Is it pansting? Is it plotting? Or is it something in between?

As some of you may have noticed, a certain Seekervillager has given me a lot of flack about my proclivity for pantsing. For anyone who doesn’t know what a “pantser” is, it’s a writer who runs away screaming at the very mention of outlining a book scene by scene, chapter by chapter. In other words, planning in detail exactly what will happen in the story before actually sitting down to write the book. 

But that doesn’t mean pantsers don’t plan. It also (usually) doesn’t mean we randomly open a blank document on our computer, wait for inspiration to strike, and then simply let the words pour forth. (Okay, occasionally some of us might try that, but I venture to say it isn’t the norm for most working-writer pantsers.)

So let’s talk about the kinds of things pantsers might need to know before we type that first line of the book. This, of course, will be from my personal perspective and may not apply to every pantser out there.

A vague story idea. Okay, that’s a given. I begin with at least a very general concept of what and/or whom this story will be about. Will it be contemporary or historical? True romance or romantic women’s fiction? Lighthearted or serious? Or sometimes I figure out this stuff later, after I’ve written a few chapters. Well, except for the contemporary/historical aspect, obviously, because I’d better know right away whether my characters are using quill pens or smartphones.

A central story problem. Something in real life from my own experience, something I saw on the TV news, or maybe read about in the daily advice column often sparks thoughts on a situational issue, which in turn provokes story questions along the lines of:

• What type of person would be most affected by this problem?
• How would a story character deal with the issue? 
• What related problems might arise?
• Is there enough potential conflict around which to develop a complete novel with all the requisite twists and turns?

A little about the main characters. As I ponder the conflict possibilities, the protagonist and supporting characters begin to take shape in my mind. Right away these characters need names. Part of my character creation process involves exploring books and online sources for names and their meanings, both first names and surnames, until something clicks. The names must not only suit each character I have in mind but must also be appropriate for the era and setting.

Then I’ll start looking for visual representations of my central characters. Sometimes a celebrity image comes immediately to mind, and as my story’s “casting director,” I’ll mentally plug that actor into the role. At other times, I comb the web for people photos that come close to the mental images I’m beginning to form. For instance, maybe I’m picturing a tall, willowy brunette as my heroine. Using descriptive search terms, I may find images on photo sites like Getty Images or Bigstock. Another favorite source is the Hallmark Movie Channel, or sometimes I browse IMDB.

What’s the setting? I can’t get too far along without knowing where the story will take place. I’m more comfortable writing about locales where I’ve actually lived or at least visited. Yes, there’s a lot you can learn about a place online and in books, but nothing quite takes the place of seeing and experiencing it firsthand. So I start thinking about what setting would best fit the story problem and the characters involved. What makes sense for the characters’ backgrounds and current situation? How might the environment (climate, terrain, etc.) play a role in how the plot unfolds?

What are my central characters’ GMCs? (If you need further explanation about GMC—goal, motivation, & conflict—visit these posts in the Seekerville archives.) I don’t spend as much time as I once did making charts and filling out character questionnaires, but I do think through each primary character’s backstory, current situation, and future goals, along with why these goals are important to them and what kinds of obstacles might stand in their way.

Another step in this part of my process is working through both the character development and plotting sections from The Writer’s Brainstorming Kit (which I blogged about here.) This basically involves letting the cards fall where they may—literally—and then using the prompts to spur further thinking about each of the characters and where the story might take them. 

In the meantime, I’m probably doing some preliminary research and determining what types of information (historical, occupational, etc.) I may need as the story unfolds. So by now, I’ve set up my book project file in Scrivener, where all this information is being collected and organized. As character, setting, and other details come to me, I add them to the appropriate folders within the project. My research folder is also beginning to grow as I import PDFs and web pages and transcribe notes from hard-copy research material.

I may also continue my brainstorming in Scapple, a fun and flexible mind-mapping program that I’ve started using alongside Scrivener. It helps me collect ideas about possible obstacles to the characters’ goals, their relationship issues, any specific scene possibilities that come to mind, etc. Scapple’s visual connections between characters and events help me to imagine the various directions the story might take.

