The life of a writer

777 Challenge

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This is a fun blog challenge. It’s called the 777 Challenge. The rules are simple. Go to page 7 of your WIP, scroll down to line 7, and share the next 7 sentences in a blog post. After the excerpt tag 7 other writers to continue the challenge.

Susan Nicholls tagged me. If you have a chance, stop by her blog and read the excerpt from her new paranormal thriller.

This is from A Deadly Yearning. Because you get thrown into the story later, I’ll give you a little context… Aubrey and her husband Lee were just involved in a car crash. Their SUV smashed through the side of a covered bridge and landed in a wooded field, below. Aubrey wakes alone. It’s dark. Lee is nowhere in sight. The SUV landed upside-down, and the headlights blaze a slash of yellow across the snow.

Am I dead?

Incredulous, she touched her cheek, lips, forehead, and then raised her palm in front of her eyes. Warm blood leaked down her fingers, snaked across her wrist and the soft underbelly of her forearm. The unknown toyed with her thoughts. Her mind went on high alert, sounds amplified in a hauntingly quiet forest.

A faint knocking sound reverted her attention, and she shifted her eyes to the left. A baby’s car seat wobbled…back and forth…the backrest striking a rock protruding from the snow, like a demon escaping hell.

Now it’s time for me to tag 7 others, though I’ll be hard pressed to find 7 writers who haven’t done this challenge, and like this sort of thing. But here goes…

Lucy Mitchell

Stuart Aken

Garry Rodgers

Marcia Meara

Molly Greene

Colette Sartor

Sarah Zama

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21 Comments

  • stuartaken

    June 21, 2015 at 3:11 AM

    Great snippet, Sue. But I’ll have to be a party pooper regarding the continuation of this one. My current WIP is still in my head. I could do this from my last book, but that’s a memoir on ME/CFS, already published and already much featured on my blog. In any case, the way I work, my WIP would be in very rough draft form and certainly not fit for the eyes of others, as I always write the whole story first and the return for editing, never even looking at what I’ve already written!
    Enjoyed your teaser, though.

    • Sue Coletta

      June 21, 2015 at 5:08 AM

      Fair enough, Stuart. I’ve tried to write that way, not looking at first drafts until their completion, and I can’t do it. In order to familiarize myself with where I leave off I read over the previous chapter or two, and that leads to picking at it. 😉

  • jazzfeathers

    June 21, 2015 at 2:28 AM

    Loved the snippet, Sue. It’s kind of haunting.

    Eh… I was tagged by Melissa sometime back and I declined because I already share snippets of 8 senteces from my WIP every other Sunday. But since you people insist, I suppose I’ll have to do this 😉

    Not today, though, because “8 Sentence Sunday on Dieselpunks” is up. But soon, I promise 🙂

    • Sue Coletta

      June 21, 2015 at 5:06 AM

      I always enjoy your 8 Sentence Sunday posts. I only wish I had more time to read blogs lately. Sorry, didn’t know you’d been tagged. But hey, at least you’ll play now. 🙂

    • Sue Coletta

      June 21, 2015 at 5:02 AM

      Thanks, Craig. Yes, it worked out great for me. You’re right; it can be tough to acclimate when you’re thrown in the middle of dialogue. But you pulled it off flawlessly. 🙂

  • Garry Rodgers

    June 20, 2015 at 9:15 PM

    You’re a talented, talented writer, Sue. Good stuff!
    I just checked my WIP 777 and am right in the middle of an autopsy 🙂 Challenge accepted, now I just have to find 7 others… Let’s see. Stephen King. Patricia Cornwell. Dean Koontz. Kathy Reichs. Karin Slaughter. John Grisham. And James Patterson – he and I are buddies now that I’ve just finished his MasterClass. BTW, I just sent you an email recommending it 🙂

    • Sue Coletta

      June 21, 2015 at 5:00 AM

      Great choices, Garry! Yes, thank you for that. I’m definitely interested in learning from the master, James Patterson. I bet he uses his master class to search for future writers to add to his team. Thanks so much for your kind words. It means a lot. 🙂

  • sknicholls

    June 20, 2015 at 9:00 PM

    Pure distilled awesome sauce!!! I just read that on someone else’s blog and damn if you didn’t give me a grand opportunity to use it before I forgot it. (It sucks getting old.)

  • Mae Clair

    June 20, 2015 at 8:53 PM

    incredible snippet. You put me right in the scene and left me hanging at the ending wanting more. Awesome job, Sue. I can tell I’m going to get hooked on your stuff! 🙂