The Little Mornings

Chapter Two

I killed my truck’s engine outside ‘Ama’s house at five-fifty a.m. It was the Monday of my second week of work, and it was way too early – at this hour you could only hear a couple cars swoop down Ocean Boulevard, and three or four seagulls winging toward the water line. But ‘Ama got up exactly at six, and so my sisters and I had to get in there before she opened her eyes. I hauled my guitar case out of the back and met Becky at the curb, blinking sleepily behind her glasses.

Sorry for the absence – the moot competition was all-consuming. The writers’ group really responded well to the first chapter, which was very gratifying. They specifically praised the voice and the main character for being real and interesting – a GIANT relief since I’ve been terrified trying to write a 1st person male narrator was an extremely bad idea, and I feel much better about plugging on with that kind of feedback from basically neutral folks. I LIKE Mike, and I like writing him.

I’m sending them the 2nd chapter this week. It was nice to dive in and patch it back together. Chapter 2 used to be Chapter 1, so it needed some continuity and exposition-trimming work. I only wish I were forced to turn stuff in every week, since it’s been so hard to keep writing this semester without it. Hopefully now that the competition is over I can use the free(er) evenings to that purpose.