Shadows: A Poem

Shadows

They say

shadows

are evil

Clearly they

have never 

met one

in the desert

Plot Holes and Devices (And How to Avoid Them)

In all seriousness, though, I do have some advice on how to avoid plot holes. 

1. Outline, outline, outline. I still don't understand why people don't do this. It's like going on a long road trip without a map (Or, let's be real, a GPS; it is the 21st century). You can't see the holes in your plot if you can't even see your plot.
2. Double-check your outline. You have to be sure that your map isn't missing pieces. Don't rely on a map with the Kansas River displayed as a lake in Idaho, or on a GPS that thinks you're in Peru (my mom's GPS did that once). 
3. If you have magic or advanced tech, make sure it makes sense, and has flaws. If your MC has been granted, say, a ring that contains the power of the universe, there has to be a way for the ring to fail, allowing the antagonist to gain an advantage (because all villains need an upper hand at some point in the story). Perhaps the ring's wearer doesn't know how to control the ring, and ends up putting themselves or someone else in danger. Or perhaps the ring tries to take over the host's body.Either way, you need to make sure the ring (or whatever magical/advanced tech item) has limitations, flaws, and won't have your reader asking, "Why couldn't s/he just use the ring's time travel capabilities to save [insert important character]?"
4. Also, make sure your worldbuilding makes sense. You can't have your half-giant biker tell your protagonist: "You're a wizard, Larry!" out of the blue, without leaving traces of his wizard-ness, like having him talk to a snake or making the glass of the front of said snake's enclosure disappear. Make sure you don't drop a plot-bomb without letting the reader see the plane dropping it, if that metaphor makes any sense.
5. If I forgot anything, tell me. Also, check out this bit of totally unrelated advice that I really should be putting into a different post.  

Happy plotting!

Making Your Descriptions Vivid and Memorable

Let's pretend you wrote this sentence:

She was 5'6" and had red hair and green eyes.

That's a perfectly fine description. Leave it there. You did good. Have a sticker. *Hands you a sticker* 

*Takes back sticker* Psych! That is a terrible description. Can you see her? I can't. Try this description instead:

She was tall for her age, and her red hair came to her waist. Her green eyes sparkled with mischief. 

This is a little better. It gives a little insight into her personality, and does a better job of showing rather than telling. But I think we can do a little better. This time, let's add some action to our description.

Her green eyes sparkled with mischief as she slipped the principal's wallet into her purse. She turned to me, with a flip of her long red hair, and pressed a finger to her lips. As the principal turned around, she slipped into the crowd of cheerleaders and disappeared with a laugh. 

Can you see her now? 

You may be asking, what is the point of this exercise? Well, I'll tell you. I was demonstrating the three principles of good description. I will describe each of these in detail.

• Action. A good description isn't static or motionless: the thing you're describing has to either be doing something or be acted upon. It doesn't have to be moving, just doing something rather than being something  For example: "Three palm trees stood guard over the little house," is better than "The little house had three palm trees in the front yard."
• Specificity. You have to be specific in your descriptions. Not too specific, as in: "she was 5'11"," but specific enough to paint a picture. In the above example, her red hair was long, her eyes sparkled with mischief, and the crowd she disappeared into was made up of cheerleaders. These details make the image you want to plant in your reader's mind a little bit clearer. In the first example, we don't see her hair or eyes, and the description of her height is an annoying distraction.
• Last but not least: Leaving some to the imagination. Even though I didn't tell you whether her skin was ghostly pale or orange from a bad spray tan, but you still saw it, didn't you? Even though I didn't say whether she was wearing a Daft Punk t-shirt and gages in her ears or a pink miniskirt and crop top, you saw her clothes anyway, right? The reader wants to see her their own way, and will no matter how much description you use to try and force-feed them an image of this wallet thief. If you have friends, and those friends read this blog, ask them to tell you what picture they had in their mind of the girl. Then tell them what you saw. You should have differing opinions, but you should see the fundamental elements I showed you, which are:
• She's a thief.
• The narrator probably thinks she's hot and/or crazy.
• Her hair is long and red.
• Her eyes are green and show mischief.
• She's happy about stealing the wallet and probably about not getting caught.
• She's probably stolen before.
• She probably doesn't need the money in the wallet. In fact, she's probably pretty rich.

If you didn't see all of that, I have failed as a teacher. My example stank, and I invite you to write your own description of the wallet thief. 

Happy describing!

