Flash Fiction Friday: And What a Twisted Memory I Have . . .

This week's theme: And What a Twisted Memory I Have . . .

When Judging, these are two of the MUSTS for this one: It must be based on a real memory AND there must be a twist.THESE ELEMENTS MUST BE PRESENT IN ALL ENTRIES!!! Just remember 100 words exactly.

Have your family your family, friends, and whatever and vote for the best story (perhaps yours) by leaving comments Friday or early Saturday (voting cuts off at 6 pm Central Saturday) . If you or anyone you know can not comment, simply email me at wtprater.jwasg@yahoo.com  and I will count those votes before I announce anything saturday.

And now the entries:


ENTRY 1
     Back in the early ‘80s (before fancy electronics like GPS) my mom, sister, and I drove from Colorado to New York. The child in the front seat was the navigator, reading the map and watching the road signs. At one point my mother said, “Look for Highway 80.” After several minutes I said: “I see it! 280 is in two exits.”

     “Not 280! 80!” She yelled.

     “No, I know, but the sign says 280,” I said.

     “We’re not taking 280!” she yelled. She was red in the face from anger.

     “T.O. 80! That way,” I said, pointing.

     “Oh,” she said. ---Author Kyle Mankles

ENTRY 2
     She looked past her toes. The water was so far away. Miles, ok maybe not miles but it was a long way down. If she jumped the plunge would take forever. What if she changed her mind on the way down?

      There were people down there. She could just make out their faces, but she really couldn’t hear what they were yelling at her. She decided to do it. Adrenaline coursed through her veins. She entered the water like a bullet. Strong hands we around her rib cage, lifting her up.

     “See Suzie jumping off the dock wasn’t so hard” ---Author Laura Medeiros

ENTRY 3
     I was pinned to the bathroom counter. I could not move. My face was a mess of drool, snot, and tears. My hair covered my eyes and I was generally a hot mess.

     Someone was fucking me from behind. Hard. I started to float. She stopped to switch out the strap on, from large to extra large.

     "Do you think she can take it?"

     "She'll swallow this up."

     I jerked awake, covered in sweat. A Dream. I stumbled to the kitchen and as I was pouring my coffee, burst into tears.

     "That's it. Let go. Cry for me." She said. ---Author Kitten Blue

ENTRY 4
     Cruising on a rural highway, just under the speed limit. Then there’s a cop behind me. WTF! Where did he come from?

     No worries. I’m legal.

     Pulls beside me. I look over. It’s not a guy, but a busty babe. She looks at me for a few moments, then drops back.

     Pulls me over. Out of the car and to the passenger side for a pat down.

     She opens both doors with us between them. A quick pat down. “Drop your pants.”

     WTF!

     Turns me around, bare breasts showing. Gives me a world-class blowjob.

     Leaves with “have a nice day!” ---Author Gary Smith

ENTRY 5
     Waking up in my bed once again with you on my mind. We were together as soul mates for 11 years until something stronger than both of us drove us apart.

     Lately you are so on my mind, I hear you, feel you and touch you. You seem to be all around me even though we have been apart for two years

     So on my mind but so afraid of what I may find.

     have you moved on, or stayed like me, behind

     I chance a Google search: Out pops your obituary!!!

     R.I.P. my love~ Phillip Strom ---Author Cheryl Moore

ENTRY 6
     It’s really kind of funny how your mind plays tricks on you as you age. Things you thought happened that really weren’t as you remember.

     Last year I ran into an old friend I hadn’t seen in many years, and as we reminisced, I recalled we had slept together. When I pointed this out, she turned very red and angry, slapped my face and stomped away in a fury. That’s when I remembered why we hadn’t talked in years… it
was her SISTER I had slept with one drunken night.

     Oh well, give her a few years, she’ll forget again. ---Author Richard Garrison

Another Flash FIction Friday (Details Here) !!!

I'm declaring yet another Flash Fiction Friday on my blog. The idea is simple. . . I will give you the title/theme . . . You will write a story 100 words long (no more, no less) . . . and then we'll let the audience decide who best captured the title/theme. And guess what? There is a prize, other then maybe self-discipline and a seed for a new story, or stories. Who wants to challenge themselves and others?

