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Tag Archives: writing

The Watch That Saved Me

02 Saturday May 2015

Posted by Gert in Out & About

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

broken watch, detective, first draft, murder, mystery, science fiction, story idea, strange event, thriller, unexplained phenomenon, writing

Armor Watch
This watch saved my life.

I’m just kidding. At least, I think I’m kidding. And I couldn’t pass on an opportunity to be a temporary drama queen.

I have no idea how this happened. I was inside a very large building with a lot of people; as I was leaving, I glanced down at my watch to check the time. It was completely intact. At some point between leaving the building, crossing the parking lot, and getting into my car, this happened. I was shocked, and confused, and no, I don’t drink or do drugs.

As soon as I managed to convince myself I was completely OK, and only the watch had suffered, the writer in me went off on a tangent and I pictured a heroine in some sci-fi detective murder thriller mystery. If I’m gonna go there, I’m going big.

“There’s nothing wrong with being practical.”

Darby could hear her mother’s voice echo through the tiny bedroom that held everything she had left in this world. Her practical clothes, her practical shoes, and the practical watch her mother had worn right up until the day she died. She had to admit, her mother had possessed an uncanny knack for working the concept of “being practical” into every conversation they ever had.

With a heavy sigh, Darby fastened the watch around her wrist and noted the time. She was going to be late, again. The weight of the shoulder bag she hurriedly snatched from the makeshift dresser reminded her to handle the bag with care. Her mother had urged her to buy the handgun that was easily concealed in her purse.

“A woman in your line of work can never be too careful. You need to be able to defend yourself, and there’s nothing wrong with being practical.”

She had heeded that advice a mere two weeks before her beloved mother’s sudden death. Darby felt a chill travel down her spine, and the sting of tears she refused to shed.

Pausing for one last peek at the rippled, full-length mirror propped against the wall, she reached up to adjust a wayward strand of hair desperately trying to escape her tightly wound bun. Flinching, she thought for a moment that something on the watch had shocked her. Turning her wrist toward the light streaming in from the window high above the cot she called a bed, she saw several cracks radiating from a small hole in the dome of her mother’s watch. Confusion furrowed her brow as she watched the sleek second hand continue its trek, sweeping through the tiny shards of glass trapped beneath the crystal…

This is where I will have to make a decision as to whether the dark figure pouncing from the shadows is a frightened extraterrestrial that escaped the feds and followed her home from work, or a demented sociopath that has her targeted as his next victim.

Or, who knows, this tale could take on the life of an entirely different scenario inspired by the watch that saved me. Only time will tell.

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Milestones

17 Friday Apr 2015

Posted by Gert in Out & About

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Tags

achievements, life events, mileage, milestones, writing

100000 miles
Today was a milestone day. The odometer on my little HHR rolled over to 100,000 miles. And then I realized this month also marks our 8 year anniversary. Oh the adventures we have had!

I know it sounds like I’m on the verge of trading it in for a shiny new model, but that isn’t the case at all. This little car has served me well and I hope we have many more happy, adventurous years together. In fact, I would love to make a wise-crack about driving it until the wheels fall off, but I don’t dare. My sister made that comment about her Excursion several years ago and her wheels literally fell off. Twice. And she’s still driving it.

But back to milestones. The life event kind. Those all-important markers that act as a reference point in the progress or development of – something – that serve to reassure us that we’re on the right path. Milestone events are a cause for celebration and acknowledgement. We start collecting them shortly after birth, and spend the rest of our lives racking up as many as we can.

Some milestones are huge – like taking your first step, or saying your first word. Others are a cause for a slightly smaller celebration, but important nonetheless – like writing your 50th blog post. Yay me!

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Home Again

05 Sunday Apr 2015

Posted by Gert in Out & About

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coming home, fresh start, home, writing

One of the houses on Wisteria Lane
If you’ve ever been away from home, whether it was just a few days or a really long, long time, you probably know the feeling that you get when you finally find yourself coming home again.

There’s a heightened sense of awareness as you turn into your neighborhood, and your heart starts to beat a little faster with the anticipation of the familiar and the missed. You probably don’t even notice the smile quietly teasing away the tensions of your absence.

Home. Your little space in a great big world. You want to get there as quickly as you can, but you resist the urge to rush, you want to savor the tingling sensation of joys remembered. And then, you turn a corner and see it – right there where you left it – patiently waiting for your return. Waiting to welcome you back, no matter how many times you’re away, no matter how long.

I have been away from this place – my little space – for quite some time, and it feels so good to finally come home.

I’m home. Again.

P.S. I don’t actually live on Wisteria Lane….

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NaNow What?