How will the story end? Yes, even though I don’t plan out every scene in advance, I do have an end goal in mind. Naturally, in a romance, the conclusion will be the happily-ever-after for hero and heroine. I might even have a few ideas about what those final scenes might look like and how any subplots or secondary characters could potentially play into the resolution. Nothing is ever set in stone, though, so between page 1 and the ending, anything could happen!

When does the actual writing begin? That’s one of those things I just know. When my fingers are itching to get to the keyboard. When an opening scene starts forming in my imagination and I can’t wait a second longer to write it. When I know without a doubt that no amount of brain-straining and advance planning is going to make the story any clearer in my mind and the only thing left to do is give the characters free rein to act and think for themselves and live their stories on the page.

Because the joy of writing for me is all about the discovery. The surprises along the way. The little (and sometimes big!) secret things my characters don’t tell me until the very last possible moment. 

And, contrary to popular belief, my seat-of-the-pants style generally doesn’t mean I end up doing tons of rewrites. When I allow my characters to act, speak, and react consistent with who they are, there’s an inherent logic and inevitability in the scene-by-scene progression. At worst, something I learn late in the story may mean going back to add in some foreshadowing during the revision stage, but typically I write a pretty clean first draft.

Remember, what works for me may not work for you. Every writer must find his/her own best process, and it can be a years-long journey of discovery. I’ve tried all kinds of plotting systems—believe me, I have! And ended up beating my head against the wall and screaming in frustration when I just couldn’t make them work for me. So, through trial and error, I’ve culled the most helpful tips and tricks from a variety of sources and shaped a (sometimes more, sometimes less) seat-of-the-pants system that gets my story written. A system that continues to evolve, by the way, because surely—surely!—the elusive Holy Grail of Quick-and-Easy Book Plotting is still out there to be found!

Writers, are you a panster, a plotter, or something in between? Talk about your struggles and triumphs in the comments. Readers, share your perspective on the subject, too. Let me know if you’d like me to drop your name in the hat for a chance to win one of two giveaways of the Audible audio edition of my novel One Imperfect Christmas.

Graphic designer Natalie Pearce faces the most difficult Christmas of her life. For almost a year, her mother has lain in a nursing home, the victim of a massive stroke, and Natalie blames herself for not being there when it happened. Worse, she’s allowed the monstrous load of guilt to drive a wedge between her and everyone she loves—most of all her husband Daniel. Her marriage is on the verge of dissolving, her prayer life is suffering, and she’s one Christmas away from hitting rock bottom.

Junior-high basketball coach Daniel Pearce is at his wit’s end. Nothing he’s done has been able to break through the wall Natalie has erected between them. And their daughter Lissa’s adolescent rebellion isn’t helping matters. As Daniel’s hope reaches its lowest ebb, he wonders if this Christmas will spell the end of his marriage and the loss of everything he holds dear.

Connect with Myra online at her website 

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Writing: Art or Business?

with guest Jan Drexler.

Last year I joined our local writers group. It’s a secular group with a broad range of writing experiences and goals among the members. And like any group of writers, there are a lot of aspiring authors who come to learn and grow. Several of the members have had some success in the indie publishing field, but I’m the only regular attender who is traditionally published.

That, plus the fact that I’m new means that they really aren’t sure about me yet. (That’s okay. Sometimes I’m not sure about them, either!)

One of the other members and I walked out to our cars together last month. She hadn’t realized before that meeting that I’m a published author with multiple contracts waiting to be fulfilled (i.e. I should spend all of my time writing!).

“How did you do it?” She thought she really wanted to know.

I hesitated for a half-minute. She wasn’t going to be happy with what I wanted to say, so I started with my standby answer for that question:

“I entered contests that put my name and my story in front of publishers and agents.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“You’re published by Harlequin, right?”

“Yes, by Love Inspired, Harlequin’s Inspirational line.”

