CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

Today, I cannot share all the first words I write—some of them belong to a series I’m working on for LMPBN. The first words from the poetry and flash fiction, though, I can, so, without further ado, here are today’s first words: Another 365 Days of Poetry— Death from on High What is it that roars on high? Why? Another 365 Days of Poetry— An Incursion of Mist “The mists are forming out on the plain where the rivulets shift and flow.” “But it’s still midday. Would they come?” “It’s hard to know.” Another 365 Days of Flash Fiction— Out of Darkness   Living in the dark was no fun at all, but Renwin endured it. It was better to live in the dark than die in the light. The only question was: For how long? How long would the raiders stalk the surface world and the day? How long would he have to hide beneath their feet, trying to figure out a way of getting them off his world? How long… A metallic scrape caught his attention, snapping hi...

It’s the first day of a whole new year. The slate is clean, the board is empty, and the months lie ahead, gleaming with promise. Okay, all joking aside, while the months ahead gleam with promise, my dance card is full and I have a shit tonne to do. I’ve written down a few goals for this year, but I’m not ready to name them, yet. They’re on record, so I can’t cheat, and things have started well, but I’m scared I’ll jinx myself, if I say what they are, so I’ll leave it a bit. No nagging. In the meantime, here are the first words from the writing done, today. Another 365 Days of Flash Fiction— Joshua’s Run Joshua thought the world was ending, but he ran anyway—through the silvered trunks and gilded leaves of the moonlit forest, his boots crunching through the leaves, his muscles trembling with fatigue. His breath came in short, hard gasps and his lungs burned with effort. Behind him, the hoofbeats grew louder, a thundering rumble that shook the ground as the unicorns gained....

Last week, I had some good news. It was awesome, but, combined with the short story I prioritised, and a rental inspection—because it never rains, but it pours—it meant a lot of reshuffling, and I didn’t get any words down on Mack ‘n’ Me: The Wolves of Alpha 9 .This was okay, and I caught up the words on Sunday this week… but completely missed it on Monday as I got my head around what to do for a short story release done as part of a group, a short story acceptance, and getting ready to visit my mum. Like I said—rain, pouring—and I’m enjoying the challenge. So excuses aside, when I started the words on Sunday, Cutter ---------------------------------------------------------------- In the end, Rohan let the cub go, and it was just Tens and one very angry wolfling. I’ll give the Tens this, once the cub took him off his feet, again, he at least remembered he was dealing with a child—a very tough child, who was beating twenty kinds of crap out of his face, but one that was barely...

Today, I tried to focus on the commitments I’d made outside myself. It kept me busy most of the day—well, that, and being a mummy, and a daughter, both of which are more important than the words—so today’s first words are down a little later than I'd like, and I’ve only just reached the minimum 3,000 words on the focus project. Yesterday’s family news was updated, today, and it didn’t get any better. When I can talk about it, I will, but that’s not happening, just yet. In the meantime, the words give me shelter, as they always have, and today, despite being written late in the day (or, perhaps because of it) they came quickly and well. Today’s first words find Cutter in the middle of the job Mack ‘briefed’ her on, yesterday. ---------------------------------------------------------------- The boy was good, so I guessed it would only be a matter of time before they wet-wired someone in to go hunt him down. I sure as shit hoped Tens would be on-line to help him out by t...

Yesterday was a slow day for the words. I was distracted, and not very disciplined about not letting the business side of things interfere with the writing side of things, and, even though I managed to work 1,000 words an hour, it was difficult. You get days like that, as a writer; the trick is to keep working, but let yourself take frequent short breaks, and come back to it. The words get done, and so do other things, and you don’t hate yourself for not being a super-hero, later on. Anyway, I had almost reached 5,000 words by the afternoon, and was on track to reach my 7,000-word goal by shortly after dinner, when my father rang with some really not-so-great family news, and I had to change to track to deal with the implications of that. Family has to come first. Now, I’m still dealing with those implications, and will be for some time to come, but the writing continues, albeit with a slight schedule change, and an understanding that I'm going to need to priorities tasks tha...