IWSG First Person You Say

Greetings all my friends. November already and time for the Insecure Writers Support Group post created by Alex J. Cavanuagh. We post the first Wednesday of the month.

Copyright 2013

Today I'm talking comfort. In your writing that is.

What voice best suits you? Do you switch it up?

My best voice is 3rd person. However, I have a short story series I'm working on that must be 1st person. Everything is viewed from my heroine's point of view because she is unique. She is a phoenix. So not only am I writing in 1st person, out of my comfort zone, but I'm writing from the view point of a bird.

Problem:

Oh yeah, there's a problem. I struggle so much with 1st person. The writing is much slower then I want it to be. I struggle, write something, delete what I wrote, write something else, delete that, until I finally figure out what the single most important thing to my character is in that particular story. Add to this that I'm traveling through real history and putting her in various locations and you have maximum stress. Why?

Why? Because I'm comfortable making up new worlds and inventing monsters that aren't real. History, while I love it, and sticking a fictional character into it, and having something worth your time to tell, are difficult for me.

Nevertheless. This character introduced herself to me and her story must be told.

Can you relate? Let me know.
Nancy

To read other IWSG post go here.

Curious about my short story series. Here is an excerpt.

Anastasia Phoenix, Book 1, Capture.

Chapter 1

Fine spun silver reflected the spring sunlight. I angled my head slightly to study it. A shiny silver aura glowed from the metal, untarnished by recent handling. Sparkling jewels and precious metals fascinated me. I, who have the entire world as my treasure, desire the beautiful things that come from within it. I wondered who’d lost the necklace? A gentle woman, no doubt, but it must have been some time ago since I didn’t detect her scent or see her imprint on the metal. I knew the danger man posed to our kind. We stayed clear. Even studying men had risks. If one of them caught me, I might be plucked like a hen, or worse. Still, there was no scent of man nearby.

I waited. The heart of the forest throbbed to a rhythm that I saw as well as felt. The trees glowed in their natural aura of browns and greens. The nearby pond issued little blue bubbles that broke just above the calm water. A single fish leapt from the pond and caught a fly, their essence becoming one before my eyes. No wild beast drew near, not even the stag that bore fourteen prongs on his magnificent antlers. The scents of boar and fox were strong, but I didn’t see them.

Satisfied I was alone I lifted from the treetop and spread my brilliant red wings gliding toward the ground and the silver necklace. Landing, I rested my claws in the soft grass within pecking distance of the metal. Each silver link had been finely crafted, glistening in the light, drawing me closer. My left claw touched the cool metal.

A flash of green light and a single word, “capture.” Instantly the silver lifted from the ground and ensnared me. I thrashed, unable to spread my wings, unable to throw off the silver that was not a necklace at all. A man arose from behind a bush. He wore a fox pelt over his head. He rushed at me. I knew he must be a wizard since the enchanted silver had trapped me.

He grabbed my body, wrapping me even tighter in the silver, yanking out my golden tail feather. Without it, my magic weakened. I couldn’t summon the fire.

He said, “I am Lloyd, your master.”

I have no master, I wanted to say. But without my golden feather, the words failed me and my cry was no more than a screech.

Copyright 2013
To be released Dec. 2013
All rights reserved.
N. R. Williams