The theme will be announced be announced Thursday around 4pm and ANYONE can enter a story until around 5 pm Central Time Friday. You can enter by writing a story the length stated above and emailing that story to wtprater.jwasg@yahoo.com by 5 pm Central Time Friday. I will then post all the entries on the my blog Friday evening. Ask your friends and family to come read all the entries, and vote for the best one by leaving comments (Only one vote per comment, please) . I will go through the comments and post the winner Saturday afternoon. I reserve the right to bring in other off-line judges if there are not enough comments.

****One entry per author, please****

**** Warning: If your entry is less or more than 100 words (hyphenated words are counted separately), it will not be posted. PERIOD. And I will deal with spacing issues, but otherwise, I will not edit or correct spelling or grammar. ****

  

And this week's prizes: A hand knitted scarf of purple yarn (knitted by yours personally)!


This week's theme is : What a Twisted Memory  I have . . .


Two MUSTS for this one: It must be based on a real memory AND there must be a twist.THESE ELEMENTS MUST BE PRESENT IN ALL ENTRIES!!! Just remember 100 words exactly. Have fun and get to writing!




My Example:

     The old building stood before us, as we took the campus tour. It had been gutted and empty, and waited to be reconstructed as a more current structure of itself.

     That felt a lot like my life, on my own for the first time.

     I was shocked to find someone in my group that went to my high school. He was one of the boys that tormented me for being out. Completely straight, and homophobic.

     Until less than a month later, we found a way into that empty building, and he had me pinned to the ground, sucking my cock.


SO YOU'RE ENTERING . . . Thanks! And some last minute helpful tips!

1. READ THE RULES.

2. Comment below on Thursday, saying, "I'm in" or "I wanna" or something like that so I can keep an eye out for your e---mail.

3. Email your story to wtprater.jwasg@yahoo.com by 5 pm Central Time Friday. (Voting will begin after the stories are posted, around 6 pm Friday. )

4. Have your family your family, friends, and whatever and vote for the best story (perhaps yours) by leaving comments Friday or early Saturday (voting cuts off at 6 pm Central Saturday) . If you or anyone you know can not comment, simply email me at the above email and I will count those votes before I announce anything saturday.

5. Come back Saturday after 6 pm and check out / congratulation the winner.

The Horcrux Effect: Fighting to Live Beyond Death

     So, a couple of years ago Tim McGraw came out with a song called "Live like you were dying" or something like it. I know that was one of the main lines. And I've been reflecting on that a lot lately. For anyone who knows me, I'm never been prone to health issues. But that doesn't stop me from realizing how fragile life is. I mean, the human body is only so tough, and that doesn't even begin to speak of the mind and how losing control of that means. I know, I'm only 33, and that is relatively young. But it leaves me wondering . . .

     If something happens to me tonight or two weeks from now, what did I leave behind? How will people remember me? Will I die with unresolved issues? Will there be anyone that will wonder how I feel about them? And I know these are all deep thoughts, but if you're a poet like me, these have been a part, a huge part, of my thinking since I was fifteen or so.

    Notice I said thinking about, not worrying about. What's the difference between the two words? To worry -to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret. To think -to employ one's mind rationally and objectively in evaluating or dealing with a given situation. (Thanks to dictionary.com for that one.) I don't torment myself, I simply employ my mind rationally in evaluating death and what I'm leaving behind. When I die I want people to party, not because I'm dead but because I left behind a legacy, hopefully,  a legacy of love.

     I have tried to forgive every person who has ever harmed me, intentionally or not. I have fought to never let anger control my motivations or my path in life. I am not a saint, or even "a good Christian", but I tried to make sure to let Love guide me in my actions, my words, and my thoughts. I have done my best to honor Mother Earth and Father Time, meaning I have fought to protect my Mother and honor Time's quickly changing paces. My friends, my true friends, I pray, know that although I have fought to be tough I have also fought to love and honor each of them in tongue, heart, spirit, and action. I pray that if there are any who have anger with me that they would forgive me, and know that I did all that I did with the best of intentions, and if ever that was not the truth, I pray my heart be corrected so that is truth.

       I hope and pray that I did things that made someone's life easier, better, and more truthful. I pray that my love opened doors for more people to love, not just "tolerate" each other. Because I believe that this and only this make a difference. 

     I know this is heavy and I'm sorry for that, but it is where my heart is tonight, and always. So better to be thought a fool, then open your mouth and remove all thought. I am definitively a fool, but only I hope in the best ways. Thank you once more for all those who see beyond my hard shell, and help take care of my "softer side".

