Tuesdays Tales #61 - Palter

Oh Glitterlady! How I have missed your prompts! This one is just too delicious to resist.
Check out Tuesday Tales for more awesomeness. 


Secret Word:  Palter [PAWL-ter]-verb - To talk or act insincerely or deceitfully

Picture Prompt:

Here we go...

She looked the picture of innocence; blonde curls and open green eyes. His gaze moved downward, lighting on the artwork of vines and flowers adorning her legs. What a mystery, he thought as they ate dinner.

On the dark walk home he made his move. Before he had a good grip on her thigh, something grabbed his wrist.

“Careful. The more you struggle the tighter my vines get,” she hissed.

“Easy. I wasn’t going to hurt you,” he paltered. Then his eyes widened as the tendrils reached his neck. “What are you?” he choked out.

She leaned in close. “Vengeance.”

(100 words)

@sampsonwriter

Why All Writers Should Write Flash Fiction

When I teach a course, I often give my students a writing exercise to start out the day. Most instructors give a prompt and say go (usually something about the topic for the day). But I decided that wasn't very fun and freeing.

So I changed it up. I give them four to five words and tell them to write me a short story using all the words... in ten minutes.

Of course I get the *gasps* of horror.

Forbidden Love: Duty

            Before that night when he lost his shadow, her life had been dull, and every night since then even more so. She was the eldest and therefore she had a duty. To her family and her brothers, but the duty to herself she only now questioned.

The Ultimate Goal?

"A good novel is like a welcome pause in the flow of our existence; a great novel is forever revisitable." - Graham Swift

"No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally (and often far more) worth reading at the age of fifty..." - C.S. Lewis


These two quotes sum up what I hope to achieve in regards to my writing. A lofty goal to be sure, but isn't that the point? Why bother writing if you don't wish to do it well? 

Now I enjoy reading as much as writing. Give me a good chick-lit book any lazy Saturday. However, I have had the privilege of reading the creative thoughts of Homer, Shakespeare, Donne, Austen, Doyle, Twain,  Lewis, Ruskin Tolkien,  - need I go on? Those are the authors I can quote from memory. Those are the authors who I give nods to in my writing. 

The Coloured Fairy Books

I have in my possession a well-worn, truncated version of a book called The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. It is a copy from my childhood library. The cover in falling off. The pages are more than yellow - almost orange. Dog-eared is a kind assessment of its corners, so many times have I turned those pages.


Inside, Lang presented fairy tales from all over the world. My favorite, however, was "Little One Eye, Little Two Eyes, Little Three Eyes", a version of Cinderella. This modest collection of fairy tales was my first literary introduction to Andrew Lang. I adored the stories and read them over and over again.

Carrying Pictures

"At first they were not a story, just pictures. The Lion all began with a picture of a Faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood. This picture had been in my mind since I was about sixteen. Then one day, when I was about forty, I said to myself: 'Let's try to make a story about it.'"

Here is C.S. Lewis writing about the creation of The Chronicles of Narnia in his book Of Other Worlds. Reading this gave me such joy, kind of like that feeling of hope I found when I read Tolkien's piece on writing. (If you missed that post, check it out HERE) 

Since I was in elementary school, I have created my tales based on the pictures that came to mind. When in high school, I started having dreams of stories to write. Everything flowed through like a movie, complete with costumes, props, settings, and music. 

I had to do something with all of this creative fodder.

The Routine

One of the most difficult things for me (and many other writers) was and is forming a routine. Everyone tells you that you MUST write everyday. This is truly daunting (especially when you have a little one running around) but as many have said, if you are serious about your craft you do it anyway.


I am part of a writers group and recently one of our own received a book deal. How did she do it? This woman has a full time job and three children! The answer was simple, she wrote everyday. I even found out she took a weekend and stayed at a hotel in town to work on her book. Now that is a GREAT idea!