Caitlin's Journal from Tuesday, December 8th

Collage made from crayons, watercolors, markers, buttons, magazine clippings, and tags from the Hello Kitty beach towel I bought last summer.  

I think this is a page from a 12 year old's journal.  At least, I felt like a 12 year old when I was making it. 

Bernadette's Journal from Monday, October 13th

The page from Bernadette's Journal from Monday, October 13th. 

In case you are wondering, yes I do make all of the collages featured during the A to Z challenge.  This one is created from crayons, oil pastels, paint, magazine clippings, wall paper, and watercolors.

Andrea's Journal from Sunday, October 16th

The page from Andrea's Journal from Sunday, October 16th. 

Last year, the A to Z challenge was a blast.  I posted 26 different 100 word stories including "A is for Apple," "B is for Benjamin's Book," etc.  So what am I doing for A to Z challenge this year?  I decided on posting Visual Journal pages.  These are selected "journal" pages from 26 different people I have created.  Of course, because it is the A to Z challenge, all of their names will start with the day's letter.  At the end of this, I will post a story that will included all 26 characters.  Think of it as a glimpse into my characters' private lives.  Ohh, sneaky.  :)

I hope you enjoy these collages and I welcome you to come back everyday to see the new ones.  Remember I am a night owl, so almost everything will be posted late in the day.

Hope your own A to Z blogging is going well!

Review of the A to Z challenge

           Greetings!  We survived the A to Z challenge.  Wipe the sweat off your brow.  I, for one, am very proud of what I accomplished in a month.  I wasn’t going to do this at first.  I wasn’t really sure what it was.  Then I saw over a thousand people were doing it, so the conformist in me said, “I want to do that too!”  I signed up to do it at 7:00 PM, March 31^st.

I now have 26 flash fiction pieces (plus a few extra) to add to my ever growing writing portfolio.  I’m not going to lie—some of these stories were a struggle to write.  Some of them are not that good.  There were nights where I was up until 11:30, posting my story at 11:57.  But I did it.  I made sure I posted for each day, even if I was a few days late.

                Through the struggles came real insights for my writing.  I learned how to tell a story in short, concise sentences.  I got rid of all the fluff.  I had to think about each and every word I put down on paper.  By day six, the process was easier.  Now at the end, I feel I’ve learned way more than I would have taking a flash fiction writing class.  Practice (especially daily practice) is the only thing that makes your writing better.  Plus, there were some real gems in this story collection.  My personal favorites (T, V, S, G, and A) are a fun look into my work.  I’m hoping it will spark some interest for my longer pieces. 

                I also enjoyed connecting with new writing peers.  I found several people who have the same interests as me.  It was fun to find more like minded people out there.  I visited over 160 blogs, and I wish I would have had time to visit more!  Several people visited me too.  My blog followers went from eleven to a hundred and five.  I also found several places which I want to write for, like the 5x5 magazine and the Memory Eaters Anthology.  So many possibilities are out there in the blogosphere for a writer.  It was very exciting to have the opportunity to learn about some of them.  I have the A to Z challenge to thank for it.

On a way over ambitious note, I’m totally excited to write for the A to Z challenge next year.  I think in 2012, I will do 26 character profiles.  Or maybe I’ll write a serial story.  Can I drag out a story into 26 parts?  Why not?  The soap operas can!

But for now, it’s back to regular scheduled blog posts.  I’m thinking about setting up days, like a post every Tuesday and Thursday.  I’m not sure yet.  I know the month of May will be sparse for postings.  It is the last few weeks of work for me (and I have lots of overtime on the calendar), I have a garden to put in, and quite a bit of writing I want to work on.  But, I’ll be around!

Z is for Zebra

“What is it?” she asked.

                “I don’t know.  It looks like a zebra,” her brother replied.

                “Do zebras bite?”

                “Don’t be stupid!”

                “I’m not a zebra expert!” she exclaimed.

                Henry and Taylor approached the creature standing in their backyard.  It was in the middle of the vegetable garden, chewing on the tomato plants. 

                Henry approached the zebra and petted it.  It didn’t seem to notice.

                “He’s friendly.”

                A truck pulled into the driveway.  A man got out.

                “That’s my zebra.”

                Henry looked at his fur coat.  It was spotted.

                “I’m sorry.  This zebra is ours.  He has been for years.”

Y is for Yawn

W is for watermelon

            Fooling around in his laboratory, Roland Spaush was quite delighted to discover it was easy to change the genome of the common, everyday watermelon.  Whereas it once only came in red or pink, he found he could now grow them in exciting colors such as electric purple, lime green, and bright blue.  It was a marketing sensation.  Parents and children alike loved them for their uniqueness.