Creating Multidimensional Characters: A Worksheet

You've created a character. Great! But are they real? Do they have more than one layer? Do they have multiple roles? This worksheet will help you answer all those questions with a resounding yes. This list is based off of Donald Maass's Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook. 

• Write a full page about your character. Don't stop until you've reached the bottom of the page. It doesn't matter if the reader will never know any of it. You need to know it, in order to know your character better. 

• Defining Qualities:
• Step 1: What is your character's defining quality?
• Step 2: What is the opposite of that?
• Step 3:Write a paragraph where your character demonstrates the quality that you wrote down in Step 2.
• Step 4:
• What is the one thing you character would never say?
• What is the one thing your character would never do?
• Step 3: What is the one thing that your character would never think?
• Step 6: Find places in your story where you character must say, do and think those things. What are the circumstances? What are the consequences? 
• Inner Conflict:
• Step 1: What is it your character most wants?
• Step 2: Write down the opposite of that.
• How can your character want both at the same time? What would cause your character to want them both? What steps would s/he take to pursue those conflicting desires?
• Motive:
• Step 1: Pick a scene in your novel that features your character. What is his main function in that scene? What is he trying to do?
• Step 2: Write a list of the reasons why your character does what s/he does. Write down as many motives as you can think of.
• Step 3: Now circle the last motive on your list.
• Step 4: Rewrite a scene, this time with your character motivated by that last item on your list.
• Stakes:
• Step 1: What is your character's main problem, goal, conflict, need, or desire?
• Step 2: What could make this problem worse?

You don't have to do all of this. But if you do, it will really help your character development. Trust me, I know from experience.

Happy characterizing!

The Unexpected ￭ Virtual Writing Academy〖#12〗

Okay, so you're probably tired of these, but I need to get back into writing, and writing exercises seem to help with that. So, here's M. Kirin's VWA #12 (The Unexpected) .

__________________________________________________

I lay in the alleyway, contemplating whether or not to bandage my wounds. I didn't seem to have enough energy to sit up. I just didn't care.

Sure, I had helped save the world. But I wasn't there at the final fight. I should have at least tried to help. But no, I holed up in the Sonica like the coward that I am. And now, half the gangs in Chicago were after me.

"Hey, aren't you Trickster?" A voice said above me.

I opened my eyes. An asian girl with choppy hair stood over me, wearing bits and pieces of body armor over a black bodysuit with a sleeve missing. On that shoulder, I saw a strange symbol tattooed in red. 

"Who are you?" I asked her.

"Call me Brianna," she said. "Listen, we need to talk. I have a friend who has a girlfriend and she needs our help."

"Why should I help you? You've got that same thing on your shoulder as Cualli, and she wasn't exactly someone to trust back in her day."

"I know Cualli. She's a friend. An ally, at least. And she's friends with X, which means that if we help X, we help her."

"Wait, X had a boyfriend? I couldn't tolerate her for more than, like, thirty seconds."

Brianna laughed. "Well, Jack is a strange man. But we've got to go soon. I need your help to steal a boat from the Coast Guard."

"What the heck?"

"Earthquake killed Ahmed. I saw it in a vision. He's wired the Sonica to go down in Lake Michigan. I can get us there, but
____________________________________________________________________

I broke off exactly at the ten minute mark, so I got cut off in the middle. This is garbage, but it's what my brain wanted to write. 

Keep writing!

Some of the Stuff I've Had to Cut

I figured some of the stuff I've cut would be useful somewhere, and I guess this is the place. For your viewing enjoyment, here are some of the stuff I've had to cut over the course of my noveling journey.

“How would you save the world?” Ashton answered immediately. “I would build a giant robot suit and stop an alien army. Or build a time machine and kill Hitler. Or- are you listening?” He glanced at his sister, Destiny. She stared into the sunset, her dark hair blowing behind her. “You okay, Des?” She shook her head. “Yeah. Yeah. I was just thinking. Do you really think that aliens and time travel exist?” “Anything can happen.” Destiny looked back at the sun setting behind Blue Mountain. Her dark skin stood sharply against the red clouds. “I think…. I think that if there were aliens--I wouldn’t want to fight them.” Ashton’s blue eyes twinkled. “You’re no fun.” “I hate violence,” Destiny said, her hands gripping the shingles more tightly. “If everyone was just kind to each other, that no one wanted to hurt anyone, the world would be-- perfect, I guess.” “Well, people don't think like that. They just like hurting people. “That’s why I want to be a superhero. So I can protect people.” “You don't need to be a superhero to help people. You just have to do your small part.”         The stars were bright tonight, blinking into view as the red sunset faded into the horizon.  Destiny smiled and closed her eyes.

