Kate Bitters's Blog: The Bitter Blog, page 2

Kermit McDermit and the Day of Fire [Story #24]

I'm planning on writing a series of exposés that delve into the backstories of certain characters in my yet-to-be-written young adult novel. Working title for the novel: Ellie Half-Shadow and the Mayan Curse.

This one's about Kermit...



Kermit McDermit had the double bad luck of being born to parents with a shitty sense of humor and attending a middle school where the children were not known for their acceptance of anything outside the norm. And Kermit was definitely not normal.
Not only did he...

The White-Tailed Deer [Story #23]

It's been a while since I've written in the Bitter Blog. Been busy getting married and such. Today, I feel compelled to write about the recent shooting that took place in Falcon Heights, only a few miles from my doorstep. It's hard to know what to do or say in the face of such a horrific event, especially when it is just one in a long line of unjust, brutal acts against the black community.

But one thing is certain. Silence is not the solution.

Thinking about that, I wrote this poem:


T...

She Wrote in Rainbows [Story #22]

Continuing my series. This is definitely more of a poem than a story... 



Today I will write in rainbows, she said, and took out her white pen.

All the colors filled the page and she began thinking of reds first, writing about poppies in the ditches and the strawberries on the vine. She wrote about the blood under her skin and raw chunks of meat.

She drifted into orange, as a cloud at sunset. Writing fire and tangerines. She saw faces, tanned by sunshine, turning jaundiced as her mind shift...

Field Notes: The Woman at the Gym [Story #21]

My 21st story. Work is ramping up. I'm ghost writing a couple of books right now and it's getting more and more difficult to find time to write for myself. Because of that, I didn't edit the following story. It's essentially a free write with some kind of message that I'm still figuring out. Here it is, in it's raw form...

The woman with no legs is on the treadmill. Her prosthetic limbs click slightly as she power walks up the steep incline. Sweat drips down her wide back and along her neck, b...

[Intermission] Let's Watch a TED Talk

I'm considering this week an intermission from my 52 stories in 52 weeks challenge. Please enjoy this TED Talk on the "surprising habits of original thinkers."



Kate Bitters is a freelance writer, founder of Click Clack Writing, and author of Elmer Left and Ten Thousand Lines. She is writing a story a week in 2015-2016 on the Bitter Blog. Subscribe to follow her journey.

Seeing into the future is a drag [Story #20]

Daniel wasn’t thrilled about being a prophet. Seeing into the future was a drag. So much doom and gloom—animals dying, plants shriveling up from the too-hot sun, wars, famine, general malaise.

 “Must be great,” people would say, “being able to see into the future and all. You must do a lot of gambling.”

“Only the normal amount,” Daniel would respond and walk away. He was always walking away from stupid conversations. When you’re acutely aware, like Daniel was, of the date and time of your...

Find Frank Excerpt [Story #19]

A book within a book. 

In my forthcoming novel, we find a maleficent mystery surrounding a children's book called Find Frank. An investigative reporter tries to unearth the truth behind its sinister pages while getting to the bottom of a year-long goose chase to find the source of a new and deadly street drug.


Painting by Kali Kolz, especially for Kate Bitter's forthcoming novel, Find FrankThe first pages of the children's book contain the following rhyme:

Meet Frank.
Where will he go?...

Ruby [Story #18]

Story #18 is based on true events. Names haven't been changed because I hope ol' Ruby will stumble upon this blog someday and remember...

Ruby’s voice was made of gravel and Virginia Slims. She would wake up at noon and stomp around the restaurant during the lunch and dinner rushes, muttering to the servers and cooks as she walked past. “Thesoupshouldbe…” her indistinct voice trailed off as she passed by. “Anddon’tforgetto…”
I snickered with the other servers behind her back. She was cracked, o...

The Scientist's House [Story #17]

I've been reading some short stories lately by Isaac Asimov. His bizarre plot lines, lack of character description, and oftentimes humorous writing style has definitely influenced this story. I tried to focus on developing an interesting (and funny, I hope) story, rather than concentrate on my writing style. That's a departure for me, so hopefully I pulled it off. You be the judge...

Image courtesy of the British Library open source album on Flickr
Even after three years, a distinct sulfuric sm...

The Alley (an excerpt from Find Frank) [Story #16]

I'm cheating a bit this week. This isn't really a short story, but a disturbing little excerpt from my novel-in-progress, Find Frank. I've had a busy week, but the good news is that I've managed to spend a couple hours editing F.F.
This except takes place in the fictitious setting of Tempest City--a place that might exist if Gotham, Chicago, and L.A. had a three-way. The gist of the story is that an investigative reporter (female, brooding, loner--a fairly typical noir protagonist) is trying...