December is halfway over, there’s a week left in round four of ROW80—and there’s still so much to do. All the holiday shopping is done and I’m about halfway through wrapping presents, but I still have packages and cards to send out. And my little 13K novelette keeps getting longer and longer. I’m determined to finish a draft by the end of the year. We’ll see how long it ends up being.
Here’s a little more of that handsome, blond-haired stranger who was featured in last week’s WIPpet: Gwynn, bard of the Seelie Court. The math is simple: Three paragraphs for the month: 1+2=3. Click here to check in with other WIPpeteers.
And then he sang, words haunting and painful and beautiful. His voice broke my heart and then put it back together. He sang of love lost, of a fae man who said goodbye to the woman he loved too soon, of her journey to world beyond, of her lover’s broken heart. In that moment, caught up in the spell of his voice, I suddenly understood him better than I ever had. I saw a man who’d lost and was having trouble finding peace, moving on. In that moment, I saw the side of himself that Gwynn kept hidden, the vulnerability, the pain. I knew intuitively that this wasn’t just any song. It was his song, and I drank in every word.
When the song ended, the air seemed to buzz with the remnants of the last note. Slowly, Gwynn came back, as if awakening from a trance. His eyes locked on mine for an instant before they traveled to the darkening world outside.
“That was lovely,” I said, wonder in my voice.
ROW80 check-in:
Writing
1.) Make measurable progress on one of my WIPs. Wrote 2,183 words in “Stolen by Magic.”
2.) Read three books on the craft/business of writing. Two of three books read. Continued reading “Write. Publish. Repeat.” by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant.
Social media goals:
1.) Check in on Twitter or Facebook daily. On track to meet this goal.
2.) Blog twice a week. On track to meet this goal.
3.) Comment on three to five blogs per day, Monday-Thursday. On track to meet this goal.
A Round of Words in 80 Days is the writing challenge that knows you have a life. Click here to cheer on fellow participants.
Denise D. Young 
Hi Denise:
Have you read A STRING IN THE HARP by Nancy Bond? It’s about three Americans whose paths keep mysteriously crossing with the ancient bard of Wales, Taliesin. It’s YA (and a little dated), but might make for fun research!
Oh, no I haven’t. I’ll add it to my list! Thanks!
Nice excerpt! Bards are always good — I have quite a weakness for them myself. 🙂
One little thing I caught: “of a fae man who said goodbye to the woman he loved too soon” — I’m suspecting the “too soon” needs to go after goodbye. Although if it doesn’t, I’m intrigued at what loving someone too soon might mean. 🙂
Thanks, Ruth. 🙂
Nice catch. Yes, you’re right. Changed it in the draft.
I liked the extract and wanted to read more. I liked the magical overtones and phrases like ‘in the spell of his voice’… Thx
Thanks!
Nicely done. Music always seems to add a depth to any story. I want to know more about both of these characters, and the world(s) they inhabit…
Thanks, Shan Jeniah. I’ve been learning a lot about Gwynn and Laurel as I write their story. There will definitely be a lot more deepening/layering as I work on subsequent drafts. I love writing about a bard, and Laurel is an artist, so this story definitely has a motif of creativity running throughout. 🙂
I always love when there’s music involved. You’ve definitely captured that sense of longing. I have a relative who writes the sorts of songs I imagine bards singing, so I was hearing his voice in my head as I read this. 🙂
Yes, writing about a bard gives me an excuse to listen to harp music or traditional ballads while I write. It’s definitely a fun kind of research. 🙂 Thanks, Amy!
I’m a little late, my mind is lazy at the moment. Nice blurb by the way. Not bad, looks like you’ve been busy writing.
Thanks!
Very nicely written. Definitely feeling the music described without hearing it, which is tough to do. Great job!
Thanks! I had wondered about that, so I’m glad to hear that the music is coming through. 🙂
I’m always struck by the absolute simplicity and focus in your posts . . . and then I just enjoyed this lovely excerpt that has me hearing music and wondering what will happen between these two. Love the contrast between the music, sense of loss, darkening clouds, and the nearly bland response (perhaps because she saw too much and felt too much?).
Thanks, Beth. Glad you enjoyed the excerpt. I wanted to be able to convey the music without the lyrics, which can be hard to do, so I’m glad that is coming through.
That was beautiful. I lost myself very quickly, feeling as though I were hearing that song and feeling the power of it, even though there was nothing of the song included. But then, music always moves me on some level, so it’s easy for myself to dissolve into the scene when it’s written so well.
Thanks! I thought about writing lyrics but wasn’t sure I had the song-writing skill to pen a ballad. Maybe I’ll try to work one in somewhere in the series, but it will take a lot of research to get the tone/rhythm correct. For now it’s just good to know you were moved without lyrics. Glad the excerpt is working!