Sunday, May 3, 2015

#NovelSnip

#NovelSnip is a tiny portion of my fiction writing project.  I thought about not posting anything this week.  A lot of the speed writing from my April push (I did well - doubled the length of the project - even though I didn't come close to the goal of writing 500 words per day), needs a serious once over before posting here.  But, that's not the spirit of #NovelSnip.  #NovelSnip is about process, not product.  It's about progress, not perfection.  So, here's a little scene where Norah chats with Peter, who will become a long-term boyfriend, at the music festival Ellen convinces her to attend:


An hour later, the girls of 3MM had furtively passed around a hastily-rolled joint.  When it was her turn, Norah took it from Ellen, trying to appear nonchalant.  She had, after all, smoked several cigarettes with Tom, her senior year boyfriend, sitting on various parking lot curbs in the dark after the Tigers’ football and basketball games.  How different could it be?

The smoke burned her throat.  She held it in and tried not to cough.  Ellen giggled.  “Looking good, kiddo,” she said.

After she’d passed the joint to Julie, she lay back on the grass and reached her hand out for Ellen’s, squeezing it.  “You were right,” she said.  “This is fun.”  She closed her eyes and stretched her arms on either side.  When she opened them, Peter from the track was standing over her, his feet directly behind her head.  It took Norah a moment to orient herself to his upside-down face.  

He smiled at her.  “Hi,” he said.

“Hello,” she said, her voice low and slightly thick.

“This is my friend, Jim.”  Norah rolled her eyes toward a second upside-down face.  

“Hello,” she repeated.  

“Join us,” Ellen suddenly called.  Norah pushed herself to sitting.  She tousled the back of her hair and made space between herself and Ellen for the boys.

“Here,” she said, patting the ground between them.  “You can sit right here.”  Peter sat down close enough that his left hip brushed against Norah’s when he gestured toward the band, his arm sometimes bumping hers.  Norah felt a blush stirring in her chest and traveling up her neck.
So, that's a little bit!  Keeping things going.  Trying my best.

2 comments:

LH said...

OMG, I love this so much. I was really in the mood for a little romance today.
What a sweet scene.
KC, your #novelsnip is a real treat!

mm said...

I do enjoy the Sunday snippets.