She looked past my shoulder and unlocked her car door. “Don’t they have pretty strict guidelines? Don’t they make you change your story?”

“They expect you to make revisions to improve your story and so that it will fit their style. Every publisher does.”

She tossed her bag into her car. She said goodbye. She drove away. No, she didn’t really want to hear what I had to say.

If she had stayed around, ready to chat under the street lights on that unusually balmy February evening, I would have told her a secret.

Writing is an art. But once you hit the send button, it becomes a business.

When you’re in your writing cave, your story is all your own. It’s a wonderful thing to spend an hour or two every day in a world peopled by characters you’ve created. At this point, writing is all about imagination, craft, and answering the “What if?” questions.

I love this part of the process. It’s a little like giving birth, with all the pain, agony and delight that accompanies bringing a new life into the world. It’s exhilarating! And it’s all yours!

But if you want to become a published author, once you’ve finished your story you need to switch modes. This story needs to have a life of its own.

Let’s take the birth analogy a little bit further. If you’ve raised children, you know that it is unhealthy (and impossible!) to force them to remain babies forever. They need to walk, to explore, to become separate people from their parents. As much as we delight in babies, we don’t want them to turn into some twisted copy of ourselves. We want them to become the people God intended them to be. To become adults. 

The same goes for your story. If you have any desire to publish your work, you must put it out there for others to see. You have to listen to and evaluate comments from critique groups, contest judges, and eventually, potential agents and publishers. Why? Because these are the people who are helping your baby grow into a self-sufficient adult.

Some authors hold onto their stories too tightly. They keep their writing snagged within their prideful grasp, thinking no one else understands their story like they do. They refuse to accept help to make it better, and they refuse to change anything to make it fit someone else’s standards.

If you want to be published, you won’t be that kind of author.

You’ll be the kind of author who understands that once you hit “send,” your story is now a business. Rather than keeping it close to your heart, you humbly open your hands and let it grow.

If an agent suggests that your story will sell better told in third person rather than first person, you start planning how to make that change and still keep the meat of your story intact.

When an editor sends you a list of revisions that need to be made and invites you to resubmit your story, you put everything else aside and make those changes.

When you get a request for a partial or full manuscript, you comply in a timely manner because that’s good business practice.

Soon you’ll find that those changes and revisions make your story stronger. More complete. Saleable.

And when you see your book for the first time, you’ll cry. You really will. Because that’s what parents do when they see their babies all grown up.  

Which kind of author will you be? What do you need to do to move your writing from art to business? #NoLimits!

Today Jan is giving away 5 (COUNT 'EM. FIVE ) copies of A Mother for His Children to lucky commenters. Ecopies to international winners. Winners announced in the Weekend Edition.



 A Mother for His Children

 FROM AMISH NANNY TO BRIDE?

After her sweetheart's betrayal, Ruthy Mummert leaves behind the small-town gossip of her Amish community for the first opportunity she can find: a housekeeper position in faraway LaGrange County, Indiana. Ruthy didn't realize the job meant caring for ten children—and for their handsome widowed father.

To Levi Zook's mind, Ruthy is too young and too pretty to be anyone's housekeeper. A marriage of convenience will protect her reputation and give his children the security they dearly need. But it could also give them the courage to grasp a new chance at happiness—if Ruthy is willing to risk her wounded heart once more.

 
 Jan Drexler lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband of more than thirty years, their four adult children, two active dogs, and Maggie, the cat who thinks she’s a dog. If she isn’t sitting at her computer ruining – I mean living – the lives of her characters, she’s probably hiking in the Hills or the Badlands, enjoying the spectacular scenery.

Jan’s debut novel, The Prodigal Son Returns, was published by Love Inspired in May 2013, and her second novel, A Mother for His Children, was published by Love Inspired in August, 2014. Coming in September 2015 from Love Inspired is A Home for His Family.

Future releases include the series Journey to Pleasant Prairie, starting in March 2016 with Hannah’s Choice, published by Revell.


