**Hi all, welcome to another Writing Prompt Wednesday. Won't you play along? The guidelines are simple, and I'd love to read what you come up with.**

They ask me why I'm not smiling. As if it's some kind of sin to sit at my desk, focus on my work, and not smile. As if sitting here with a straight face is as bad as going around, smacking people on the back of the head. Not, mind you, that I'm particularly opposed to the idea. They're all a bunch of mouth-breathing, pen-clicking, fish-microwaving imbeciles who wouldn't know a 10-14 form if it punched them in the eye.

Yet, here I am, restraining myself. If those losers really want me to smile, there need to be a few changes around here. As you may imagine, I have quite an extensive list of said changes. But, to be honest with you, all I really need, and I mean bare essentials here, is a completely working espresso machine. I've got the perfect one all picked out and it's on sale for eight grand. All they need to do is put that beauty in the break room and then I'll love everyone. I don't think that's so unreasonable, do you?

Character Thoughts, Revision, and Guiding Principles

There's another good post over at Edittorrent. This one looks at character, which I'm all about this month, and I've started thinking about it in relation to Cass. I have a pretty good idea about her first principle and how it gets her into trouble. As I work on revision, I'm thinking about ways I can draw that out a little more to help solidify her character and especially to make her more sympathetic, which is a struggle I'm having.

At the last meeting, Jenny commented on a few portions of the sub which I had missed when I was switching a scene over to 3rd person from 1st. Believe it or not, Jenny liked the 1st person better. Even though I've changed things over so the reader isn't in Cass's head, it seems I need to get them in there anyway. Jenny, ever helpful, suggested I re-write the whole thing to 1st person, and do it in two months. She smiled when she said it, too. How evil is that?

Abandon All Hope

Wow. Oh, wow. I just caught up on this past week's episode of Supernatural, titled "Abandon All Hope," and it packed quite a punch. This season is the big whammy, all about the apocalypse and it is, presumably, the last season of the show - and that's because the show's creator planned it that way, not because the show isn't doing well.

So, fifth season plus the apocalypse means all bets are off. This last episode really brought that home. Over at Edittorrent, there's been some talk about the dark moment. Despair, desperation, and all that good stuff. It's appropriate timing.

This episode was played out masterfully. We start with our heroes teaming up with some allies to go on a mission to attempt to kill the devil. No small feat, right? It's an impossible task, and stupid to even try it, but as Sam so succinctly says, "When have we ever been smart?" The night before the show down, Bobby has everyone pose for a picture, because it might be the last picture any of them take. It's slightly cheesy, but fitting.

By the time we get to the end of the episode, a huge sacrifice has been made and the outlook, which was previously pretty bleak, has turned even bleaker. In the last few seconds before the credits, one of the characters takes the group photo, looks at it for a moment, then tosses it in the fireplace. The camera watches the photo burn, then fades out.

It's a relatively small gesture, but incredibly powerful. They have so little hope left, that they've tossed aside even the little bit of hope that comes from remembering the fallen. After all, you have to be alive to remember.

We've officially hit the dark moment of this season's arch, and I have a feeling it's going to get even darker yet.

The Dark Moment

**Hi all, welcome to another Writing Prompt Wednesday. Won't you play along? The guidelines are simple, and I'd love to read what you come up with.**


We zoom in from above, the camera whizzing down, going from a view of the world, to the outlines of a country, county, neighborhood, until finally we're in a living room, face to lens with the protagonist. A man in his mid-thirties with a receeding hairline and a knife in his hand stands over a body with a pool of blood spreading beneath it.

This is the moment he surrenders to despair, certain that there is no way out. He's standing over the body of a man he killed and there is no way the police will believe it was self defense. He could try to explain that the dead man was going to kill him tomorrow, that he saw the scene in a vision and came here to turn fate, that the only reason he broke into the house and stabbed this man was to save himself. No, the police won't buy a story of pre-emptive self defense.

The protagonist drops the bloody knife. His hand is shaking, but his knees refuse to bend and even now he can hear, far off in the distance, the sound of sirens. The dead man's wife must have escaped. She can identify him, too. The sirens grow louder and the protagonist's legs hold him firm to the spot with his prints on the knife and his hands covered in blood.

Mapmaker

The new issue of The Absent Willow Review came out yesterday and I've been looking over some stories. I just read one, called Mapmaker, that I wanted to pass along to all of you because I think it's quite beautiful and well-written. I hope you take a few minutes (it's short) to read it.

The First Line

Spurred on by getting a story accepted, I've been cruising duotrope, researching more places to submit. I want to pass on one particular publication, because I think it'd be a fun adventure. It's called The First Line and it's rather reminiscent of WP Wednesdays. They provide a first line, you write a story to go with it, and the ones they like the best are published in the next issue.

Needle and Thread

There are few things that brighten one's day like getting a message that says,
"Dear Ali –

Thank you for submitting your story for our consideration. I am pleased to inform you that “Needle and Thread" has been accepted and will appear in the February 16, 2010 issue of The Absent Willow Review. Please continue submitting and thank you for sharing your work with us!"

I'm excited.