Unofficially WIPpet Wednesday-ing.

Now, I know the whole WIPpet Wednesday is an official thing and everything, but right now, I’m kind of like that kid on the sidelines who tosses a football around to herself while the team plays out on the field, sort of doing my own thing in my old world because I feel bad about hijacking the idea, but not bad enough to not hijack it. I could usually sneak it into my RoW80 updates, but, since I’m not doing those at the moment, look like I’ve got to put one out there naked into the world.

So here’s a blatant no-hiding WIPpet from me today, from my current WIP, Madeline. For those not paying attention, it’s a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher,” but in novel form and from the perspective of the female Usher, Madeline. I’m four chapters in, getting right to the meat of one of the main events that causes the divide between the titular character and her brother Roderick. I’ve been WIPping by page, so today we’re on page four, looking into the strange illnesses that keep Madeline bed-ridden and trapped within the walls of their crumbling homestead. Since this is written very much in the style of 19th century epics, I usually just post a paragraph, since a paragraph is often a whole page of my 7.75×5 notebooks.

      When I started to become ill, his stories would reflect that, too, though I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear those tales. He usually ended them with the young, beautiful heroine dying sick in her bed, surrounded by loved ones who wailed and tore at their chests and their hair in dismay that God should take such a sweet innocent from them. They didn’t realize yet that God took her because He was selfish and loved the woman and so desired to have her join the choir of angels that He called her back to Heaven early. He never said the young woman was supposed to be me, and I never asked, but we both knew, deep inside, that was how he meant it, and it brought me so much joy and happiness.

…yeah, Roderick and Madeline don’t exactly have the healthiest of relationships or perspectives on the world. And I hope that’s what makes them so intriguing.

Anyone else participating in WIPpet Wednesdays? Have you read any particularly good ones today to share?

Happy writing!