Bits and Pieces: Dandin

Dandin, Lexi's serious, dependable twin brother.

This one is for Keely, a fellow One-Day-Author, (seriously she will be an author one day) who told me that Dandin was her favorite. :)

If the scene/line doesn't make sense. Your gonna have to read the book to find out!

Disclaimer: Don't know if these scene's and/or lines will be in the book.

NOTE: These are more for trying characters out (how the interact with each other) than anything. So some situations will probably not be in the book. (Unless you comment on how much you loved the scene involving the garden gnome ;) )

Also, yes I am making up for the two weeks I was gone, and for the five weeks I will be gone. (You can find out more about that on my other blog Me My Family and Africa )



Dandin shook his head. "You know-"

"That was incredibly stupid?" I finished the sentence for him. "Yeah."




Dandin shook his head and let out a rushed breath. "How can someone as smart as you always find yourself in such messes?"

"Genetics?"

His eyes narrowed.

"Its not my fault you take after mom." I threw my hands up the air. "Come one, please just help me out this one time." My eyes pleaded with him. "Please."




"I'm older than you."

"By two minuets, that hardly makes you the wiser one." I tossed another box on the stack of crates that leaned precariously to one side.




I glanced at my brother, smiling to myself. Dandin didn't ever tell anyone off, so when he did it was a sight. Especially because this time it was Jayden.




My brother is to polite for his own good, but it makes me love him all the more.




 "Dandin watch out for the-" I stopped and watched as my gentleman of a brother walked into the garden gnome with indescribable grace. He tripped and took a tumble straight into the Pintree bush. Adrianna covered her mouth as a hot flush crept up my brothers neck and accentuated his freckled cheeks.



"I'm not going to let you go through with this Lexi." Dandin's tone was harsh, but his ridged stance and jerky motions indicated he was more concerned than angry.

"Its in the best interest of everyone. It's not something I would do other wise." I ran my fingers through my short hair.

"I'd rather die." Dandin's fist clenched.





My eyes locked with Jayden's, as much as I hated it, I had no choice.  "Fine, you take care of Dandin." I let go of my brother's still hand. "But if anything happens to him-"

"He'll be fine." Jayden's eyes were unreadable "I promise."

"You better." I stepped away from Jayden. "I don't trust anyone, especially you."

Jayden glanced up, face indifferent. "I know."

Bits and Pieces: Ash

Sometimes random tidbits and scenes come to me. This is dedicated to Alley my awesome (seriously awesome) aid-in-writing-a-novel person. Thank you!
BTW you need to let me know which Character is your favorite, I picked Ash 'cause I like Ash and I know you like Ash I just don't know who's your favorite!

Anyway here we go!




"Your crazy." I laughed and tossed Ash a berry, which he caught effortlessly in his mouth.

"If I'm crazy you must be a maniac." Ash bounced a berry off my nose.




"Your not going to forget, right?"

"Of course not." Ash waved his hand in a vague gesture, flipping through the recipe book. "Purple polka-dot plums..." Ash smirked and shook his head. "Yeah right."

"Good." I watched him for a moment before swinging my bag over my shoulder. "I guess I'll see you later then."

"Uh Hu."





"If you'll excuse us for just a moment." I smiled at Kyra and dragged Ash to the side. "What are you doing?"

"Being friendly, thats what you wanted." He raised an eyebrow. "Right?"

"Yeah, of course."




I curled up on the ground, my body felt as though it was on fire and I couldn't escape it. Ash was on Jayden before anyone could react.

"You could have gotten her killed!" Ash's fist made solid contact with Jayden's jaw.

Charity was helping me to my feet while Arron and Martin tried to pull Ash off of Jayden.

"Get off me, it was just a joke!" Jayden struggled to get away from Ash.

"Some joke!"

Bits and Pieces: Jayden

These are scenes, lines and ideas that randomly came to me. (involving Jayden in this post) Don't make sense? Gonna have to read the book to find out!

Disclaimer: Don't know if these scene's and/or lines will be in the book.





"You'll be working in here." Zang motioned with is arm to a large training room that looks just as you'd expect, swords on one wall, a thick mat on the floor, punching bags and a few benches scattered around.

I smirked and glanced at Ash. "Better than the kitchen."  I set my bag down on the floor as the pair moved off into the next room. If this is where I would be spending a good portion of my time, I needed to get familiar with it. My eyes swept the room and rested on a legion tribe sword, I reached up to touch the engraved blade.

"Don't touch that!" I spun around, a boy around my age stood a few feet away with his arms crossed.

