I’m being kind to myself again by not having an image with this post and therefore not having to scour Google images for ages looking for a suitable photo!!
Anyway onto the task at hand: For this week’s WIPpet Wednesday I’m being kind to you too (slightly kinder than last week anyway) by sharing with you 11 lines from chapter 13 of my current WIP Reunion.
The maths is simple: 11 for the month, 13 for the year. There you go easy peasy. Moving swiftly on, at this point in the story… I might give too much of the plot away by telling you what I was going to tell you!
All I will say is that my MC Anna has been neglecting herself. She’s been brooding about stressful things that have happened to her and she’s really low physically and run down.
A few paragraphs ago from this excerpt she fainted. (Gosh I think I tell people more about myself than about this WIP!!)
And here you have it:
Anna nodded obediently and closed her eyes, sinking back down onto the softness of the pillow. She thought about her eating habits over the past few weeks. When Melissa had been here they’d eaten well every night. Melissa was a great cook. And before that Elliot had prepared her delicious meals. Cooking had never been Anna’s strong point. Since Melissa had left, she’d mainly lived on simple pasta dishes or oven food. Sometimes, especially when stressed, she’d forget to eat.
And she had been stressed lately. What with her run in with Will which had thrown her and made her anxious, Melissa moving out and the pressures of her book needing to be finished, things had been difficult. Anna realised that she’d been neglecting herself and not really eating properly.
To take part in WIPpet Wednesday just post on your blog your recent writing work. Then add your name to this linky. Rule: the amount of your excerpt you share must relate in some way to the date.
Big thanks to K. L. Schwengel for being lovely and hosting all us crazy WIPpeteers. 🙂
Elaine Jeremiah 
I can usually eat when I’m stressed, it’s when I’m angry I don’t eat. But I feel for Anna. I love to cook, but I have friends who would be lost if they didn’t have someone to do it for them.
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I fall into the latter group. My hubby is a great cook and he enjoys it so he does all the cooking! I do (some of) the eating! I would like to feel confident enough to prepare more meals for myself though.
The trouble is my husband and I fall into our grooves – it’s easier for him to do the cooking and for me not to. When I do try to do some with him helping me he usually ends up taking over lol.
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I have the opposite problem – I eat too much when stressed! But then I love cooking. I can totslly understand from Anna’s point of view, with her not cooking and no-one to take care of her and all the relationship and work stresses she’s dealing with, how she could end up neglecting herself.
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I wish I was more like you and enjoyed cooking (see comment to Kathi above!!). It’s interesting, isn’t it, how different people react to stress in different ways. And it’s always good to have someone to take care of us!
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Hmm, to eat or not to eat… I can see how Anna would do that to herself. I tend to nibble more on easy things like raw veggies and easy things like cheese and crackers if I don’t have anyone to cook for me (yeah, another one in the “I don’t like to cook” crew here). I don’t think I can give up fruits and veggies too easily, especially when stressed… Not Anna there. But if I’m stressed enough? I could sleep for days and just water myself down with pot after pot of tea…
I don’t think you’re revealing too much about yourself here, Elaine, at least not anymore than the idea that we ALL handle stress badly in some way.
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Oh so glad I’m not the only one in the ‘don’t like to cook’ crew!! When I’m very stressed I can find it hard to eat. Most of the time though it’s just nerves in my stomach. Not pleasant. And good to know I’m not revealing too much about myself!! (Though for all you know it might be a cover – I might be an evil genius planning to take over the world! Mwahahahaha!)
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Exactly… 🙂
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A mysterious introduction to Anna. Immediately I’m wondering who is she nodding to? Is she sliding to depression? What really caused her to faint? And my goodness, what is oven food??? Perhaps we do reveal too much of ourselves in our writing. Good writing lays the bones bare. I hope this writing inspires you to take good care of yourself.
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No she’s not sliding into depression. She’s with her boyfriend at this point but she hasn’t been looking after herself. Lack of food is the main reason why she fainted. Oven food? That’s just food that you take out of the fridge/freezer and stick in the oven to cook and it’s done!
I’m generally quite good at taking care of myself. Writing this does remind me to take care of myself though. Thanks for your comment.
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Aw, poor thing! I hate when my emotions get in the way like that! 🙂
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Me too. Thankfully it doesn’t happen too often!
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Heh. I did that to myself while I was pregnant with #2. Went right out in the grocery store. Very embarrassing. I feel for Anna.
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Sorry I didn’t see your comment before ReGi. Poor you. Fainting’s not nice at the best of times, especially not in a public place. I hope you recovered your dignity quickly!
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Oh, no. Unfortunately, my dignity was long gone. I grasped at it several times, but everyone was so intent on babying me at that point that there was little choice but to go along with it. 😛
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Oh dear how embarrassing! I hope you can at least be philosophical about it now!!
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I’m playing catch-up in my blog reading. Poor Anna! I’m a stress eater! But I forgot to eat a couple of times.
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I’m somewhere in between I think. Sometimes if I’m nervous I find it hard to eat but it takes a lot to put me off my food!! 🙂
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