A.J. Lauer's Blog, page 22

Karl

"Karl has these shoulders. You know the kind.. The ones that look good in a muscle shirt. He has a strong jaw, and arms, but has just enough of a belly to make him not completely hard. His hands are calloused, extra on the tips from a few too many swipes at wet cement, but there's a way he moves them.. Like he always knows what he's doing. Anyway he always knows with me. He's got a C tattooed to the inside of his bicep - here - that's how I know he's mine. We got ourselves tagged after that week in Tulsa. I'll never forget it. He's mine after that week. And then he left. You don't leave Charlie. I'll find him. He will be mine again.."

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

Jo

My name is Jo and I have a confession to make - I have no idea who I am or who I want to be. I mean, I know who I am. I remember my childhood, know my family, am able to live day to day with no trouble. But I don't know who I am. Seems like up till now I've spent my whole life being the person everyone else wants me to be. Go to school, play sports, work. But what do I want? How do I want to be spending my time? ...I don't know. I've never had a chance to really think about it. I'm not sure even how to start figuring that out! Someone told me to do something I enjoy, but I'm pretty sure painting my toenails and watching TV with my cat are not things I can monetize. Oh but wouldn't it be great if that job came with free chocolate too? Anyway, I'm just not sure how to figure all this stuff out. And now I have to go to work so I'm out of time to think about it. Maybe tomorrow. Yeah. Tomorrow I'll have time to figure out who I am. That can be done in one day, right?

(This post not autobiographical. ..I don't like cats that much, and for years had a thing against painting my toenails. Free chocolate at work would be pretty awesome though!)

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, http://amzn.com/0679734031 others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, http://amzn.com/0615715850 and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

Isabel

Oh I do love it this time of year! Everything holdin' on to the last bit o' summer. The shadows reach fingers to one another, just askin' to stick around. Flowers by the barn window dried out already - it's been awful dry. But I don't mind. They last longer this way. I went in to see Bess and she looked at me all mournful, battin' them big eyes like she's seen the world. But Bess don't know.. All's she knows is where to find the sweet grass in the pasture out back. She don' see how sweet those flowers are, or the way the sun keeps shinin' with no mind to the time o' year. I'll shine right back up at the sun if it means this summer won' end. I don' want this summer to ever end!

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

H is for 'enry

Barn's empty now. The cows chew their cud, sure, and the 'orses stamp, but there's no life there. E'en when I enter, I can feel their eyes - unforgivin'. Indian Summer gives every peel in the paint a shadow a mile long. Even the flowers by the window've dried up. They're pale, washed out. Don' understand how all the color left...  I go 'bout my business but nothin's the same - it's just lonely eyes starin' and me all et up inside. All et up.. Ain't nothin' the same..

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

G is for Goldie

Goldie only wears silver.

..sorry guys. That's all I've got today. G has just left me feeling uninspired. I promise the rest of the week will be better :P

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

F is for Fritz

Doctor Fritz is ill at heart.

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!
This post also brought to you by..

Elisabeth

Elisabeth was born a protagonist. She took charge of her life as a young child, playing willfully and exuberantly with any concept that came to mind. Her parents would teach her little things and find that they played a huge role in her later imaginings - Elisabeth as both Prince and Damsel Distressed whose plant hadn't received enough water and was wilting (after a lesson in caring for the family's little kitchen garden). Or the classic day that she asked her Father about atoms and was later discovered making (admittedly inaccurate) circle diagrams of protons, neutrons and electrons out of doll accessories and building blocks. In Elisabeth's world, that day she was a scientist making Very Important discoveries.

This protagonism continued in school where Elisabeth was the star of every spelling bee and the winner of every science fair. Her love of mythology and vivid storytelling skills made her a schoolyard favorite, with friends clamoring to hear the tales she would spin. In this she began to learn the important lesson that it is not always the main character who is most important - the narrator can also play a starring role.

Elisabeth's young life was full of of swashbuckling adventure and voracious consumption of all things mythological, scientific and fantastic. But no one could know just how important those things would be...

(To learn more about Elisabeth and the things that await her, check out my book! Armageddon: Pick Your Plot )

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

D is for Dell

Soft curls rest on impossibly smooth rounded forehead. Slopes down past sleepy eyes to a button nose and apple cheeks, flush with dreaming. Little chin pulls in as impetuous mouth murmurs; someday those tales will enthrall more than just dreamer. Fingers tangle through blanket holes, testing movements not quite mastered. 

Eyelashes flutter as murmurs turn to wailing. Dark hole of mouth begs attention as caught fingers and toes flail.. Big tears roll.. and stop.. joy that is Mother bursts as eyes sparkle and body calms. Reassured by love, baby's worried forehead becomes smooth once more.

(Ha! I wrote the whole thing without using the word 'the'! That was my challenge today :) )

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

C is for Charlie

That skinny look. Not the "I'm trying to be perfect" kind, more the School of Hard Knocks kind. The kind that says, "Yeah I've missed a few meals in my time - so what?" She wears her cargo pants low, with a black tank tucked in. A heavy belt keeps pants on narrow hips that sway like a bull dog as she stomps down the hall. Thick eyeliner matches the roots of her hair, barely highlighting dirty green eyes. A tacky tattoo inscribed with "Karl" marks her right arm and one wonders what he did to warrant being indelibly stabbed with a glittering knife. You doubt Karl's name is the only thing that has met Charlie's ire. You catch Charlie's eye just as the door swings closed and wonder where she's headed. Can't be anywhere good, but you hope for her sake it's nowhere too bad, and you hope for Karl's sake it's not wherever he might be.

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

Bella

This month I am participating in the April A-Z Challenge! My theme for the month is ‘character development.’ Some days will be exercises from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction, others will be profiles of characters from my book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot, and some will just be random characters I make up. I hope you enjoy!

She stretches, extending limbs to toy with sunbeams. Tail flicks at the edge of shadow, daring it to move closer, to remove her warmth. A favorite plaything, Shadow reminds her that things can disappear. Sometimes the chase is worth leaving her favorite spot. Bella kneads at the carpet, catching fibers with her nails. Languid eyes close and she rests, waiting for Shadow’s next move.