A short story without an ending I just jotted down

I'm kind of nervous about putting this on the web, but here goes...(it doesn't really end because I'm not done)


The coffee shop sat wedged in between a taco place and a nail salon, its windows dark and lonely. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon, sending warm rays across the mountains as if testing the waters before appearing fully, gloriously. Crickets still chirped, their legs dewy, fearless from lack of human invasion in the past ten hours. A battered cup from the shop lay on its side in the nearest parking space. A small sparrow pecked curiously at it, wondering if it had finally gotten that worm. A cool breeze stirred the plants, making them shiver and shed drops of dew into the ground. The little shop seemed to be taking a breath to refresh itself, a sigh of preparation for another day. Each day people flooded the shop with their cappuccinos, mochas, computers, and children; making a mess, cleaning it up, ordering triple-shot skim milk non-fat lattes, and purchasing a cup of black coffee. Today would be no different.
Oliver sat in his normal spot on the ground to the side of the building, back against the cool brick and tattered baseball cap pulled low over his bleary eyes. He was unshaven, smelly, weather-beaten—a typical homeless man. He liked the coffee shop; he liked hearing the conversations, watching the people come in and out, back and forth. He was a philosopher, he was a philanthropist, he was a husband, he was a father, he was what no one expected, he was what everyone expected. Maybe someone will buy me a coffee today, he thought, as he always did. No one ever did; they scooted by quickly, avoiding eye contact, tugging their children away from him. He missed his kids—James, Jennifer, and little Joey. Maybe they were in Texas still, maybe Christina had taken them to her parent’s house in Minnesota. James would be 16 now, a young man, needing his father’s love and support. A small tear leaked down Oliver’s faded cheek and got lost in the crevices of his shaggy beard. No! No emotions! He thought fiercely. He was used to the loneliness now, but the direct unfriendliness of strangers, even those with that Christian fish symbol on their cars, still pierced him to the core. His stomach rumbled angrily, reminding him of the last time he had eaten, the surprising kindness of the young mother. She at least had looked at him with warmth and kindness as she handed him her child’s leftover hamburger, unlike the Christian fish car who had sped by him without a second glance.

Hallelujah vacation

Classes are good...

Dorms are good...

Nose is good...

Caf is not so good...

I'm leaving tomorrow for Washington, so I'm not sure I'll be updating before next Tuesday.

Leeland is good...

My eyes are like Barney

Purple and green. They really don't look that bad, actually, which is pretty disappointing. But at least I am famous! I pretty much just jumped up a few notches in many people's estimations and it seems like everyone knows what happened.

Classes seem pretty fun so far. I'm actually really excited for Ancient Civilizations, which is such a strange thing for me to say because I've always hated history. But we're going to read some fun books like The Odyssey and The Aeneid, so I think it will be good. And my prof is sort of funny. I'll be paying a total of $30 for all my books for all my classes for this semester, so that's another good thing. Not much has really happened, although a lot has happened. Nothing that I can really type here. It's just interesting to see how people have changed from when you first met them. Second year changes a lot.

I am confused. About life, about who I am, about God. I think my brain will just shut down with all the different ideas and thoughts about everything that are swirling around.

Well, this is a great way to start

So last night I was playing Ultimate Frisbee. And one of the guys chucked the Frisbee downfield and I got in the way of his arm. I stumbled to the ground and put my hand in front of my nose and then blood was gushing out of my nose, all over the ground, on my hand, and down my arm. I thought, "Oh my, who's bleeding?? Oh wait, I think I am. Great, now my nose is broken and going to be even bigger than normal. Ah, my nose ring! Good, still there. Oh great, my dental work. What just happened? Ow." And then Jenny told me to pinch the top of my nose and I did and I heard and felt a cracking sound. "Ow." Jenny told me, "Abby, the reason your nose is bleeding a lot is also because you have a cut on it." So now I have a cut and a severely bruised, if not broken, nose. So campus safety came and asked me a bunch of questions and I was shaking and bleeding and hurting really bad. And then I went back to my room and tried to wash my face and went to bed at about 1 am. I woke up around 2:30 with a soaked paper towel, but the bleeding finally stopped. Now I feel like I have a cold and it aches if I don't take any pain medication. But now the boys think I'm a "stud." Exact word they used.

I'm having bad luck with my face.

I need to catch up

Last night, Jenny and I were talking to our good friend Lisa, who lives across the hall from us and we were talking about careers. And Lisa said, "I really want to write books." And I thought, We are alike, because I do too. And then she said, "I've already written one, and I have a second one started and an idea for a third one." And Jenny and I's mouths literally fell open. (I know I's is not a legitimate contraction, but whatever). And then Hannah is almost finished with her great piece of work. And I haven't even started anything. I have 40 chapters loosely outlined for a story that I originally felt really great about, but after about a week, it died on me. I need good characters, a good plot, and good time. Any contributions?