    I don't reference the bible much, but if I could explain my direction and path it would be this:

 

1 Corinthians 13:1-8

     13 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

       ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

       ⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

_________________________________________________________


So, this week: 6 projects works on, wrote almost every day, downloaded "Write or Die" program, which helps so much and set realistic deadlines on 2 projects! I'm proud of WIP this week! And yes I plan on running the Flash Fiction this weekend.

1. Exercising His Options FINISHED
2. The Question Game (2362 words, 9 chapters) Deadline July 10^th
3.The Release of the Dragons (3178 words) nothing new
4. A Gender Confused (2362 words) emailed updates to FabVab
5. Carnal Choices (4488 words) nothing new
6. An Alien Encounter (6234 words) nothing new
7. Another Day … (23p, 3991words) Getting more organized
8. Across the World ---Researching
9. Meredith/ Tupla --- (612w) nothing new
10.Rainbow Rage --- (668 words) outlining, nothing new
11. Goldilocks ---Outlining, nothing new
12. A Kindness to Strangers ---Outlining, nothing new
13. What a Dom Wants ---Outlining, nothing new
14. The Dark Side of Day --- Over 20k, nothing new
15. My Father’s Son---Outlined, nothing new
16 Broken, Not Fixed--- Outlined, nothing new
17. Absolute Power ---Outlined, nothing new
18. No Breeders Allowed --- Outlining, 3902 new words
19. Two Week Notice --- (2657 words) nothing new Deadline July 20^th
20. The Black --- (2010 words) nothing new, but re-named
21. The Zombie Curse --- typed up (586 words) nothing new
22. Still Enprisoned ---nothing new
23. A Ghost of a Chance --- typed up (960 words) nothing new
24. The Unknown (524 words)
So right now, the colors are: Finished Worked on This Week Backburner Work New Project

Where's Waldo? . . . And thanks for all the fish!

      One of the biggest (and most loaded) questions any artist, regardless of genre or type of art, is :What is your inspiration? I can't speak for anyone else, but i both love and hate this question, because the answer for me is SO HUGE that I could talk about it for hours, but it is also so simple I could answer it in one word: everything.

     From turning on the radio and hearing a song that I love or hate, and creating a story for it, to seeing a picture and doing the same thing. Everything in my life inspires me, my emotions, my experiences,  my friends, my enemies, strangers walking by, and that weird email I just got. Literally, I relax my brain and just let the story flow. The biggest question I have to ask myself, though, is this: Is this a story that I have passion for? Enough passion to write and rewrite, and give to others to edit, and then edit more, and then rewrite, and then be able to sell? Because those are the stories I need to invest myself in.

     The biggest reason I want to write is because I have something to say, and I need to use that voice. I have spent so much of my life wasting time and energy being scared that people won't like my words that I have screamed silently, but never publicly. Within the next few months and years, you will "hear" alot from me, because I have stories that only I can tell because I alone have been through these experiences or felt this way at this time or have this unique perspective or maybe only I have the balls to talk so blatantly about these subjects. Or at least, that is what I'm telling myself. Lol. I might be wrong, I guess only time, action, and writing will tell.

     I do want to take the time to thank some very special people in my life. First, my wife, Jules, she is my rock, without whom I do would mean anything, and I will always feel this way. Next, JWLL, my first writing group that helped me realize that I have a unique voice and I must use it, however I can. To Kayla, Chandra, and Krissy, my second writing group that helped push me farther, and helped me realize my dream. To everyone to organized GRL'11 because you all placed me exactly where I needed to see my dream more clearly. And my dad who always supported me, sometimes by fighting me. To Xara, my captain and one of my biggest cheerleaders. To Poppy, who's footsteps I want to follow. To Piper, JP, MJ, Missy, Tara, and Eden, who all offered a smile, a hug, and plenty of advice. To Jill, Januarie, and Heather who served as my betas on my first finished story. And continue to serve as part of The Prater Betas, as well as the 17 others who do so. To Kiernan who I have adopted as part of my family. To Denny, who inspires me in ways he doesn't know. To FabVab, who believes in me enough to co-write a story with me. To Cherie, another chief cheerleader. To Reece, my best man always. And finally to The Purple Thumb Posse, my first attempt at a larger writing family.

