Daddy's POV

I was enjoying my coffee and newspaper when my daughter came downstairs.

“Happy birthday, daddy!” She smiled at me. I looked over my newspaper at her.

“Thanks sweetie. Are you about ready for school?”

“Yes!” I drained my coffee and we got in the car. I never do know what to say on car rides so I usually just try small talk.

“Did you get your homework done last night?” I asked.

“Of course I did. Dad I have a question.”

“Sure honey what’s on your mind?” 

“I was just wondering what color of hair grandma and grandpa had and their parents too.” I was worried. If I told her too much I could be responsible for revealing what we didn't want to.

“Oh…um…well my grandparents came over from Europe. My mom’s side from Sweden and my father’s from Ireland. So they were redheads and blondes all around. Same with my parents. It’s a wonder you can’t see right through my skin!” I laughed nervously. We arrived at the school and I pulled to a stop.

“Oh. Okay then.” She gave me a peck on the cheek, “Thanks dad! I’ll see you later! I love you!” And with that she closed the door and I pulled away. I drove home thinking maybe she was starting to catch on. I hoped she wasn't. I arrived home and saw my wife had come home early. This was a nice surprise. When I got through the door I was greeted with a hug and a kiss.

"Surprise honey!" My wife said, "I've made reservations tonight just the two of us!"

"That's wonderful dear! Are we leaving Grace with her grandma?"

"Well I think she's old enough we can leave her alone."

"Alrighty then." I wasn't sure if I agreed but I didn't want to fight. I decided that I could take a nap to rest up for our night out. I got in my recliner and let myself drift off. I awoke to the smell of food cooking. I guessed that was the signal for me to get ready so I headed upstairs and got into my best clothes. 

I  waited in the living room for my wife to finish making food for Grace and when she was dressed and ready I met her by the door with her coat. Our daughter came downstairs to see us off. My wife stepped forward to give her the list of emergency numbers.

Character Bio

Her name is Grace. She was born in December 1998 to Jessica Hill (a rape victim who died giving birth). She was adopted from birth by Mark and Tracy Halloway. She was homeschooled until it was time for her to start middle school and her parents gave her the choice of continuing homeschooling or going to public school.  She is an excellent student who loves science. She wants to be a vet someday. She found out her history and was shocked initially but came to accept it and grew closer with her parents.

Memo to me

I want the readers to connect with the main character and be interested with what happens to her. I want to be able to write good fiction that everyone can enjoy but I also want to tell stories. Stories that get into the characters emotions and will draw the reader in.

A day in my ideal life!

I would wake up around 9:30 am fully rested. I'd be in the house that Trevor and I (married because that's legal!) share outside Denver. Not too far out of the city but enough to be slightly remote. It's a not a huge house but a decent sized cozy place with a fire going. We'd cook breakfast together and then eat it, before taking our husky for a walk. It's a nice Fall day. Not too cold just a little chilly. It's Trevor's day off from filming. It's around Thanksgiving so I don't have to worry about grading papers from my job as a professor. My book is selling nicely as well. We spend the day together and go to the hospital to fill out some paperwork finalizing our surrogacy plans. We'd make plans for our families to gather for Thanksgiving. It'd be a fairly calm day. Nothing out of the ordinary but just everything going right.

Conversation (from the girls in the eavesdropping exercise)

Girl 1: I know! I can't believe we lost!

Girl 2: It was only once in, like, how long?

Girl 1: Like, forever but still it's kind of- *phone beeps loudly, girl 1 picks it up* Oh!

Girl 2: What?

Girl 1: Nothing. But yeah I think it was like--

Girl 2: Come on! Who is it?

Girl 1: *pauses* Promise not to freak out.

Girl 2: We'll see.

Girl 1: Tyler just texted me.

Girl 2: Tyler? Like Tyler??


Girl 1: Yeah. I haven't talked to him since . . .

Girl 2: You can say it. I don't care. *She obviously cares*

Girl 1: *Silence*

Girl 2: Since he tried to sleep with you.

Girl 1: That was last year! We weren't even that close! Besides I didn't did I?!