"Sorry." My hand dropped to my side. "I'm new here, my names Lexi." I mustered the best smile I could and offered my hand out, he brushed past me with hardly a second look.

"Jayden." He grabbed the sword I had been admiring, flipped it in the air and caught it. "Don't talk to me."

"Trust me, that won't be an issue." I bit my lip as my face scrunched in a insulting face as Jayden's back turned.  I watched him practice a set of steps, lunges, and swings, on thin air. "You know that would be a lot more impressive if you were actually fighting someone."

Jayden stiffened and turned to face me. "Oh, your still here?"

I frowned at him. "And your still a jerk?" His eyes narrowed and he pointed at the door with his sword.

"Get. Out."

I almost muttered a defiant "make me". But who was I to question the man with the sword.




"So are you going to go see your old man?"

"Get out of here Jayden." I threw my other boot in his direction.

"Fine." He dodged the shoe with ease. "I won't give you any help."

I glanced up. "What's the catch?"

"No catch."

"There's always a catch."

 "Not this time." Jayden shrugged.




"Here. You get to clean the equipment." Jayden dumped fencing equipment in my lap, on top of the book I was reading.

"I only wish I could have gotten you something sir." I gave Jayden a steely glare as I set my book aside.




Ash's hands quivered, and the tray of sweetened gelatin dessert shook like a hairless cat.

"Whats wrong Ash?"

"That man over there."

"Yeah, what about him?" I brushed flour off my apron.

"He has blue hair."

I stared at Ash for a moment. "Alright... The man has blue hair. Regardless I'm sure he'd like his food sometime today."

Ash remained unresponsive.

"I'll handle this one Sarg." I whisked the tray from his hands and walked into the dinning room.

"Ah, Miss Netherwood." Krale gave me a sickeningly sweet smile. "I hope you aren't Miss Butterfingers today."

"Not today Sir." I whisked the tray down in the middle of the table. "That already happened in the kitchen." I wiped some flour from my cheek.

"You have a little flour on your-" Jayden tapped his nose then paused. "Well everywhere." He smirked.

I smiled and gave a slight nod of my head. "According to some people I'm a little to sweet, so I thought a little flour might tone it down. Do you think it helped at all Mr. Darison?" A few people snickered quietly and I smiled.

"Your excused Miss Netherwood." said Krale.

"Thank you sir." I curtsied and walked to the door, leaving puffs of flour in my leave.



"Stop it." Jayden's voice brought my back from my thoughts.

"I'm not doing anything." I looked up from my book, my finger resting on the page where I paused.

Jayden smirked and crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back. "Your thinking to hard. I can smell your brain burning all the way over here."

I rolled my eyes, this was not a time for fun and games. "I have to figure a way out of this." Though my tone was serious a smile danced across my lips for a moment before twitching into a frown.

"Or you could wing it." Jayden flipped a pen up in the air, in a manner much like his arrogant swordsman style. "As always." He caught the pen with exaggerated grace.

I shook my head, my mind flirting to Ash. "No... I can't take risks this time. It has to be perfect." I bit on the end of my pencil. "No mistakes."



Jayden is one of my favorite characters. :) Though I say that about nearly all my characters...

Which Jayden scene is your favorite?

Writing Exercise - Story Picture

A story surrounding the chair... What is it?

That's right, you get to write a paragraph, a story or anything you fancy that goes along with this picture.  No, you don't have to. Its just an exercise and helps get the creative juices flowing.

Now, here's mine.

Empty. Like the bottom of my stomach. My hand rested on the rough, rust eaten chair. Nothing had changed here. The grass still wouldn't grow, the wood, twisted and sanded by the ocean waters lay in a  heap by the ginger colored chair. It was almost as though I had never left. Almost, but not quite. It was emptier than usual. Only one or two people walked along the shore. No youngsters splashed about in the playful waves.  No sandcastles rose out of the damp sand like the faraway fortress of Vorak. I sat down on the rusty chair, grateful it stayed sturdy after all these years. I half expected to hear a rough sea captain's voice, ordering me out of his chair. But it didn't come. The wind whipped sea spray in my face, the familiar sting didn't phase me the way it once had. My mind wandered and I sat there.
I sat there till half past seven. Needless to say he didn't come.
There was nothing here. Nothing, but fleeting memories like leaves in the wind.


I threw that together real quick so its a bit rough, but that's what an exercise is. Rough. :D Helps waken the brain and get the the creativity flowing. I'll post more writing exercises I've learned later.