     To everyone listed, and to all those I have forgot, you all mean more to me than anything you can ever imagine. You each have a special piece of my heart (so many horcruxes!!) , so I shall never die. I am more grateful than I can ever say . . . or write.

WIP (Week #3) Thank you for your accountability!!

So the weekly goal is at least 7,000 words (1,000 per day). For the last few weeks, I have found excuses for not reaching this goals. Starting two weeks ago, I decided to use the 34 people following this blog for wonderful beings of accountability. So, while I still failed my goal of 7k, I did at least write around 2k in new words, including picking up some projects that have been on the backburner too long. Next week, I plan to have even more purple . . .working my way toward more green. So, please, everyone reading, don't be afraid to challenge me. I love knowing that you're there, and YOU ALL are the reason I'm pushing myself harder. Thank you for that!

The list looked something like this:

1. Exercising His Options --- 11k (Finished)
2. The Question Game --- 6 Chapters Finished, 6 more To Go (1500 new words written)
3. The Release of the Dragons --- YA --- Outlined, 3178 words written
4. Edo & Tracy, A Gender Confused --- 2k Written, co-writing with VAB ( 243 new words)
5. Carnal Choices --- Around 4k written, half-finished
6. An Alien Encounter --- 7k written, half-finished
7. Another Day in the Life of Someone, Poetry (working on gathering and typing up 75 poems)
8. Across the World, Aussie slang, told in IM. --- Researching
9. Tupla/Meredith --- 612 Words written
10. Rainbow Rage ---Comic Book idea, outlining
11. Goldilocks and the Three Bears ---Outlining
12. A Kindness to Strangers ---Outlining
13. What a Dom Wants --- BDSM ---Idea Stewing
14. The Dark Side of Day --- Outline Written, Over 20k Written (First novel???)
15. My Father's Son --- First Series --- Second Novel --- Outlined
16. Broken, Not Fixed ---First Series --- Third Novel --- Outlined
17. Absolute Power ---First Series --- Fourth Novel --- Outlined
18. No Breeders Allowed --- Second Series --- First Book --- The 2050 Series
19. Two Weeks Notice --- 2k, Half Finished
20. Attempted --- 1k 
21. The Zombie Curse --- YA ---1k
22. Still Enprisoned A prison tale ---Erotic --- 1k
23. Dylan and Jason, A Untraditional ghost story. --- 1k

So right now, the colors are: Finished    Worked on This Week   Backburner Work     New Project

Why It Hurts to Write

The writer sits and people stare
he writes and scribbles and does(n't) care
they point and jeer, laugh and think
wondering if he's on the brink
of some new thought beyond their grasp
time and life fly by so fast
but he keeps writing and thinking on page
as deeper he digs, raise to new stage

of progress against the thoughts of old
thoughts of malice, bitter cold,
overwhelming hate, blinding wars,
richest thieves, cheapest whores.
he pieces puzzles of memories gone,
of wounds unhealed,
of broken song,
of tears unshed,
of bridges burned,
of alarms on snooze,
of corners unturned,
of roads unwalked,
of truth unspoken,
of lies kept,
of promises broken,of wreckage held,
of thoughts ungrown,
of challenges left,
of seeds unsown,
of misery kept and happiness spent,
of lives that are broken or horribly bent,

he strikes gold with logic new
and burns with passion through and through
he pieces puzzles and comes to this,
"all is revealed in the warmth of a kiss.
of a touch, of a love, burning desire,
nothing so warm as two hearts on fire.
and though there is pain in vulnerability,
there is no growth in loving casually.
Give up the wall and let down the pride,
and although it may hurt, let people inside."
And as all sit and sneer, and continue to die,
he thinks of their pain, and loves them,
and cries.

The Inspiration is YOU! And the winner is US!!

I want to THANK YOU for everyone who entered FFFF. I thought every single entry was poetic in its beauty, and every one provoked strong emotional responses from me, and from a majority of the readers. AND I want to say THANK YOU for everyone who voted, because that took amazing amounts of time, patience, and thoughtfulness. I was blown away with 27 votes were cast in 24 hours. Thank you all so much for giving this idea life. And I hope to have another contest in two weeks or so. . . and so with no further ado . . .

In Third Place . . . with 5 votes  . . . 

Author Xara X. Xanakas

(for more info about this author, click on the name)

In Second Place . . . .with 6 votes . . .

