A post without a picture (this one is about writing)

So, I just finished re-reading (well, some of it was just skimmed) the first draft of the "book" that I wrote for NaNoWriMo in November and I was pleasantly surprised. Now, don't get me wrong--it is still very flawed, just not as bad as I remembered. I think I really like my main character. I think I have given her some good and funny insights. I like some of the dialogue. I like how I tied elements of my main character's life with the subject she was studying. What I don't like very much is the plot. Do I think I can work with it? It is, after all only a first draft. Plots can be difficult for me. I'm just debating whether or not I should continue with this or start something new, perhaps using some of the characters that I used in this story? Hmmm, it's a dilemma.

Anyway, I just wanted to share with you one tiny scene from the story (and remember it's an early draft, so keep that in mind. I had so much fun with this part as it was kind of a comment (although a bit exaggerated, I suppose) directed at some of my co-workers that get so worked up about the fact that kids (and adults) so often travel to the library without their library cards. Here it is:

James and I head to the service desk with our stash. We plop our pile of books on the counter, and then it hits me. I don’t have my library card. It is sitting at home, by my computer. When I tell the man behind the desk that I don’t have my card and ask if I will still be allowed to check out books, he peers at me suspiciously over the top of his wire framed glasses, like I’m some sort of juvenile delinquent. Hey, at least I read. Isn’t that enough to prevent a call to the library police? Obviously irritated, he asks with a sigh: “Do you have your school i.d.?” Geez, don’t they pay you people enough? I hate to disappoint him, but I do have my i.d. and I produce it from the lanyard hidden beneath my coat, triumphantly. Again he eyes me suspiciously, closely scanning the photo to make sure that it’s me. When there’s no doubt in his mind that I am who I’m claiming to be, he checks out our stack of books like it’s this big burden. Hey, some of us trekked all the way to the library in the cold, through the mud and and now have to carry all of these home in our backpacks, ensuring that we'll have back trouble by the time we're 35. We work for our books, while you sit behind that desk and act superior. Thanks for making a teenager and little kid who both like to read feel so welcome. I force a smile and thank him through my teeth. I think it comes out a bit sarcastic, but can you blame me? I thought the people that worked in the library were supposed to make young people feel excited about books. I guess I was wrong.


Edited to add, how great is it that it's 66 degrees?!