Saturday, October 12, 2013

Weekend Writing Warriors 10/13/13

Street Glass is my novel-in-progress. My tagline: Underprivileged 18-yr-old Latino leaves street gang and befriends white, over-privileged rock musicians.

While some of the plot is subject to change (draft two is a pretty early draft, after all) the basic elements will stay, as will the character "voices." So these excerpts will still give you a good idea of how the plot plays out and what the characters are like. The year is 1986, in Los Angeles, California.

The previous excerpts are collected here. 

Continuing immediately from last week, Phil and Neal are chatting. Phil gets pretty limited “screen time” in the novel but he’s a great guy, so I’m focusing on him for just a few excerpts.

He and Neal are at the band’s rehearsal, onstage for a few minutes while everybody else is busy elsewhere.

Neal speaks first.
“Hey, I didn’t think how I was sitting made a difference. Oh fuck,” he laughed.

“Now what?” Phil said.

“This’s totally loco. Y’know I shot at dudes like you, but you stand there an’ help me. Can’t figure it out.”

Phil focused on some spot out in the seats. “The past is the past. My family got chased out of Alabama so I’ve seen enough to know that every day we’re alive, God smiles on us.”
The imaginative participants at Weekend Writing Warriors will show you snippets of romances, breakups, fantasy lands, cities on other planets, lands far back in Earth's history and some far in our future. I'm pretty picky about the stuff I read and I've found lots of stories I can't wait to read more of!

Thanks for visiting my blog today, and for all the continuing wonderful comments. They really make my week :-D

25 comments:

  1. I said it before, and I'm gonna say it again. I really like Phil! Thanks for sharing him with us!!!

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  2. He knows what he's talking about. Gotta love Phil. Excellent eight!

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  3. Phil is pretty awesome. Great snippet!

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  4. Phil seems like such a great guy. I'm going back through your entries to read more right now. Definitely will be on the lookout for you next weekend!

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    1. Well hi, Nora! I'm pleased & humbled. Thanks so much.

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  5. As all the others said - Phil is a keeper. He has learned a lot in his short life ... and obviously they were 'hard' lessons. Great 8!

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    1. Susan :-D That's really sweet of you. Thanks.

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  6. I think we could all take lessons from Phil. Well done, Owllady!

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    1. Funny isn't it how some characters just spit things out and you just think, Huh, now why haven't I ever said that myself? lol!

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  7. Phil is EXCELLENT. We need more Phil. Neal needs more Phil-advice LOL. Really enjoying this series of snippets!

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    1. Evidently I have to find a way to bring Phil back into the story :-)

      He leaves ostensibly for family reasons, but the truth is that life is harder for Neal without Phil around so I moved Phil out 0.0 There is a reason, waaay at the end of the story, for him to come back but then we probably wouldn't see much of him. So I'm continuing to think about that.

      Thanks for the uplifting comments, they are so encouraging and wonderful!

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  8. I like Phil! Looks like Neal's getting some good exposure...

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    1. Hey Angela :-) He sure is. Phil's absence is something that, well, is noticeable for Neal :-)

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  9. God, what a great line..y' know I shot at dudes like you..... love the kids blatant honesty. Neal's starting to come around. Excellent 8 as usual!
    History Sleuth's Milk Carton Murders

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    1. lol! Thanks so much! He can be a bit slow but he does catch on :-)

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  10. Phil has an ability to learn without being embittered I'd like to see more of.

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  11. Neal seems to be back on the right track for the moment at least.

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  12. I like Phil. He's very wise. Nice snippet!

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    1. Hi Anne. I rather like Phil myself. I appreciate your comment!

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  13. An interesting response from Phil there.

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