My 1st WIPpet Wednesday of the new year!

~ Elaine Jeremiah

Hi all! Hope you had a fantastic Christmas and New Year and that you haven’t eaten or drunk too much!! 😉 I have to admit, I put on a bit of weight which I’m not happy about. 😦 I’m trying to tackle it by healthier eating. So we shall see if I can lose a bit again.

Anyway, on to the WIPpet Wednesday excerpt. It’s the 8th January today, so just to be annoying I’m going to take you back to chapter 1 and give you 8 lines from my current WIP Reunion. At this point in the story, Anna is at home working. She’s a full time writer (ah, bliss) and she’s just picking up the day’s post (or mail to you American folks!!) which has arrived.

A couple of envelopes were identical, she noticed with a frown, rectangular and plain brown. One was addressed to her, the other to Melissa. The post mark was Holmsborough.

She opened hers and quickly read what it said. It was an invitation to a school reunion – her secondary school. It was going to be held at the school itself and would happen in a couple of months’ time.

Immediately her mind transported her back to her painfully unhappy school days. She saw again the school corridor and herself rushing down it, trying to get away from the catcalls and taunts she’d had to endure on a daily basis.

So there you go. I look forward to reading your comments and I will certainly check out other WIPpeteers’ offerings.

If you would like to take part in WIPpet Wednesday, it’s easy. Simply post an excerpt of what you’re currently working on writing-wise which relates in some way to the date. Then add your name to this linky. And you’re done.

Thank you K. L. Schwengel for hosting!

 

Published by Elaine Jeremiah

I live with my husband and dog in the UK. I'm the author of four novels, my latest being a Jane Austen fan fiction time travel romance, 'Love Without Time'.

24 thoughts on “My 1st WIPpet Wednesday of the new year!”

  1. I didn’t have to deal with catcalls and such, but I probably looked at the notice for our high school reunion in much the same way. I had a very small circle of friends and really no interest in seeing anyone else so I didn’t go to any of them.

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    1. I had an invite a few years back but chose not to go cos I really hated school! I thought it was an interesting idea for a story though, for someone to go back to school, kind of revisit their past and see what ex fellow pupils look like now.

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  2. Ooh, that gives me the shivers, the idea of a school reunion when the thought takes you back to being bullied (which fortunately I never suffered). Not that I’ve ever been to a school reunion. It makes me happy that Anna is a full time writer though! 🙂

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    1. Unfortunately I’ve experienced that side of school and I never want to go back *shudders*. It does give me good ideas for stories though, and that’s a good thing. Yes Anna is a full time writer. That’s definitely happiness-inducing!! 🙂

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  3. Isn’t it funny how even the thought of a school reunion gives most people the cold chills. Does anyone really like them? (Surely some people must – certainly not me either). Poor Anna.

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    1. I know what you mean Raewyn. I had an invite to one a couple of years back, but I decided not to go. As my mum put it, I may have been curious (I was) to see what my former fellow pupils would look like after all these years, but they’d be curious, possibly critical about me too. So I think it’s best left alone. Makes for great writing material though.

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  4. Gack! And she goes to the reunion anyway? I strongly suspect her friends had something to do with that. I seem to remember a party scene from an earlier WIPpet…

    Years ago, one of the networks put on a reality show that extended the idea of a class reunion into a living arrangement. It was about ten years after the subjects all graduated. As far as I know, the show flopped. My friend watched a couple episodes and said it was like they were all stuck in their high school years. The geeky science-nerd girl still wanted to go out with the hot jock. The hot jock was still trying to prove himself, or something like that. I never, ever thought of high school as having that great an influence on anyone, but I guess it’s common for those years to either make or break a person. It sounds like Anna (whom we’ve already established you are very cruel to) is still undecided as to which side of that line she really falls on.

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    1. They did indeed, her best friend actually. And you’re right about Anna. Although she had a crap time at school and she’s terrified at the thought of going, she’s deciding to make a go of this reunion and show those people that she’s changed – she’s confident, attractive and is no longer living in fear of their taunts. That’s the plan anyway.

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    1. Ah thanks for the helpful motivation! I went back to my exercise class this week and I tried to eat a bit less, so we’ll see…. As for the excerpt, glad you liked it. I think most people I’ve ever spoken to hated school.

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  7. I would not have wanted to go to school there! I feel like my high school was so good now! =P Great excerpt. Can’t wait to read the whole thing.

    You obviously do not know my family. We got drunk every night of the week, and on NYE, we started drinking a 2pm and stopped around 2am…I know…we’re insane. It’s okay. We’ve been marked as harmless–for the most part.

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  8. According to the scales I stepped on the other day, I did not lose any weight despite all the walking I did on my trip. I glared at them and decided they were lying.

    Ugh, not a fun flashback for Anna to have. I haven’t been out of school long enough to warrant reunions just yet, and I have no idea what my reaction would be upon getting one.

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    1. Ha ha ha I like that! That’s a great attitude – the scales are lying!! But hey at least you didn’t put any on. 🙂

      I guess you ‘ll have to wait and see as far as school reunions go. I wouldn’t got to one but it makes for a fab story idea.

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  9. I know exactly how Anna feels. I think Jase from DUCK DYNASTY summed it up best. “Here is my take on high school reunions. If I haven’t contacted you in the last 20 years, there’s probably a reason.”

    And best wishes for losing the weight. I made too much fudge in Decemeber. Such yummy fudge. Evil fudge. Here’s hoping the scale is kind to both of us!

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    1. That’s a great quote. I’d second that lol.

      Mmmm fudge, one of my favourites. There’s a pretty little town about 45 mins drive away from us (OK technically it’s a city cos it has a cathedral so it’s allowed to be!!) and it has this great little shop which does delicious fudge.

      That’s the trouble with Christmas – it’s lethal in terms of eating. Which is why so many people in the new year get fanatical about exercising and weight loss. For a while at least. 🙂 And thanks for the weight loss wishes!!! Hope you get to your preferred weight too.

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  10. Our high school class has had a few “reuinions” (gatherings more than not). I went to one or two arranged on Facebook and found that it gave me a bit of closure on some unpleasant memories, but also guaranteed that I won’t go to a “big party” if one was ever arranged. The uncomfortable memories are still there (odd that you posted this the same week that Kristen Lamb rehashed our childhoods on her WANA blog with her reminiscences of being bullied in school: http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2014/01/02/brave-new-bullying-goodreads-gangs-amazon-attacks-what-are-writers-to-do/ ), but I’m lucky enough to be in a place where I can choose how I deal with them.

    Hopefully Ana will find that place too by the end of the book.

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    1. Thanks for the link Eden I’ll check it out. Glad I’m not the only one who had a tough time at school.

      I just think it would be so much worse now what with the advent of social media – it’d be harder and harder to escape the bullies so I really do feel for vulnerable children at school.

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      1. I get what you’re saying… though I’m not sure I’m “glad” that I wasn’t the only one who had a tough time at school. I wish hard times at school just didn’t happen.

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    2. I see your point, though I didn’t mean it like that. All I meant was I know I’m not alone in this and that knowledge makes me find accepting what happened easier to cope with. 🙂 And I agree – I wish no one had a hard time at school.

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