Author Kiernan Kelly

(for more info about this author, click on the name)




And with 11 votes . . .  in First place . . .





AUTHOR
ANDY
SLAYDE!

(for more info about this author, click on the name)

       AGAIN,CONGRATS TO ALL THOSE WHO ENTERED AND WERE INSPIRED!

Flash Fiction Friday: The inspiration crept in . . .

SO THESE ARE ENTRIES . . . Please feel free to vote by leaving comments, but only one vote per comment. (Comments with more than one will not be counted. Period.) If you can not leave a comment and you want to vote, email me at wtprater.jwasg@yahoo.com
Voting closes on Saturday at 5 pm Central Time. The results will be announced shortly after that.

This week's theme/title was:  The inspiration crept in . . .

ENTRY 1

     Kelly sorted laundry as his mother continued her harangue. “You’re eighteen tomorrow, but you have chores around…especially the laundry. How you can dirty so many clothes is beyond me!”

      “I’m sorry, Mother. I was just like to look nice.”

     “Your clothes make you look weird…like those goths and queers you hang out with. I don’t want you turning out like them.”

      “I know I wouldn’t have these problems if you were a girl.”

     Kelly continued to sort and fold clothes. You want me to be a girl, he thought. You’ve got it. He put her sexiest panties in his pile.  -  Author Gary Smith

ENTRY 2

     “Hold out your arms.”

     A stream of light shot out, wrapping around Caitlyn’s wrists, and binding her to Hector. They faced each other, with the luminance interweaving across their skin similar to the rope used in a wedding ceremony.

     Hector squeezed her hands, sending a sense of reassurance. When she looked into his eyes, the unease evaporated. A quick, burning sensation laced the delicate flesh. She pushed through the pain, the inspiration crept in and she embraced the heat.

     As quickly as it started, the radiance dimmed. A tribal band remained etched, circling both wrists like a permanent henna tattoo. - Author Lousia Bacio

ENTRY 3

       Sawyer knew she shouldn't be here- every fiber in her being was screaming at her to run. "I have never been very good at following orders," she thought silently to herself as she looked at the archaic, wooden door. It was covered in intricate carvings: runes, gods and goddesses, long forgotten but never very far from earshot. Setting her jaw and gathering her courage, she brushed the door knob ever so slightly and she felt it hum under her fingertips.
     "Malachai, you are so lucky I love you, “Sawyer said, pulling open the door and stepping into a beautiful nightmare.  -  Author Kayla Jennings
　
ENTRY 4

      Kate stared out the kitchen window as Luis and Dex, her best friends from high school, repaired the barn paddock. She’s been in love with them both.

      Unable to choose between them she’d gone away to college, but her feelings hadn’t changed. She watched Luis douse Dex with a bucket of water. Dex advanced on Luis and she expected him to pummel Luis like he always had.

       Instead Dex backed Luis against the fence and kissed him hard. Heat coursed through her at the sight. She moaned softly when an image of being held between them flashed in her mind…  -  Author Shay MacLean

ENTRY 5 

    It looked like a fireman's pole. The opening was black, the bottom impossibly far down. It was one of the few access points to the lost undercity. The closed ancient ruins belched gases that made it
impossible to breathe a good man's air. He supposed he should tell his son to avoid the pole. Sevrin was always curious.
     He should have told him thirty seconds earlier, before the little blonde monkey slid down and left him staring at the pole. Parents tended to just forget. It wasn't until he was halfway down that he realized he was going after Sevrin.  - Author Gabriel Belthir

ENTRY 6                                                     

     He was perfect. Beautiful. Ethereal, like he had been carved from the tears of angels and made human.

     Unobtainable.

     He walked through the crowd, apart from it. He couldn’t blend in if he tried. The scruffy beard and shaggy hair did nothing to dim the light that seemed to shine through him. Jaws dropped. Conversations stopped.

      Inaccessible.

     He approached me. We talked late into the night. He suggested a nightcap. I invited him to my place, and he followed me home. I mixed him a drink, and he smiled. It took my breath away.

     I returned the favor.

     Preserved, forever.  -  Author Xara X Xanakas

ENTRY 7

      I keep him naked and blindfolded, spread-eagle on my bed, hands and feet cuffed to the four wooden posts.

      What should I do first? Oh, decisions, decisions. The possibilities are endless, and the anticipation is almost as delicious as the actual act.

