keep in mind for November: write enough to make them feel like they’re actually there, but not so much that they get bored, and do it in a way that they can only experience the scene through you. Everybody has walked through a garden; it’s your job to point out the roses that the reader never stopped to smell. Let your audience discover the scene with you.

Introduction: This will probably be one of my weaker points, I fear. As if writing 50,000 words isn’t already a formindable task, beginning a novel in way that will not only capture the reader’s attention but also keep it for another few hours is equally as daunting. Where to begin?!?! I’m afraid I might panic at this point. I’ll probably (unsuccessfully) try to start in the middle or something. Let’s keep an open mind about my introduction at this point, and in the mean time check out the 100 greatest first lines of novels for inspiration.

Since I’m about to leave work, I’ll leave you with just those three topics for now. Maybe after my delicious fried pork chop dinner I will think of some more pre-writing tips for myself (and you guys of course). Or maybe my brain will turn to mush in a food coma. The latter is kinda what I’m hoping for, not gonna lie.

In the meantime, share your personal tips. What do you guys think about before you write? And what turns you on, or off, in literature and technique (no 50 Shades of Grey comments, please). Give me your advice!!

lovelove
kembra.

NaNoWriMo

I think I may have made a mistake. Yesterday, in the ecstasy of typing on my new keyboard and getting back to blogging, I also happened to sign myself for National Novel Writing Month. The purpose of this annual event, sponsored by The Office of Letters and Light, is to give everyday people the motivation, tips, and pressure it takes to sit down and write a novel-all on a 30 day deadline. People from all over the world participate, and there’s a kids version as well.

It sounds cool and is a great way to network with other writers in your community, but where in the world am I going to find the time to write a 50,000 word book?! If you finish the entire thing within the month of November-no head starts, either!-you get a certificate, web-badge, and after verification of your work, you are put on the “winner’s wall” of the official writing month website. Some winners have even been published. 

Various activities are planned in each community by a liaison; events may include all night “write-ins”, meetings to discuss plot development, and coffee shop dates to escape the dark and isolating cave that the writer’s office so often becomes. I doubt that I’ll make any of these activities, but who knows-with a little focus maybe I can finish my first novel. I already know the basic premise of the plot I want to write, so with a little more tweaking I can definitely have a solid foundation to build on come November 1st. 

Feel like supporting the cause? There’s a link to donate on www.NaNoWriMo.org. All profits go to support the non-profit foundation that puts on the program and pays for things like staffing and kid’s writing camps. Who knows, while you’re there maybe you’ll feel inspired to sign up and commit to this crazy contest. If you do, my username is kgerner….find and buddy me! There’s nothing to lose, save a month of sleep.

Also, you may support my personal NaNoWriMo cause by sending me copious amounts of sunflower seeds, Advil, and wine.

T-26 days until National Novel Writing Month!

lovelove.
kembra