An Award and A Meme Walk Into a Bar . . .

Sometimes saying something that sounds like a setup for a joke is actually funnier than reciting the actual joke.  Maybe that's why I titled this post the way that I did. Hopefully I'll think of a joke to go with my title by the time I finish writing this.  If not, I apologize in advance.

A big thanks to Jennifer at A Creative Exercise for thinking of me when it came time to pass on the blogging love.  Reading what she has to say in her thoughtful comments, and seeing my blog listed along with a few select others as "Inspirations" boosts my self-confidence as a writer.  There was a time when I had little but doubt about my writing abilities.  This wonderful blogging community does wonders to change that.

Jennifer was kind enough to confer on me two honors: The Versatile Blogger Award and the Lucky 7 Meme.  Thank you so much!

Time to dig deep and list 7 random facts about myself.

1. I just submitted a flash fiction piece to Daily Science Fiction on this past Friday.  I'd had this story idea for awhile, but I suddenly felt a burst of inspiration and just wrote it.  I really hope they accept it.
2. Continuing off of my first fact, even if this flash piece is rejected, I think I'll have the courage to submit it elsewhere.  That's a courage I always lacked, and I've only found it from blogging and receiving your kind encouragement.  Thank you.
3. I actually enjoy speaking in public.  While I prefer to speak with a script that I've already written, I can be impromptu as well.  In college I did a stand-up routine for a comedy show, and I didn't know I was in it until five minutes before it started.  I had great friends who kindly signed me up.  Anyway, I got on stage with nothing planned, and I ended up getting a lot of laughs.  I also offended some people, and one guy went so far as to say I should never be allowed to speak in public again.  Can't please everyone!
4. I started out as an astronomy major in college.  I loved my astronomy class, and physics was interesting.  However, the nail in the coffin came when I realized how much I didn't like calculus getting mixed in with the physics.  And I never enjoyed the more complex aspects of calculus on their own either.
5. I still love astronomy, but after realizing I couldn't realistically make a career out of it (the evil calculus monsters wouldn't let me), I had second thoughts about doing writing as a career.  Then I remembered that writing was the one thing in my life that I ALWAYS wanted to do regardless of other circumstances.
6. My facial features are slightly lopsided.  My right eye and right ear are both higher than their counterparts on the left.  Result: my glasses are visibly crooked, and people never notice that my eyes aren't even.  I don't look like I'm out of a horror movie or anything when I take my glasses off, but it is noticeable and one of the reasons why I'm grateful that I need glasses in the first place.  Cosmetically speaking, contacts would be a disaster.
7. 13 has been more of a lucky number for me than 7.  Some of my luckiest days have been on Friday the 13th.

Now for the Lucky 7 Meme.

• Go to page 77 of your current MS.
• Go to line 7.
• Copy down the next 7 lines as written.
• Tag 7 other writers.
• Let them know.

This is an intimidating exercise because it gives specific requirements.  It isn't "share your favorite 7 lines from your current MS."  No.  You don't get to pick or choose.  Even if it's a place in your MS that you aren't yet happy with, you still need to post it.  In a way though, that's good.  As writers, that kind of challenge is good for us.  If we can share these kind of raw excerpts with the world, we can do anything.

Theoretically.

Anyway, here's mine.  It's not completed, and I still might shift some scenes around, but this is what's going on with the page that is currently 77, starting at line 7.  I wanted to have complete sentences, so forgive me if I went a little over.

". . . Police forced their way into our room, and they saw enough evidence to arrest us on the spot.  We were given the three options, and you know how it went from there.”

I waited a moment for him to continue, but he didn’t.  I couldn’t see his face well enough to read him.  Unsure of whether it was appropriate to ask, I still found myself asking anyway.  “What was his name?”

“Jeremy.”  Seth clearly had trouble saying it, and I realized reliving this was painful for him.  At first I assumed it was the pain of the man he loved choosing treatment over him, but I was about to discover it went far deeper than that.  

So there it is.

Since Jennifer decided to give both honors to 7 people instead of doing separate lists, I'll do the same.  Consider the meme as a gift for receiving the Versatile Blogger Award.  You can do one or both if you choose.  

1. Cherie Reich 
2. Christine Rains 
3. Alex J. Cavanaugh
4. Liz Parker @ The English Badass
5. Karen Elizabeth Brown
6. Charlie Holmberg @ Myself as Written
7. .jessica. @ .a sort of mental squint.

Okay.  That's done.

So, a blogging award and a meme walk into a bar.

They both shout "Ouch!"

I know.  Not funny, but it's the best I've got on a Sunday morning.