Today I finally finished my alterations to The Inheritance. Yay! It needs proofreading but the end is in sight. So I thought I’d share with you another excerpt from it. The excerpt fits in quite nicely with this post title. I’m posting 22 lines from chapter 3 – not entirely in line with today’s date but I really wanted to share this particular passage. Emma is ‘finishing up’ in Cornwall and on her way to London…
Emma gazed out of the window at the beautiful May-time countryside rushing past her. She was leaving Cornwall further and further behind. The train to London clattered and swayed around her. She reflected on her final conversation with her father, asking him if he could drive her and her possessions to London, heard his refusal all over again. She saw in her mind’s eye the self-righteous expression of her sister’s face as she stood in the doorway of the kitchen listening to Emma and her father argue. The countryside blurred even more as Emma angrily wiped a tear from her eye. I should have known he’d refuse, she told herself. But she was fed up of always being the one in the wrong, of being made to feel that she was the black sheep of the family. If only Meredith were still around. Emma knew the two of them would have got on so well. They were alike, she was sure of it.
Tired of watching the world flash past her, Emma picked up her gossip magazine, wishing she had someone to talk to. She’d wanted to travel with Natalie, but Natalie was already there. She’d been up and down to London looking for a place even before she suggested to Emma that they get a place together. Now that she’d found somewhere, she had told Emma that she needed to go ahead to sort things out. Emma had felt a bit left out, but told herself she’d be there soon and it would be worth it in the end. The train began to slow down. Emma looked up from her magazine in a daze, half expecting to find herself in London already. No such luck. It was only Exeter. She’d been here so many times it was no longer interesting and leafed through her magazine restlessly.
‘Excuse me,’ a voice said.
If you would like to take part in WIPpet Wednesday all you have to do is post part of your current WIP on your blog which relates in some way to the date – so I shared 22 lines (22nd May). Then add your name to this linky and you can see all the other wonderful WIPpeteers’ work. Thanks to K.L. Schwengel for hosting.
Elaine Jeremiah 
Hooray for finishing the edits to The Inheritance! Feels good, doesn’t it? I love the line ‘the train to London clattered and swayed around her’ – I got a real sense of being there with her. Having read your book already I think this scene cleverly hints at what’s to come, particularly between her and Natalie. Really great!
LikeLike
Ah thanks so much Kate. So glad you like it. It does feel good to be close to finishing The Inheritance. I just have to read it through again, changing any little bits that don’t work but I’m definitely getting there. Really looking forward to seeing you next Thursday. 🙂
LikeLike
Woohoo! Congratulations on being almost done!
I like the moment of emotion. I think broken relationships are so vital to everyone’s journey. They make us look at what is, and what is not, worth sacrificing for our own desires. Well written!
LikeLike
Thanks Regi. And you’re right – broken relationships are vital. I think for a story to be interesting you have to have some.
LikeLike
Congrats on being almost finished! It’s a wild ride, for sure.
I really like the quietness of this passage. You get lots of suble hints about Emma’s relationship with her father and her friend Natalie. It definitely makes me want to know more about each relationship and how it’s going to develop.
Also, hooray for characters named Emma! 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you Jessica. Yes writing can be a bit of a roller coaster, just trying to get things right and making sure it’s as good as it can be. I’m glad I’m making you want to read on. And yes, hooray for characters named Emma! (My cousin is called Emma as well as, of course, a novel by my favourite author Jane Austen.) 🙂
LikeLike
Loved this scene, really intrigued by it all. Am looking forward to reading the finished product! 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you so much Jade. Glad I intrigued you. It’s lovely to have so many encouraging comments on my work. Thanks for giving me your email address. I will be in touch soon about meeting up. 🙂
LikeLike
Through all your posts from Inheritance I have found myself empathizing with Emma…. today I saw the first glimpse where she became something of a stranger. See, even a town I’ve seen for years, daily, becomes new when I know I’m in a different place emotionally…. either fear of not being able to manage or excitement or…
Emma is reflecting a lot here, but it’s all about the past. We’re traveling with her, and instead of the future, she’s drawing us into the past.
That all said, you wrote it wonderfully! She does draw us along with her in her train car.
LikeLike
Thanks Eden. You always write such thought-provoking comments. 🙂 So glad you see so much in my writing.
LikeLike
Well, thank you… I’m not sure I see so much more as I end up putting myself into the narration character. It could be good or bad considering how you see these things.,. 😀
LikeLike
I don’t know. I really do think you’re quite astute. 🙂
LikeLike
Congrats on nearly finishing.
Now I want to know whose voice it is . . .
LikeLike
Ah well you’ll have to wait hee hee! Unless of course I put you out of your misery by posting the next few sentences/paragraphs in next week’s WIPpet Wednesday…
LikeLike
I have this terrible habit of replaying scenes that have upset me over and over again in my head, so I totally know how Emma’s feeling when she thinks about the conversation with her father.
That’s so exciting that you’re nearly finished work on it! Can’t wait to read the finished product!
LikeLike
Oh I am just the same Emily. I can never forget things that people have said that have upset me, even if I’ve forgiven them. And I can also never forget things that I’ve said and done that I shouldn’t have. I agonise over these things when I guess I should really just let go. But it’s easier said than done and I think Emma is struggling similarly here. Glad you want to read the book. 🙂
LikeLike
I really like how contemporary this all is – gossip magazines and what not. Up until this post it almost seemed like The Inheritance was set in the agricultural past. I like how modern it comes across! AND CONGRATS ON BEING SO CLOSE TO THE END!!
LikeLike
Ah thanks Alana. It gets more contemporary as the story progresses. But you’ll have to wait to find out what happens…
LikeLike