MA

I don't know what I'm doing.

But at least I have a cool shirt.

Wow

I have a lot of stuff.

Seen in the Pages of The Book

This was in the version that was sent back to me with more additions by the author. I did not write any of this.

"A friend indeed is a friend in need. I owe it to you as a friend and good night."

Just then, chief of police Ron Matthews strode into Dave’s office, a stern look on his face. Chief Ron Matthews is a big man. He is 58 years old and looking forward to his retirement when he becomes 60. He has 30 years with the Seattle police department. The police department respects him and is fearful of his power, authority and commanding leadership. Ron has a long grey mustache and he has a habit of touching it when he is mad. Every one in the department knows when he is mad.


The food was delicious, as always cooked by their Italian chef, but Lisa Rittman’s thoughts were far away from anything she was putting in her mouth. Paul brought the Italian chief from his Hawaiian hotel because he likes Italian food and this chef has that special touch. Lisa was eating dinner with her husband seated at the opposite end of the table, daughter Christina, son Jason, two of their friends and the future husband of Christina. But she felt as if she was eating alone. Lisa was looking straight at Paul while eating and thinking about Diane, the robbery, Christina’s shower, how beautiful Diane looked and the closeness of Paul and Diane


"Time will tell and the love will come out openly."

The Olympics

My observations of the Olympics in no particular order:

1. The media LOVES Michael Phelps. Why? Well, aside from the fact he's pretty hott...;)

2. Women's gymnastics=awesome even though the US didn't win.

3. The men are all starting to wear bodysuits now to swim instead of the Speedos...sad day. That's why mom and I watch the summer Olympics.

4. They are so late. 12 am? Really?

5. We think that the Chinese girls are way too young to be competing. There's no way that little gymnast could be 16.

6. It's really fun to hear the announcer say foreign names in an American accent.

7. The women should wear more clothes to play volleyball.

8. Hearing the Romanian ex-coach say, "Vow!" instead of "Wow!" last night was highly entertaining.

9. I want the track and field to start.

10. Michael Phelps is amazing.

The Great Tooth Extraction

So it was done. Yesterday, in fact. The actual procedure wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I got numbed up amazingly, then the dr. scraped around in there doing who know what. Then he broke my tooth into three pieces and pulled it out, which was actually the least painful part of the whole thing. Then he sewed what looked like black sewing thread to my gum and hung the length, still attached to a pair of metal pliers, out the side of my mouth to hold my gums open around the socket. Then came the worst part. After drilling a small hole (I think that's what he did at least), he fitted a large metal rod, probably about 6 or 7 inches long, into the hole, and then banged on the rod with another piece of metal. My whole skull vibrated horribly and it hurt. Then he inserted the post and sewed me up. I was there for a total of 3 hours in that chair. Then Mom and I went to fill my antibiotic prescription and got me soft food to eat and then went home. I took a pain pill, but it was too late. That's when the pain started. I actually cried because of the pain, and I don't do that very often. So I took another pain pill and finally, about an hour or so later, the pain wore off. I'm doing much better today.

So I go back to school in a week from yesterday. Here's my schedule up until then:

Today: Do laundry.go to the beach with my roommate Jenny, who, much to my wild happiness, is in Tustin visiting her grandma.

Wednesday: Re-write book. Do more laundry. Start packing.

Thursday: Re-write book. Keep packing. Go to the mall with my friends. =)

Friday: Dentist to fill my other cavity. Hang out with Bethany and Jackie and the Wright's.

Saturday: Come home from the Wright's. Keep packing.

Sunday: Go to 3rd Sunday at Buena Park. Finish packing.

Monday: Dentist in the morning to hopefully get my stitches out. Leave for school.

More to come later...

Tips for Bad Novel Writing

I found this on the Internet, and it was highly entertaining:




Do you want to write a novel? Most people try to write a good novel and fail. Dare to be different. Try writing a bad novel instead. If you finish, you will have either succeeded in writing a bad novel or failed and written a good novel. It’s a win/win situation. Here’s a guide to writing an absolutely terrible novel. The path is clear. All you have to do is follow it.
1. Remember that real writers use a typewriter. They don’t like these newfangled computers. A manual typewriter and a bucket of Wite-Out™ are the tools of a serious writer.

2. Never pick an average name that a regular person would have. Go with something that explains the character.

3. If your character is a cop on the edge, then try a manly nickname coupled with the name of a gun — something like Rip Magnum.

4. If your book is about a real person, just alter their name and location slightly — Jorge M. Bushe, Presidente of the Federated Territories.

