Timewaster's Guide Archive
Local Authors => Writing Group => Topic started by: guitarbabe on January 18, 2006, 07:59:01 PM
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Okay, so I've been looking through the sites to find this information...since I definitely don't want to repeat anything (and after some good laughs and some 'ah hahs'--and man, I've been putting some people through some major dejavu), I still can't find what everyone's 'current' projects are.
So, can I hear what you're all up to? Stacer, are you writing a book? I think I got that from what I read? So, let me hear it!
Guitarbabe (me)
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I've been writing a book for about five years now. Someday I'll finish it. I'm an editor by trade, writer when I have the artistic energy, which after 3 years of grad school and now full days of work, isn't often. Perhaps someday, after a full career at what actually makes me money, I might get back to it more aggressively. In the meantime, I dabble, and I edit.
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What's it about?
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It's a retelling of a Scottish fairy tale, a Beauty and the Beast tale type. But it's going through a major idea overhaul, after being written as a novella/novellette/whatever you call it. I'm changing the setting, that sort of thing.
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She has a lot of good ideas. She's making good progress.
I have multiple current project. My most active two are The Fantastic Plastic Men (http://plastic.herbertlives.com) and the TW(i)G project here on the site. Neither of those are books, though.
I have two novels in progress. One is in need of a rewrite from scratch, though I haven't finished the first draft.
The other is the The Heir of Ungrith which girls seem to love and guys seem to either be blase about or hate. I admit that I had more of a feminine audience in mind when I wrote it. It's about a princess who has to marry an older man who is supposed to die soon. Love story, magical horses, and curse breaking ensue.
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I have one novel in progress, a fantasy, that the speculists writing group has been helping me with feedback. It's about a woman who has inherited a kind of magic that can be passed down from one generation to another.
I plan to hit 90,000 words today. I hope. I still have about 1/3 - 1/4 of the story left to write, and then onto revisions. Unfortunately I'm suffering from low-grade writer's block at the moment, but I'm trudging through it as best I can.
My other project is putting up my own website. I got my own domain name and web hosting for Christmas (thanks, mom!) and am trying to put stuff up. Which is annoyingly time consuming.
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I am writing my fifth novel, but my first YA: it's an historical horror/adventure thing with a Victorian Gothic setting, aimed primarily at teenage girls. I'm very close to finishing, but these last few chapters are hard.
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*Cough* Fell, I would like to read it. I have been curious ever since your blog during NaNo. (My email is on my profile...)
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I recently posted this info on another writing board, so I only had to update a couple of things.
Works currently submitted somewhere:
"Tabloid Reporter to the Stars" (SF short) - A tabloid reporter is chosen to join the crew of the first interstellar voyage.
"Protector of the Line" (Fantasy short) - A royal bodyguard tries to protect a pregnant queen from a surprise attack.
"Bird-Dropping and Sunday" (Fantasy short) - A fairy tale about a very clean boy.
"The Man Who Moved the Moon" (SF short, reprint) - An assistant movie director must do the impossible in order to make a "realistic" movie.
"By the Hands of Juan Peron" (SF/Alternate History short) - The Catholic priest son of Emperor Juan Peron finds out the truth behind his father's power and eternal youth.
"Premature Emergence" (SF short) - What could be worse that being stuck in interstellar space near a potential hypernova? Not being there alone.
Rejected works I'm not sure where to submit next:
"Loophole" (Fantasy short) - A Mormon finds out he's married a demon -- and he's about to meet her family.
"Digest of Selected Portions of the Abbreviated Summary of the Condensed Report of the Ad Hoc Investigatory Subcommittee of the Select Committee for the Thorough Examination of Unusual-But-Widely-Publicized Events in Interclusteral Space of the Middle Senate of the Upper House of the Parliamentary Congress of the United Federal Union of Confederated Galactic Clusters" (SF short) - What happens when an A-1 Type Irresistible Force meets a Type 1-A Immovable Object?
"Spectacles of Death" (Fantasy short) - An actor finds glasses that let him see the shadow of death.
Works needing final polishing before submission:
"Waiting for Raymond" (Horror short) - A poltergeist watches the woman he loves.
Heir of the Line (Fantasy novel) - What do you do when the prophesied one is physically incapable of carrying out the prophecy?
Works needing thorough revision before submission:
"The Final Element" (SF short) - When items can be duplicated at the atomic level, how do you detect a forged Stradivarius?
"Beneath Dover Castle" (Alternate History short) - What might have happened had King John slaughtered the barons at Runnymede?
"A Member of the Peronista Party" (SF/Alternate History short) - A mother and her two children try to escape the Argentine Empire.
Works in progress (with actual writing begun):
"The Nuclear Option" (SF short) - A body modification doctor wonders just why his anonymous client needs such powerful upgrades.