Do you know any helpful writing exercises?

Past VS Present (In First Person)

First of, don't stress about choosing a tense. Its important, but not THAT important. Now here's what I learned in my quest for the "perfect" tense for my current novel.

First of all you should know that Present Tense is the more difficult tense to pull off. Foremost because is is a newer trend. Previously books were only written in past tense. (Generally speaking)  Readers are accustom, and familiar with this (Past Tense) style of writing. Therefore, its easier to make the Past Tense meld into the background, while Present, if not done right, will stand out like a sore thumb.

For this reason I suggest to beginning writers (unless you have a real passion for present tense) to write their first novel in past tense. Save the present for a later story. There are so many new things to be learned and worked on, don't add a unusual tense to the mix. (Though I know I know, sometimes you have your heart set on that Present Tense, if so go for it! More power to you. :) )

I'd say 99% of the first person books I have read have been Past Tense. You also have probably read more Past Tense than Present Tense books. So I suggest if you do decide to write in Present, read some well written Present Tense books. (I have a few issues with the book itself, but Suzanne Collins' "The Hunger Games" Does an excellent job with writing in the present tense.) If you settle on Past Tense, get some good books that are in first person Past and study how the author uses the tense as a tool. Reading and writing are two of the greatest things you can do to help yourself as a writer. You can't read to much.

Another helpful exercise is to write a scene or two (Dialogue, description, action, or back story) In one tense and then rewrite them in the other. One should be easier to write, reads better, or more interesting. Get a few friends (Or your mom. :) ) to read them and give you input. Ask which which tense is preferred and why.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about.

A) The overpowering sent of lavender told me Arula had been here, even before I even noticed the pink bandages on my bed. I braced myself before I turned and looked in the mirror. Ash had warned me about my face, but still I hadn't expected what I saw in the mirror. I gripped the table for balance and stood for endless minutes staring at my reflection; the reflection I didn't recognize. Tiny cuts were scattered about my face, and on my left cheek - only millimeters below the eye - a gash that badly needed stitches. My lip was cracked and the taste of the salty, metallic blood still linguerd in my mouth. My face had definitely taken the brunt of the flying glass. It wasn't me, couldn't be, I told myself over and over. As tears rolled down my cheeks, I forced myself to turn away.


B) The overpowering sent of Arula's lavender nearly smothers me as I open the door to my quarters. I immediately notice the basket of neatly wrapped pink bandages on the bed, no doubt Arula had been here, taking care of me like always. I walk across the room, my head down. I take a deep breath and bracing myself, turn to look in the mirror.  Ash had warned me about my face, but still I hadn't been expecting the gruesome reflection that now stares back at me. I bite my lip and grab the edge of the table to steady myself. I stand there for endless minutes just staring back at my reflection; the reflection I don''t recognize. Tiny cuts are scattered about my face, and on my left cheek - only millimeters below the eye - a gash that badly needs stitches. The sharp pain and the salty taste of metallic blood makes me aware of a cut across my lip. My face had definitely taken the brunt of the flying glass. My hand touches my cheek, as though I need to test and be sure that the reflection really belongs to me. My lip trembles, It wasn't me, couldn't be, I tell myself over and over. As tears roll down my cheeks, I force myself to turn away.


Of course A is past tense and B is present. I had fun writing both, and the exercise was good for my writing as well.  I got input from a couple good friends as well as family. (I choose Past if you were wondering)  Now, back to the tenses.


When I began my novel I needed to hurry up and decide on a tense before I started writing. So I researched it and got people's opinions. There were people on both sides of the fence. The Present Tense readers who liked the more unusual tense, feeling as though the story was unfolding as they read. Then there were the Past Tense readers who found present tense harder to get into and liked the past tense they had grown up reading. Now, there are more people who prefer past tense and don't care much for present. However, well written present tense is just as good as past tense. (At least in my mind, as it took me a bit to even notice "The Hunger Games" was written in the present tense! {Talk about an oh duh moment!} That is how you want it. You want it so natural that the reader doesn't notice the tense at all.)

Now although I took into consideration that more readers like past better than present. Don't write for the readers, write for you! Choose the tense you want to write with, it'll make that 400 page novel much easier to write!  Besides, you can always change it later on, or save the tense for another story.

To summarize:
Read a lot of book in the tense you choose.
Practice both tenses and see which way you prefer to write.
Don't stress to much, you can change the tense later if you want to.

So, what tense do you like to write in or read? Did you like my paragraph written in past tense, or present? Share your thoughts bellow!