01 Wednesday Jan 2014

Posted by Gert in Out & About

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focus, NaNoWriMo, new direction, New Year, writing

2013-Winner-Facebook-CoverThis post is long overdue. It’s the update on my NanoWriMo experiment. To be honest, this is actually the third iteration of my report on that experience. The first two seemed to be a tad too giddy and boastful, considering it was just an extremely wordy first draft. You know my favorite term here – SFD. Very SFD.

Editorial critique aside, I met my initial goal of passing the 50,000 word minimum for NaNoWriMo on the 24th of November, and yes, I did a little happy dance before returning to my keyboard to take a peek at the Winner Screen – that special area of Nanotopia that can only be viewed through 50K or higher lenses. It was a great moment… until I remembered my story wasn’t finished. I downloaded my official certificate and a few of the brag banners, and then I got back to writing. By the time it was all over, I had added a few thousand more words, but I didn’t bother posting my final total. That was strange for me. I had been almost fanatical about posting my totals at the end of my writing day, but suddenly, the number didn’t matter anymore. I felt a little like I had gone from the adrenaline high of Write! Now! to the sedate confusion of Now what? That’s where I stayed for several weeks.

I started this journey with two goals in mind: to write a 50,000 word first draft for a novel in thirty days or less; and to gather the fibers of that particular story from the recesses of my mind and weave them into a beautiful tapestry.

Goal number one was conquered with resounding success. Goal number two – well, let’s just say my story looks a lot more like a rag rug than a beautiful tapestry at the moment. For a while, I didn’t quite know what to do with that. But now, the more I look at it and contemplate its future, I’m beginning to think this particular piece may be better suited for a framed collection – as in a collection of short stories with a common thread. This particular realization has given me a new focus and I think I can finally move forward with my masterpiece.

So, as 2013 comes to a close, I am looking forward to new adventures and a new direction. I am looking forward to finishing what I have started, and who knows, maybe I’ll end up with a tapestry after all.

Wishing you all a Blessed New Year!

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Ladybugs and Butterflies – a Tiny Peek

22 Friday Nov 2013

Posted by Gert in Out & About

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butterflies, first novel, ladybugs, NaNoWriMo, spirit signs, writing

Ladybug in mimosa treeWorking on my first ever novel has been a lot of fun, and the success of finishing the rough draft is actually in sight. But, I really feel like I have been neglecting some of the other things on my plate, so I have decided to share a small excerpt from one of the chapters in the SFD version of my NaNoWriMo novel. I’m still working on the cover graphics – in my head – but first things first.

The Burning Bed

“What you set that mattress on fire for?” she repeated.

“I didn’t do it!” I instinctively protested, still recovering from being caught off-guard the first time she posed the question.

“Yes you did,” she said, maintaining a soft, even tone – the tone that she always used when she wanted to let you know she meant business. Leaning close to my face she continued, “I can see it in your eyes.”

What! How could my own eyes betray me that way? I didn’t start the fire. True, I had been playing with the matches, but so had my little brother and little sister. Why was everybody trying to blame this unfortunate event on me? I didn’t understand.

Turning her attention to the teacup sitting on the counter, she picked it up, deliberately timing each element of the action. Then, she started to slowly wave it in the air, just inches above the saucer. Around and around she went, drawing every new rotation tighter than the last, faster and faster, like a sinister, spiraling tornado. For a moment it looked as though she was completely fixated on swirling those last few drops of tea left in the bottom of her cup, to make sure everything was perfectly blended before she took that final sip.

Suddenly, the swirling stopped, and in one fluid motion she flipped the cup upside down onto the saucer. My mouth flew open, startled to hear the cup clink soundly as it landed, certain that the tiny shards of porcelain would fly everywhere – but they didn’t, not even one chip.

She locked her gaze on me momentarily, as if peering into the deepest recesses of my soul, and lifted the cup from the saucer, revealing the dregs left from her tea – pooling in the depressed center of the delicate little saucer with the shiny gold butterflies. Leaning in a bit closer, she peered intently at the dark brown gook. Finally, with a heavy sigh she said, “Yeah, you did it.” Turning to face me, she squinted her Mongolian-looking eyes down to the tiniest slits and practically hissed, “The signs don’t lie.”

Protests of my innocence landed on deaf ears. The judge and the jury had spoken. I remember that day with the clarity of someone who has had an event etched in their brain forever. That’s the day I got the whipping of my seven year-old life – thanks to ‘the signs’. That’s the day I lost my faith in signs. Not that I really had any faith in signs, but I had faith in my grandmother. She taught us things. How could her precious signs betray me that way? How could my precious grandmother betray me that way? I loved my grandmother with all my heart, but I didn’t like her very much that day. Not her, and not her pretty little teacup with the ugly brown gook in it. And especially not her signs. Those lying signs.

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I'm just an Owl trying to make it in this Early Bird world. I'm dealing with early morning Personality Disorder...and other issues surrounding the sleep-wake cycle. You can call me Gert, and this is my Therapy Journal. Welcome to my world.

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