Krista

I would post the whole story, but that is a no-no and I don't want to be put in the time-out corner. I also think if I did, you'd go on strike and not listen at all my complaining as we go about this writing/editing dysfunctional relationship we have. So, I will behave, if I must. I like writing about small towns, mostly because the short time I lived in a City I was miserable. My husband is this weird mixture of growing up in a city all his life, but likes to hunt, fish, camp, etc. Where as I, who lived out with nature all the way up to my back door would much rather not hunt, fish, or go camping. My idea of camping is a resort cabin with a private hot tub and/or pool. Don't get me started on the idea of swimming in a warmed up soupy lake where all the fish poop is... just no.

As someone who lives in rural America where there are more cows than people. It isn't a lack of education or compassion. Hate is a choice people make, it is an individual choice. There are influences, cultural, religious, generational, but, it is still a choice, we have our own minds and we can choose to think however we want. For every one person that chooses to hate someone for whatever reason, there is someone out there living the same way that chooses to accept and love. It was her choice to take that path when it comes to Joel. Trace chose differently. I try not to look at geographic sections on a map and condemn a whole region because it overshadows the good and doesn't do anything but rewards division. Thank you for reading and leaving a comment! I'm on the fence about how deep I want to get into any debate about this topic really, but it is a focal point of the beginning of this story. As the author, I don't want to feel like I'm steamrolling my points through the discussion of these chapters as I think that may discourage people from making the comments they wish to make, and I wouldn't want to do that. It does break my heart to see people choose prejudices and hate over love, it is traumatizing. To see her do that to her own son, while her younger son is a witness to that makes it worse. Wes on the other hand, needs to be pushed out of the nest... maybe with a boot on his backside to get the point across. Not to move out, but to get out of the house and get a job and future sorted out of some sort.

Who didn't behave? 😮 Other than wildthing, I think most people are capable, fictional or otherwise. I also think, that he was prepared for a lot of different scenarios. I mean he had to have questions running through his head as to why a person like Joel would find themselves thrown out. Looking him over, assessing him over time, etc. And yes I finally put a name down on where these characters are, I named their locations... because I knew I'd be jumping between places... remind me to never do that again. It got confusing. Tempton for example is not a county, it is a town big enough to have a high school, in a County that I haven't given a name to yet - I think it comes a lot later in the story and I can't even remember it. When I do, it gets even more rough. I actually looked up "Most Common" county names and chose from that list... so I'm still playing the.. "I'm not telling where exactly they are... but I hope to tell you over time..." card.

There's bad and good in every walk of life. Trace and Joel's mother on paper are a lot alike. (in a lot of the ways that you listed) White, Rural living, working class, same geography. At least in this chapter one chose to stand up and beside Joel, and the other did not. Your suspicion may be true, at least on a subconscious level. Joel shows promise where as Wes never really has. Also, so far (I'm twitching because I'm starting to feel the strain of knowing how this story plays out and trying not to spoil anything), at least Trace is the 'best' example of white, working class, rural America.

Ooooh. I wasn't expecting to scroll down and read this gem of a comment. Lovely, thank you.

The flatness of the place wasn’t an illusion of darkness. In the far distance, I could see the highway, a black and yellow line in the green landscape that continued past it. The land was gently rolling, none of the small hills big enough to really be considered hills at all, just uneven ground smoothed by the grass. The fencing was uniform on both sides of the dirt road we drove up last night, both sides dotted with black cows, a lot of them, but not cramped in at all. Scanning the sprawling la

😮 I hope you're surprised to? Will you tell me if you are? lol. I'm glad you liked the beginning of this story.

Are you being intentionally vague to make my eyebrow cock, if so, mission accomplished.

Woops, missed this little sneaky comment. What gives you that theory, that Colt is gay? 😮

I would never, as I was posting, reading, and such right along with you in those early days.

Oh no. Lol. If you were going to get caught out, I would've much rather you got caught out reading Standing in Shadows or something, not my embarrassing written when I was a teenager angst stories. Glad you weren't caught. I knew from the resurrected Dom topic that you must've been a really early reader here. So, welcome. Never saw spaceballs, so I will take your word for it. Not everything is about Hockey, Wildthing, if the writing is good and the story is nice I'll give it a go... I'll just complain about the hockey scenes to your face.

Yeah, they showed this to a room full of teenagers in school for a reward of some sort and I think I would have much rather done my Algebra homework.

