Writers Workshop 6

This is based off of my NaNo book. When you finish reading it, please tell me what you think about these characters.

Prompt: Begin with "I wish someone had told me..."

***

I wish someone would have told me that leaving was so hard. I turned around in the passenger seat of the car. I could see Dan out of the back car window. He was standing at his window. He had the curtain pulled back, and he was watching the car drive away from his house. I waved at him. Then I remembered that the car windows were tinted. Dan would not have seen me wave. He probably will think that I left without even saying bye. He looked as sad as I felt.

I turned back to the front of the car. I felt as though someone had reached out and taken a chunk out of my chest. I felt hollow. It felt like there was something missing. And there was pain. Lots of pain.

I wanted to blame Doyle. He was the one who was driving the car. He was the one who convinced me to come.  But it was still me choice. In the end, I was the one who decided to go. But that didn't mean that I was happy. I was anything but happy.

I felt a tear roll down my face. It left a cold wet trail on my cheek. Doyle looked over at me. "What's wrong?"

I wiped my face and sniffled. "Nothing."

"Don't lie. Revelations 21:8." He's referencing the Bible? I've been Lutheran for my whole life, but Doyle didn't seem like the type who would go to church.

"The Bible?"

"Yeah. Does that surprise you?"

"Kinda. I mean, you grew up as a necromancer, right?" He nodded. "I just don't get how you could believe in God if you grew up seeing dead people."

"Yeah. I had my near death experience when I was five. If you see ghosts and zombies at that age, you need something to keep you from going crazy."

"And give you hope that there's something better out there."

"Exactly." After that, we sat quietly in the car for awhile. Neither of us said anything for almost an hour. But you can only take so much silence. Even when you feel like you are dying inside.

"So what exactly are we doing? I got the whole 'save the world' thing, but what are we gonna do once we get where we're going?"

"First off, it's not like a superhero saving the world from a meteorite or something. We're just stopping the apocalypse." "Just stopping the apocalypse"? "Second, we're going to Iowa. Third, we are gonna teach you how to control any spirits that you summon. We both know that you're not exactly the best at that." I rolled my eyes at him.

"Iowa. Why Iowa? What's so special about Iowa?" I asked.

"There is a lot of cows and corn."

I punched him arm. "No. I'm serious."

He laughed. "It's practically in the middle of the United States. So there is a base there. The location makes it easier for us to meet."

I tried not to think about all the possibilities why a bunch of necromancers would have to meet. This time, one of us got too power hungry, tried to take over, blah, blah, blah.

The other day, I was just walking home from a friend's house. Who knew that I would die? Who knew that my world would get tuned upside down? Who knew that I was going to try to save the world from zombies. Without meaning to, I started laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"I was just thinking. When I go back to school next month, it's going to seem so weird. Someone is going to ask, 'What did you do over break?' Then I'm gonna say, 'Nothin' much. I just kept zombies from eating your brain.' Could you imagine that conversation?"

"Hmm. We could have fun retelling that story." Doyle was faking enthusiasm. "Too bad we can't really tell anyone about it."

"Yeah," I said, "It would have made a pretty epic war story."

***

Words: 661

What do you think? Good? Bad?

Tomorrow's post will probably be the last time I post until December.

Au revoir. Je m'en vais.

-Amarantha93

I also have a video on youtube. I made it December of 2009...so it's been awhile...and I've made some changed to the book.

Writers Workshop 5

The prompt was describe a normal day in junior high. I used character from the book, and changed it to high school.

***

Aradia looked around. No one was at school yet. She couldn't sleep anymore, so she left early for school. her nose twitched as she peered through the bushes. Her whiskers brushed against the leaves.

When she was sure no one was around, she shifted. She was no longer a rabbit. She was now 5'7 with brown hair and blue eyes. She was human. Or, as close as she could get. She was a shifter, so technically, she wasn't human. She turned around and ran right into a giant grizzly bear. She didn't even flinch. She merely patted him on the head and said, "You're much more obvious than me."

The bear growled at her and then he shifted. Her twin brother was slightly taller than her, with the same hair and eyes. He was dressed in jeans and a polo. She had been a shifter for close to a hundred years, but she still didn't know what happened to clothes when you shift. She just kinda assumed that it had something to do with magic and energy. The change is because of magic, but the immense energy causes all the molecules to change. She knew from science class that matter can't be created or destroyed. It's just not physically possible, even with magic. She figured that the molecules in clothing and bodies changed. There was the obvious change into an animal, and the rest of the molecules kinda formed a cloud around them.

"Ah. shut up. You're just jealous that you can only shift into a little bunny," Sam said.

"Haven't you ever seen Monty Python?" Aradia asked, "I could totally kick your butt."

