Wednesday Words: Nigeria Kidnappers

Source: The School

When the zealous Islamic militants attacked her school with frenzied shouts and gun fire, the school girls tried to run and hide in the bush.  One masked man scooped Teeka and tossed her over his shoulder, as he yelled orders to the other men.

All the screaming girls were forced into box trucks, beaten with gun stocks.  Crammed and cramped, Teeka and her school mates were crying and beating against the metal walls.  No!  No!  Let us go!  You have no…

Source

Teeka had always been the meek and quiet girl of her class, more of an inchworm, one who would gladly go unnoticed.  But now?  Teeka summoned all her strength and became a gladiator, taking charge.

Be quiet! She demanded.  We must plan and think, not weep and beg.  This…With steely determination, she finished, these animals will not have weak and sobbing cowards!

Teeka had no way of knowing that she herself was considered as an investment. For a few dollars she would be sold, either as a slave or in a forced marriage.  But, she would not go easily.

Boko Haram: the group leader

Many thanks to Delores   for providing random words (the bold, underlined above) for participating bloggers to use and created a flash fiction, poem, prose, etc.   Please click on the photo of a stream on the right sidebar to read the work of other writers.  And please join the group!

...And pray for these girls to be returned to their homes.  May their captors receive the justice they so richly deserve.

Reflections on the A to Z 2014 Challenge--Huzzah!

The Parade

Well, it’s not really over.  For a blogger, the parade never really ends.  It just changes directions.

I have developed some reflections about this year’s A to Z 2014 Challenge.

This year I vowed that I would:

 Keep track of the sites I visited, write the numbers down, note sites which were ones I would follow.

Curse a bit when finding ones that were inactive.

Say “Really??” upon finding sites that were trying to sell a product.

Hit the keys with disgust, after reading ones that were downright vulgar and thoughtless.

Doze off with ones that were like reading small tomes.

Shake my head at ones that were hoping for beta readers and editing help right then and there.

Sigh with pleasure and delight when finding ones who truly expressed a cohesive thought with simplicity and well-chosen words.

With all that said, I would like to appreciate: 

the bloggers who kept their posts brief and interesting.

  

The writers who focused on the message to be conveyed.

  

The writers who knew that run-on paragraphs would put the reader to sleep.

  

The writers who understood and understand the craft of writing.

Just a few of "My newly-acquired: boy-I-want-to-follow-these" are:  

The Shellshank Redemption

D.G. Hudson

Jilda Watson

Writer's Storm: Brandon Ax

Melanie Schulz

Loverofwords

Not enough words can appreciate gratitude for the organizers and on-call super bloggers who either designed, oversaw, and/or monitored the 2,000+ participants.  These people are (with hopes that none were excluded, but pretty sure there are...so sorry):

Arlee Bird

Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh

Stephen Tremp, Author

Tina  

Amyanti 

Jeremy @ Being Retro

Heather M. Gardner

M.J. Joachim's Writing's Tips

Heather M. Gardner

See you 'round the corner!  

Huzzah!

Some may wonder why I use color for words.  Teacher trick.  Helps students track sentences.  Also I love color.

Why "huzzah"?  I like the word.  My apologies for the length of this post.

Good ol' high school band on parade

Wednesday Words: Jack

Jack raced away from the fizzling and foaming of a chemical bomb lobbed at his fellow troopers, sending them scattering in different directions.

He vaulted over a ragged fencing into a barren field, harboring a blister of hope that his comrades were alive. The riptide of emotions swept over him, just as he heard a “crunch” beneath his left foot.

Oh, please God!  No! He whispered.

The land mine was pressure activated and always fatal.  Jack’s mind raced through the possibilities and what equipment he possessed.

Please, Jesus, make this work…If not, I’ll be kneeling at Your Feet…

Jack fired a grappling hook to the nearest tree and pushed the automatic retract button.  It pulled him up and out as the IED exploded.  He saw and heard the blast, but from the safety of the tree.

With drops of blood splattered on his uniform, Jack knew he had some injuries, but was saved, and had been in many ways.

Source

Delores from http://ramblingsoftheterminallyaging.blogspot.com  faithfully lists 6 challenging words each week.  This week This post shows the word as underlined words.  Please click on the delightful photo of a running creek in the right sidebar to access other participants.  It will be well worthwhile.