The Return of the 777 Writing Challenge

I know I haven’t been posting much, and it’s because I’M SWAMPED GETTING READY FOR REALM MAKERS. *shrieking*

Ahem. (Really excited, though! :D)

If you’re going to be at the #RealmMakers2018 writers’ conference next week, I hope I’ll see you there!

Meantime, I’m stealing this writing tag from the awesome Claire Banschbach because I wanted an excuse to share some snippets. XD (And because it has paragraphs instead of merely lines — huzzah!)

Rules

1. Open your WIP to the seventh page
2. Scroll past the seventh line
3. Copy the next seven paragraphs and paste them on your blog for THE WORLD to read
4. Tag seven people

Let’s Do This Thing

I’m using my three current Works in Progress, because I’m contrary like that. 😉

I’m sharing a bit from The Other Half of Everything, and also from two other WIPs… with a twist.

See, the part from The Siren and the Skyship that would normally be the 7th page is going to be rewritten, so instead, I’m counting from my writing-since-NaNo which is kind of part 2 of the book.

Similarly, since I shared a 777 snippet from The Secret of Kedran’s Wood already (and then again), I’m counting 7 pages into part 2 for that as well.

Enjoy these glimpses at Teague and Meridian, Rook and Xasper, and Tare and Adrian. 🙂 (And please forgive any first-draft-ish-ness.)

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The Other Half of Everything

He swiveled around. “Oh, where are my manners? Of course,” he said.

I could have given him an answer to that, but I kept a lid on it, because potential job and everything.

He held out his hand and gave a rather absentminded smile. “The name’s Teague. Teague Aurelius. A pleasure to meet you.”

“Same,” I said, shaking his hand. What? A girl can’t lie occasionally in the interests of being polite? Somebody certainly needed to be that around here.

“What was your name again?” Teague asked as he turned away and clambered up a ladder to reach a book on a shelf near the ceiling.

“Meridian Brownley,” I said crisply. I’d already told him twice. Politeness was suddenly overrated. I could see why it didn’t do anything for him.

“Overcompensating, were they?” he muttered on his way back down, a book under each arm, another tucked under his chin somehow, and a fourth open in one hand, which he seemed to be trying to read while using the other hand to help himself down the ladder. It flashed through my mind that his great-uncle might not be the only person around here to become deceased.

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(Note: Xasper is a street urchin and Rook is in the Royal Skynavy. Rook recently discovered that Xasper is his long-lost little brother and tries to take him in — which Xasper has opinions about. This is the first time they have tea together in Rook’s flat.)

The Siren and the Skyship

Xasper was looking at him expectantly over the scone he was munching, as if waiting for him to say something.

“What?” Rook asked.

“I said, I’m surprised you didn’t make me wash my hands before eating these.”

Rook blinked. “Why are you surprised at that?”

Xasper shrugged. “Thought you’d be the rules-and-regs type.”

Eying the grubby fingers in question, Rook said carefully, “What you do with your hands is your business. Now that you mention it, I might suggest doing something about it, but I’m not going to shove a lot of orders down your throat if that’s what you’re wondering.”

Xasper watched him for another second, then put down the remains of the scone, hopped up quickly and crossed to the washstand where he cleaned his hands, then returned to the table. He pursed his lips and rubbed a smudge off the pastry before downing the rest of it in one gulp, and washing it down with tea.

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The Secret of Kedran’s Wood

And Tare knew Adrian—he would follow and try to get involved and “help” if he even suspected that Tare had anything as interesting going on as being chased by a gunman. He had to get him out of the way without telling him there was any danger, but make it clear that Adrian was not welcome to follow him around today and pester him with questions or whatever reason he had come looking for Tare. There was no time to explain.

As his thoughts calculated, humming swiftly through his mind, Tare was already moving across the roof toward where the ladder came up, and had almost reached it as Adrian made it to the rooftop and stood upright. His blue denim jacket and tousled blond hair would make a great target in all this snow and lifelessly-gray architecture.

“Tare—” Adrian began, panting a little from his quick climb. But Tare tuned him entirely out, ignoring whatever words followed, and made straight for him. Before Adrian had quite figured out that Tare wasn’t stopping, Tare practically walked into him, forcing Adrian to back up a couple steps, breaking off with a “Whoa—” and holding his hands up.

Tare punched Adrian full in the jaw, sending him reeling back over the edge of the roof. Tare had planned and timed it perfectly. Adrian plummeted directly into the dumpster by the building, which Tare happened to know was entirely filled with mounds of black garbage bags filled with raked leaves, covered in a thick layer of snow.

Tare walked off across the roof, pausing only briefly enough to be sure that Adrian had landed safely where he’d wanted him—he’d be a little sore and likely furious at Tare, but at least he wouldn’t end up getting shot as long as he took the hint and went home.

Glancing over at the alley on the other side of the building Tare stood on, he spied Greg just coming into sight, and let him catch sight of him, fully in view against the sky on the rooftop for long enough to grab his attention, before sprinting off across the roof and leaping onto the next one in the long chain of buildings there. Greg and company gave chase.

Tare stayed out of sight for the most part, to avoid being an actual target, but let them see him just often enough that they knew he was still ahead of them. And he drew them off — away from where Adrian was likely clambering sulkily from the dumpster — drawing them back toward his new escape plan, closer to his lair and the edge of Kedran’s Wood.

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Tagging

I tag… Sarah, Skye, Mikayla, Daley, Shantelle, Kelsey, C.B., and… I ran out of people in the 7, but I also tag YOU/anyone else who wants to do it! And those I did tag, absolutely no pressure if you’d rather not/don’t have time. ❤

(I’m also not tagging Realm Makers peeps because I suspect you’re as busy as I am, BUT if you’d like to give this a shot at a later date, DO IIIT! :D)

If you do, link back so I can read your awesome snippets too!

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I hope you enjoyed that! What was your favorite part, or which character do you like the best? XD Thanks for reading!

(And if there are any fellow Realmies reading this, drop me a line! 🙂 I want to meet everyonnne!)