"Sure. Whatever you say." They turned to head towards the school. They had reached the parking lot when they heard a twig snap.

"What was that?" The twins quickly turned to see what it was. Then they saw something move. Aradia ignored the racing of her heart. She knew that if she admitted she was scared, her brother would disprove and tease her.

"Shh." Sam was indicating for her to be quiet, and he slowly started walking towards the noise. Silently, Aradia started following him. When they reached it, they realized that it was growling. It was a werewolf. A pretty big one. Luckily, it didn't notice them. It was too distracted to see them. Its distraction was a vampire. He was baring his teeth and snarling.

Neither species is necessarily evil. Just like humans, they can be either good or bad. They don't always hate each other, either. These two had a personal dispute, not a big family feud.

Genetics kicked in, and Aradia was no longer scared. She was ready to fight. Shifters are trained to fight anything that would harm humans. Centuries ago, before their time, Shifters were known as Watchers. They had taken an oath to protect and watch over humans because, for the most part, they are completely defenseless. And there are so many of them. Over three fourths of the world's population is human. It makes sense to keep them around.

"I hope they solve their problems soon, " Sam said, "It's not long until school's gonna start, and we don't want them to be here then." As soon as he spoke, Aradia knew he made a mistake.

The vampire turned to look at them. He titled is head to one side. Through the anger, Aradia could see his confusion. He was probably wondering what a couple of kids were doing in the forest. Then recognition was plain on his face. Then hatred.

The twins had meet this vampire awhile ago. It was a violent encounter that end in bloodshed. That was about 50 years ago. Aradia couldn't remember exactly what had happened, but she remembered the violence.

The vampire started running towards them. Aradia quickly jumped to the ground. She picked up a branch to use as a weapon. She was fighting with the vampire as the werewolf started heading towards them. it was so quiet, Sam almost didn't see it in time. The werewolf growled and lunged from the loam.

The vampire was punching Aradia. He snarled. She punched him back then spun around and kicked him in the chest. The werewolf's roar of pain distracted her. Sam had picked up another large branch. He had stabbed the werewolf in the leg.

Aradia could see the wood protruding from its leg, and she could see the blood pouring from the wound. The vampire stopped his attacks. He sniffed the air then started running towards the werewolf. Sam yanked the branch from the werewolf's leg, and used it to hit the vampire. It went flying backwards into a tree. A broken limb pierced his shoulder. The twins could see it sticking out through his shirt.

The wounded vampire turned and tried to run away. He couldn't go to fast since he was hurt. The werewolf had sneaked away while they were distracted.

"That's right! Run away!" Sam was acting tough now that they were gone. "They ain't so tough."

Aradia tried to hold in her laughter. Just another day at school.

***

Words: 852

You can still be in one. Just leave a comment. If I don't get more volunteers, I'll use book characters. If I do that, it will be stuff that kinda matches my book.

Au revoir. Je m'en vais.

-Amarantha93

Random note: I got to do archery in PE today :)

Writers Workshop 4

This is the last one for tonight. I plan on posting one each Wednesday.

***

Prompt: Describe a time that you hid from someone, or disguised who you were.

James looked around. The lights made it hard to see, but he couldn't see her anywhere. She wasn't hard to miss. She had red hair, and she was loud. Ever since they broke up, he could never seem to get away from her. She was everywhere, and she wouldn't stop texting him.

At one time, he thought she was the most amazing girl in the whole world. He felt like the luckiest guy in the world because he was dating her. Now he just calls her Stalker Ex-Girlfriend, or S.E.G.

She had been following him for days. James had heard that the state fair started today, so he figured that would be the perfect place to lose her. There were so many distractions. The lights, the music, the food.

James was looking at some tee shirts when his phone vibrated. He flipped it open and looked at the screen. He had a new text message. Oh, no. It's her. S.E.G. He looked around. He felt relief for a moment, until he saw the red hair.

She was facing away from him. He ducked down, trying not to be seen. It wasn't easy since he was so tall. He walked bent over until he came to a clothing stand. He bought a jacket, a hat, and some sunglasses. The new clothes made it feel like a detective. to complete the look, he grabbed a newspaper when he reached the book stand. He opened it and hid behind the paper.

"What are you doing?" James turned towards the voice. She looked about 17 with black hair and green eyes.

"I'm hiding."

"From  who?"

"My stalker ex-girlfriend."

She smiled. "You're being too obvious. I have a solution." He gave her a quizzical look. "First off, loose that coat and the paper."

"Okay. Now what?"

"Come here."

James glanced around before coming out from behind the shelves.

"Your ex is less likely to confront you, if you're with another girl." She took a step towards him and linked her arm through his. "I'm Tessa, by the way."

