I’m not a person
susceptible to peer pressure. I dress up for Comic-Con no matter which day I attend. I drive
the speed limit, even on the freeways in California and no matter how fast the
other traffic is going. I used public transportation
to commute to work daily when I lived in the Central Valley even after another
passenger told me that only ex-cons and homeless people rode the bus. And while it took me ten years to get my
undergraduate college degree, I never smoked pot. Not even once.
So I would seem unlikely
to fall for a facebook-posted challenge from a friend. Except for the fact that the friend is Gayle Carline and the challenge is writerly.
In an electronic twist to the old-fashioned chain letter, she included
me in something called the Lucky 7 Challenge which basically goes like
this:
1. Go to page 7
or 77 in your current manuscript (fiction or non-fiction)
2. Go to line 7
3. Post on your blog the next 7 lines, or sentences, as they are – no cheating
4. Tag 7 other authors to do the same.
2. Go to line 7
3. Post on your blog the next 7 lines, or sentences, as they are – no cheating
4. Tag 7 other authors to do the same.
In the spirit of
the game, here are the seven lines from the romantic suspense novel I entered
into this year’s Golden Heart contest from the Romance Writers of America (and
currently undergoing revision):
“Thanks.
I want each of you guys writing up your own statements. Nothing fancy, just how you remember things
from the time we got separated from the rest of the task force until the
chopper found us.”
“We’ll put our heads together,” Jake said,
“and give them an ironclad textbook example of good old-fashioned American
firefighter heroism in the heat of battle.”
Danny laughed. “I’m not looking for a Nobel prize winner for
literary fiction. Both of you grab a
pen, a piece of paper, and a separate table.
This isn’t a group project.”
Now let’s see
what we get from my seven writer friends:
Perfect, Rick! I knew you could do it. Is this the book I got to read?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Gayle. Yes it is. I didn't make finals in the contest, but one of the judges gave the first 50 pages a score of 8.5 out of a possible 9 points! I really appreciate your read and critique - your perceptive comments helped focus my revision.
ReplyDeleteWow! What an awesome score, Rick! Way to go -- those silly contest folks should have just given ya the prize then and there ;).
ReplyDeleteThanks for including me! I've played this one before, and it's always fun! Looking forward to your other responses too -- I really enjoy the 'dabbling' effect. It's like the reading equivalent of a tapas or wine bar. And when am I not up for that?
You actually caught me working on my Texas adventure/women's fiction novel today in mid-flashback. Hopefully that makes this make a little sense.
From p7:
Behind me, I could hear his feet padding along the Italian travertine and the swishing of his silk thighs. “Thing is,” Adam said, “he’s in trouble.”
“Who is?” I’d reached the glory that was Rome Reproduced – the grand living space. The sectional divan, now de-sectioned around the room, held several fond memories for me – and maybe my dress. I knelt down to peer between them.
“Your father. He owes us a lot of money.”
“Well, Daddy’s never been the financial genius of the family. That was Mom, bless her.”