I've been banging on for months that I'm writing a YA novel, and I bet you're all sick of it! I would be if someone kept going on and on without showing up with the goods. So here's a bit of a confession: I've been too scared to show anyone my work. If it gets panned I'll have to think about more editing which I am so exhausted of. Our recent discussion about kick ass YA heroines got me thinking though. Would Rose or Katniss be too scared to take this kind of leap? Maybe, but I bet they would do it anyway.
So here it is. I probably should put this segment into some perspective but if I did that I might as well have just given you guys the first chapter. You're a clever bunch. I have faith that you'll figure it out.
An excerpt from my unpublished novel IRON WILLED:
Claudia and I had just run around the training track twice when a voice called out to us from the stands.
‘Hey girlies. You can run but can you actually fight?’
In a dimly lit room I doubt I would have been able to tell him and Rex apart. He was just as big, but instead of Rex’s warm expression and wide smile he had a sneer on his face.
‘Leave it alone Will, they’re just trying to get you into trouble,’ Claudia warned.
‘I’m getting sick of being picked on,’ I said through gritted teeth.
‘Fighting them won’t stop them from picking on us. We need to walk away. When they realise that they can’t get to us they’ll leave us alone.’
I doubted that very much, but numbness started to permeate my mind causing me to rethink the idea of beating this guy to a pulp. I even started to feel sorry for him.
It was too much. She’d gone overboard with the feeling control and I snapped out of it throwing her a stern look.
‘Claudia!’
‘Sorry, but we can’t risk them kicking out another one of us.’
Other officers had started gathering, hoping to witness another fight. Seeing their eager faces I realised that what Claudia had said was probably right. They wouldn’t leave us alone if they knew that we were so easily goaded.
‘Let’s go C.’ I said gathering up my jumper.
I really had made up my mind not to make trouble, but when Claudia bent down to pick up her water bottle he made the mistake of patting her on the ass.
It really said something about us that her first reaction was to jump up in surprise and mine was to grab him by the hand and break his fingers. I’m nowhere near as strong as some of the boys but my ability allows me to concentrate enough electrical charge that I can turn it into physical strength.
From what I could make of Rex’s memories that one time he tried to leech my powers, he and his sisters had been taken away because of abuse. This was the man who’d put them through it.. As he yelled in pain from the broken fingers I slammed my foot into his chest just below his ribcage. He toppled over, winded and gasping.
‘God damn Willow,’ Claudia yelled.
My mind clouded with foreign but familiar memories of big hands shoving a preteen Rex down a flight of stairs. Just like in my nightmares, the attacker turned and advanced on a little girl no older than eight. Her faun like eyes widened in terror and in between memory and reality I caught a chunk of his hair and forced him flat against the floor with my knee. Making sure that I spoke softly enough so that only he could hear, I said, ‘You’re lucky that it’s me you’ve pissed off this time and not Rex. I know what you did and if he finds out you’ve touched Claudia he is going to kill you. Think about that.’
I straightened up and motioned for Claudia to follow. She did so silently, disappointment evident in her eyes. I didn’t care anymore. They already thought we were freaks. No one said anything as we left but they all parted to let us pass. Dad used to say that fear wasn’t the best motivator, but it was better than nothing. I might have the empathic power of a brick wall, but even I could see they were afraid.
There you go. I want you to love it but if you don't that's okay too. How else will I learn?
* In other news, do you guys ever read a book that's written so well it makes you question whether you should bother writing anymore because you feel like nothing you can produce will ever be that good? I'm feeling like that every time I pick up a book these days. Not good motivation at all!!
