Saturday, September 13, 2008

How time flies... Friday Snippet, September 12, 2008

I haven't posted in awhile, I see. I'm plotting. Trying to come up with scenes for the story I want to write as a part of the How to Think Sideways course.

There's so much in Holly's course, it would be difficult to convey it all, but the highlight for me so far has been the Sentence. Once I figured out that doing the Sentence correctly builds in all the conflict I need in a scene, it was like coming out of a dark room into daylight. Oh, yeah! That works! If I take nothing else away from this course, THAT will be worth the whole enchilada.

I started writing a story that's modeled after my childhood role-model Andre Norton. I think I caught the flavor of her technique--

Brief snippet--- please don't repost or quote without permission--the usual.

Jetan found Berek’s cruiser buried nose-first in the snow and ice. He stopped, hand on his holstered pistol, and looked for signs of life.

The cruiser lay, silent and broken and – empty? Had Berek survived what must have been a terrific crash?

Jetan would not be surprised. Berek had managed to survive worse and emerge from hiding just as the Academy considered him safely dead.

He triggered his communicator. “I found the cruiser. I’m going in.”

The communicator blipped. “Careful, Jetan. Berek’s been known to set booby traps.” Zed’s voice came over as tiny and distorted on the communicator’s speaker.

Jetan wasted a second trying to modulate the frequency. Something on this fierce, savage world interfered with the unit.

He stowed the communicator and drew his pistol. Moving slowly and carefully, his glance darting among the wreckage, Jetan approached the damaged cruiser.

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