Laura Stanfill tagged me in a popular meme going around the writing blogosphere recently, and I have been severely slacking in playing along. My apologies, Laura! Part of my problem is that I write in Scrivener (which, really – everyone should write in) and it doesn’t give me page numbers. At least, none that I could find. However, tonight my husband took our girls to his brother’s house for a slumber party with their cousin and I have had the night free to tinker with figuring out a way to find page 77 of my manuscript.
The rules of the game ask you to open up your work-in-progress and then:
- Go to page 77.
- Go to line 7.
- Copy down the next 7 lines, sentences, or paragraphs as they are written.
- Tag 7 new authors.
I’ve decided to go with the first seven sentences. Here they are, without further ado:
May laid back the thick tissue paper and pulled out her silk and velvet crazy quilt. A project she had worked on together with Mother for months during her illness.
“Sister Campbell really is very good to Mrs. White,” Maude tried to reassure her as she admired the intricate pattern on the quilt. “She is always there for Mrs. White when she needs someone. She gives, and gives, and gives of herself, and is sure to never let Mrs. White see her haughty airs and bossy ways.”
May let down her guard with her new friends enough to brave a question that had nagged at her from her the moment she stepped through Norfolk Villa’s doors. “Then can you tell me why Sister Campbell has taken such an instant dislike to me?”
I don’t have seven people to tag – so I’m going to just not tag anyone. If you follow my blog – please consider yourself tagged! There are seven of you after all . . .
This is fun! But I have the most boring part of my story — although quite pivotal actually when think about it in the whole scope of things. Ironically, line 7 started a new paragraph that was exactly 7 sentences long. Here you go:
The boat docked, the people started climbing off, and then off stepped the pastor. To my shock, I knew this man. I had just worked with him for a week in Guam the previous summer at a summer day camp program. And to say the least, we did not always see eye to eye. We both had a passion for reaching people for Christ, that much was evident. What was also evident was that our ideas of who needed to be reached for Christ and how that should be done butted heads more than once. But he was a friendly and familiar face, and so I pushed my hesitancy down and walked toward him to welcome him to my island home.
Hardly boring! I love the voice you write in – and now I have to read more so I can figure out who this man is, and what happened between you two from this point forward . . .
By the way, I really liked your snippet, too. I could see it in my mind, hear the voices. And I am not just saying that! I feel you captured the time period well.
*sigh* While I don’t use scrivener, I save chapter files. AND my two current WIP’s don’t have a definite chapter order yet, so I don’t know what is going to be P.77. That said, I like both your ‘voice’ and Tiffany’s!
Thank you, Andrew. And I do understand where you’re coming from – you could always just pretend it was page 77
Who’d know but you, really?? 
lol
I’d know.