Thursday, September 13, 2012

90 Days to Your Novel: Week 4

The updates are coming in slower than I'm actually writing them. This is a good thing. I'm flying on this novel, whereas on my first one, it took me months to get my thoughts in order. So thank you, Sarah Domet!

So here I am talking about the 4th week. This is a brainstorming week. The assignment was to come up with my favorite moments as a child, my biggest fears, biggest upsets, and most embarrassing times. I also added the most annoying things. I thought those tidbits might come in handy later on in this novel.


Below are my lists



Favorite:

·      Petting Jingles in the enclosed porch in the west Mayfield House
·      Eating watermelon with Ginger on her porch
·      Swinging
·      Riding bikes to the playground alone for the first time
·      Playing release with neighbor kids
·      Hanging out in the woods / eating wild blueberries and strawberries
·      Swinging on the rope swing
·      Finding a bunny at the end of a rope for Easter
·      Swimming in Nan’s pool
·      Riding horses with friends
·      Riding my bike to friend's houses
·      Sitting under the bridge over the train tracks
·      Singing with Julie and playing in the covered bridge
·      Dancing with John
·      Dancing at the college hill dances
·      Singing in the rain with Julie / splashing in puddles
·      Spending the night at a friend's house
·      Staying up late
·      Playing Santa for Lawny
·      Hiding Easter eggs / coloring them
·      Pushing Pap-pap in his wheelchair/getting rides
·      Shopping with mom, nan, & lawny
· 8th-grade graduation in that favorite black & white dress
·      Holding baby brothers
·      Trying out for cheerleading / making the team
·      Becoming head cheerleader
·      Joining the fire department as a junior volunteer
·      Kissing / flirting with older boys
·      Art class with Mr. Gayle
·      Swimming in gym class
·      Lunch with friends
·      Football games/basketball & games/cheering for the team
·      Field trips / Niagara Falls
·      Road trip and staying up late with dad
·      Playing with cousins / falling asleep wherever
·      Lifeguarding at the lake
·      Kissing Jason in my white bathing suit
·      Long talks at night on the phone/dreaming
·      Going to parties/sneaking around with beer
·      Reading Melanie Rawn/learning more about sex
·      Hanging out with the twins
·      Going to the Zoo
·      Playing ouija board at sleepovers
·      Hanging out at Eat-n-park / playing with a ketchup bottle
·      Hanging out at Jim’s barn/playing card games and drinking
·      Training horses with one of the trainers for barrel racing


Biggest Fears

·Tornadoes/wind/blowing stuff around
·      Dad losing his temper
·      Grandparents dying
·      Sharks
·      Moving away from friends
·      Losing my friends
·      Not getting to go to college
·      Boyfriend cheating
·      Pet dying
·      Getting caught drinking
·      Friends finding out we were on government cheese
·      Shopping at Walmart
·      Never having enough money
·      Dad finding out I dated someone of color
·      Dad finding out I had sex
·      Getting pregnant


Biggest Upsets

·      Losing the game when I was pitching
·      Not making the varsity cheerleading team
·      Getting a bad grade
·      Backstabbed by best friend
·      Moving away from best friend
·      Team losing in Hershey
·      Dumped and changed all my friends
·      Registering for college then being told I couldn’t go
·      Finding out a rich uncle wanted to pay for me to go to art school, and parents turned it down
·      Not finishing my easter egg for the contest in time
·      Not getting to graduate 4th grade due to chicken pox
·      Best friendship ends with dating Bryan
·      Finding a teddy bear and note in boyfriend’s room from another girl


Most Embarrassing Moments

·      Pants pulled down my uncle at thanksgiving with all the family there
·      Putting clothes on layaway at Kmart
·      Watching Chucky dance naked, and his mom caught us
·      Farting in front of a boy I liked
·      Crashing my 10 speed with a boy I liked
·      Saying “your fat friend’s here” when the car was going back out the driveway, and she was already in the house
·      Having to deliver papers to the senior classrooms/tripping and getting whistled at and clapped for
·      Getting pushed to the ground by someone I thought was my friend / other kids seeing it
·      Being dumped in the recycle bin by Eddie
·      John kissing me at college hill in front of everyone
·      Getting caught smoking by mom
·      Dad told me every bad word he could think of when I was going into 5th grade, so I wouldn’t say them
·      The sex talk with both parents
·      Talking to my parents about birth control
·      Boys taking pictures in the girl's bathroom when we were changing
·      Boob falling out of bathing suit when diving
·      Falling all the way down at the gas station
·      Falling off a horse
·      Being seen naked by a parent
·      Jack walking in on me and Clara stuffing our bras
·      Jack walking in on me changing – top naked
·      Mom freaking out on me in front of a friend


Annoying Things

·      People who whistle
·      Food stuck in teeth
·      Coffee breath
·      Loud nose blowing
·      Burping
·      Hangnails
·      Paint chips off nails
·      Someone who can’t allow silence
·      Kicking the back of the chair in a movie theatre/airplane
·      Muscle spasms
·      Hiccups
·      Allergy eyes
·      Gunk in the corners of eyes
·      Pee on toilet seats
·      Cracked dry feet in yoga class
·      People who pay money to have great hair cuts and color but never actually do their hair
·      People who push alcohol / let me drink my water without the peer pressure
·      Men with long fingernails / especially sharp thumbnails
·      Fingernails with tons of designs and bling
·      Moms dressing like their tween daughters
· oily-smelling hair
·      people that complain but never do anything different
·      the smell of dog food
·      someone who cleans up as soon as they are done with the last bite / can’t even take a second to breathe / overly organized
·      squeaky doors
·      locks on cars that don’t open
·      super muggy days
·      mosquitoes / itchy bites
·      biting flies
·      dropping red wine on white pants
·      bangs too short that fall into my eyes
·      band aides floating in a pool
·      hairballs
·      smokers who flick their butts like it’s not garbage
·      old men who blow their nose in restaurants
·      when fingers swell so rings can’t come off
·      wind blowing balloons
·      high-pitched cackling
·      someone who sings the wrong words to a song
·      underwear that rides up
·      having to shave
·      bubble gum snapping
·      people who chew with their mouths open
·      people who don’t take pride in what they have
·      teachers giving too much homework

   
   

What I learned:

  This assignment brought me back to those feelings as a child and teen that you are different, that people are always judging you, and that things are impossible. 

  I closed my eyes and put myself back in time. I could see my school. I could hear my friends. I could feel my embarrassment or sadness. To write from true feelings is to allow others a glimpse of your true self. It will resonate with people.

  Now I chose to write from the child I was, and not the adult I am because I write for children. I need to be in touch with the feelings from that time period in my life. 

  I suggest if you write for adults, you come up with lists that capture the age of your main character, or narrator. 

  I enjoyed this assignment so much. And I know that I will use these lists for future stories I will tell. 


  Good luck! 
  Write~on
 Angie


1 comment:

  1. Now remember - this assignment was done with my teenage thinking brain: this is how a teen thinks / says things / not how I think today (well, some of it is the same).

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