Find her here:
Website: www.JanDrexler.com
Facebook 
Twitter 
And on Mondays at the Yankee-Belle Café!

 

So You Want to Write a Contemporary – Seven Questions with Amanda Cabot

Happy birthday, Seekerville!  I’m delighted to be part of your seventh birthday celebration, and in honor of that, I thought I’d pose seven questions I think everyone who wants to write a contemporary novel should ask.  Let’s get started.

1.  Are you planning to use a real or a fictional location?  There are advantages and disadvantages to both.  Real locations engage readers immediately, but if you choose one, be certain you’ve got all the details right.  The last thing you need is a reader telling you there’s no bakery at the corner of Fifth and Main.  Fictional locations, of course, give you more flexibility.  You decide what building is on which corner.  The downside is that you have to do more work to create a fictional location.  If you a choose a fictional location, I strongly recommend creating a map of it.

2.  Will your story be set in a specific year or in what is sometimes called the ‘timeless present’?  This is a key question and one that will play an important role in your answers to the next couple questions.  The advantage to using a specific timeframe is similar to that or choosing a real location – reader identification.  The disadvantage is that, depending on how many details you include that are date-specific, your book may feel outdated within a couple years. 

3.  How much technology will you include?  If you’ve chosen a specific date for your story, there is no reason not to include references to all the current technology.  Readers who pick up the book twenty years from now may be amused by what seems antiquated to them but was state-of-the-art in 2014, but they’ll know that they’re reading a period piece.  On the other hand, if your goal is to create an evergreen story, you’d be better served by minimizing references to things that will likely be dated.  The same advice applies to pop culture references.

4.  How much slang are you planning to use?  Although our goal as authors should always be to create realistic dialogue, I’d recommend minimizing the use of currently trendy words.  Not only will they date a book quickly, but five or ten – not to mention twenty or thirty – years from now, they may create confusion for readers.  Unlike references to outdated technology, antiquated phrases could actually make dialogue difficult to understand.  Consider the word ‘rad,’ which the online slang dictionary says dates from the eighties.  How often do you hear it now?  How would you react if you read, “Those are rad shoes.”?  Would you think it was a typo and should have been ‘red’?

5.  Are you sure you’re not violating any intellectual property rights?  While I’m sure no one who’s reading this would willingly plagiarize another work, there are other opportunities to unwittingly be in violation of the law, one of which is trademarks.  Before you name your heroine’s dress shop, you should be certain that the name you’ve chosen isn’t trademarked.  Although a trademark is often a logo, it can also be a name set in a specific type font.  While it’s unlikely you’d be sued for unknowing use of a trademark, we live in a litigious society.  My advice is to do a trademark search for each establishment you name.  If there’s a match or a close match, change your name.  I feel so strongly about this that I’ve included a link to the trademark electronic search system (TESS).  http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=tess&state=4805:dy7z5k.1.1 Use it.

6.  Do you think there’s less research required for a contemporary than an historical?  When aspiring authors tell me they’re writing contemporaries because it’s easier with no research needed, I do my best not to laugh.  The reality is, all writing requires research.  It’s true that research for contemporaries is different from historicals, but it’s still essential that your details are correct.  If anything, readers are more critical of contemporary authors who get their facts wrong because it’s so easy to get them right.  Do you have a scene involving a fire investigation?  Interview a fire chief to make sure you’ve used the correct terminology and have properly described the procedures the investigators use.  Is your story set in a real location you’ve never visited?  Besides studying the related web sites, you might call the Chamber of Commerce to learn little known facts that will give your story added authenticity.  Research, research, research.  Yes, it takes time, but your readers will thank you.

7.  Why do you want to write a contemporary?  If your sole reason is that you’ve been told contemporaries are selling better than historicals, I’d suggest reconsidering.  I know some authors are very successful in writing to the trends, but they’re in the minority.  The single most important reason for writing any story should be that you love the story, that it haunts your thoughts and wakes you in the middle of the night.  If that story just happens to be set in modern times, congratulations – you’re meant to write a contemporary.  But if you dream of times gone by, if the characters that demand to have their stories told wear high-button shoes or subdue unruly hair with Macassar oil, think again.  Contemporary stories may not be right for you.

