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Weekend Writing Warriors – Melissa Goes Down the Stairs

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Frank Fisher

Welcome again to another round of Weekend Writing Warriors. A great place to meet new writers and get your name out there in the writing world. The winter is winding down and while it makes many of you happy, I’m the opposite simply because that means I have to stow away my skis and snowshoes. Although, this winter has been VERY COLD and I can’t believe that I once thought about moving to northern Canada – guess I won’t be doing that!

Ah well, I’m continuing to share eights from my YA horror, The Burning Night. Thanks so much to all those that commented on my previous post and hope to see your helpful comments this week. In this eight, Melissa has located her sisters’ slippers by a stairwell leading to a basement. Wanting to locate her sister, Melissa goes down the stairs.

Here’s the eight:

I gaped at the flight of wooden steps, but there was no way I was going to let my bare feet touch all that dust, so I ignored the sign and kept my flip-flops on. I let my foot sink onto the first creaky stair, hoping it wouldn’t break as I bit my lip. Once I knew it was stable enough, I stuck the other foot onto the next stair and gingerly descended into the basement. The stairs squeaked with every step and an ozone-like tang from below almost turned me crossed-eyed. As I came to the bottom of the staircase, I spotted Ashley watching TV and sitting cross-legged on a large lime green sofa in front of a dry wall. A gray line spanned across it a foot above her head. She looked up from the TV screen and stared at me incredulously. “Didn’t you see the sign?”

In case you are wondering, Ashley is referring to the sign upstairs that asks that everyone take off their shoes/slippers before going into the basement. Too bad, she doesn’t know what lies ahead. I know what many of you are thinking: Don’t do it Melissa! And you’re so right. I’ll continue this next week. This is a first draft, and I’m working on editing so I will take your suggestions into consideration. Thanks for stopping by and have a great Sunday!

*One note: For those of you who are new to my snippets, Melissa and her sister are staying at a country house in upstate New York, rented by their parents for a few days. Melissa’s parents have left them alone in the house, while they go out for the evening in the local town.

I’m also participating in Facebook’s Snippet Sunday.

#8Sunday

Categories: Weekend Writing Warriors | Tags: 8sunday_writers, basement, creepy, fiction, frank fisher, horror, shoes, young adult

Weekend Writing Warriors: Ashley Where For Art Thou?

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Frank Fisher

Do you write? Have a story in progress that you want to share with the world? Weekend Writing Warriors is just the place for that. 8 sentences from your writing published/unpublished every Sunday. Thanks for stopping by my blog to read my post. I was originally going to skip out on this, but decided what the heck! Many thanks as well to everyone who provided constructive feedback. I don’t know how I could’ve made errors like that, but your honesty was appreciated.

Today, I’m continuing from my last eight of my YA horror short story, The Burning Night. I’m happy to say I finished the first draft last week (now for the editing). So far, the house is giving Melissa the creeps and now she’s trying to locate her younger sister, Ashley. She tries to call her name, but doesn’t get a response and now she’s worried. Here’s the eight, and hopefully I get this one right:

I called my sister’s name again, but she didn’t reply. Subzero fear twisted around my heart, then suddenly I heard laughter of an audience resonating from below. Looking ahead, I noticed a light coming from a stairwell. As I followed it, I saw Ashley’s slippers on top of a red mat by the edge of the stairwell. A sign was mounted on the wall above her slippers, written in black paint which read: LEAVE SHOES/SLIPPERS HERE BEFORE YOU GO IN THE BASEMENT.

My head flinched back slightly as I wondered why a homeowner would care if someone went into their basement with shoes on. The decayed stairs were gritty and dusty, making me turn up my nose.

“Ashley, you actually went down those steps in your bare feet,” I muttered.

Now the sign might seem strange, but later in the story you’ll see why it’s there. As many of you know, Ashley will regret this, but don’t spoil it for those that haven’t read it. I’d love to get your feedback on this, and I shall do the same for you in return.

I’m happy to say I’ll continue with this next week. Now that winter is coming to a close, I won’t be skiing every weekend (I’m gonna miss that). For those that read the earlier snippets of this story, I intend to share those scenes again. I’ve edited them and would love your feedback on it. Have a good Sunday everyone!

*I’m going to be out on a snowshoeing trip all day, so I won’t be able to read and comment on posts until late this evening. I’ll do my very best to get to everyone and I appreciate your patience.

#8Sunday