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 Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 11:07 am
Jeremiah had not been much of a beachgoer in his youth. How could he, working and whatnot? Now that he was older, he was finally on a wonderful tropical island and how had he been spending his time? Studying and practicing. He'd wanted to improve his technique and writing a bit, so he'd brought several very good fantasy and young adult books - including a few novels written by their host - to study and see if he could improve his technique before things began. It'd be good to have a head start, ne?
Today, his eyes had hurt all morning, so reading was out. The sun had called to him from the cabin windows and for the first time since arriving he went out to lounge. Usually the only times he left his cabin were for things like food, exercise and the occasional walk (he had to keep in shape for when he went back to work, after all).
Jeremiah had found a chair inside of his cabin and brought it with him outside to the porch so he could stretch and enjoy the breeze and the sun.
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 11:25 am
Since her arrival on the island, Alice had spent most of her time working on her novel, writing out notes or working on little scenes that she would later have to figure out how to connect altogether. Some would likely have to be thrown out when she discovered there was no way to fit them in with the rest of the story. But she enjoyed writing little "what if" scenarios, even if they never became anything more than that. It helped to give her little insights into her character that she otherwise might not have discovered. She had gone back and forth between writing on her laptop while inside the cabin and taking notes in her notebook when she decided to spend the day outside.
Today was an outside day. But despite her best efforts, she found herself lacking in motivation. When she put pen to paper, all she got was blank numbness. As soon as a thought entered her mind, it soon fled just out of reach, leaving her frustrated and fed up. After a few hours, she knew it was hopeless. She wouldn't be getting work done today.
So she decided on her next best alternative: exploring the island some more. She hadn't seen much of it, only what she passed while looking for a good spot to write. She went farther across the island than she had on prior days, passing by the stables and the docks to arrive on the other side of the island.
She looked toward the first cabin she saw as she walked toward it along the beach. Was this the cabin where the other member of the workshop stayed? The name was lost on her for the moment. She remembered Jackie clearly because they shared a cabin together. And Gloria was hard to forget, taking on a grandmother figure, at least in her mind, and lived in the next cabin over. But the man of their group was in one of these cabins on the other side, seeming far removed from the women.
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 11:36 am
Jeremiah glanced up from the little work puzzle he'd been doing and smiled. "Hey there!" he called pleasantly to Alice, waving a bit before leaning back and working on his puzzle a bit more. He wasn't ignoring her - just waiting for a response. However, the man didn't want to seem like he was trying to be pushy or whatever, so he didn't stare at her with bated breath.
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 11:56 am
Alice looked up when she heard the call. "Hey," she called back, smiling and waving to him. She changed her direction from walking straight past the cabin to walking toward it. She hoped she wouldn't be a bother to him if she came to visit for a while. But if she was a bother, she could just continue on with her little exploration of the island.
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 12:02 pm
When it looked like Alice was coming up, Jerry closed up his paper and sat up. "How're you?" he inquired cheerily as she reached his porch. "I'll you'll wait a second, I'll grab you a chair. The weather's very nice today."
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 12:15 pm
Alice was glad that he didn't seem to mind her presence. "I'm doing well," she answered as she walked up the steps to the porch. Other than the lack of motivation for the day, that is, but she decided not to include that part. "Are you enjoying your stay on the island?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 12:19 pm
"Sorta." the man answered, briefly going into the cabin to bring out another chair for her. "Have a seat." he offered.
"To tell the truth, I've mostly been working during my time here. I really want to do well at this but haven't gotten much time to practice previously." the blonde explained, "How about you?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 12:34 pm
"Thanks," Alice said as she took a seat in the chair. "Oh, I've been spending most of my time working too. With the occasional excursion about the island. I've never been to an island like this before, so it's been pretty interesting to take a look around."
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 12:39 pm
"I haven't much either." he agreed, "At least, I haven't when not working. But I dunno, I felt I owed it to whoever decided I got to come here that I work hard to do my best at this workshop, ne?"
Jeremiah stretched a bit, "So how's your story idea coming? Do you know what you want to do and such? If you don't mind me asking of course."
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 12:57 pm
Alice nodded in understanding. She certainly didn't want to slack off and prove to have been a wrong choice in who got to come to the workshop. Sometimes she could hardly believe that she was actually here. The island seemed like some fantasy out of a dream to her.
"It's coming along," she answered awkwardly. "I pretty much just have the base idea of the story. But I still haven't figure out exactly where it's going or how it might end." She felt embarrassed to admit that her idea still had a long way to go. "What about your story?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 1:01 pm
"Mine's a bit complicated." the blonde told her sheepishly, "I'd like to do a novel for young adults but my plot's gotten a little long and complicated. I'll either have to drop out a bunch or cut it into several books, maybe even both."
"I'm actually out here today because my eyes weren't behaving. I couldn't read the words in the books I'm using for reference, couldn't read my notes, and I just couldn't focus."
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 1:15 pm
"Oh," Alice said in surprise. She hadn't actually thought about the demographic that would be the target audience for her novel. She only knew that she wanted to write whatever ideas came to her, even if they never became best sellers.
"I haven't been able to focus today either," she told him, brushing back a lock of hair behind her ear. "I tried to get some more notes written today, but everything kept going blank. I thought maybe a bit of wandering the island and taking in the scenery might spark some inspiration."
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