Since I promised Audra seven questions, I’m not going to number this last one, but there’s one more I want to ask.  If you were considering switching from writing historicals to contemporaries, has this post changed your mind? 

Hi Everyone, Audra here. I'm always excited to have Amanda Cabot as my guest in Seekerville. Amanda has been an historical author for many books. At Bluebonnet Lake is her first contemporary romance for the inspirational market. Leave a comment and check the Weekend Edition on Saturday to discover the winner of a signed copy of At Bluebonnet Lake.

Her life is set to warp speed. His is slowing to a crawl. But love has its own timing.

Marketing maven Kate Sherwood’s world is fast-paced, challenging, and always changing. The last thing she wants to do is grind to a halt at Rainbow’s End, a dilapidated resort in the Texas Hill Country. Still, she cannot deny her ailing grandmother’s request to visit the place where she and her deceased husband spent one glorious week fifty years ago. There, Kate meets Greg, who appears to be the resort’s unassuming handyman. But there’s more to Greg than meets the eye—billions more, in fact.

Kate isn’t looking for romance, but she can’t deny the sparks of attraction that fly every time she and Greg are together. Could there be a future there? Or will Kate’s long-sought promotion take her back to the big city?

Amanda Cabot invites you to step into a place away from the pressures of the day. You might be surprised by what you find at Rainbow’s End.

Amanda Cabot is the bestselling author of more than thirty novels including the Texas Dreams trilogy, the Westward Winds series, and Christmas Roses. A former director of Information Technology, she has written everything from technical books and articles for IT professionals to mysteries for teenagers and romances for all ages.  Amanda is delighted to now be a fulltime writer of Christian romances, living happily ever after with her husband in Wyoming. 

Writing Your Book: Setting Your Tempo to the End

with guest Helen Gray

Speedbo is about writing FAST.

 I am not fast.     (Interpret that any way you wish.)

When I was in school I loved ciphering matches and spelldowns, and had only a couple of serious competitors among my classmates. But that speed doesn't apply to my writing. I am in awe of those of you who can produce a book in a month. But I can’t do it!

I have two passions—writing and music. I love gospel and sacred music, cantatas, octavos, and a good concert or marching band. Oom pah pah!!!  I also love a well written book. And I see parallels between writing and music.

In deference to Speedbo month, the specific parallel I’m addressing today is tempo, the fastness or slowness of the rhythms.

Presto        -    very fast
Allegro    -    fast, but not as fast as presto
Allegretto    -    a little faster than moderato
Moderato    -    medium
Andante    -    moderately slow
Adagio        -    slow
Largo        -    very slow & broad

I read somewhere that most good writers think faster than they can type, and most bad writers type faster than they can think. Oops! I’m in trouble. My tempo falls somewhere between moderato and snail's pace—with frequent fermatas (pauses) and rests. 

Here's my typical tempo through a book.

1.    I begin with a basic idea, setting and time period. Then I I develop the beginning of a basic story line.

2.    I write a chapter, at largo tempo,which is slow and broad. It means a more intense application of energy, a slow pace that can be a pace of wisdom. I allow myself as much time and revisions as needed. Once I’m satisfied that I’ve covered all the necessary elements—GMC, who, what, when, where, why, and established the setting and main characters—I move on. I don’t edit any more until I have a complete first draft, but I keep a check list for when that time arrives.

3.    I write two more chapters. By now my tempo is adagio, which means at ease. It implies not only a tempo but a quality of movement. A correct balance and flow of energy and crativity can be achieved here. I set myself a quota, typically a chapter a week. Yes, I realize that you speedsters will find that very modest, but it works for me. If done consistently, it will result in a Heartsong length book within 3-4 months. And it’s doable without stressing the joy out of writing for me. 

4.    When I have three chapters, I stop and develop a skeleton outline for the rest of the book. Then I set my sights on the complete story and continue writing.