Girl 2: I know but still he was with me at the time. It's a touchy subject.

Girl 1: I know but it wasn't my fault. We both know what he wants. I'm not responding.

Girl 2: Good.

Interview With My Husband: A Reaction

First off. It was sad. Yeah it was all kinds of formal and stiff until the end when she finally broke down but the tone was all sad. The different types of writing used: the narrative, the schedule/list type, and then the interview format all worked well with each other and gave us back story as we went through the interview.

50 things I'm proud of...

1. Making it to college
2. Graduating High School
3. Getting a job
4. Passing my classes
5. Being an Eagle Scout
6. Coming out
7. Never smoking
8. My music collection
9. Sitting through a tattoo
10. Going to Nova Scotia
11. Surviving a nipple piercing
12. Helping a friend through a self harm problem
13. Reading as much as I have
14. My extensive knowledge of Disney trivia
15. Helping Common Ground be more successful
16. Maintaining contact with friends from High School
17. Going against stereotypes
18. Bought my own car
19. Survived a car crash
20. Winning prom royalty
21. Maintaining a workout schedule
22. Knowing choreographed dances to some songs
23. Trying out for the Northwest Dance Company
24. Learning French
25. Helping take care of my niece and nephew
26. Staying committed to a story I'm writing
27. Never breaking a bone
28. Being in plays
29. Being published in the Northwest Writing Anthology
30. Surviving to my current age
31. Having a set plan for what I want to do in life
32. Overcoming my fear of heights
33. Letting a tarantula crawl on my arm despite my intense arachnophobia
34. Pulling through when my dad passed away
35. Not chucking this computer out the window when it overheated, shut down, and I thought I'd lost my progress on this list
36. Getting back into college after taking a year off
37. Completing the Kingdom Hearts series
38. Knowing the names of all 50 states and their capitals 
39. Being able to name a majority of the countries in the world
40. My drawing ability
41. Still having my teddy bear after 20 years
42. Lasting in a relationship for 9 months
43. My ability to manage stress
44. My health
45. Being a scout leader
46. being trained as a lifeguard
47. Raising horses
48. That I was sorted into Hufflepuff on Pottermore
49. Of all my friends
50. That I finished this list!

Natural Diary

The secluded patch of trees that feels like my own
My secret spot where I can go
To release my thoughts and feelings into the emptiness
The single file trees
Cast bar-like shadows in the setting sun
They form a cage
A cage to hold my secrets
and keep them safe and hidden in their branches

Follow That Cab!

I actually really enjoyed this piece. It was interesting and I became hooked and worried about the computer and how the story would end. I was really intrigued by the style of it though. Even though the sentences were short and concise it felt as though it went along with the fast paced, hectic feel of it.

My daily writing...or lack thereof

To start off let's just say I'm forgetful. And no not like regular forgetful but approaching Dory levels. If you don't get that then I don't know how to fix you. But anyway I haven't really been keeping a daily writing thing. I've written in different places sporadically but due to forgetfulness and the impossible amount of sheer CRAP I have been through these past few weeks. This includes but is not limited to: Going to jail, going to a wedding, and going to a rave. So these things piled on top of my normal forgetting has pushed my daily writing schedule right out of my head. I feel bad but hey it happens. Hopefully I can get on it but I honestly don't see that happening.

Praise my favorite food?

I praise the steak for my father and his mastery of the grill
The dark lines across the meat like the lines left on his face from the heat
The smokey smell that brings back the summer days
That have long since left when he did
I praise them as one of the few things left of him
That taste that brings back the smile I inherited

I praise the mashed potatoes
That recall the early childhood days of my picky eating
And how I've evolved to love them
Seeing my nephew after me
Fight the same battle
With my sister as we did with my mother

I praise the meal that we often have
When we gather for something special
To reminisce of the simpler times together
As a family
Whole and together
For a short time again

The Ballad of Rudolph Reed

My first time through I didn't understand all of it so I read it again. It was very powerful and sad. I liked the rhythm of it though and the wording.

If I went to another country...

