Tag Archives: Kit Campbell

The Lucky 7 Meme

The Lucky 7 MemeI’ve got something different for you this week — a snippet of my novel work-in-progress, or WIP. I won’t be doing this often, but memoir writer Elaine Smothers has tagged me in something called the Lucky 7 meme, so I thought I’d share. Update: As I was writing this, I was also tagged by fantasy writer B. A. Matthews. We crossed ships in the night…

Here are the rules:

1. Go to page 77 of your current MS/WIP

2. Go to line 7

3. Copy down the next 7 lines, sentences, or paragraphs, and post them as they’re written .

4. If your WIP doesn’t have 77 pages, you can post 7 lines, sentences, or paragraphs from page 7.

5. Tag 7 other writers and let them know.

Here’s my contribution, an excerpt from a YA science fiction novel set on a spaceship. Since page 77 happens to be the a short page, you only get 7 lines.

Ashmita struggled to get her thoughts in order. “Miz X doesn’t own…what did you call them?…drones. But she does essentially own people – that’s where Peter and I came from. Spencer, what does it take to make a drone?”

He looked up at her and swallowed. “Anybody can be made into one. It requires brain surgery and steroids. Expensive, but not difficult. And the profit is huge.”

“And what then? Can they think? Can the procedure be reversed?” she asked, already suspecting she knew the answer.

Since this novel is still in the first draft stage and I’m planning on sending it through the traditional publishing route, that’s all you’ll see of it for quite a while. Hope you enjoyed the sneak peek.

For the next Lucky 7, I’m tagging:

1. KD Sarge

2. Kit Campbell

3. Erin Kendall

4. C. S. McClellan

5. NEW: K.A. Levingston

…help, I’ve run out of writers I know who haven’t done this meme yet! If you’d like to play, just leave a comment to that effect and I’ll add you to the list.

See you on Friday with my roundup of the best links of the week!

Tag, Who’s Next?

Via Turtleduck Press author KD Sarge, here’s a meme that looked like fun.

So the way it works: answer the questions, come up with eleven of my own, and tag more people to keep the game going. Sort of a chain letter but better.

Here we go…

1.) Of your characters, who would you most like to have as a real-life friend?

Kitty from the historical paranormal novel. She’s smart and bookish and clever-tongued, and she’s not afraid to buck tradition.

Of the stories you can actually read, I’d have to pick Taqulittuq from my short story in Winter’s Night. Facing grief and fear, she digs deep to find courage.

2.) Which would you not want to be around anywhere but in the pages of a book?

Sefu, a villain from my fantasy series. He’s frighteningly stoic and self-possessed, and worse, he’s smarter than my heroine and outmaneuvers her without even trying.

3.) When a song bowls you over and you have to hear it again and again, what is probably the reason? (Great voice, real emotion, clever lyrics, et cetera)

It’s all about the voice. I’ll fall in love with voices even when I can’t understand the words. Case in point: the Corsican a cappella group Barbara Furtuna. Swoon.

4.) Of everywhere you’ve been, where was your favorite place to be? (Home is a perfectly acceptable answer!)

A little valley in Norway at the end of a steep-walled fjord, with the valley rising steeply up to mountain peaks on both sides. I’ll have to write about my travels in future posts, assuming there’s interest.

5.) Where do you want most to go?

Um…besides everywhere? Nepal, India, Greece, Italy, the Arctic…yeah.

6.) What is the meaning of life? (okay, okay–YOUR life.) What do you think your life is about?

Making the world a little bit better. One of the ways I do that (or try, at least) is through writing. If I can inspire, or give courage, or comfort, or move a reader, I’ve succeeded. Then I try to do it again. ;-)

7.) What’s the best thing about what you do for a living?

I get to work with words. It’s not writing fiction, but editing non-fiction. There’s something very satisfying about solving a thorny puzzle and making something clearer for the reader’s benefit.

8.) What do you do when you need inspiration?

Depends. If I’m stuck on a particular plot point, I’ll write endless brainstorming notes. If I’m feeling uninspired generally, I’ll either set a timer and stare at the file until the timer goes off, or else fill up the creative well by going elsewhere (a book, Pinterest, my knitting, whatever).

9.) When you need some time for you, where do you go?

This is a bit sad, but usually the Internet. I’ve also found solo walks to be good for the soul.

10.) Plotter or pantser?

I’m a plotser. I like to leave plenty of room to explore, but I plan out character backstories and the broad structure of the acts. (Acts are the most brilliant invention ever, by the way. Except maybe a recent discovery via Jennifer Crusie: scene sequences.)

11.) To close with a (fairly) easy one–talk about a book. Any book. :)

Wait, that was supposed to be the easy one? This is getting long, so I’ll just refer you to my nostalgia post about Madeleine L’Engle instead. Ha.

~

There! Hope you enjoyed that and learned something about me. For another writer’s answers to the same questions, see fellow Turtleduck Press author Kit Campbell’s blog.

To pass on the meme, I shall tag Kat Anthony and and K.A. Levingston. Because I’m a nice person, there’s no pressure to complete the meme! If you’re not Kat or K.A. but you’d like to do the meme anyway, leave a comment and I’ll add a link to your responses.

And now my questions:

1. Where do you get your ideas from? :-P

2. If you have some terrible old stories that will never see the light of day, which one do you still have a soft spot for?

3. Where in the world would you live if you could live anywhere?

4. Where would you love to visit, but not live?

5. What’s the most awe-inspiring moment you’ve had (that you’re willing to share)?

6. Who’s your captain — Kirk, Picard, Captain Jack from Torchwood, Jack Sparrow, Malcolm Reynolds, other?

7. Which author’s universe would you love to write in if you could?

8.What was your gateway drug into your genre of choice?

9. What’s your favourite hobby, creative or otherwise, when you’re not writing?

10. Are you a morning person or an evening person?

11. What was the most memorable meal you’ve ever had?