5.    About the time I reach the mid-point, I start building speed poco a poco (little by little).  Andante is moderately slow but flowing, at a walking tempo. Walking is the means of going from one point to another, placing one foot before the other and ultimately completing a journey. So is the walk of writing. Place one word after another, and you will eventually have a book.

6.    Moderato. Allegretto. Allegro, which means cheerful. I’m picking up speed. I have my characters firmly in mind now, and I'm like the cows on the way to water. When they smell it, they begin to run. When I "smell" the end, I hit allegro, then presto. I crank out multiple chapters a week.

When the first draft is finished, I draw a deep breath, put it aside and tackle a major task totally unrelated to writing—like cleaning my house. Then I move back to snail’s pace and start editing. But a snail’s pace is not necessarily bad. Although a snail moves at a “sluggish” pace, it has the virtue of perseverance. According to the apostle Paul, perseverance is a key component in character development. He explained that “tribulations produces perseverance” in Romans 5:3. And upon that building block go character and hope. The original Greek word “perseverance” means “steadfastness, constancy, and endurance.” God doesn’t ask for a fast finish, only persevering progress.



We all have different methods and tempos, and that’s fine. The thing that’s important is that, as Christian writers, we write so that our works will glorify our Father in heaven.

Set a tempo that’s reachable so you won’t develop a pattern of failure that will discourage you. But make it a tempo that will challenge you.

Be consistent. Persevere and finish! Finished projects result in submissions.

My debut release, Ozark Sweetheart, took about six months to complete. Of course, it was written to fit the LIH guidelines, and the completed manuscript was 73,500 words. Cutting it to 50,000 was such fun. (touch of sarcasm there) The book is dedicated to my mother, whose notes about her experiences growing up in the depression provided the inspiration for the series.

The sequels took about four months each, but by that time I had the incentive of writing to the instructions of an editor. And I find writing sequels faster because I already have so
much backstory and setting researched and established.

What tempo works best for you? Share with us.


CALLIE BLAKE CAN'T AFFORD TO FALL IN LOVE

She's too busy helping her family survive the Depression. When she returns home to their Missouri farm, she sees her childhood crush, Trace Gentry, and it stirs up old dreams she tries hard to ignore. Trace is kind, handsome and wealthy. He'd never be interested in a poor girl like her—would he?

Successful businessman Trace is crazy about Callie, and he knows she thinks she's not good enough for him. But he's clueless how to woo her. Until he devises a plan that will prove his love to Callie and make all her dreams come true.


Ozark Sweetheart can be found here.

Bio: Helen Gray lives in SE Missouri with her pastor husband of 49 3/4 years. A retired business teacher and church music director, she happily spends her time making up stories--which makes her three grown children think she's slightly nuts. But that's all right. She's growing old graysfully.

You can find her at http://www.helenbrowngray.com



Today Helen is giving away a print copy of her debut release, Ozark Sweetheart to one commenter. Winner announced in the Weekend Edition!

FIND SPEEDBO DETAILS HERE

The Loggerhead and the Swamp Rabbit

Once upon a time in the swampiest of swamps in the lowest of the lowlands way down in Mississippi, there was a loggerhead turtle named Bubba.

Bubba T. Bulldog to be exact. The T stood for Tenacious.


Now Bubba T. liked nothing better than to cover his head and relax in the cool mud-baths in the swamp.

But there was a jackrabbit named Jack (Oh, no, not because he was a jackrabbit. That would just be too corny. The truth is, he’d peeked into the human’s house up on the hill and watched Pirates of Caribbean and he fancied himself a lot like Jack Sparrow. But he drew the line at being called a sparrow, so he was just Jack.)

Well, Jack boasted that he could run faster than anyone else in the swamp and teased Bubba T. all the cotton-pickin’ time for being so slow. Fact is, Bubba T. liked being slow. He liked taking his time getting to wherever he was going, but Jack was, well…Jack, and he wouldn’t let it go.