I would integrate myself. I believe that the best way to learn a language and a culture is to submerge yourself in it. I couldn't just clam up. I'm far too curious of a person and would be trying to absorb as much as possible.

Response to Michelle B.'s "Fictional Biography"

http://prince-of-a-thousand.blogspot.com/2011/09/fictional-biography.html#comments I really enjoyed how you pulled me into the biography and gave it a suspenseful creepy feeling.

Describing without adjectives...okay then

I went out to a patch of woods that makes me think of the forest in the Harry Potter series. After I got there the sun began to go down and the temperature dropped. The trees in the area where I was were in three straight lines like children filing into a classroom. The light from the sunset cast shadows in the shape of prison bars or those reminiscent of a cage. Once the temperature dropped lower and the sun disappeared I decided to leave.

The girl...

The girl who was telling the story of the haunted house grew up in St Louis. Her mom worked as a school teacher and her dad a dentist. The oldest of 3 kids and the only girl. She went to a public K-12 school. Her brothers are 11 and 6. She loved being at home with her family but when it came time for her to choose a college she wanted to escape the crowded bustle of the city so she looked into more remote places. Wanting to follow in her mother's footsteps to be a teacher she found Northwest. A nice remote college with a wonderful teaching program. Though her family was sad to see her go so far away they supported her and she still visits them every other weekend and calls every other day.

Scary Boy Scout Clowns...

I sat down in one of the leather couches in the station. There was a loud study group nearby but I couldn't really make out what they were saying. But they left and two girls remained behind and began talking about haunted houses. One girl admitted to the other that the scariest moment of her life was when her "little boy scout brother" and his troop put on a haunted house and at one point one of them was dressed as a zombie clown and it scared her so much that she cried. Not long after this they left.

The Exchange in the CIE

"Today we will be looking at your unknowns. It is up to you to consult the book on how to diagnose each one."

*boy raises hand*
"Sir I don't think there enough microscopes to go around. And one of my test tubes broke."

"Well we can double up on microscopes and I will check to see if we have any extra tubes in the back. While I am looking I'd like you to pair up and begin adjusting the microscopes."

An adventure! (2)

I woke up to the laughter of my niece and nephew, the morning of my departure. I was to leave to visit my friends in Maryville and to attend a dance. I got out of bed to begin my preparation. Since the bathroom was occupied I decided to engage in a playful game of hide and seek with a few of my unpacked belongings. By the time I'd gathered everything into it's respective place I was lucky enough to get into the bathroom to clean myself up before my journey. Once that was done came the task of filling up my jeep. I hopped into it and brought it to life but halfway to the station it sputtered to a halt. I retrieved the gas can and rode the rest of the way with my brother-in-law where we purchased enough to get the jeep to the gas station. We got there and filled it to the brim and headed back to the house. I packed up everything and was proud that I dodged all the obstacles that cropped up. When it came time to leave though I wondered if I should risk more problems but I knew it could be worth it if I did.

An Adventure! (1)

The morning I was supposed to leave, I was torn out of my sleep by my noisy niece and nephew. I was going to visit some friends and attend a dance in Maryville. I dragged myself out of bed to begin my preparation. The bathroom was taken by my sister so I spent my time frantically trying to find everything I needed for the trip.Once I had hunted down every last item I was finally able to take my turn in the bathroom. When I was clean I had to fill my empty jeep. It reluctantly started and about half way to the gas station it ran out of gas. I yanked the gas can from the back and got a ride the rest of the way with my brother-in-law where we purchased enough to get the jeep to the gas station. Once there we put as much in the jeep as it could handle. I crammed everything into the jeep and wondered if anything else would happen. Once it was time to depart though I wondered what other problems I would encounter if I left.

You must be new here.

Not new to this site per se, but to my blog in particular. I'm Dalton and I like to think that I'm very relaxed and easy going. I try to be the nicest I can be so don't be afraid to talk to me. I promise I don't bite. Like most of you I am a writer. I love to write fiction and I'm actually working on what I hope will someday be my book. This blog will hopefully be well awesome. And I hope you guys can enjoy it too! Much love! <3

Maybe it's not my weekend

But it's gonna be my year!