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getyourwordsout challenge. This challenge was to write in a genre you've never written in before.
Historical AU, anyone?
This 600 word snippet would take place very early in the story, so all you need to know is that Jack, driving his 1915 Model T on his way to a new job outside Denver, picks up a hitchhiker outside Chicago who is a grad student headed for the University of Colorado. What a happy coincidence!
“So what sort of job is waiting for you in Colorado, Jack?
“Fellow I served with comes from money. He’s opening up an airplane manufacturing plant.”
“Airplanes?” Daniel was surprised.
“Oh, yeah. The next big thing. Flying’s really going to take off over the next few years.” Jack shot Daniel a grin.
“Oh, that’s… that’s funny.” Daniel shook his head.
“Get used to it.” Jack was still grinning, eyes on the road. “My sense of humor isn’t for the weak of heart.”
“I’ll do my best,” Daniel said in a deeply serious tone of voice. “So, you’re going to work in this plant?”
“Not exactly. Somebody’s got to test the planes when they come off the line.”
“Oh! You’re a pilot!”
“Yeah.”
“You flew in the war?”
“Right. That’s where I met my buddy. We were the only two Americans at our airbase for a while, so we spent a lot of time talking about home and what we were going to do when the war ended.”
“The only Americans?” Daniel frowned in puzzlement.
“This was back before America got in it. We were volunteers serving with the Royal Flying Corps. Royal Air Force, they’re calling it now.”
“Sure.” Daniel nodded slowly. “I’d read about men doing that. Volun… so did you go up to Canada, then?”
“You have been reading. Yep, enlisted in Canada and trained there, then they sent us overseas. Pete, that’s my buddy’s name, he was there a few months ahead of me, so I met him over in England.”
“You must have both been very lucky,” Daniel said tentatively.
Jack turned to him. “Huh?”
Daniel lifted his hands. “Things were pretty bad, weren’t they? For pilots?”
Jack made a face before facing front again. “Pete wasn’t a pilot; he was ground crew.”
Daniel didn’t want to press the subject, although he had half a dozen questions on the tip of his tongue. Jack had evaded talking about the high mortality rate among British pilots and might be tiring of the subject in general. Lots of veterans didn’t like talking about their war experiences. Daniel decided to wait and see if Jack would continue the discussion.
A couple of minutes passed before Jack spoke again. “I was luckier than a lot of guys I knew, that’s no lie. Luckier longer, at any rate.”
“How long were you in?” Daniel asked.
“I enlisted in 1915,” Jack answered.
“Wow.” Daniel raised his eyebrows. “That’s… you had a long war.”
“I’ve got the gray hairs to show for it, too.” Jack’s fingers tapped on the steering wheel.
“Did you…?”
“What?”
Daniel smiled apologetically. “You’ll let me know if I ask too many question, right?”
Jack chuckled. “I’m not planning on leaving you on the side of the road, if that’s what’s worrying you.”
“I’m glad to hear it. My feet are pretty happy about it, too.”
“My feet were always happy I hadn’t enlisted in the Army.” Jack braked to a stop at a crossroads. “What’s that signpost say? We go straight here, right?” He leaned over towards Daniel and peered through his window.
Daniel just managed to stop himself from an audible intake of breath. Jack was just plain devastating this close up, with eyelashes that most girls would be jealous of and that scattering of silver hairs glinting at his temples. Daniel quickly turned his head.
“Straight?” Jack didn’t sound certain. Which was understandable now that Daniel was seeing the signpost, which seemed to have at least twelve different painted signs and arrows. “Ah, there it is! Straight.” The Model T started moving again.
getyourwordsout challenge. This challenge was to write in a genre you've never written in before. Historical AU, anyone?
This 600 word snippet would take place very early in the story, so all you need to know is that Jack, driving his 1915 Model T on his way to a new job outside Denver, picks up a hitchhiker outside Chicago who is a grad student headed for the University of Colorado. What a happy coincidence!
“So what sort of job is waiting for you in Colorado, Jack?
“Fellow I served with comes from money. He’s opening up an airplane manufacturing plant.”
“Airplanes?” Daniel was surprised.
“Oh, yeah. The next big thing. Flying’s really going to take off over the next few years.” Jack shot Daniel a grin.
“Oh, that’s… that’s funny.” Daniel shook his head.
“Get used to it.” Jack was still grinning, eyes on the road. “My sense of humor isn’t for the weak of heart.”
“I’ll do my best,” Daniel said in a deeply serious tone of voice. “So, you’re going to work in this plant?”
“Not exactly. Somebody’s got to test the planes when they come off the line.”
“Oh! You’re a pilot!”
“Yeah.”
“You flew in the war?”
“Right. That’s where I met my buddy. We were the only two Americans at our airbase for a while, so we spent a lot of time talking about home and what we were going to do when the war ended.”
“The only Americans?” Daniel frowned in puzzlement.
“This was back before America got in it. We were volunteers serving with the Royal Flying Corps. Royal Air Force, they’re calling it now.”
“Sure.” Daniel nodded slowly. “I’d read about men doing that. Volun… so did you go up to Canada, then?”
“You have been reading. Yep, enlisted in Canada and trained there, then they sent us overseas. Pete, that’s my buddy’s name, he was there a few months ahead of me, so I met him over in England.”
“You must have both been very lucky,” Daniel said tentatively.
Jack turned to him. “Huh?”
Daniel lifted his hands. “Things were pretty bad, weren’t they? For pilots?”
Jack made a face before facing front again. “Pete wasn’t a pilot; he was ground crew.”
Daniel didn’t want to press the subject, although he had half a dozen questions on the tip of his tongue. Jack had evaded talking about the high mortality rate among British pilots and might be tiring of the subject in general. Lots of veterans didn’t like talking about their war experiences. Daniel decided to wait and see if Jack would continue the discussion.
A couple of minutes passed before Jack spoke again. “I was luckier than a lot of guys I knew, that’s no lie. Luckier longer, at any rate.”
“How long were you in?” Daniel asked.
“I enlisted in 1915,” Jack answered.
“Wow.” Daniel raised his eyebrows. “That’s… you had a long war.”
“I’ve got the gray hairs to show for it, too.” Jack’s fingers tapped on the steering wheel.
“Did you…?”
“What?”
Daniel smiled apologetically. “You’ll let me know if I ask too many question, right?”
Jack chuckled. “I’m not planning on leaving you on the side of the road, if that’s what’s worrying you.”
“I’m glad to hear it. My feet are pretty happy about it, too.”
“My feet were always happy I hadn’t enlisted in the Army.” Jack braked to a stop at a crossroads. “What’s that signpost say? We go straight here, right?” He leaned over towards Daniel and peered through his window.
Daniel just managed to stop himself from an audible intake of breath. Jack was just plain devastating this close up, with eyelashes that most girls would be jealous of and that scattering of silver hairs glinting at his temples. Daniel quickly turned his head.
“Straight?” Jack didn’t sound certain. Which was understandable now that Daniel was seeing the signpost, which seemed to have at least twelve different painted signs and arrows. “Ah, there it is! Straight.” The Model T started moving again.