She wished she hadn’t been so mean to Trickster, not for his sake, but for Destiny’s. The poor girl looked the way the little girls back home had looked when the soldiers marched through town. She remembered giving them each a candle and a hug before leading them into the basement, even though she was barely a year older than them. She wished she could protect Destiny the same way. But she was a soldier now, and could afford no signs of weakness. Even when eating pizza in the control room at A.P.E., she kept her guard up. She only let it down for Francis, and even he, with his ridiculous hair and affinity for hamburgers, was growing more distant. His new girlfriend, Lauren, took up most of his time these days.

The police cruiser pulled to a stop next to the truck. A short woman with blonde hair cut directly along her jawline stepped out and came to the window

“License and registration, please.”

Charlie tapped the policeman on the shoulder. “Did you not see me take down those helicopters? I think you know who we are.”

“Excuse me?”

He took his key card out of his pocket. “Farsight. Special agent with A.P.E..”

“Ape?”

“A.P.E.”

“I’m pretty sure you just made that up.”

He shook his head. “It stands for American Protection Endeavor.”

She raised an eyebrow.

I decided to intervene. “Ma’am, It’s true. I’m Black Eagle. Here’s my ID card. We’re bringing two consultants, Trickster and, ah--” I glanced at Destiny. “Meteor.”

“Riiiiiiight.”

“We were fleeing enemy attack. I can’t promise it won’t happen again.”

The officer scribbled something on a pad of yellow paper. “You’re lucky, you know,” she muttered.

“Ma’am?”

“Gettin’ out of all these laws, gettin’ to fight real baddies in the real world. Gettin’ to be like in the movies.”

“It isn’t all talking watches and [stuff], ma’am.”

She scowled. “You sassin’ me?”

I shook my head.

“Good.” She stepped back into her cruiser and sped off.

“So that happened,” Trickster muttered.

So, there are some pieces of very early drafts of my novel. I hope you enjoyed seeing the garbage I've tossed out of it over the past-- what, a year and a half? It may have been more than that, I have no idea. But I think we can all agree that none of these belong in a published book. 

Novel Update!

I figured I would give ya'll an update on Meteor, because why not, right? So, I've decided to completely replot and rewrite my novel, this time from a different POV. It's now being told from the POV of the ex-narrator's best friend. I'm about six pages into chapter 1, which is a bit pathetic, I admit, since I've only been doing this since, like, last Saturday. 

Okay, that was dumb. Sorry. I hope I didn't waste too much of your time. 

Keep writing!

Picking a POV

You thought you were going to get a post about plot and/or outlines today, didn't you? Well too bad, because I have a topic that's even better, and it's all about finding your Point of View. 

Now, the process for picking a POV is simple: you have to choose who the narrator will be, and then you'll have to decide if they will speak in first, third, or second person. Then you'll decide on the tense in which they speak.

The narrator could be a floating nothing, your protagonist, a side character; even the person you thought was going to be your antagonist could end up being the hero. The narrator could be your protagonist from the past or future, looking forward or back. What I'm basically rambling about is: anyone and anything can narrate your story, so long as they can tell the story in an interesting way. 

A quick word about changing narrators: you can totally do it. Just not in the middle of a scene, chapter, or book. If you want to have multiple POVs over the course of a few scenes, chapters, or books, that's perfectly fine, as long as you don't switch narrators in the middle of a scene. Here's an example that'll hopefully) show you why:

I saw Mary from across the hall. She was opening her locker, placing her backpack inside. I wondered if she was still going out with John. It wouldn't hurt to ask, I thought. I took a deep breath and stepped forward. Mary looked back at him. What a creep, she thought. 

The highlighted sentence, is, of course, a blatant example of what happens when you switch narrators mid-paragraph. 

Now, on to person: third, second, and first. Third person is when the narrator is telling the story objectively. Unless the narrator is a character telling the story to you, there will be no "I" in the narration. Here's an example of third person narration:

 Mary looked back at him. What a creep, she thought.  

Second person is when you are the narrator. This is second person:

 You look back at him. What a creep, you think.

And this is first person:

I looked back at him. What a creep, I thought.