One day, big ol’ lumbering Bubba T. stuck out his bull-headed neck, squinted his beady little black eyes at Jack and growled, “Yeah, you’re fast, Jackie-boy, but even you can be beaten.”

Jack choked on his collard greens. “Beaten in a race? By who? You? There’s nobody in this swamp, not even in the whole wide world, who can win against me.”

Enough was enough and Bubba T. accepted Jack’s challenge, even though he wanted to crawl back in his shell. Not because he didn’t think he could win, but because he needed another nap. And, Lord have mercy on the swamp, what would he do if his shell dried out while he was out there inching along in a futile race against a cocky jackrabbit pirate wannabe?

Oh well, nothing for it now. He’d stuck his claw in it, and he’d finish this race or broil in his shell for trying. He wasn’t called Bubba T. Bulldog for nothing. (T. is for tenacious, btw.)

The course was planned, but Jack being Jack, he spent the entire night carousing with the lady rabbits (Ahoy mate, those were some foxy rabbits!), but like the speedy jackrabbit he is, he made it to the starting line just in time, even if he was a little wobbly on his paws.

The owl hooted, and Bubba T. gave Jack his best Clint Eastwood glare (The original story said the tortoise was meek. Not our loggerhead turtle! Ha!) and lumbered off at a…well, at a turtle’s pace. What did you expect? A miracle?

Jack’s head spun from a night of swamp rum and pretty little swampchicks (Wait, swamp-girl-rabbits. Whatever.), but already he could tell this race was going to be as easy as stealing carrots from the farmer’s field during a Yankees game, (like falling off a gangplank, mate!) so he decided to take a quick little nap. There would be plenty of time to get to the finish line before Bubba T.

Jack woke with a start. Heart pounding, he raced down the dusty path, but there was Bubba T. plodding along, not getting much of anywhere, it seemed. Relieved, Jack took a turn into Jill Rabbit’s little swamp dive for a dram of swamp rum and a bite of cabbage and carrot stew. The music, the conversation, and the rum lulled him to sleep again. But no worries. He had plenty of time to catch up with Bubba T.

The sun started to sink below the horizon, and Bubba T., who had been plodding towards the winning post since morning, was scarcely a yard from the finish.


At that very point, Jack woke with a jolt. He could see Bubba T. a speck in the distance and away he dashed. He leapt and bounded at a great rate, his tongue lolling, and gasping for breath. Just a little more and he’d be first. He bunched his hind legs and leapt for the finish line…

The race between the tenacious loggerhead and the swift and powerful jackrabbit comes up every week (Jack’s doing, no doubt) in Jill Rabbit’s café (she calls it a coffee bar now) and the end result is always the same, much to Jack’s annoyance.

Half the swamp animals side with Jack, praising his speed, his cunning, and his ability to get to the goal quicker than lightening. And they’re slightly jealous of the leaping strides he made while doing it.

The rest stand their ground, ticking off Bubba T.’s determination to get to the finish line, his tenaciousness, his dedication not to turn to the left of the right, no matter how bleak the outcome of the race looked.

But they all agree on one thing and one thing only.

The race was a draw.

Oh, by the way, Jack’s holding court in Jill Rabbit’s Espresso Bar (sheesh), bragging about next year’s race, how it’s gonna be a triathlon and take three whole days to finish.

And Bubba T.….he’s already marking his trail to next year’s finish line. Some owl named Aesop hooted that Swamp Buggy Press is itching tell his story if he finishes on time.


---

Pam Hillman makes up stories from the edge of Bubba T. and Jack’s swamp in Mississippi. Her debut book, Stealing Jake, is available online at all the usual etail stores. Bubba T. gives it a claw up! www.pamhillman.com


Pam is giving away a 1987 Collector's Edition of The Tortoise and the Hare Little Golden Book AND an ecopy of Stealing Jake.

 

Today is another day of our March Speedbo. Find outmore about Speedbo and our exciting weekly prizes here. Commenttoday for a chance to win! Winners announced in the Weekend Edition.