Wednesday, April 21, 2010

WIP Wednesday: The Taint of Teenage Angst

I love writing.

There. I said it.

My posts may have been a bit mopey lately (thanks to some loyal readers for helping me see the trend), and I want to point the finger squarely at my MCs in Borrowed Saints. See, Phoebe's alienated herself from her only friend at a new school...and she's started cutting again. (It's the only to stop the voices, okay?) Tucker is being "taken over" and he doesn't know it, but boy does it make him a grumpy bastard. I had another 3K Tuesday, but felt down and depressed at the end of the evening.

Stupid teenage protags!

(I love you guys.)

I've always been weirdly hypersensitive to things like this...in my senior play, I was a suicidal character. Even though the show was a farce (I know, suicide and comedy=not so funny, right?), I felt soooooo depressed that semester. When I read House of Leaves, I developed the worst case of existential angst. (Anyone who has read the book knows why).

So yeah. Teenage angst and all. Have I mentioned that Phoebe is my favorite character in Borrowed Saints? We always hurt the ones we love...

Just a little cut, the voice said. Just a little tiny bit of pain.

Phoebe nodded. The hateful image in the mirror smiled. Good, it said.

The blade was cold in her fingers, and had it not been for the dark bloom in the mirror, she wouldn’t have known the razor pierced her skin at all. She pushed harder.

The image in the mirror smiled.

A door slammed below. Phoebe felt the impact jar through her body. She looked down at the red streaks on her forearm. Pretty red ribbons.

“Phoebe?” EG’s voice came from another planet, far away.

She ran the blade under the tap, rinsing away the blood. It slid neatly under the towels in the bottom drawer of the cabinet. It would wait for when she needed it again.

Word count total = 24,450. Whoot!

16 comments:

Rebecca Nazar said...

Reading The Chocolate War and Catcher In the Rye left me in a funk for weeks, but I looooooved Holden and Jerry.

Yes 24,450 is Whoot worthy. Continued success. : )

Jamie Eyberg said...

That word count is worthy of a celebration!

Anthony Rapino said...

I definitely can relate to my writing changing my attitude for the day.

On the bright side, that sample sounds awesome!

Katey said...

You deserve to be a little mopey! I love me some angst, but if you're going to throw in blood and possession, I'm afraid I'm going to have to love this story above and beyond.

Good stuff on the excerpt-- chilling in a way that makes me grin.

Aaron Polson said...

Becca - I love 'em too. Poor fictional kiddos.

Jamie - Just topped 25K. Whew. I think I can finish now.

Anthony - Thanks. Moping away.

Katey - I knew someone would like a little blood. It gets worse. Oh yes.

Andrea Allison said...

The mopeyness is for a good cause. I think this is one of the reasons why I don't write YA as much anymore.

Loved the excerpt!

Brendan said...

This talk that ye be takin' on the persona a'yer characters be jes plain silly.

Argh.

Cate Gardner said...

Stupid teenage protags! Indeed! :D

The fact that your book is determining your mood means it has heart... All good.

Aaron Polson said...

Thanks, Andrea.

Brendan - Arrrr...shiver me timbers.

Cate - Or I've lost mine (heart).

Fox Lee said...

I feel for you. I always bond with an MC, and their moods can make me incredibly wonky. My current MC recently got laid, and I've been way too mentally sated ever since. It sounds good, but instead of writing I really just want a nap and a sandwich.

Aaron Polson said...

Mmmm...nap and a sandwich. Sounds better than a cutting session and pissing off all your friends.

Alan W. Davidson said...

Wow, some tough subject matter there. Sounds like you're handling it well. Looking forward to more samplers.

Cathy Olliffe-Webster said...

Maybe it's just your time of the month.

Kara McElhinny said...

Aaron, you are not alone in your empathetic excursions with your characters. It only makes them more real.

The good thing is that you caught it. However, I think it's also human nature to get down on ourselves once in a while. So it's normal.

That was a phenomenal blurb btw

Glad you see your feeling better.

K.C. Shaw said...

I get really agitated when I read some kinds of books (particularly ones where characters are struggling against social injustices on a personal level), and I can't get back to an even keel until I've finished the book and can set it aside. I think that's why I prefer lighter books.

Your wordcount is awesome!

Danielle Birch said...

I love reading angsty books, then I read something cheerier afterwards to balance it out.