The Shock and Awe of Employment

When I was in my undergrad at CSU, Northridge (Go Matadors!) I discovered a passion – editing and proofreading the writing of others.  Or more specifically and as others might put it, fixing people’s mistakes.

Since then, I have offered my services as a freelancer to friends, family, and friends of friends.  Most of the time I did research or term papers but on occasion I would get to do fun stuff like create, proofread, edit, and distribute a birthday fact sheet or proofread/edit creative writing such as short stories and novels.

Sadly, I did not have the time to consider completing an internship in the editing/publishing field during my undergrad because I was commuting to school which I was attending full time and working part time whenever possible.  So naturally when I graduated and started looking for a job in my desired field I lacked the necessary experience which I would have gained from an internship.  Hindsight truly is 20/20.

Forbidden Basement Pt. II

First, let me preface this by saying that I have had a lot going on lately and offer my apologies for making my readers wait so long to read the second half of the story.  I meant to get it online two weeks ago but never got around to it.

But the good news… here it is!  It’s really more like the last 4/5 of the story because it is so much longer than I intended.  So thank you for reading and I hope the lengthy cliffhanger was worth it when you read the rest.  Enjoy!

“Forbidden Basement” (continued) by Sabrina Buie

Harper pulled her long cardigan tight around her and kept her arms crossed as she stared into the dark abyss of the basement.  She could see the faint glow of muddled sunlight coming in through a small window somewhere down there.  A few stairs down there was an old dusty light switch.  She stepped cautiously down to the third step and reached out to flip the switch.  It made a light click, but nothing happened.  She flipped it off and on again a couple more times.  Still nothing.  The moonlight streaming into the basement was not comfort enough for her to venture any further into the dark, dank basement so she backtracked quickly up the stairs and closed the door behind her. 

Amateur Writer Phase 2

In September of this year I shared with readers my amateur attempt at writing a novel.  Since then, I started and finished the final quarter of my graduate program, started working part time, and had overwhelming family issues to handle.

As you might assume, I have not added very many pages since I last posted.  However, I have added to it!  That’s something, if you ask me.

I’ve determined who my villain is (I think this is finally set in stone) and the background story of my protagonist.  Also in the works is a romance between my protagonist and her ultra-hot, mysterious, southern neighbor.

Some things I’m considering:

• Perhaps my protagonist needs a dog.  A big, fluffy, lovable “guard dog.”
• Perhaps the fluffy dog will have a sophisticated name combined with a clumsy personality.
• Perhaps my protagonist needs a different occupation.
• Perhaps the romance of the novel will be something of a Stephanie Plum nature – complicated but layered with humor.
• Perhaps, the novel needs more round and interesting characters, unless I decide to keep it in heavily drenched in the psychological.  In which case most of my characters could be flat and merely props.

These are just a few things I’ve been considering.  I’ve also been considering posting a portion of what I have written for outside critique.  But I so hate rejection and as of right now I quite enjoy what I have written.  It needs work – a lot of work.  But I enjoy it.  I think it has potential.  Even if that potential ultimately leads to self-publication and it only being read by friends and family.  That would be a success to me!

I will report again once three more months have passed and we shall see where the novel has progressed to.

Happy reading, writing, living, and loving!

Enjoy the sun and moon, WriterlyBite patrons.

❤

 

Getting Myself Writing

I’ve decided to start trying to complete some form of creative writing on a more frequent basis.  I don’t always have the inspiration (or time) to dedicate to my amateur novel – though it is constantly tumbling around in my head.  I get writers block easily when something doesn’t come out exactly as I want it to which leads to the slippery slope of me ignoring it until inspiration strikes.  My hope is that these other bits of creative writing will help jump start or inspire my novel, and perhaps they themselves will turn into something larger in the future as well or even become part of my novel.

Today, I picked out a fun prompt I found weeks ago and took a shot in the dark at a free write.  Turns out I really like where it’s going.  I see short story potential which is exciting!  So I’m going to