When it comes to updating I am absolutely horrible at it. I'll do great for the first few days or so and then I get distracted and it goes down the tube.
The latest I have is this. I have been doing some story review with a friend of mine. She brought up some good points concerning my fantasy story, such as what is the plot for the story? What is the story arc for this first book? And lastly, could it sell as a single book without a series? My answers to each of these questions were all negatory. So, I went back to the drawing board, so to speak, and I tried to get a better idea and handle on this first book. To my sorrow, and slight horror I might add, I was drawing blanks.
But do not fret my followers, I have my back up story! I have decided to put the fantasy on a shelf for the moment, let it stew while my subconscious gathers some ideas for it's plot and such. While that's going on I am taking on my back up project.
Working title at present is Tender Mercies, though I rather like the title and I think it's going to stick around for a while. The story mostly revolves around Dusty Becket, a college freshmen with a rather notable father who just wants to be "normal". I say "normal" because, let's be honest, is there really such a thing?
Anyways, Dusty moves off to college and into a house with five other guys. There's Josh Bridges, the "head" of the household. He's a 24 year old med student and a generally likeable guy though it is obvious he is holding on to some deep hurts.
Next is the foreign exchange student, Nakamura Haku, 17 years old and, well, no one really knows what his major is. He mostly keeps to himself, staying in his room or at the library. No one knows what he does in his room, though Dusty has seen Nakamura sneak off with the toaster and return it later.
Finally, you have the best friends, Carson Driggs and Percy Jones, 21 and 22 respectively. Carson is an engineering major and Percy is a theater major. They enjoy pulling pranks and are, essentially, the comic relief of the house.
Seems like a ragtail bunch with no real common ground, yes? Well, you'd be right, but don't let their differences fool you. As odd as they are, they all fit together rather well, and it doesn't take long for them to become fast friends.
Enter Rebecca Trybalt, a 23 year old widow (yes, widow) that Percy meets at the bus station. She is pregnant, and upon discovering she really has no place to go, Percy brings her home (like a little lost puppy) and if things weren't interesting before, well, they are about to become so.
The final character to introduce in this story would have to be Leonard Bridges, Josh's uncle and the owner of the house. He is an older gentleman and takes it upon himself to be a stand in dad for Josh and his housemates, since several of them are either far from home (some further than others) or they have a less than happy relationship with theirs.
Over the course of his freshmen year, Dusty learns a lot about himself and comes to realize that things aren't always what they seem. The person who smiles the most may be holding on to one of the deepest hurts a person could have, and the person who seems to not care at all, may be the person that cares about you the most. But what are you supposed to do when you're life may be in danger, and the one person who knows won't even tell you?
Anywho, yeah, there's a general idea of what to expect with this one. If you are wondering about the title, it's in reference to a scripture I found. I can't think of the reference at the moment and the notebook I wrote it down in seems to have gone MIA for the time being. For my LDS friends, you may recognize it from 1 Nephi 1:20 in the Book of Mormon, though I found another reference in the Bible that fit so perfectly (can't find it now though, sadly).
Well, I think this update is getting rather long. Wouldn't want to bore you and all. :)
Presently I am at 710 words for this story (not a lot, I know, but whatever). My goal for next week is to get it to 5,000 words (10,000 would be awesome, and may be doable this next week as most of my roommates have gone home for Spring Break). I decided this goal was more realistic than my previous one.
I hope you all have a fantastic day! Keep smiling!