            Roland Spaush became extremely wealthy.  Not from his watermelon discovery, but from stock in toothpaste companies.  Colorful watermelons were fun to eat, but it was incredibly hard to remove their colors from your teeth.

X is for Xavier

            Xavier knew he was different from the other kids.  He could run faster and solved math problems quicker.  His teachers called it “natural ability,” but to Xavier, it was more.

            He asked his father about it.  “Dad, why am I so different?”

            His father grumbled while holding the newspaper with two hands.  “Ask your mother!  I wasn’t the one swimming in toxic waste when I was pregnant!  I wasn’t the one planting a garden in the radiation zone!”  With his third hand, he reached for his beer.

            Xavier decided he was going to try harder to fit in at school.

Y is for Yawn

            Elizabeth was so tired. 

            Everything blurred together into one, giant mass.  She tried to stay up for as long as she could, but her mouth slowly formed into a yawn, and then two.  Her head gently fell into the pillow.  Elizabeth watched the tender light float around the room.  She would only close her eyes for a moment…

            When Elizabeth woke up, she was gone.  She knew she would sneak out as soon as she fell asleep.

            Under her pillow, Elizabeth found a five dollar bill.  She was disappointed.  She would have rather had the tooth fairy as a friend. 

X is for Xavier

See it here

W is for Watermelon

See it Here

V is for Volcano

                They found it on the playground in September.  Students stood in awe. Their basketballs rolled away, forgotten.  Nobody had ever seen anything like this. 

                It started as a mound in the sand box.  A trickle of a red flowed from the top.  It was bubbly hot.  The students dared each other to touch.  The ones who did also got a mid-afternoon trip to the nurse’s office. 

                It grew bigger.  It was the size of a doghouse.  Then, a car.  Soon the hill had grown to the size of a garage. 

                By June, a volcano stood where a school once was.

U is for Universe

Dear everybody who thought I had burned out and stopped writing flash fiction:

            Never!  Due to the Easter weekend, my family and I went away.  I assumed we had internet at the place we were going.  Ha!  We all know what happens when you assume.  So I have not been able to post in quite a few days.  We got home late last night and I fell into bed exhausted.  I was right back at the studio this AM (you know, the job that pays the bills until my writing career takes off) and came home at noon to a rejection letter.  After having a lunch of Easter dinner leftovers, I fell back into my bed for a nap.  I feel normal now.  This post should make up for the last few days.  I hope you all had a great Easter, or, Easter-ma-Christmas, as I started calling it this year due to the giant baskets my children were lucky enough to get from Mr. Bunny himself. 

So, here they are:

S is for Starlight

            Trent watched the bottle. 

The old woman at the magic shop said this was the best healing potion money could buy.  It just needed to be activated by starlight.  He smiled as the clear liquid turned to bright gold.  Little flecks danced around inside the bottle.

            It was ready.  Trent carefully picked up his guinea pig, Amaryllis.  The tiny creature felt stiff in his hand, not at all like the little ball of warm fur it usually was.  Her eyes were closed.

            Trent poured the golden liquid down the creature’s throat.  He watched the guinea pig.

            Amaryllis opened her eyes.  

T is for Tortoise

            Thomas waited patiently.  The moment her key turned in the lock, he jumped up. 

            “Surprise!”  He kissed her. 

            “Happy anniversary, baby,” she said.  “I’m so sorry I had to work.”

            “You’re home now.  Let’s do gifts.”

            Thomas led his girlfriend into the living room.  An aquarium sat on the floor.    

            She gasped.  “It’s a tortoise!”

            “This tortoise will live as long as our love will last, which, according to the pet shop, will be about another hundred years.  And that’s not all I have for you.”  He dropped to one knee and pulled out a ring.

            “Will you marry me?”

And today’s story is brought to you by the letter U:

U is for Universe

            “I have to discover the right one.”

            “You wouldn’t do this.”

            Arnold shrugged.  “I am.”

            Holly slammed the ship’s controls.  “You would kill yourself to be married to me?”

            “It’s just one version of myself.  There are thousands of mes out there.  I’ve got to find the one married to you, kill him and take his place.”

            “We didn’t invent the Alternate Universe Traveling System for this!”

            “The biggest mistake I made was not asking you to marry me.  I’m going to fix that mistake by finding the reality where I did ask you.”

            The door to the spaceship closed.