      His silver nipple rings wink in the candlelight, catching my attention. My gaze trails from them down over his ridged stomach to the thatch of black at his crotch. His cock is hard already, eight inches of eagerness bobbing between his meaty thighs.

      As moonlight casts faux scars over his skin, the inspiration creeps in, and I smile.  -   Author Kiernan Kelly

ENTRY 8

      In a dream he comes to me. He whispers dark, sensual lyrics against my ear and his hot breath stirs a fire deep within my soul.

      His fingers caress my body, playing it like an instrument until my crescendo crashes in waves against him. He enters me then, his possession overtaking all of my senses. The night and everything in it belong to him.

     Once again, our bodies dance and our hearts sing. We make beautiful music out of passion and love.

     And then, without compassion, the dream ends.

     I awake to a cold emptiness. My Phantom is still gone.  -  Author Annette C. Macias

ENTRY 9
      
    Alex put the finishing touches on his sketch of Emily. His professor would love it. Alex didn’t. Quite the opposite, actually. There was nothing of him in it. Drawing it had been mechanical. Sterile. Blasé.

     Alex skulked toward his bedroom, glancing through Zed’s open door, and stopped in his tracks. Diffused light illuminated the bed’s occupant, asleep on his stomach, the sheet barely covering his ass.

     The interplay of light and dark, hard and soft, had Alex leaning against the door frame, opening his sketchbook. The charcoal swept down the paper, forming the graceful lines of a perfectly sculpted back.  -  Author Andy Slayde

Tomorrow . . . Freaky Flash Fiction Friday!

I'm declaring tomorrow Flash Fiction Friday on my blog. The idea is simple. . . I will give you the title/theme . . . You will write a story 100 words long (no more, no less) . . . and then we'll let the audience decide who best captured the title/theme. And guess what? There are prizes, other then maybe self-discipline and a seed for a new story, or stories. Who wants to challenge themselves and others?

The theme will be announced be announced Thursday around 4pm and ANYONE can enter a story until around 3 pm Central Time Friday. You can enter by writing a story the length stated above and emailing that story to wtprater.jwasg@yahoo.com by 3 pm Central Time Friday. I will then post all the entries on the my blog Friday afternoon. Ask your friends and family to come read all the entries, and vote for the best one by leaving comments (Only one vote per comment, please) . I will go through the comments and post the winner Saturday afternoon. I reserve the right to bring in other off-line judges if there are not enough comments.

****One entry per author, please****
**** Warning: If your entry is less or more than 100 words (hyphenated words are counted separately), it will not be posted. PERIOD. And I will deal with spacing issues, but otherwise, I will not edit or correct spelling or grammar. ****

And this week's prizes: Lots of keychain floggers and a pair of shoestring floggers that look fantastic under black lights.

This week's theme is : The inspiration crept in . . .

You can write about whatever you what regarding that theme, just keep it inspirational (what inspires you?) , creepy and unpredictable. Just remember 100 words exactly. Have fun and get to writing!

My Example:


     Love is a scary thing, especially when you’re in it.

     She was so beautiful that every time I got around her, I stopped breathing, literally. I wanted to ask her on a date. Get her number. Something. But fear held me tightly.

     Until the night I saw her walking. I stopped to offer her a ride home. She freaked. She shouldn’t have run. I was trying to be a gentleman. I didn’t mean to hit her with my car. And then, I had no choice but to put her in the trunk.

     I can’t believe she’s here. All locked up.


SO YOU'RE ENTERING . . . Thanks! And some last minute helpful tips!

1. READ THE RULES.

2. Comment below on Thursday, saying, "I'm in" or "I wanna" or something like that so I can keep an eye out for your e-mail.

3. Email your story to wtprater.jwasg@yahoo.com by 3 pm Central Time Friday. (Voting will begin after the stories are posted, around 4 pm Friday. )

4. Have your family your family, friends, and whatever and vote for the best story (perhaps yours) by leaving comments Friday or early Saturday (voting cuts off at 3 pm Central Saturday) .  If you or anyone you know can not comment, simply email me at the above email and I will count those votes before I announce anything saturday.

5. Come back Saturday after 3pm and check out / congratulation the winner.

Never Give Up, Never Surrender !

