Author: Beth Hull

Time Out!

Posted on by Beth Hull

If a one-year-old gets one minute time-outs, a two-year-old gets two minutes, and a three-year-old three minutes (and so on), it stands to reason that a 30-year-old should get 3o minutes for each time out.

Am barricading myself in my bedroom now.

She’s out there, though. “Mommy!” … “Mommy?” … “Mommmeeeeeeeee!”

30 minutes. I’d rather spend it reading, or working on le manuscript, or napping. A nap would be good. Instead, she’s pounding on the door like a body-snatcher, or a zombie or, even scarier, a hyperactive three-year-old. Might have to further retreat into master bathroom.

So here I am, perched on the counter next to the sink, armed with a bottle of hairspray from 1988 and a toilet plunger. Not the time-out I needed.

Here We Go Again

Posted on by Beth Hull

I have, once again, joined the Sisterhood of the Maternity Pants.

While I think it’s pretty evident to everyone who has glimpsed, even out of their peripheral vision, the protrusion of gut-stuffed-with-child swelling my middle, I feel that I should just come clear. It’s either this, or I gripe about how drivers using turn signals in traffic seems to be going the way of bows and curtsies.

So. Here it is. I’m pregnant.

Frequently-asked Questions of Pregnant Women, Which I Shall Answer Here

  • When is the baby due? May 2nd.
  • Will you find out if it’s a girl or a boy? Yes. The appointment for that ultrasound is in December.
  • Does Z know? How does she feel about it? She knows, and she’s super-excited. She’d been asking for a little brother or sister, since most of her friends have them. She might be viewing siblings as noisy accessories. I forgot to tell her there’s no return policy.
  • Do you want a boy or a girl? Since I have a girl, I think I’d like a boy, although it really doesn’t matter.
  • Do you have a name picked out already? Nope.
  • How are you feeling? Pretty crappy for the most part, and tired. But I think the nausea is lessening.
  • Any cravings/aversions? Usually I’m a sugar-fiend, but I don’t want that so much – I’d rather have salty things. Like french fries. Every day. Most of my fun/allowance money is supporting the fast food industry right now. Way to help that growing brain! Also, I don’t want to look at a zucchini right now. Or ever again.
  • You’re huge. Are you having twins? No.

If there’s anything I missed, feel free to ask.

So, we’re very happy, although I’d be lying if I said there were no mixed feelings on my part. Finally I’ve gotten my free mornings for writing, and that’s all going to end in a few months. But I managed to write two novel-length manuscripts in the three years before Z started preschool, so I’m sure I’ll adapt to whatever insane writing schedule I need after the baby comes. And besides! Soft little person to get to know! Sweet milky baby breath! Adorable tiny shoes!

The Monster, Part 3 (and The End!)

Posted on by Beth Hull

For Part 1, click here. For Part 2, click here.

The Monster

Kimberly heard someone behind her. She turned around quickly, just in time to see the sorceress pointing her wand at James and chanting in a foreign language.1 Kimberly had no time to think. “Noooooo!” she wailed, then took up a handful of dirt from the hard-packed earth,2 hurling it at the twisted face of the sorceress.

  1. Wow, this is so much easier than the entire theory of magic I created for my current manuscript. Wand, foreign language, boom. Sorcery.
  2. I’d imagine it would be rather difficult to pick up an entire handful of dirt from hard-packed earth. Just sayin’.

By an invisible and powerfully strong force, Kimberly was pushed to the ground. There she lay, unconscious and still.

Kimberly awoke, startled to see James’1 handsome face directly above her own. A cold wash cloth was being pressed against her forehead.2 “Kimberly, are you all right?” James asked tenderly,3 brushing her hair away from her face.4

  1. I think we already discussed the James’/James’s issue.
  2. We haven’t, however, talked about passive voice. “Was being pressed” is totally awkward, and leaves out any agent doing the pressing. Of course, we can guess it’s James pressing the wash cloth, but why not just say so?
  3. And I KNOW we’ve talked about adverbs.
  4. Also, we’re missing the entire, huge problem with this story. The old “Oh, I got knocked out, WTF happened while I was in my Victorian swoon?” (As much as I loved The Hunger Games, Katniss does this a few too many times in the third book.)

“James, I – I didn’t think you could come,” she said dramatically.1 “I knew you were mad; I thought I was doomed.”

“I would never leave you to die. I’ll never be that angry.”

“So what happened?”

“You distracted the witch for me, then I had the chance to kill the monster, then I fought the witch and killed her too. But when you threw the sand in her eyes, she aimed her wand at you instead. That’s why you got hurt.”2

“Thanks, James, for saving me.” Kimberly reached forward and kissed him gratefully on the cheek.

“No, Kimberly, I couldn’t have done it without you.”3

James cradled Kimberly in his arms for a moment, then picked her up and carried her away from the woods and the evil memories that remained there. They would make up. They always did.4

  1. Dramatically. Seriously.
  2. This entire recount seems to be out of order.
  3. Despite the cheesy dialogue, I must congratulate my teen self on how I did not overuse dialogue tags in this section. We know who’s talking, so why add “he said, she said”? Something I should have kept in mind for my current manuscript.
  4. I thought they already made up? Or is this referring to their big college argument that never got resolved? That must be it. Well, luckily I don’t think anybody cares how they solve that problem.

