#WritingtheSensesChallenge & #FantasyWIPJanuary Day 16

Yesterday's #writingthesenseschallenge was all about taking those sound sketches and writing in some details. And the #fantasywipjanuary writing challenge asked what my favorite piece of my own writing is. Since it didn't specify the particular status of the work, that opens the door for me to share my true favorite of everything I've written seriously up to this point. Read on to find out more.

#writingthesenseschallenge Day 16 - Sounds: Sketches to Details

A mewling cry pierced the air in the grotto. The light of the five moons sifted through the iwista trees clinging to the steep, rocky walls. Together they painted misshapen fingers of shadow and light across the boulder-strewn floor of the grotto. A young woman writhed on a patch of soft yellow mazh bathed in a stray moonbeam and wailed once again. The midiva and a Genzetti couple were the only witnesses to her struggle. The latter had sworn to adopt the infant should its imi’I breathe her last.
“The infant is being difficult. It isn’t turned properly.” The old midwife grimaced in concentration as her hands set to work. “Steady breaths now. Find your rhythm.” Her gravely voice trailed off as she turned the entirety of her focus back to the task at hand.
“By Andurdrao! Was a birthing ever so hard?” Ren Inessi clasped the woman’s hand.
“O’boer,” whispered the woman through tears, “do you remember your promise?”
“I wouldn’t be here if I’d forgotten it.”
“No.” Her tired smile faded as another pain hit. She hissed and keened. When it passed, she could barely catch her breath. She murmured a weak thanks.
“I will always help my family. Family is always first. Family is most important.” He enunciated each word, making sure she heard the reverence in his tone.

OK, so this isn't the best work I've ever done but I like the setup of this opening scene. It still needs a ton of work, even though I may have actually revised this one twice already. And for those who worry about such things, there's always going to be a pronunciation guide, glossary, and index in each of my books, even though I think if you really read the work, the meaning of the new words are made fairly clear by the context clues. If this isn't so, please let me know because that's one of my goals.

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#fantasywipjanuary Day 16 - What's your favorite work you've written?

Isn't it awful when you try to keep a statement short but to work grammatically, you need to add more words? That question is definitely a good example of such a thing. Anyway...of all the pieces I've written seriously so far, my favorite is probably "Surge" which is book three in the series. It's not complete yet and still in rough draft form. Even so, the elements in that story have been the most fun to work with so far. I would've shared the makeshift cover with you but this aesthetic board serves well enough. I wish I knew who all these artists/models were. I found all the photos on Polyvore, which is no longer a working app. :( If any of you know of other apps that allow you to create outfits and arrange the pieces into a pleasant photo, would you let me know? Collages are nice, but Polyvore allowed so much more scope for easy creativity.

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So how are you turning your sketches into details? Did you sketch sounds with a playlist like I did? If so, how  did you turn that into a piece of writing? I'd love to see your results if you're playing along. Be sure you share with the hashtag (#writingthesenseschallenge) so I can find all the posts. :)