Welcome to July Writing Craze! Before I get started on my first 1000-word post, let me tell you what in the heck I am doing. I have decided to write 1000 words for every day in the month of July to keep up with my creative writing. My goal is to add 1000 words to the same story every day in hopes that I am able to complete a full novel by July 31st. Please feel free to give feedback on my story, ask questions about your own writing, or comment on writing in general. I would love to answer questions, discuss writing, address plot flaws, and add in any components of a story that I might be missing.
A few more things before I post, please answer the poll below(and look for a new one next week), check out my fashion blog, and take a look at my Youtube channel, Yammylou. Thank you and enjoy the pandemonium of creativity!
Chapter One: Yori
Break the Nice
“Welcome to Camp Sing-Song, counselors. I am Katie, the director of this camp, and the person you will all be reporting to. In one week, the campers will be arriving and two weeks following, they will all be leaving. For this week, prior to the campers arrival, I will be training each of you. Now, head over to your cabins and unpack. Then, come back for your induction ceremony.” Turning on her black boot heel, Yori lifted her pink Kate Spade handbag and rolled her silver Michael Kors suitcase across the cracking pavement to the hill of wooden cabins. Click-clacking her way over there, Yori could think of nothing more than the outfit Katie had been wearing. Katie had been suited up in a tan pair of cargo shorts, a light blue polo and a chocolate brown baseball cap with the Camp Sing-Song logo printed on the bill. Yori feared the package that that outfit came in.
“Hi!” a chipper voice interrupted Yori’s thoughts. “I’m Velvet. What’s your name?” the voice continued. Quickly scanning Velvet’s outfit, Yori knew exactly what kind of person Velvet was. The green tea green T-shirt that fit easily across her top-half gave her the casual vibe, the denim cutoffs emitted a sporty sense, and the blue high tops with green laces displayed a atmosphere of no self-consciousness. Therefore, Yori saw her as a over-the-top, sweaty, mis-matched ditz.
“I’m Yori,” Yori replied, brightly shining her recently-whitened teeth and shaking Velvet’s rough hand. “I’m a new counselor. First time for you, too?” Yori continued, silently congratulating herself on the Academy-award deserving niceness acting.
“Oh, no! This is my third time being a counselor. Camp Sing-Song was my home-away-from-home since I was six, how old were you when you joined Camp Sing-Song?” Velvet asked, her blonde ponytail swishing politely as she walked.
“I never camped here. First time being on these grounds, actually,” Yori responded, yanking her boot heel out of a crack in the sidewalk.
“Really? I didn’t think you could be a counselor if you never went to the camp,” Velvet pondered, her big blue eyes, asking for an answer.
“Oh, you can’t. But my mom is the top sponsor of this camp, therefore I got this counselor job easy,” Yori replied, rolling her eyes. Camp Sing-Song was the last place Yori wanted to be that summer.
“Why do you roll your eyes?” Velvet asked, laughing a little.
“Camps aren’t really my kind of thing. I’m only here because I need something for my college app or so my mom says. Believe me, I would rather be tanning at the beach than helping a little twerp swim across a lake.” Yori said, tripping over a bump in the sidewalk, leaving a little slit in the top of her boot. “Geez! My mom being the top sponsor, you’d think she’d pay for better sidewalks!”
“Velvet!” a deep voice called from a little behind the two girls. Both Velvet and Yori turned around. All of a sudden, Yori’s eyes grew wide and her heart started to race. Yori flipped her black and brown highlighted hair behind her shoulder and smoothed her gray pencil skirt. A guy with a Justin Timberlake buzz cut, almond-tan skin, and a white muscle shirt was jogging up to meet Velvet, holding down the straps to his red hiker backpack with every bound he took.
“Brody! It’s so good to see you!” Velvet cried out once the Brody guy caught up with them, giving him a side hug so they could keep walking.
