Weekend Writing Warriors #1

Weekend writing what? Warriors?

How great is this? Because that’s exactly what I do. Weekend by weekend, I wrestle words onto the page.

I rather like the idea of being a warrior. Instead of, you know, a pajama-clad, coffee-swilling sloth, hunched over the laptop.

*Laura buffs her nails*

Alrighty! So let’s dive in with 10 lines from a work-in-progress. I’ll be sharing from As Only A Woman Can, a Pride & Prejudice-based romantic romp. Here’s the setup:

It’s late January, and Jane Austen’s heartthrob hero, Mr. Darcy, is in London, having left Hertfordshire for good. The lovely Elizabeth Bennet will no longer trouble his peace of mind — or so he thinks. But on the counter of the tobacconist’s shop he finds a display of painted Valentines — including one with a very ugly cupid. 

Pity the poor woman who receives that, he thinks. Ah, but his interest has been noticed …

The clerk grinned. “Popular with the gentlemen, these are, sir. Especially the officers, if you take my meaning.”

Popular with officers, indeed. After years of being pursued by the marriage-minded, Darcy had decided that he was not romantic. And didn’t his cousin Fitz take delight in pointing this out to him?

Darcy studied the cards. Fitz would be well-served to be caught sending these so-called Valentines to more than one lady. In fact—

He dug a pocket. “I’ll take five” was what he meant say. But since he found four pennies, he said, “I’ll take ten.” And so it was that Fitzwilliam Darcy walked out with his tobacco—and a pocket filled with Valentines.

Dangerous stuff, Valentine’s cards. For of course, one is tempted to send them.

Ha! There’s a story in that.

You can discover other Weekend Warriors
who are sharing their words by going HERE.
Twitter hashtag is #8sunday

A big thank you to Sue Barr, who clued me in to Weekend Writing Warriors!

If you’d like to read more of As Only, you can follow the story as I build it at Beyond Austen.

Be warned, I write slowly. Chapter 1 is up, and by weekend’s end, I plan to add Chapter 2.

Only 14 more weeks of teaching middle school, friends, and then glorious summertime will be mine. Come June, this story will get rolling in earnest.