And thus ends our journey into this endearingly short romance. (Indeed, its brevity may be the only thing in its favor.)

The Subtle Art of Hyperbole

Posted on by Beth Hull

Other parents have corroborated this phenomenon: they make a simple request of their child and BOOM! They get a dramatic, hysterical reaction, usually accompanied by whining and/or tears, along with a wildly distorted rephrasal of the request. I think we need examples.

1.

Ever-Suffering Mother: Hey Z, would you please pick up your puzzle before taking out your medical kit?

Z: [stomps feet, throws self on ground] But you don’t want me to play with anything!

ESM: Hmm. Not what I said.

2.

ESM: Z, you need to use both hands to hold your cup.

Z: You don’t want me to drink any milk!

ESM: Hmm. Not what I said.

3.

ESM: Darling, sweet daughter, who listens so well, let’s wear pants today instead of shorts because it’s cold.

Z: You said I can’t have any clothes!

ESM: Hmm. Not what I said.

4.

ESM: Please, little angel, I’m begging you, would you mind very much NOT throwing my manuscript on the floor?

Z: You don’t want to share your things!

ESM: Hmm. Not what I said.

5.

ESM: For the last time, stop talking to me during Quiet Play Time! I’m trying to work! [under breath: and win another game of solitaire]

Z: You just don’t want me to talk at all!

ESM: You got that right.

I don’t know where she got it, her tendency to overreact to things.

Shut up.

The Monster, Part 2

Posted on by Beth Hull

Yes, I will beat a dead horse. For the first installment of this scintillating poetastic series, click here.

The Monster, Part Dos

She could smell it’s1 breath, the crude stench lingering as the monster went back to the hole it slept in. It lied2 down and began snoring once more. What the heck is going on? Kimberly wondered. But she didn’t mind. The longer the monster slept, the more time James would have to realize what a moron he was and would come looking for her.3

  1. Again, ITS, not it’s.
  2. The past tense of lie, as in, “to lie down,” is lay.
  3. I’m not getting a clear picture of how Kimberly is tied right now, and why she isn’t struggling more. I am wondering who the real moron is in this story.

Frantically, Kimberly looked around, taking in her surroundings as she did so.1 What if James was too angry this time, and didn’t come back for her? He knew she couldn’t find her way around in the woods, but right now he was probably too angry to care.2

  1. What else is she doing as she looks around? Not taking in her surroundings?
  2. James sounds like an Edwardian (of the Twilight, not the era) jerk. Perhaps the monster sparkles a little, and Kimberly can fall in love with the monster instead?

Kimberly decided that she couldn’t always depend on James.1 Sure, he had gotten her out of many tough situations,2 but right now he was being senseless. Kimberly looked around for a weapon. Naturally, there weren’t any nearby. After all, sorcerers aren’t widely known for their moronic stupidity.3

  1. Yes, yes, and thrice yes!
  2. Have there been other supernatural encounters? Or by “tough situations” does she mean how she forgot her homework, or got locked out of the house?
  3. And that’s it, she just stops looking? Sorcerers might not be stupid, but they should have some kind of hubris, like pride, that causes them to overlook things that resourceful heroines can find so the heroines don’t have to depend on jerk boyfriends to come and save them like a god from the machine.

Then, all of a sudden, Kimberly heard the sorceress shouting angrily at something or someone out in front of the house. Could it be? Yes it was! It was James!1 “James!” Kimberly cried out desperately.2 “James! James! Back here!”

  1. It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no! It’s horrible writing!
  2. Watch those adverbs, sistah.

As if in a nightmare,1 the monster awoke. It looked around hungrily, then it’s evil gray eyes rested on Kimberly. Terrified, Kimberly was quiet. She no longer heard anything but silence.2 Had the sorceress gotten James, too? But then the monster lifted up its snout, sniffing the air. James bounded out of nowhere,3 tackling the vicious monster.4 The monster wailed in surprise, then began bucking and jumping, trying to throw James off its back.5

  1. Whose nightmare? This is my nightmare.
  2. Here’s something I read somewhere – that even in silence, you can hear noises. If nothing else, the sound of your own breathing. Or maybe there’s the wind in the trees, or the hum of the refrigerator. Any of these things is more interesting than absolute silence. Besides. You can’t hear silence, can you?
  3. Nowhere? Like a wyrm hole or something? Something magic?! A nice twist would be if James were the sorceress. A little cross-dressing, a little dissociative identity disorder….
  4. Swoon! My hero!
  5. I feel sorry for the monster. It didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just doing its monsterly things.

And thus ends the second installment of “The Monster.” Next week, we’ll finish the story.

After that, I have a vampire story I wrote in high school. I think it’s even more embarrassing than this one.