K.R. Wilburn's Blog, page 5
October 9, 2013
WIP Wednesday
Happy WIP Wednesday! For those who aren't familiar with writer terms, WIP is work in progress. :D Today is the day I get to share some bits and pieces of what I'm working on. I'll admit it hasn't been a very productive week on the writing front because I took my last final last night (and passed!) so my attention was diverted. Either way, I'm 50% done with Anatomy and Physiology. I now know way more about the human body than I ever wanted to. But I still got decent grades, even aced my nutrition courses. So in celebration, I gift you with one of my favorite scenes featuring Dom and Cassie from my current WIP: Changeling.
The underlines are incorrect, it's just the way scrivener formats italics when it converts to a doc.
*******
I shoved the folder in my backpack and fled her office before the tears began to fall down my face again. How could I get so absorbed in what was going on in the Otherworld that I'd let my schoolwork slide? I still hadn't decided what I was going to do about my soul and if I was going to stay a mortal I needed my grades to stay on par so I could graduate and get a good job. Not to mention what my parents would say if they found out.
They would be so disappointed in me and that knowledge sent me into a fresh bout of tears. They blurred my vision so completely that I didn't even see Dom standing in front of me until I bowled into him, knocking us both into the ground. Dom wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against his chest and twisting his body so that he took the brunt of the fall.
I looked up at him as we lay on the dirty floor, horrified and embarrassed flooding my cheeks. I could feel the blood drain from my face in mortification.
"If you wanted to sweep me off my feet you didn't have to be so literal about it," he chuckled, his breath tickling my face as we lay on the ground, his arms still wrapped tight around me.
I burst into tears.
"Hey now," he cooed, sitting up and pulling me into his lap in the middle of the hallway. "Are you okay? Did you hurt anything?" He brushed the tears off my cheeks with his thumb. His eyes glowed with concern.
"No," I sniffed as I scrambled to my feet, "I'm okay. I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."
"Somehow I doubt that's what's making you cry." He said with concern, pulling himself to stand next to me.
"No not really," I admitted. "I'm just having a pretty crummy day. I overslept and my professor just accused me of being on drugs because I'm not getting straight A's."
"Well that seems rather bitchy for a teacher, but hardly a reason for tears." He scowled at the professors door like he would love to tell her so to her face. I had no doubt that he would have given half the chance and it lifted my spirits a little. I wish I'd had the nerve to call her out on her stupid assumptions and not just cry like an idiot.
"I know," I frowned. "I overreacted is all. I know I'm not taking drugs and that she's being a jerk, but I can't help it. I don't like people being disappointed in me, even when I'm not doing anything wrong."
Dom looked down at me, his eyes dark with concern before he pulled me against his chest and hugged me. I inhaled deeply, his unique citrus smell soothing my injured pride.
"You want me to walk you back to your apartment? Or do you have to work?"
I shook my head. "I don't have to work today but no, I'd rather not go home. I had a minor run in with my roommate this morning too. Not a fight, she's just likes to mother me. If she sees I've been crying she'll sucker me into telling her what happened and thens she's going to go on the war path. It's just not a good idea right now."
He nodded and chewed his bottom lip.
"Well then that settles it I guess," he said, smiling at me. "You're just going to have to come home with me."
"Huh?" I asked with confusion.
"Well you can't go home," he explained, "so you might as well come hang out at my place for a while. I've got a decent movie collection and I can make us some dinner. You haven't lived until you've had my Raman noodle soup."
I laughed.
"Raman soup huh? Really busting out the big guns there. I can see you must be desperate to impress me with your mad culinary skills."
"It's a college staple," he insisted with a grin. "I'll even let you pick your flavor. I've got shrimp, oriental and beef flavors. I don't like to brag but what can I say. I'm rolling in swag."
I chortled, feeling my spirits rising. Hanging out at Dom's apartment wasn't exactly the greatest idea in the world while I was so confused about everything and knowing that I was just going to tell him I couldn't see him anymore, but he made me laugh and I was still desperate for an escape from reality.
"Do you have any Supernatural?" I asked as I picked my bag up off the floor and swung it over my shoulder.
"No, but I've got something better," he grinned as he wrapped his arms around my shoulder and led me from the building. "Netflix."
********
Happy hump day!
The underlines are incorrect, it's just the way scrivener formats italics when it converts to a doc.
*******
I shoved the folder in my backpack and fled her office before the tears began to fall down my face again. How could I get so absorbed in what was going on in the Otherworld that I'd let my schoolwork slide? I still hadn't decided what I was going to do about my soul and if I was going to stay a mortal I needed my grades to stay on par so I could graduate and get a good job. Not to mention what my parents would say if they found out.
They would be so disappointed in me and that knowledge sent me into a fresh bout of tears. They blurred my vision so completely that I didn't even see Dom standing in front of me until I bowled into him, knocking us both into the ground. Dom wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against his chest and twisting his body so that he took the brunt of the fall.
I looked up at him as we lay on the dirty floor, horrified and embarrassed flooding my cheeks. I could feel the blood drain from my face in mortification.
"If you wanted to sweep me off my feet you didn't have to be so literal about it," he chuckled, his breath tickling my face as we lay on the ground, his arms still wrapped tight around me.
I burst into tears.
"Hey now," he cooed, sitting up and pulling me into his lap in the middle of the hallway. "Are you okay? Did you hurt anything?" He brushed the tears off my cheeks with his thumb. His eyes glowed with concern.
"No," I sniffed as I scrambled to my feet, "I'm okay. I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."
"Somehow I doubt that's what's making you cry." He said with concern, pulling himself to stand next to me.
"No not really," I admitted. "I'm just having a pretty crummy day. I overslept and my professor just accused me of being on drugs because I'm not getting straight A's."