"I'm James."

"Nice to meet you."

They walked together through the fair. They rode most of the rides and bought some food to share. They only saw S.E.G. once. They had to quickly jump behind a clothing stand. James had really hated the past week. He was constantly worried about seeing his ex. Now things were beginning to look bright again.

***

I didn't use anyone for these, but I used character names from a book. I just finished Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, and I used character names from that. Cassandra Clare is my favorite author, and I love her writing, but I hate how her books end in cliffhangers.

Words: 404

Writers Workshop 3

I didn't use one of the writing prompts this time. I was bored in French...again...so I started writing this in French class. I was flipping through my action planner (I don't know how many schools have these, it is a notebook-type thing that we write our assignments in) and I saw a quote in it.

"If you spell 'stressed' backwards, you get 'desserts.' Coincidence?"

So wrote a story based off of this.

***

Bruce looked at her phone. No messages. It had been five days since she was forcibly removed from her home. Her parents called it 'moving,' but she couldn't think of it that way. That sounded too nice. She felt so alone. None of her friends had called her of texted her in five days.

Now to make matters worse, she had a ton of homework. She wished Steph was there. There was no way Bruce could understand calculus on her own. She was attempting to do mathematical induction when the doorbell rang.

For a moment, she thought one of her friends had come to rescue her. She put her books off to the side and ran to the door. When she opened the door, she didn't recognize the girl standing there. She was holding something that looked the size of a plate, but it was covered, so Bruce couldn't tell what it was.

"Hey there." She looked friendly.

"Hi."

"I live next door. My mom baked you some cookies as a housewarming gift. I would have come over sooner, but I was at a science camp."

"Better late than never." Bruce opened the door wider. "Come on in." They walked into the kitchen. It was the only room that wasn't filled with boxes. "You can set the cookies down on the table."

"OK. I'm Sana, by the way."

"I'm Bruce."

"Bruce?" Sana looked confused.

"It's not my real name. My parents aren't that cruel. All my friends call me Bruce. Like Batman."

"It would be cool to be named after a superhero."

They stood at the table for awhile, not saying anything. After awhile, Sana said, "You seem kinda stressed. Is everything OK?"

"Yeah...it's just moving so far from home, I miss my friends."

"Well, you can consider yourself as someone with a brand new friend."

Bruce smiled. "That would help get rid of some the stress."

"You know what else would get rid of stress?" Sana asked. "Dessert."

***

Words: 329

Au revoir. Je m'en vais.

-Amarantha93

Writers Workshop 2

Prompt: A knock at the door catches you off guard. Upon answering it, you're greeted by a man who says he's from the future--and he can prove it. More important, he says he has information that will save your life.

***

 It was late Friday night. Was I out with my friends? No. Was I at the pep rally? No. Was I having fun? No, not unless cleaning is fun. I just finished my homework. I didn't even wait until Sunday to start it. I was so proud of myself. Now I was doing dishes-by hand. My parents thought it would build character and good work ethic. I figured if I got the house clean before they got home, then I might be able to go on that trip next week. Jen just got her license and wanted to take a road trip.

My phone started ringing.

Sana! u should totally b here!

-Jen

I texted her back.

I stayed home so I can go next week.

-Sana

awesomesauce.

-Jen

She'll be upset if I can't go. I'll be pretty mad, too. I was planning sites for us to visit, when I heard a knock at the door. Who would be here this late? All my friends were at the pep rally. I began thinking about movies about a girl home alone. Then a serial killer breaks out of jail. I gotta stop watching so many movies. ..

I open the door, half expecting someone with a knife or a gun. But all he was holding was a phone. It was about the same size as a normal cell phone, but it was really thin. About a fourth as thick as a normal phone. Looks high-tech.

"Uh. Can I help you?" He didn't look familiar at all. This was a small town, so you know everyone there. But I had never seen this guy in my life.

"Sana?" He looked up from the phone. It looked like he was texting.

"Yeah." I was confused, so I sounded like I was asking a question.

"Is that affirmative? Do you not know who you are?"

"Yes--no--of course I know who I am. I'm just confused. Who are you?"

"My name is Raghu. I'm here to save you."

Instead of telling him that sounded like something from a movie, I asked, "From what? That horrible jacket?"

He looked down at his jacket. "Crap. I knew this wasn't right." The leather jacket was way too loose around the shoulders. And there were way too many pockets. It looked like he was trying too hard to fit in. He mumbled something under his breath. something about "he's gonna pay for this." I guessed it was probably the person who gave him that jacket.

"So why are you here?"

"I already told you. To save save you."

I burst out laughing. "Did someone send you here? Is this a prank?"

"No. I'm from the future. I have important information that will save your life."