5. Make sure you’ve got a lot of similar names too. Donald, Donna, Dina, Dana and Danny just feel right together.

6.Make sure that the good guys are clearly good and the bad guys are overwhelming evil. Don’t confuse your readers by having all the characters have good qualities and bad ones.

7.Explain everything. When your character is angry, just say that she’s angry. There’s no point in trying to show that through her actions when you can just tell that to your reader.

8. Don’t explain anything. Why did your villain spend the whole book clutching a blanket? Leave it up to the readers. They’ll fill in the blanks.

9. Pile on the adjectives and adverbs. Why have a woman speak when you can have her whisper breathlessly in her lustful, wind-swept voice?

10. Fill your book with coincidences, especially towards the end. Nothing beats having the exciting climax occur because the hero bumped into the villain in a small-town cafe when they both had a craving for peach-filled semi-sweet chocolate pie. Did you mention that both characters love the exact same pie? Now would be a good time.

11. Don’t let your character’s established traits get in the way of a good plot twist. Just because your hero is a priest who preaches non-violence (We’ll call him Father Angeltoe) doesn’t mean he can’t be an expert marksman with an itchy trigger finger.


12. Use lots of technical jargon. Don’t worry about whether your reader will understand it, or whether you understand it. Just stick it in. It will make your characters sound smarter.
If you are writing a historical novel, don’t sweat accuracy. The reader won’t care. Go ahead and have Napoleon invent the automatic rifle. Who could say he didn’t?

13. If you are writing fantasy literature, make sure your magical animals have never been thought of before. Try a talking armadillo. No, forget the talking armadillo. I want that one for myself.

14. Make sure to add …A Novel to the end of your title. You don’t want people to forget what they are reading.

15. Don’t feel as if anything has to happen. Plots are optional. Two people sitting in a room staring at each other is great material, as long as it is handled with plenty of adjectives and adverbs.

16. Exclamation points! Exclamation points! Exclamation points!

17. Ellipses too…

18.Don’t sweat the order of the action. If the big football game needs to occur just after the prom, then that is when it should be.

19. Nothing beats a catch phrase! I call Snoogity Bottom.

20. Brothers are always very different and they always argue about everything. Never portray brothers who are similar and get along unless they are twins (except if one is an evil twin). If they are twins they must finish each other’s sentences and no one should be able to tell them apart.

21. Sisters must always steal each other’s boyfriends. Additionally, one sister must be outgoing and the other must be quiet and serious. This makes no difference to the boyfriend though, he’ll gladly dump either for the other.

22. Don’t start your novel with an interesting event. Take a few dozen pages to explain everything that would lead up to that interesting event. The reader will gladly hang around until you get to the point.

23. Don’t make your secondary characters interesting. It will just detract from the main characters. Lesser characters don’t need reasons for their actions. They are just there to keep the plot moving.

24. If the plot seems to slow down, give someone a gun or a knife and kill off one of those secondary characters you don’t care about anyway.

25. Writing a book about vampires? You probably don’t need any help making it bad, but you should definitely make sure you show how cool it is to be a vampire and make up your own rules for the way vampires can die or have sex.

26. If you are writing about sports, make it clear that sports always provide important life lessons. Make sure the novel has one obsessive and one downtrodden coach.

27. If you want to write a serious novel, make sure the main character is jaded and has lost interest in life. This anti-hero must view all other people as phonies, fakes or idiots. The character should experiment with drugs and sex. At some point the character should watch someone die or at least be assaulted. At no point should the anti-hero feel any real pleasure. Happy endings are strictly prohibited.

28. Writing a mystery? Make sure the clues are really obvious or really obscure. Either way, your hero will be the only person who can piece these things together. At some point they must accuse the wrong person and be ridiculed for it. In the end though, they should deliver a speech that explains exactly how everything happened.

29. Character conversations should always be used to explain what is happening and how people are feeling. It is perfectly natural to have a character explain to his office mate (whose brother is a bank president) that he used to be a safe cracker, but now he just wants to go straight.

30. Don’t forget to use italics when you want to emphasize something.

31. At the end of the book, you must have the main character reach an important and life-changing epiphany. Make that epiphany really obvious. Don’t worry about why they had one, just make sure they had it so the reader knows the book is ending.

32. Editing is just a waste of time. Spell check it and move on.

Maybe this could work....

So I was on the World Vision website today looking for a job for when I graduate. What, you say, I still have three more years of school? Posh. I can be prepared! It is an internship, non-paid and part-time, which has the official title of "Writer/Communications Assistant." I would copy and paste the job description and all that, but the computer doesn't want to, and I bow to its whims because I don't know what else to do. So go to worldvision.org and click on careers, and then internships and then locations, and then internships in federal way wa, and then on the title I typed above. Maybe if you feel like taking that much trouble (highly doubtful) you will find it.