Welcome to RossRoads

One girl's journey with her first novel.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

A Random Story

So this has absolutely nothing to do with my novel I was just in a writing mood and this story popped into my head. I'm not sure if I'm going to add more to it but just for know her it is!


It was the first day of my sophomore year of high school. In my school, for some strange reason, freshman where still in with the seventh and eighth graders in the mid-high so tenth grade year was my first year in "the big high school." I was always the sort of nerdy girl who was friends with lots of people but wasn't really anything much to anyone around so I had, of course, decided that this was going to be a new start for me. I was going to "re-en-vent" myself as it where. Yes well, re-en-veiting oneself really only works in novels and made for TV teen dramas so that plan pretty much failed the second I walked through the big yellow doors that lead into the high school. My perfectly quaffed hair fell flat from the crazy Oklahoma heat and I walked into the school to face a crowd of people who had known me forever and new I was nothing like what I hoped they would now see in me. So instead of being the cute new girl wearing a barely dress code white tank and jeans I stayed the lame girl who was freezing in class and wore a wrinkled sweater over her tank top after pulling it from her backpack. And instead of being talkative and whitey I barely said a word to anyone because I was to consumed with the fact that I had failed my attempt to be a completely new person or at least and alter ego of myself.


After scuffing my feet and being all but impressed with myself through an entire day I came to my last class of the day. As I walked into sophomore Biology 1, the slacker on-level science class which I really should not have been taking because I was much more capable in the field of genetics and all things biology but knowing it meant no Chemistry in my entire high school career - a fact I am very proud of to this day, I took a seat in the front row at least two full rows in front of all the other kids who had already arrived.


I didn't mind the front. I'm sort of blind so I can see better and then I didn't have to see the faces of all the kids starring at me when the teacher announced I got the highest grade on the pop quiz he'd given the day before and so there would only be a one point curve. Granted I could feel their lazier beam hate eyes searing into the back of my skull, but at least I didn't have to look at their faces.


As soon as I took my seat it dawned on me. If I was trying to change my image why in the world had i sat in the front row in everyone of my classes that day? I could have kicked myself and I was really bad at this whole "re-en-venting myself" thing. I of course began wrestling with myself as to weather I could move to a farther back seat inconspicuously enough that I wouldn't look like an idiot. By the time I almost had enough courage to move back a seat or two while whispering a very well thought out script to the people in the seats around me that went, "why did I sit in the front that was lame," and maybe an additional something about having heard the teacher spit when he got excited about the reproductive system of giraffes I looked up to realize the classroom was almost entirely full except for the seat next to me which really wouldn't do me any good. I continued to be disappointed in myself while Mr. Stewart, the Biology teacher, called role. I had a glimmer of hope when I realized I could switch to a different seat tomorrow if Mr. Stewart was one of those cool teachers who don't believe in seating charts. Just as I started to get excited about this fact I heard Mr. Stewart announce, "This will be your seating chart for the entire semester. That way I can learn your names easier." My heart sank and I resigned myself to be the nerdy smart girl with flat hair who sits in the front row for the rest of my life.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

The Fail Continues

Well, not much to report today. I still haven't done much at all writing wise. I have been way busy working on a big project for school and it has taken over my life! However, I will be done in two days and life can go back to normal!

Oh I almost forgot, I met a publisher last week. A real legit publisher! He has an online publishing company that publishes only electronic stuff but it is mostly things no one else would publish which is really cool! Also, he may be a teacher here at my school which would be wonderful because it was obvious with talking to him that he knows what he is doing and he has knowledge in an area that will really help me in what I would like to do.

He gave me some advice about writing which I would like to pass on to you:

Read great books! Don't read good books. Read great books!

So...read great books! Maybe one day one of mine will be one of those great books!