By now you should have enough information to choose your narrator and person. But if you've chosen a third person narrator, you'll need to decide between third person limited and third person omniscient. Third person limited is when the narrator only knows the thoughts and feelings of one character. Third person omniscient is when the narrator knows everything, and can tell you everything. I personally dislike third person omniscient, because it isn't as personal as I would like it to be. But ultimately, it's your call. Pick whatever narrator and person to write in--

Oh, there's one thing I forgot. You'll need to decide whether the events take place in past or present tense. Past tense is this:

I walked to school that morning, since Dad was out of town for a business conference. The wind blew my hair all over the place. I was glad I put a hairbrush in my backpack.

Present tense is in the present, naturally, and goes a little like this. 

I'm walking to school, because Dad is gone for a business conference. The wind is blowing my hair all over the place. I'm glad I brought a hairbrush in my backpack.

So, now that we've got all your options laid out in front of you- narrator, person, and tense-- let's explore some of the combinations.

Here's a third person limited narrator speaking in past tense:

Billy walked to school every day. He had a perfect attendance record. But that day, April 11th, if my memory serves me, he was sick in bed, having been ill the night before.

Here's a second person narrator speaking in present tense:

You've had a perfect attendance record. But today, you're just too sick to go to school. You lie on the sofa watching Power Rangers until your Dad comes home from work.

Here's a first person narrator speaking in present tense:

I've always gotten to school on time, but today I just don't feel good. So I'm laying on the couch, watching Power Rangers until Dad gets home.

You get the idea. Pick a combination of narrator, person, and tense, and get writing. Remember, you can always change it, just as with everything in writing. 

Happy Writing, and sorry for the all-over-the-place post. 

Describing Your Characters

I have a little advice on this topic, as I've done it at least a thousand times in the writing and rewriting of my novel. 

My first tip is: Your main characters should get more description than your less important ones. I recommend a paragraph at the beginning of your first chapter for your protagonist, and a few descriptive sentences for your supporting characters. If they aren't very important, a lengthy sentence will do.

Secondly: Your descriptions should be precise and descriptive. This almost goes without saying, but you should accurately describe everyone you see in your head. Sure, readers will be stubborn and envision them how they want to, but they should always be described in a way that puts a clear picture into their minds.

Thirdly: Your descriptions should come as soon as possible. Until we see little Timmy, we'll imagine him as just a floating nothing. Describe your characters as soon as you introduce them. 

Lastly: Don't base your characters' appearances on famous people. Aside from dating the book (People in the future won't believe that Chris Hemsworth, who in their mind will be a little old man, could slay a dragon with his bare hands,) it's just plain lazy.

If you can think of anything else, please share it in a comment. Other than that, happy describing!   

VWA #1

You thought you were going to get writing advice today, didn't you? Well, too bad. I'm writing another Virtual Writing Academy exercise. It's about character, so, you know, it works for Monday's theme. Here goes, M. Kirin's Virtual Writing Academy #1: 

_____________________________________________________________
I was wrong. I was wrong all along. 

Looking down at the Deathless's fragile, broken body, lying helpless on the examination table, limp as a corpse, I couldn't help thinking, I could kill him right now. I could end his life, the way he had ended mine over a hundred years ago.

But I didn't. 

All my life I had sought revenge. I realized, after his confession... his goal was not that different from mine. And that frightened me more than anything. I was no better than he was-- we were both foul, murderous traitors. I wanted to escape his reach, but, in my heart, I was becoming more like him in every way.

I wished I hadn't left the team. They were my friends, my companions, my brothers-and-sisters-in-arms. And I had left them to pursue the man who lay defenseless on the table before me. I had found him, but now that I had... killing him was no longer important. Helping to heal the wounds he had caused was worth more. His brother would come for him, and they would return to Songkham, where he would face justice. And on Earth, I would no longer seek revenge, but satisfaction, the joy of seeing my brother again, of freeing Hui, of restoring the throne of Manco. 

"I'm sorry," said a deep voice behind me. I turned, and saw Firestorm, dressed in black robes. He bowed to me, and I half expected him to start throwing fireballs. But instead, he shuffled to his brother's side. "I am... truly sorry for what he did to you."

I found myself shaking my head. "No, I'm sorry. This must be... heartbreaking."

"He will live. But your brother..."

"He didn't!"

"I do not know."

"Tell me!"

"My father and are working tirelessly to free his victims. But your brother was not among them."

I felt hatred boiling in my stomach. But I let it go. "I understand," I said, with a deep sigh, and left the infirmary.
___________________________________________________________ 

I'm sorry for the weird post and lack of writing advice, but I wanted to do this, and nobody even looks at this blog anyway, so why not.