T is for Tortoise

See it here

S is for Starlight

See it here

R is for Rainbow

                The instructor looked out at his students.  “Everything you learned is wrong.  There is no longer any reason to lie to you.  In art school, you are here to learn the truth.”

                The students sat in quiet awe.   

                “There is no such thing as a color wheel.  The rainbow as you know it is a lie.  I need to show you something.”

                The instructor turned off the lights.  “Here is what colors really exist.”

                A few of the students fainted in their seats.  The instructor didn’t worry.   New students always reacted that way when they first saw all the colors.   

Q is for Quesadilla

               “Is dinner ready?  Mom will be here in fifteen minutes.”

                “I know your Mother is coming tonight.  They’re almost ready.”

“Dad, why do you always make Quesadillas on the nights Mom comes and gets me?”

                “I do?  I don’t know, Robert.  Coincidence, I guess.  Remember, Mom needs to drop you off semi-early tonight.  It’s a school night.”

                “I know!”  Robert left the kitchen.

                Dad continued to fry the Quesadillas in the pan.  The reason he always made them on the nights Audrey came was simple.  They were having that for dinner the night she left him and their baby son.

P is for Princess

               “When the time comes, she will marry the distinguished Prince Pangari the IV.  They will rule over the kingdom together.  The reign will be a righteous and noble one.”

                Prince Pangari looked at her across the stage.  For a moment, he broke his stiff and formal demeanor to wiggle his eyebrows at her.

                 Why did every prince her father chose for her have huge, hairy eyebrows?  Alyse smiled at her intended.  It didn’t hurt to flirt. Besides, her father would just break this marriage contract, like he did every other one.  Alyse was confidant she would rule her country—alone. 

O is for Owl

              “Here at the Pacific Lake Owl Sanctuary we have several hundred different types of owls.  Our owls come from all over the country, even from around the world!  Aren’t they beautiful?”

                Tommy held on to his mother’s hand tightly.  “How come you have so many different colored owls here?  I see green ones, and red ones, and even orange ones!”

                His mother smiled.  “The tour guide just told us they come from all over the world.  It’s just the beauty of nature.”

                Or, thought the tour guide, it’s Andy and me in the vet’s office, coloring the birds with sharpies.

N is for Nothing

            As she was stirring the spaghetti sauce, she heard a loud bang that shook the cupboard doors. 

“Aaron, what are you doing down there?”

             “Nothing!” He called to his mother from the basement.

              Aaron kicked his machine one more time.  He wished he could get that horribly loud clunking noise to go away.  It was going to bring his mother down here one day when he wasn’t home.  And he really didn’t want that.

                Clunk!

                “Aaron!!!”

                “Nothing, Mom, Sorry!” 

                He could see the headlines now.  Fifteen year old counterfeits money beyond detection—goes to jail because of his loud machine. 

M is for MONSTER!!!!

             “It’s in the closet.  I swear Mommy! He’s going to come out when I’m sleeping and eat my toes.”

                Marybeth had pulled the quilt way up, over her nose.  Two little brown eyes looked over the edge of the blanket.   

                “There is nothing in the closet, Marybeth!  Go to sleep!”

                Marybeth’s mother shut the door behind her.  It was silly how afraid her daughter was.  Didn’t she know anything?  There weren’t any monsters in the closet.  The only monsters in the house were down in the cellar.  And Marybeth’s mother had put a large bolt and chain on that door.

L is for Lollipop

Everyone loved Mr. Sardo’s candy shop.  The best candies there were the lollipops.  He made all flavors and colors.  Children would spend their entire allowance on the lollipops.  Teachers would give them out as prizes.  Every Christmas stocking and Easter basket contained these famous candies.  Mr. Sardo was the wealthiest man in town and had his delicious candies to thank. 

At night, alone in bed, Mr. Sardo was nervous.  He was running out of his secret ingredient.  Pretty soon, he would have to move again.  He hoped, this time, the townspeople wouldn’t riot and destroy their village when he left.

K is for Kiss

“This about the time we would get back together.”

Kaitlin smiled.  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.  About every two years, huh?”

Collin nodded.  “But that’s over with.  I’m so glad you’ve found Ethan.  He’s an awesome guy.”

“He is.  Guess what?  He found a job!  When he’s finished with school, we’re moving.”

“That’s awesome. Well, here’s your stop.” 

“Thanks for the ride.  See ya soon.”

Collin watched as Kaitlin ran to her apartment.  Ethan opened the door for her.  They both waved goodbye.

Collin waved back as he watched Ethan give the only girl he had ever loved a kiss.