H is for . . . RUSTY HOOK

Welcome to The Blogging from A-Z Challenge April 2014! This year, I’m offering up a story – each one 100 words or fewer - for each letter of the alphabet.

Some are heartfelt, poignant, sweet. Others are…not. 

I hope you enjoy them.

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RUSTY HOOK

The bar’s neon sign reels her in. As small and shriveled as she is, the bartender never throws her back, throws her out. If he did, she’d drown in her life’s muck, a rusty hook threaded through her gaping mouth, her last wish not for air but for whiskey.

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King's Speech: H is for HOPE

Regular readers of The Shellshank Redemption know how much I enjoy a good quote (see Motivational Mondays) and that I’m a huge fan of Stephen King (see the King of All Days Part I and Part II.) So, for the 2013 A-Z Challenge, I decided to combine the two, using some of my favorite King quotes about reading, writing and life in general. Enjoy!

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You cannot HOPE to sweep someone else away 

by the force of your writing until it has been done to you.

(Stephen King)

I can’t tell you how many books I’ve read where I just wanted to weep because I was so affected by the amazing story and its complex, memorable characters. I can’t tell you how many times I wished I had written that novel, not because it was a bestseller or won an award, but because it somehow worked its way under my skin and settled in for the long haul. The power of a good story is far-reaching and undeniable.

Give Me an H! HELL

Welcome to The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012! Some of the most popular posts here at The Shellshank Redemption are the Motivational Mondays. So, after consulting the tortoises, we decided to make April our Motivational Month! Please join us for this (almost!) daily dose of alphabetical inspiration. We hope you enjoy it!

* TOMORROW MAY BE HELL, BUT TODAY WAS A GOOD WRITING DAY, AND ON THE GOOD WRITING DAYS NOTHING ELSE MATTERS. (Neil Gaiman) *

When the words flow, when the story clicks, when you’re chatting with your characters over coffee, yeah, there’s nothing else like it. I don’t care if dinner gets burned, if someone tries to bring me down with their negative energy, if the tortoises decide to flip each other over. (Okay, that I do care about and I will help them right themselves, but you know what I mean.) None of the bad stuff matters, none of it has the power to matter, because that day was a good writing day.