     It's easy to feel like a failure in life. I mean, life keeps rushing by, and especially if you're like me you make big goals, and have every intention of fulfilling them. But sometimes these goals are unrealistic, or they need baby steps to fulfill. And then reality kicks in as well: Life is unpredictable. The time you thought you would use rushing to write became time that you used volunteering at an event, or eating, or helping a friend with a problem. And while everything can be an excuse, sometimes priorities shift or laziness gets in the way. The question is: What do you do after that?
     After you've realized that you've accomplished nothing on your "To Do List", what do you do? Do you throw the list away and start fresh? Or do you fight to stick with that list and get everything done even if it's late? Or do you give up, and beat yourself up for being laziness or distracted, while doing nothing to change it?
     If you picked either of the first two options, you are not a failure. The only failure is giving up. Period. In all honesty, you are never a failure as long as you push yourself to do Something no matter how little. Do something.

     I have tried many different ways to get myself to set and achieve realistic goals. Some ways worked better then others. I have learned that the best way for me to do this is for me to tell others of my goals, to keep a written account of what I've done and what I'm doing, and then to reward myself for accomplishing certain things.
     For myself, NEVER GIVE UP must be set on repeat in my head. Because I am my own hardest judge, jury, and executioner. And I have to give myself some slack.
     With all this said, I will be working on W.I.P. it Wednesday! but I can sadly report no progress on any of my writing projects in the last week, but that WILL change this week. Period. 



Ready for a fight, and aiming to lose. . . .

     I don't spend a lot of my life complaining these days. I use to. I use to bitch, moan, whine and complain about everything. And then . . . at some point, I don't remember quite when, I just stopped. I came to the realization that all that didn't do a spit's worth of good. So, for the last two years or so, I've tried not to say negative things about people, goals, or myself.
    The problem is that trying to be that way, I went to the opposite extreme. Where if anything was wrong, I ignored it, especially if it presented a challenge in "Being Positive". If someone was habitually rude, depressed, or negative, I stayed away from them.  I still loved/love them, I just reasoned that I couldn't be pulled back into that black hole. If a problem seemed overwhelming, I avoided it.
     And hence, the introduction of one of my most noticable problems, my weight. All through school, I was a skinny kid. And even into my early twenties, because I walked several miles every day, I stayed in shape. But here I am, over thirty, and now I weigh 250 pounds. Now some people, particularly people larger than me scoff at my weight issue. What they don't realize (or don't care to know) is that I have difficulty doing things that when I was younger, and more in shape, I did with ease. And now it has come to the point that it is unacceptable to me.
     I have difficulty getting up in the morning, like I have to push myself up off the day like a pregnant woman. Sometimes to get up, I have to rock my body into a sitting up position. I hate bending over even to tie my shoes, so I usually wear flip flops. I have gone from wearing medium t-shirts and 32 waist pants to extra large shirts and 40 waist pants. And I am tired. And I am tired of being tired. After years of walking miles a day, now I hate walking a half mile from my home to the main street near my house.
     And so, I'm done. I'm done making excuses. I'm ready to fight. And lose. Lots of weight. So I've started: Drinking only water and milk. Tracking my food intake. Walking daily. And joining my wife on Spark People. Stay tuned as I work to lose 30 to 50 pounds by October. And I believe in myself to attain this goal, and please help me keep motivated.

About last night . . .

     Anyone who knows me knows that in "Convention mode" I party late. So it was no surprise when I got back to my hotel room at Holiday Inn Select and found  the curtains pulled shut and all three of my roommates hard at buzzing lumber. Generally snoring doesn't knew me awake. But tonight, I couldn't sleep, so I laid in bed eating Pringles, and reading a book on my computer.
     The faucet in the bathroom, which was right next to my bed, keep dripping. So I got up and turned the knob as tight as I could, left the bathroom light on, then climbed back into bed. I glanced in the mirror, which was on the wall directly between the bedroom and bathroom so it reflected both depending on your angle.
     As the clock turned 2.22 am., the water faucet in the bathroom turned on full blast. As I looked in the mirror, there appeared to be a lady getting ready for bed. The only problem was my roommates were already asleep. Oh, and I could see through her. I shook my head and pinched myself to make sure I wasn't asleep.
     When I looked back at the mirror, she had finished whatever she was doing, and was headed for me. Well, for the bedroom area. I pulled the covers as far up as they would go, and tried to act like I was asleep, while keeping my eyes cracked so I could watch her. She floated gently through the room, and then paused at the curtains. She turned around, glanced around the room, and then, as if the window there open, she jumped.
     I had no idea what to do, so I quickly and quietly got out of bedroom and ran to the window.
     I pulled the curtains open with a quickness, only to find her there on the other side of glass, staring at me with blank, lifeless eyes.
     I slammed both sets of curtains closed. And then I slipped to the floor, back against the window, trying to pray.