"Oh, really?" I decided to play along. "Do you have any proof?"

He checked his phone again. "7:42. 37 dead."

"What?" He picked up the TV remote from the table next to the door. There was a click then the news was on. I started heading into the living room, leaving the door wide open.

"We have just received a report of an accident on the freeway. A bridge collapsed. Several cars did not stop in time--" I looked at Raghu. He nodded back at the TV. "--37 casualties." I looked at the clock.

7:42.

I sat down on the couch. I just started at the TV for awhile. I blinked a few times then Raghu cleared his throat. I looked at him.

"You have to get out of here."

"What?"

"Like I said. I'm from the future. I'm here to save you. You need to leave. Right now." When I didn't move from the couch, he walked over to me. I thought he was going to try to convince me of something. But I was wrong. He checked his phone for the billionth time then he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. He started walking towards the door. When he started running, it got painful. My ribs hit his shoulder. Hard.

After we got outside, I stopped worrying about the pain. Because right after he set me down, the house exploded. I ducked down behind the bushes. I saw chucks of wood flying all over. The house was engulfed in flames. It kinda made me want s'mores.

Instead of asking for marshmallows and chocolate, I asked, "Why did you save me?"

"You're going to be important."

"What do you mean?" Was I gonna be rich? Famous? Would I find a cure for cancer?

"You can't know too much about the future." Then he walked away as I heard the sirens heading towards my burning house.

***

Words: 780 (last week 530)

Thanks to Jen, science, and raggy.

If you want to be in one. Just let me know. And if you want a specific name or description, just leave it in a comment.

If you offer to be in one, I'll probably use you again unless you request to only be in one.

Au revoir. Je m'en vais.

-Amarantha93

Writers Workshop 1

I have this on my other blog, and I'm gonna post it here too, since I have more followers on this blog.

So I'm gonna try something. Hopefully this will help my writing skills. And I need to work on creativity, so I will do all of these fictionally.

Prompt: Write a letter to yourself that you will open in 6 months. Include accomplishments and concerns that you don't want "future you" to forget.

***

The lights stopped spinning. I was laying on the ground. What happened? Then I remembered. I used the professor's time machine. He told me not to, but I did anyways. I was going to use it to warn myself. I could help avoid the apocalypse.

Time is tricky. The whole space-time continuum thing. You have to be careful when interacting with the past. Ever hear of the butterfly effect? If I saw myself today, I could ruin everything.

I went back 5 years. I only needed to go back four and a half years. But since I can't just initiate a conversation with myself, I planned on writing a letter. I would leave instructions to open it later. I lived in the same house for over five years, so I still had the key. I wrote the letter and walked home.

On my way home, I ran into someone. "Oh. Sorry." Then I looked up. He looked the same as he would five years later. But he would let his black hair grow out longer in the future. His face was smooth. No facial hair and he didn't have the scar yet. He knew me in the past-or his present, I guess. But he wouldn't recognize me. I used to have long wavy blonde hair, but I had chopped it all off into a chin length bob and I died it black.

It would have been bad if he would have recognized me. He would have kissed me and walked me home. That's what you do with someone you're dating. Six months after the present date, we would get married. Nine months after that, we would have the twins, Rose and Mary.

Sadly, that couldn't happen. I regretted what I had to do. He was the reason I was in the past. We both worked for the same company. He work in Genetic Studies. He was going to create a genetic weapon. It would be injected into expecting mothers. Their babies would have several genetic alterations. They would be perfect weapons. Nothing could hurt them. Not disease. Not fire. Not suffocation. They would be invisible. I couldn't let that happen.

I finally reached my house. It was a small, one floor building, but I had lived there my whole life. I walked past the flower bed and opened the door. I walked into the kitchen. There was a small cupboard next to the sink. I always put important documents there. I had altered it so it would be water proof and fire proof.

I put the paper in the cupboard. I looked around and then I left.I thought about the note and I hoped my past counterpart would understand it. I was going to break my own heart.

To: Me

From: Me

WARNING! Do not open until March 8, 2011.

I know this will be hard to understand. Today you are supposed to get married. Justin won't be there. He loves you. He would do anything for you. But he won't be there. Your kids won't exist. He caused the end of the world.

I hope you understand why I had to kill him.

I'm sorry. It's for the best.

***

So, it's not exactly what it had asked for...but do you like it? (do you like the story itself? Do you like workshop Wednesdays?)

I'm pretty sure these workshops will help. I've looked back at my past writing for my book. I started November 2009. The stuff I've written recently is a whole lot better than the stuff I wrote back then.

Should I continue the writer's workshops? And would you like to be a character in one?

Au revoir. Je m'en vais.

-Amarantha93