“How has your year been?” Brody asked, his low voice sending shivers down Yori’s soul. Yori had never seen something so enchanting. Brody was a gorgeous, muscular version of Taylor Lautner, minus the werewolf part. He had this full, white smile that reached his eyes and his eyes were a bright green with speckles of tan—
“Yori!” Velvet was hollering, snapping Yori out of her reverie and into reality. Yori looked up, startled and embarrassed.
“Huh?” Yori mumbled, pretending to pick a piece of lint off her black Marc Jacobs stomach coat.
“This is Brody. He’s been in Camp Sing-Song as a camper and then a counselor as long as I have. Brody, this is Yori. She’s new to Camp Sing-Song altogether. Her mom’s a sponsor so she was able to get in, free and easy,” Velvet introduced the two. Yori couldn’t help but wonder if Brody and Velvet shared a secret look when Velvet mentioned the mom- being-a-sponsor thing.
“Hi there,” Brody said, waving.
“Hi,” Yori barely muttered, sighing at Brody’s shining beauty. Suddenly, counseling at Camp Sing-Song didn’t seem half bad for Yori and she actually started to forget about some things back at home. Tanning at the beach didn’t seem so special anymore, drinking virgin martinis weren’t on her mind, even Yori’s boyfriend stayed in Yori’s subconscious for then.
“What cabin are you in?” Velvet asked.
“Cabin 2A,” Yori blurted out, before she realized Sporty McHappy was talking to Hunky.
“Cabin 4B,” Brody said.
“Cabin…2A? Wait, Yori aren’t you 2A?” Velvet asked, looking at her assignment paper, confused.
“That’s what it says,” Yori replied, pointing with her lavender painted nail at the cabin number/letter.
“That’s weird, why don’t you ask Katie?” Brody asked, leaning over to take a look at the two papers.
“You mean we’re going to walk all the way back to the main building?” Yori complained, burning bright red once she became aware of the presence she was saying it in.
“No,” Brody laughed a little and taking out a little walkie-talkie kind of thing, “didn’t you get one of these?”
“A walkie-talkie?” Yori asked, unzipping her Kate Spade bag to see if it was in there.
“Everyone should have gotten one,” Velvet commented, taking out hers, pressing a few buttons, and speaking into it. “Katie?” A crackle buzzed through the intercom before a broken up voice vibrated through.
“What’s up?” Yori continued to rummage through her stuffed handbag before she found the bulky, black device.
“This is Velvet. Yori and I got the same cabin assignment, 2A.” Yori yanked out her walkie-talkie, poking herself in the arm with the antenna along the way and then waited for the crackling to break through with Katie’s voice.
“Oh, that’s right. I meant to tell you. Is Yori near?” Katie’s crackly voice came through.
“Yes,” Velvet answered.
“Oh. Then let me rephrase what I’m about to say,” Katie started. Yori made a face at the walkie-talkie, offended that Katie wouldn’t speak freely with her near.
“By the time Yori applied to be a counselor, we had already picked and announced our own counselors, but her mother being our top sponsor, we were obligated to let her in. Therefore, you and Yori will be sharing cabin 2A and all the campers in it. Oh, I’m getting another call-in. Sorry for the inconvenience, but Yori’s mom pays for the activity materials!” Katie’s line then went dead and Yori felt ready to smack something. If Katie needed to rephrase what she was originally going to say, how mean were Katie’s earlier words?
“Well, then I guess we’re sharing, Yori!” Velvet chirped, sliding her walkie-talkie into the belt of her cutoffs. Already angered from Katie’s offensive message and the fact that she was an “inconvenience,” Yori simply shrugged her shoulders.
“Guess so.”
Okay, what do you guys think? Am I heading somewhere?
That was about 1100 words, so I think 1000 words a day will be just the right goal for me because it was comfortable in the beginning and middle, but a bit challenging near the end of the segment.
Remember, guys: Writer's block will get in the way, so it's up to you to find a way to build your story around it.
ABC 123,
Maddie