(Story inspired by Creepy Pasta, Kayla and Ruby)

The First Official "WIP it" Wednesday

     So. . . recently, I started a list of all the various projects I was working on. I wanted a list so I could see if I was working, and what I was working on. I wanted a reference for all works I have been working on for the last six months. And what I have realized is that I have worked on a lot of different projects, but I think my fear and/or my ADD is stopping me from finishing anything/ everything. So . . . I'm building a base of accountability. And you, unwittingly have become it . . . And so Wednesday was becomes WORK IN PROGRESS or "WIP IT" WEDNESDAY!

The list looked something like this:

1. Exercising His Options --- 11k (Finished)

2. The Question Game --- 6 Chapters Finished, 6 more To Go

3. The Release of the Dragons --- YA --- Outlined, 3178 words written

4. Edo & Tracy, A Gender Confused ---  2k Written, co-writing with VAB 

5. Carnal Choices --- Around 4k written, half-finished

6. An Alien Encounter --- 7k written, half-finished 

7. Another Day in the Life of Someone, Poetry (lots of Poetry, needs organized)

8. Across the World, Aussie slang, told in IM. --- Researching

9. Tupla/Meredith --- 612 Words written

10. Rainbow Rage ---Comic Book idea, outlining

11. Goldilocks and the Three Bears ---Outlining 

12. A Kindness to Strangers ---Outlining 

13. What a Dom Wants  --- BDSM ---Idea Stewing

14. The Dark Side of Day --- Outline Written, Over 20k Written (First novel???)
15. My Father's Son --- First Series --- Second Novel --- Outlined
16. Broken, Not Fixed ---First Series --- Third Novel --- Outlined

17. Absolute Power ---First Series --- Fourth Novel --- Outlined

18. No Breeders Allowed --- Second Series --- First Book --- The 2050 Series

19. Two Weeks Notice --- 2k, Half Finished

20. Attempted --- 1k  

21. The Zombie Curse --- YA ---1k  

22. Still Enprisoned A prison tale ---Erotic --- 1k

23. Dylan and Jason, A Untraditional ghost story. --- 1k

So right now, the colors are:  Finished      Worked on This Week   

Backburner Work    New Project

I will be updating this list, changing and revising each Wednesday. I may add colors. And if you have suggestions of questions, please ask me. And using this list you will have first hand knowledge of what I'm doing to accomplish my dream of becoming an established author! Thanks for reading.

A Tornado of Words and Emotions

     Every day you learn something different.

     Anyone who knows me knows I'm fairly direct. I say what I mean and I mean it exactly as I say it, unless I give a disclamier, which I often do. But today I learned that even though you may speak directly, people often interpret what you say into what they want to hear, or don't want to hear, whichever validates what they want to think.

     I can say "Wow! These bananas are yellow." And depending on those listening, they can hear, "Wow, they're ripe" or "I really want them" or they can go dirty, and become sexual thoughts. Those are the funniest, and what generally happens in my circle. Almost anything said can and will become something sexual.

     But sometimes, sometimes, things are misheard. And things become unbearable.

     As I write this, I have a tornado of emotions rolling around inside me. I am hurt. I am angry. I am sad. I am confused. I am relieved. And around and around this emotions go. My partner and I have been together a little over three months. Things were not always fabo, but generally, we worked things out. This weekend however, a lot of things were say, some of which were heard incorrectly, and it resulted in a huge blowout and several days of silence. Then another blow out, and tonight because I can not help him understand me, I am breaking our relationship off.

     The last straw was when I read a post online about our relationship that although I completely disagreed with it, it completely showed me how he viewed our relationship and me, and "his truth" breaks my heart. There is nothing in this world harder than breaking off a relationship with someone when you realize that there is great potential for that relationship to be wonderful, but equal potential for the relationship to destroy you both.
    
     SO. . .it is my decision not to place myself in a situation that will hurt me over and over again. It is my decision to protect my heart in knowing that I did the best I could, and I am eternally sorry if that is not enough.