Today is Road Trip Wednesday 🙂 RTW is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic. This week´s topic: It’s almost prom season, and since we love to read and write about teenagers, we want to hear your prom stories!
Well, in France, we didn´t have proms so I cannot tell you my prom experience from High school. I promise to tell you more about High school in France soon though 😀 I dreamed about the experience though as a teenager.
I could have talked about the prom I didn´t go to while I was an au pair in the USA and my then-boyfriend (kinda – complicated story) took his ex-girlfriend with him, well you know, he promised her…but let´s face it, not the greatest memory to revisit.
I did go to a wonderful dance: The Navy Ball in Annapolis where all au pairs of the area were invited to attend. I had a beautiful dress on and had a blast shopping with my girlfriends for cheap out of season prom dresses. We got very lucky.  I also did go to a so-called prom at the university but it didn´t feel like a real prom…You know, the one I will be able to read about in your posts or in your comments 😀
Even though I didn´t go to prom, I still got lucky…well I got the lucky meme (did you like the transition :D). The lovely and talened Tracey tagged me in the Lucky Seven (really you should totally check out her excerpt here). The rules are as follow:
- Go to page 77 of your current MS.
- Go to line 7.
- Copy down the next 7 lines/sentences, and post the as they’re written. No cheating.
- Tag 7 other writers.
I wanted to share something from my new WiP, the one which doesn´t have a lot of pages yet, so I thought I´ll go to page 7 of my new WiP and share the 7 lines:
If I´m not shedding tears in front of you, please don´t cry for me.Â
Cry for him and away from my gaze.
My chest tightens. My mother and I didn´t let tears out at his funeral. She didn´t hold my hand, I didn´t go into her embrace like when I was little and had a nightmare.
My mother and I had become strangers before my dad decided he didn´t want to live with us anymore. Not only he didn´t want to live with us, I remind myself. He didn´t want to live at all.
Natalja is going through quite a lot. She failed as ballerina, she lost her dad and she went back to her hometown after a stint in NYC. She has the attitude and hides away her pain…
If you want to join in and share an excerpt of your WiP, YOU are tagged! 😀
Elodie Nowodazkij 
This: …”and away from my gaze.” So short but it says so much! Just lovely!
Awww! Thanks Tracey! 😀 and thanks again for tagging me!
Wow. So much emotion packed into that excerpt. Even knowing so little about Natalja, I already sympathize with her and I’m very intrigued by her story.
Thanks Katy! I am having a blast writing Natalja even though she is getting through a hard time…plus there´s that boy, Antonio, who challenges her in ways she had not imagined!
Aw, that excerpt is so sad. “Not only he didn´t want to live with us, I remind myself. He didn´t want to live at all.”
Sounds like you have a really emotionally charged story on your hands. I have a soft spot for stories about ballet.
The story with her dad is heart-wrenching and it came right around the time she had to give up on her dream to become a ballerina… I also love stories about ballet, and then I had this idea…and I really enjoy writing it! 😀
That short snippet made my chest tighten. I have a feeling I’ll need a box of tissues when I read your story, won’t I? Loved it. Full of emotion. Thanks for sharing!
PS – I did not go to either of my proms. I was that shy kid who crushed on boys but was also intimidated by them. Good thing I grew out of that!
Oh…I also very intimidated back then but hid it so well…though I always ended up in the “friend zone” 😀 The story is quite emotional at times and even though I feel bad about your chest tightening while you read it, it means it´s working, right? 😀
Natalja’s not in a happy place at all, and you did a good job of setting the mood for us, Elodie. I would be interested to see where this story goes. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Thanks Colin 😀 Natalja is indeed not in very happy place at all and it´s quite difficult for her to let people in…
Oh a ball sounds like fun. If I’m honest something I’ve dreamed about for so so long is attending a real masquarde ball with people who take it seriously! Congrats on the award. Well now that was a serious part, really good.
Thanks Eve 😀 A masquerade would be lots lots of fun, I´m sure…I´d love to go to Venice one day during the carnival. Must be so impressive!
Yes, I loved the transition and I loved the title of this post. 🙂 Your excerpt is wonderful! I hope we get to read more some day. And I also hope you do post more about going to school in France. I got to stay with a family in France for a week in high school but, oddly, I don’t really remember that much about the school itself.
Thanks Kitty 😀 This WiP is getting me all excited and I am itching to write more! I have to admit, I cracked up when writing this title…Thanks to movies and all, prom, in my mind, is always connect with you know 😀 Where did you go to in France as a teenie?
Ha! Great segue! The ball sounds every bit as awesome as Prom. And I love your WIP! Talk about getting sympathy for your MC!
Thanks Peggy! 😀 I am glad you enjoyed this little excerpt, I am having a really good time writing from Natalja´s point of view even though it is quite painful and emotionally wrecking! Yep…writers are not weird at all 😀 😀 😀 Oh and the ball was tons of fun!
Great excerpt. Sad and packed with emotion. Definitely a lucky 7!
Thank you! 😀 The entire beginning of this WiP is quite packed with emotion…It´s great to write but quite draining at the same time 😀
Sounds like a really interesting background for a story, dealing with loss and broken dreams. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much Laurie 😀 I am having a really good time writing it!
Such tragedy in those few lines! Despite that, it definitely has a hook. I think you’ve got a winner here! 🙂
I bet the Navy ball was like your average prom on steroids, so I think it counts 🙂
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