"Well that seems rather bitchy for a teacher, but hardly a reason for tears." He scowled at the professors door like he would love to tell her so to her face. I had no doubt that he would have given half the chance and it lifted my spirits a little. I wish I'd had the nerve to call her out on her stupid assumptions and not just cry like an idiot.
"I know," I frowned. "I overreacted is all. I know I'm not taking drugs and that she's being a jerk, but I can't help it. I don't like people being disappointed in me, even when I'm not doing anything wrong."
Dom looked down at me, his eyes dark with concern before he pulled me against his chest and hugged me. I inhaled deeply, his unique citrus smell soothing my injured pride.
"You want me to walk you back to your apartment? Or do you have to work?"
I shook my head. "I don't have to work today but no, I'd rather not go home. I had a minor run in with my roommate this morning too. Not a fight, she's just likes to mother me. If she sees I've been crying she'll sucker me into telling her what happened and thens she's going to go on the war path. It's just not a good idea right now."
He nodded and chewed his bottom lip.
"Well then that settles it I guess," he said, smiling at me. "You're just going to have to come home with me."
"Huh?" I asked with confusion.
"Well you can't go home," he explained, "so you might as well come hang out at my place for a while. I've got a decent movie collection and I can make us some dinner. You haven't lived until you've had my Raman noodle soup."
I laughed.
"Raman soup huh? Really busting out the big guns there. I can see you must be desperate to impress me with your mad culinary skills."
"It's a college staple," he insisted with a grin. "I'll even let you pick your flavor. I've got shrimp, oriental and beef flavors. I don't like to brag but what can I say. I'm rolling in swag."
I chortled, feeling my spirits rising. Hanging out at Dom's apartment wasn't exactly the greatest idea in the world while I was so confused about everything and knowing that I was just going to tell him I couldn't see him anymore, but he made me laugh and I was still desperate for an escape from reality.
"Do you have any Supernatural?" I asked as I picked my bag up off the floor and swung it over my shoulder.
"No, but I've got something better," he grinned as he wrapped his arms around my shoulder and led me from the building. "Netflix."
********
Happy hump day!
October 7, 2013
Monday not so funday
Let's just start by pointing out that I freaking hate Mondays. It's not that I don't love my job, I do but after a long weekend of doing nothing but what I want to do, being back under someone elses thumb, nah. But then you have to understand my weekends have a formula, and that formula WORKS for me. I get to sleep in as late as I want. Hubs gets the kids and the breakfast done for me because he is a morning person, and I, well, I am not. When I do wake up, I've usually had some amazing dream that I think would turn into a great story and I scribble it all down as fast as I can while drinking the nectar of the gods, i.e. coffee, and nomming on whatever awesomeness my husband has cooked up. He's not so good at the dinners but man can he throw together some breakfast foods. The things he does with fried potatoes could make angels weep, just saying. Throw in some workouts because fitness and then I spend almost the rest of the day in a comotose semi hermet state on the couch reading until my kindle dies on me. This is happens frequently. They say 8 hours, I don't believe them. Or maybe I do, I do tend to get really absorbed in the books I'm reading and I'm a fan of indie authors whose books I can buy for less than I would pay for a candy bar.
Ah but Sundays, Sunday's are better. Sundays I may or may not get up early depending on if I was up all night reading (don't judge, you know you've been there!) Then the rest of the day is spent in my pajamas writing until I'm forced out of the house to the grocery store but as soon as I'm done there, it's right back into my pajamas to write! Okay so it's possible that I put so much effort into it because I have two really amazing Beta readers who keep me on task, point out plot holes etc as I go. I know that this isn't typically how writers write. I've been told it's more common to finish the first draft, then let the beta's read it and then fix it but I come from fanfiction (don't ask for my penname, I'll share crappy freshman year photographs before I share my early fanfiction.) so I work better with instant feedback from those I know and trust. So when I'm able to shoot them an update that includes a couple chapters instead of one, I'm ecstatic and all is right with the world (75% done! hells yes!)
But here I am again, back to a Manic Monday doing what I do third best (I consider writing what I do best, followed by bodybuilding then my job, then snark), human resources. I can say I did find an amazing first line in the adoptables on the nanowrimo boards:
"Human Resources would be a great job if it weren't for all the humans. Or if I could beat common sense into people with a shovel."
Pure. Gold.
Don't forget to enter our giveaway for Daynight and jump on board the train to Thera before Arbitrate drops!
Ah but Sundays, Sunday's are better. Sundays I may or may not get up early depending on if I was up all night reading (don't judge, you know you've been there!) Then the rest of the day is spent in my pajamas writing until I'm forced out of the house to the grocery store but as soon as I'm done there, it's right back into my pajamas to write! Okay so it's possible that I put so much effort into it because I have two really amazing Beta readers who keep me on task, point out plot holes etc as I go. I know that this isn't typically how writers write. I've been told it's more common to finish the first draft, then let the beta's read it and then fix it but I come from fanfiction (don't ask for my penname, I'll share crappy freshman year photographs before I share my early fanfiction.) so I work better with instant feedback from those I know and trust. So when I'm able to shoot them an update that includes a couple chapters instead of one, I'm ecstatic and all is right with the world (75% done! hells yes!)
But here I am again, back to a Manic Monday doing what I do third best (I consider writing what I do best, followed by bodybuilding then my job, then snark), human resources. I can say I did find an amazing first line in the adoptables on the nanowrimo boards:
"Human Resources would be a great job if it weren't for all the humans. Or if I could beat common sense into people with a shovel."
Pure. Gold.
Don't forget to enter our giveaway for Daynight and jump on board the train to Thera before Arbitrate drops!