VWA #9

So I figured I'd do another of M. Kirin's Virtual Writing Academy excercises, #9, to be exact. This exercise is called: Fear. I'm going to be writing for ten minutes, and won't edit as I go along like I did last time. This is going to sound terrible, but here goes:

_________________________________________________________________

Everyone is gone. 

I fought to keep my breathing under control. The atrium, lit only by the coals of fires that once burned in braziers at the feet of the columns, was silent. The statues of the gods lay broken and scattered across the cold stone floor, glinting gold. Someone -- or something-- even the Deathless couldn't control, had been here. No one could have escaped in time. 

I heard breathing from across the atrium. Ragged, shaky breathing. I ran across, leaping the bloodstained altar, and knelt beside the shivering mass I could not see in the dark.

"Cualli?"

"Etzli?"

The person shook his head. "I-- You once knew me as the Deathless. But I fear--"

"You! I hope whatever came through here causes you a slow and painful death," I shouted.

"Hush!" the Deathless whispered. "This threat is not like my idiot brother. This is the Vengeance."

"The what? Did they take my brother?"

"Everyone... they took everyone. But I entreat you... Do not try to follow. They will tear you apart."

"How do I know you aren't lying?"

The Deathless laughed. "A man on his deathbed does not lie, Cualli. You know this."

"Only because of you," I told him, my voice a cold knife pressed against his throat.

"If it makes any difference... You were my favorite pupil."

"Favorite pupil!?"

Then a birdlike scream shattered the air.

_________________________________________________________________

Okay, that was weird. But this is what my brain spit out, and I'm leaving it there. 

See you with more writing advice on Monday! (That is, if this hasn't scared you away with its awfulness.)

Writerly Cats

I'm back from my vacation, and I'm here to share a little wisdom with ya'll. And by widom, I mean cat pictures, because it's Saturday, and Saturdays are supposed to be awesome. Mine usually aren't but, you know,whatever, right?

More Lizard Pictures

I'm just going to post more pictures of my lizard, because I can't think of anything to write. She's pretty, isn't she?

My New Plotting Process

So, I needed to re-plot my novel, since the current plot is confusing and kind of all over the place. So, I decided I needed a new approach. So here it is:

I start a new Google Slide. I titled it: Plot Outline. Then, I made a slide for each chapter, writing a basic synopsis of each one. Then I made bullet points to remind me of important details or subplots. It looked something like this:

This obviously isn't what it actually looks like, because I don't want to spoil the book. But you get the idea. A basic synopsis, and some important points to remember. 

This is just my method. You do what you want.I just wanted to share this to give you some ideas. Happy plotting!

Autism Awareness Month

So as some of you may know, this month is autism awareness month. I thought I'd take some time off of my regular blogging schedule to share my experiences with autism and anxiety. (Also, I couldn't think of anything else to write about😁)

When I was little, I was kind of strange. I was pretty smart (I used to draw multiplication tables in sidewalk chalk), and very anxious. My mother is very fond of telling the story of when we were driving to a place I didn't know. I couldn't read at the time, but I thought I knew everything, and I told her, "Mom, that sign says 'if you go here you will get lost'." She thought that was tremendously funny.

I used to line my toys up in rows. I didn't even know how to play pretend with them until my little sister came along to teach me. 
I also loved princess and racecars. I was obsessed with the movies Cinderella and Cars. 

I was diagnosed with OCD-- oh, I don't remember when. I was definitely young enough for my mom to get me a little book called What to do When Your Brain Gets Stuck. A while later, when I started showing symptoms of anxiety, she got me What to do When You Worry too Much. I don't remember either of those books working. 

What did work was what we called "Snuggle Time." It was fifteen minutes of uninterrupted hanging-out with Mom and Dad, and it helped me stop being afraid of going to sleep. We continued Snuggle Time for years, until about September of last year.

Then things really hit the fan. School had been in session for a while, and I was already hating it. My teachers were scary (and, I mean, like, pale twins slowly advancing towards you from the end of a deserted corridor whispering in ancient languages scary)
My smarts had practically deserted me, and my lab partner and I were always the last to leave the science classroom. In English we were reading a book that legitimately made me cry, almost in front of the whole class. My mom spared me the embarrassment of PE by having me work in the library, but I somehow managed to embarrass myself even there: tiptoeing around classrooms working at the computers, getting distracted and reading the books I was supposed to be putting stickers on, and then putting the stickers on the wrong way-- every possible embarrassment you can imagine. I took math on the computer, but I couldn't seem to grasp the concepts presented.

