Sunday Salon: Conflict?

Light bulb moments!  You spend hours doing something then realize it's not what you wanted in the first place.  Wasted time this week fooling around with changing the blog domain over to my name, designing the blog and never being completely satisfied.  Then realized I was totally happy with my My Two Blessings and will hold the other domain in reserve for when ready for my actual author site.     Also spent 2 to 3 hours going through model sites trying to find a picture of Hunter's mystery woman. (The one I found originally and mentioned in an earlier post - wasn't the right one)  Then it hit me.... Hunter doesn't know for sure what she looks like and because of that I don't know for sure and her full identify will be revealed through the story.  Sometimes procrastination leads you through a lot of worm holes.  

In the midst of planning Green Cross, my F2K class this week is all about creating conflict between your antagonist and protagonist and ending it unresolved. I had fun coming up with a scene between Hunter and his mystery woman:

"Saturday morning and the Maputo market bustled with locals and tourists. Hunter polished off his espresso, then rolled his shoulders to ease the ache in his spine. He’d spent hours yesterday exploring the elephant reserve in an ancient jeep spending more time battling bumpy roads, than looking at the animals. He’d gotten some great shots of the elephants, birds, hippos but his poor battered body hadn’t like the additional abuse. He threw some coins on the table and limped through the market, no longer overwhelmed by the blend of bananas, spices, coffee and fresh fish or the yelling and chattering of the fish merchants.

He headed off to the bookshop, ignoring the vendors shouting for his attention, when he saw her. Though she wore huge sunglasses and a colorful blue and purple scarf hid her hair, he knew it had to be her. When she smiled at one of the fish mongers and waved her glossy fire red fingernails, he was sure. She disappeared for a moment, then he caught another glimpse as she rounded a fruit stand. He knew that smile, that walk. Had she seen him? He rounded the corner and saw her enter the bookshop.

A bell clunked against the door as he walked in. Books piled high to the ceiling on shelves or stacked in precarious towers that looked like they would collapse if you so much as touched them. First editions and rare books mixed in with new and used paperbacks. Dust tickled his nose as he caught the faint aroma of vanilla and lavender. She’s here, he thought, looking around the small crowded shop. The shop owner sat behind the counter cleaning a book.

“Welcome. Welcome. Just the man I wanted to see. I just finished cleaning your book.” The old man beamed and held it out to him.

“Henry.” Hunter glanced around the shop. “ A woman just came in here. Where did she go?”

“No. No woman.” He waved his hand, beckoned Hunter forward. “Come. Come.” Then sighed when Hunter ignored him and searched the narrow aisles of the shop. He pushed up out of his chair, pressed the book into his hands. “You come. You take.”

Hunter looked down at the book and frowned. “This isn’t the book I found yesterday”

“Yes. Yes. See.” He ran wrinkled fingers over the cover. “See.”

Hunter eyed the man, “House of Silken Secrets? You must be confusing me with someone else.”

Henry huffed out a breath, put his finger to his lips, then opened the book. Pressed between the pages was a picture of a Celtic cross with a spider in the center and an antique key.

Flashes of the fire, the explosion, pain and her face rippled through his mind. Damn,she worked for them. No! He was done, he wouldn’t be pulled back in. He slammed the book, shoved it back in Henry’s hands.

“No. tell them no.”"

My goal this week is to come up with an outline of 30 scenes, finalize my settings, and research my characters a bit more.  James has decided he's going to do Nano as well and will be writing a fan fiction story starring Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man. 

Reading wise, I started Stephen King's Drawing of the Three which is the 2nd book in his Dark Tower series.  Also listening to J.D. Robb's book # 27 in the In Death series Salvation in Death. Not surprised my reading has slowed way down the past couple months. I discovered the more fiction I read, the less I write so.... 

 Life is like a blanket too short.  You pull it up and your toes rebel, you yank it down and shivers meander about your shoulder; but cheerful folks manage to draw their knees up and pass a very comfortable night.  ~Marion Howard

Be sure to stop by and see how the rest of my ROW80 writing buddies are doing.  

Happy sunday!