Well this story has it all: 1. TMI on your younger self's masturbatory tendencies. Luckily for us your stomach got the better of you. Although, if you were thinking with your penis, you may well not have gotten struck by lightning at all? Your bike would've been forgotten for a time. 2. You said underwear, so I never want you to use Gonch or Ginch in your beta reading/story editing of my chapters ever again, because I now have proof that you only do that to irk me. 3. Knowing this wasn't fictional, I felt nervous reading this for some reason. I mean, we talk almost every day - but the thought of only having a 10% chance that we ever said "Hi," to one another struck me. 4. You must've been out of your mind, as you didn't once notice if either paramedic was hot or not. Can you remember? 5. It was full of suspense, I asked you last night before I read if you remembered how you felt, what you remembered, the sensation of it all and you didn't answer and I knew it was because you were holding out so I would sit down and read. You went full on with everything, it was rather organic and mentally organized all around. I was able to picture it all. 6. The first dispatcher was a borderline villain, not staying on the line with you after you told her that you couldn't reach a neighbor and there wasn't anyone home. Hmph. A minor at the time as well.

@wildone Knowing that you got struck by lightning is the last piece of the puzzle. I think I've said this numerous times over the years, maybe one day you'll run out of things that make me go, "huh, well that explains it..." I cannot watch competitive eating contests, most of them are one errant swallow away from suffocation. It is also gross.

Samesies!

Yeah, I need to behave. It isn't like he does, so I need to set a good example.

Better person than me, at least when it comes to cinnamon buns. I'm glad you think their hearts are golden. The feedback I look forward to most are character feedback. I don't pretend to be good at this writing thing, I know I have a lot of things to learn. My dialog structure glares angrily back at me, and I mostly refuse to break that bad habit. Grammatically, there are issues. Punctuation... etc. But, I try my best with character development. I do this writing, mostly, for characters. Trace, more than Celia, was a character I wanted to develop. So, I worry more about his character than I did with most everyone else, aside from Joel for obvious reasons. If you can't stand Joel, there's no point in getting to know the rest of them.

For some reason, putting them in alphabetical order in your comment satisfied me a little bit. I'm a bit worried about the next chapter. I feel it is one that I needed to make the effort with Trace's decision justified in the attempt... not going to lie, I almost posted both chapters together. But I need to behave myself or face the consequences of an angry Wildthing.

Aww thank you! I'm glad you enjoy my story telling. Encouragement like this makes me want to start building my playlist of music and character list for one of the two story ideas I have floating around in my head.

This is the perfect way to describe this chapter.

Now would be the perfect time for a slam dunk of a plot twist, wouldn't it? Complete blindside. *Looks at the 225k more written words left to post* Damn that missed opportunity, would've saved me the loss of sanity reworking the floorplan. lol. On a serious note, I haven't met anyone that can change overnight, so I doubt Joel's parents would be any different.

I felt that pain when I had multiple things going on at one time. When a story burned me out, I'd start on an idea and new project. I had three going at one time, possibly more. I would like to think that I've been able to manage all of that better, but I know I haven't. I may have written this story (most of it), after finishing all my other projects. But, I started it 'knowing' I had other projects to finish. So, for now I can say I've learned my lesson, until that lesson comes back and bites me later on. Annnnnnnnd this is a no hijack zone, you couldn't possibly hijack it unless we both get horribly off-topic, but even then a conversation is taking place.

Mostly, it is more or less a burden of patience with me. Knowing I have multiple chapters sitting edited/read and Wildthing approved isn't good for me. I want to show you all my writing, I just usually don't have it to show... now that I do, yikes. I had this chapter scheduled to post at 8pm today, but logged in and posted it early. I almost posted it last night, but decided not to and even then, my mouse hovered over the "publish now" option, but it didn't slip this time.

Aww. It is a day early. Also, this was one of the chapters that we split. So, it sort of ends on a cliffhanger that never would have existed if I behaved myself and found a better place to end this chapter instead of writing the monstrosity of a chapter that needed splitting. At least you got the meet some new characters.

I didn’t run, even though most of me wanted to open the bathroom door, find the door off the kitchen I saw earlier. Not looking back, ignoring Trace’s voice that I knew I would hear calling me back when my own father didn't. I knew I wouldn’t be able to answer the questions he would demand of me in the morning. I also didn’t want to ride all the way back home, knowing I didn’t have one there anymore. I didn’t want to see Cody’s hopeful face or Mom’s dark brown eyes looking at me the same way I l