All of this was terribly distressing. I had always been the smartest, the tallest-- and even if I was a little shy, people had always seen it as cute-- until that year. 

I was so anxious about the last two paragraphs that I couldn't go to class. I spent hours with the school counselor, who was always telling me that being afraid was stupid and that I should face my fears at any cost. But I was already too far gone. Missing classes put me even farther behind, and that made me feel even more stupid. I would get awful head and stomach aches and have to leave after working in the library (my first class of the day). The office ladies would just ask if I needed to call my mom, without even looking at me. When I told them yes, all they said was, "You know what to do." And I did. I could work that stupid office phone better than they could.

Mom got me a phone to call her on, so that I could wait in the library for her after discreetly texting her from where the librarian couldn't see me. I would go and sit in the office, trying not to make eye contact with the kids who came in late, until she came to bring me home.

Eventually, it became too much. I started refusing to get out of the car. It was not the highlight of anyone's morning. Mom would take me home, so mad she couldn't even talk to me without screaming, and deposit me in my room. I'd apologize around noon, get a hug, and disappear back to my books. 

Soon, my mom enrolled me in an online school. That worked for a few months, but then I developed an irrational fear of the website. On top of that, I was really sensitive to small sounds and things like that (I always have been, but it's getting even worse), and I was sleeping on a cycle of nocturnal and diurnal that rotated as predictably as the phases of the moon, although I was so stressed all the time that I didn't even try to keep track. We gave up on school entirely.

And that brings us to today. I'm enrolled in a charter school, but I still haven't done any schoolwork. I'm still anxious about all kinds of sensory input, though I got my first pair of jeans this year, and my first long-sleeved shirt a few months ago. I'm still shy, short, and behind in school, but I'm doing the best I can with what I've got. 

I just want ya'll to know:If you're struggling with any kind of illness or disability, any at all, I just want you to know that you can still accomplish your dreams. I don't care if you're blind: if you want to be a painter, then be a painter. Do what makes you happy. That's what matters.

Sorry for the sappy post. Do what makes you happy. (Unless it's murder. Murder is wrong.) 

Killing Off Characters

So, you need to kill off a character? Do you really?

"Well, yeah."

You sure?

"Yeah....?"

Will this character's death change the plot or other characters? Killing a character and having no one and nothing react means that they're basically not important in the first place. Cut them out entirely.

"Well, I'm killing my MC's best friend, and she's absolutely devastated, so...."

Good job! Now, does the character's death reinforce the theme? Deviating from your theme to kill a character is like veering off the highway to kill a hitchhiker. 

"Well, the best friend's death helps my theme of overcoming obstacles...."

Yay! But do your readers care about the character you're killing off? If your readers don't care, they'll just be annoyed when that character dies. 

"I think I did all that..."

Awesome! Now send it off to your beta readers, to see if you actually did all that. Sure, you care about this character and her death, but you need others to care about it too (including the characters who know about it). You have to have beta readers to make sure that this character's death is impactful, meaningful, and tragic.

Happy fictional murdering!

The Virtual Writing Academy by M. Kirin

So, I've been watching this youtuber called M. Kirin for awhile, and he has a writing prompt series called the Virtual Writing Academy. His latest video in that series is here. I thought I would do the prompt here instead of in my usual software, because I like sharing my writing. So here goes-- Virtual writing Academy #10:

Trickster, Charlie, X, and filed back to the spaceship, our hearts heavy. The U.I.P.F. agents cheered for us as we staggered up the gangplank, but I heard nothing. Nothing but Destiny's final words: "take it. This is your destiny."
I couldn't believe it. Settling into my place at the ship's helm, and readying the holographic images that would lead us home, I felt the meteor pulsing like a second heartbeat in my right shoulder. Why it chose to lodge itself there, in the center of my tattoo, I had no idea. Perhaps it had thought the red and the green would look festive together.
The idea was laughable, but I didn't laugh. I had a job to do. I pressed the hologram in all the places Firestorm had showed me, and felt the ship lurch beneath my feet. I fell back in my chair, and the hologram to my left showed us hurtling at light speed towards Earth.
"This is the Andromeda galaxy," Ahmed whispered in my ear, almost an hour later.
I swore, and hit my head on the keyboard. Firestorm had betrayed us.

So this is awful, but I did my best, and that's what counts. Happy writing!

I'm Not Dead!

It's true, I'm alive! I was out of town for a few days, but now I'm back. I have no idea what to write, though, and I can't find anything funny about writing on the internet, so, no real blog post for today. Sorry. Keep writing, though.