Do You Let Your Imagination Run Wild?

*ROW80 update at the bottom of the post.

I’m almost never bored. My imagination is far too active to allow that (it’s entirely possible my imagination is far too active period). Whenever I’m stuck in a situation (especially if I’m stuck without a book) where my brain is not otherwise engaged, my inner theater usually queues up some dramatic cinema feature to entertain me.

Those features (or featurettes, if I don’t have time for a full length show), usually start with a “what if.” What if I walked outside right now and everybody was gone? What if I started growing wings? What if alien soldiers dropped through that skylight up there? What if I open this closet door, and there’s some kind of portal in there instead of my shoes?

What if? What if? What if?

ROWses Are Red…

…Violets are blue.  We all know setting goals is good for you.

It’s been a very long time since I participated in ROW80 and a recent post by Nicole Evans detailing her progress on her long and short term goals inspired me.

The current ROW80 round began July 3, but folks are welcome to jump in at any time. So here I go.

Goals

Writing

Long Term Goal: Complete the “official” first draft of my WIP manuscript by the end of this year.

Short Term Goal: Finish the scene I’m currently reworking (let’s call it STO) and begin the next.

Cello

I’ve got a strings camp coming up next week. My daughter, who plays the violin, and I are both participating. She’s been playing for 2.5 years, and I’ve been playing for 2.5 months, but the camp is for all levels. We’ve both been working on the music for several weeks now, and most of my cello goals revolve around gaining the skill necessary to make it through the camp and the finale performance.

Who Was Your First Fictional Love?

Do you remember the first fictional character you fell in love with?

Sure, they might only be the product of someone else’s imagination, but that doesn’t mean we can carry a torch. Am I right?

I’m right.

I’ve had a few fictional loves over the years, but my first is still my favorite: Paul Atreides of Frank Herbert’s Dune.

Oh, Paul, you can still make my heart go all wobbly (*shhh* don’t tell my husband…okay, he already knows, and he’s resigned to it).

I first fell in love with Paul as a young teen. My mom had a wonderful library full of science fiction and fantasy. I picked up Dune and fell in love from the first page.

When we first meet Paul, he’s a fifteen year old boy who is both unusually gifted and fairly ordinary. His family takes an assignment on the desert planet of Arrakis, also known as Dune, which is the only source in the universe of the precious spice, a drug which can, among other things, allow some to see the future.

If You Could Live in Any Cartoon Universe….

Which One Would You Pick?

Imagine for a moment you’re standing in front of your fridge. It’s late at night. Your eyes are bleary. Your stomach’s rumbling. Last night’s taco is in there. Somewhere. So is that slice of cake from a week-or-so ago.

Cake sounds pretty good right now. Can you put the taco on the cake and call it a meal?

You open the door and, instead of leftover tacos, week old cake, some mostly unidentifiable vegetable matter in the crisper drawer and an entire tribe of salad dressings, you find a portal to another universe

How Far Would You Go For Your Kids?

It’s every parent’s nightmare to lose a child and most would agree they’d do anything to protect or save their children. And when we say anything, we usually mean we’d be willing to throw ourselves in front of a speeding bus, inflict grievous bodily harm on someone trying to hurt a child or  trade places with a sick child…or just give up sleep, clean up bodily fluids and say no when your kids just can’t understand why.

But would you give up government secrets, compromise national security, put innocent lives in danger or torture someone to save your child?

What if You Only Had One More Day?

Each of us only has a limited amount of time in this world. Some more than others. And few, if any of us, know exactly how much time we are allotted.

If we knew we only had a little time left, what would we do with it? What if we had just one more day?

Here’s a cool video from ZeFrank. It’s sure to inspire you to seize the day…and also leave you with an intense craving for jellybeans…

What Gets Your Pulse Pounding?

I am NOT hiding under the bed. I’m…um…looking for dust bunnies.

With the smell of Halloween still in the air (that is chocolate on your hands, right?), it’s good time to ask you about the stories that thrill you the most.

Heart pounding. Heavy breathing. Laying awake at night, scenarios running through your head.

Be they action, thriller, disaster, suspense, horror or whatnot, which books, movies and/or tv shows get you going?

How Do You Disappear?

What if someone was after you? What if he would do anything to find you.

And, if he found you….

Stacy Green, author of Into the Dark (coming in November) tells us about stalkers…:

Happy Haunting!

It’s that time of year again.

You know what I’m talking about. Pumpkins, candy, assorted monsters taking off their human skin and walking around as they really are, extorting the neighborhoods for treats…

…and hauntings. We cannot forget the hauntings.

Just Another Day on the Job (a 500-word story)

This time around, I’ve combined Haley Whitehall’s Body Language challenge, Billie Jo Wood’s Solstice Sunday, and my Creature Feature challenge (see mash-up below for links) into one 500 word story. Here you go…

Just Another Day on the Job 

She drummed her fingers against her thigh and shot the kind of look that would start a fire.

Fortunately, there was plenty of cloud cover.

I nudged Tom, my trainee. “Assessment?”

“Common fire sprite. Juvenile. Range: two feet. Requires full sunlight to start a fire. Containment protocol: capture in JN-32 spherical containment field and transport to Breach.”