"A Verse for the Valiant" (Fantasy short) - A mediocre court poet decides the only way to impress a young woman is to become a knight.
"How Shall We Sing the Lord's Song in a Strange Land?" (SF short) - The religious-refugee colonists of New Jerusalem are taken from their planet and enslaved by an alien race.
"Nor All Your Piety Nor Wit" (SF short) - A scientist meets the consequences of inventing a device capable of viewing the past.
"Fantasy Jump" (SF short) - The crew of an asteroid mining ship take a hyperspace jump based on artificial information.
Works in progress (not yet past research stage):
"Pausing on the Brink of Eternity" (SF short) - A college student investigates the disappearance of his roommate, a physics grad student, and finds an international conspiracy.
"The Day the Music Died" (SF short) - Something in the air is absorbing sound at most frequencies.
Camelot High (TV Screenplay) - An awkward high school freshman's life gets magically complicated when he becomes the focus for the possible reincarnation of King Arthur.
Untitled Space Opera Novel (SF novel) - A descendant of a deposed galactic emperor finds out why their family has been kept alive in captivity for generations.
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Currently I'm slogging my way through a memoir of my year in Afghanistan with the Special Forces. I'm 56,000 words into it. the going is slow, work, family, etc... but steady.
When the first draft is done (100-120,000) I'll be looking for readers. I need non-military perspectives to make sure everything is clear to someone who doesn't already know the lingo, and military perspectives to make sure it has the details they want.
After that I'm going to pick up the military SF novel I dropped four years ago when I was in Kuwait and FINISH IT!
edit: I could have gone ten years without posting my puny little aspirations of work ten minutes after that bloody list.
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could have gone ten years without posting my puny little aspirations of work ten minutes after that bloody list.
Just remember that the vast majority of that list is short stories. I think your aspirations of finishing both the memoir and a military SF novel are plenty ambitious.
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When the first draft is done (100-120,000) I'll be looking for readers. Â I need non-military perspectives to make sure everything is clear to someone who doesn't already know the lingo, and military perspectives to make sure it has the details they want.
I want to read it! That sounds fascinating. How long do you think it'll be before you finish?
I'm currently working on my fourth novel--it's a fairytale spoofish thing, and it's a lot of fun to write. I'm also in the process of making notes for a vampire novel, which will either be my fifth or sixth book, depending on my drive to finish other things I have started.
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I want to read it! That sounds fascinating. How long do you think it'll be before you finish?
Well, I started in September of 2004. That should give you an idea. I aspire to finishing much earlier than the trend seems to indicate but...he he.
Whenever it gets done, you're on the list. ;D
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I am currently working on what is to be my first novel. I am probably about halfway done with it. It's a fantasy about a wandering wizard who is fighting a cult that abducts people and somehow transforms them to become their soldiers.
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I would be down with that, Nessa. I'll let you know when it's finished.
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I'm impressed! I think it's cool when people go for their dreams...and I totally know what you mean by the low grade writer's block, Nessa (I'm totally going to get stern with myself).
These books had better be out in print in a few years! Why not? It's cool that you can actually write from experience, Frosker (I still can't get over that computer man). And those others sound really fun to research (I say I hate the research, but sometimes...well, it would be so cool to learn more about Scottish stuff, Stacer. I totally envy you--especially some of the cool stuff they did. I had some really tough Scottish ancestors and the things they did make me proud...in a disgusted kind of way).
My sister's husband comes from a clan that 'practically' wiped out our clan (those darn Campbells, they tried to kill off the McDonalds too). Anyway, when I found that out, I forbade them to marry. It was totally Romeo and Juliet. Oh, except they lived and got married. But seriously, it's amazing what a few years does to calm things down. I'm sure our ancestors would have been appalled he married into the family. We're the Black Irish and we followed the Black priest...total tangent.
So, is there a post where we can read first chapters and stuff like that? Is that the writer's group thread on that other post (I love how clear I am)There probably is...and I just haven't looked deep enough.
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Due to privacy/copyright issues, we don't usually post entire chapters. The writing group is done via email (the files) and IRC/chat (the actual meeting).
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Is that the writer's group thread ...
http://www.timewastersguide.com/boards/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=writing_group;action=display;num=1101266640;start=210
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That's helpful. I'll check it out.
Oh, so much drama, drama, drama today. You ever have one of those days? Speaking of, I think I saw a thread on procrastinating, I think I'm going to check that one out. They might have some good advice for me. :P
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I'm in the final (hopefully) rewrites of my next humor/suspense novel. Covenant has it slated for May or June.
After that, I have an adventure, Indiana Jones-ish thing in mind.
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What's it called, so I can look it up? I published with Covenant too! They're awesome to give us newbies a chance.
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Rob's the author of On Second Thought and Wake Me When It's Over (and its sequel, the one he's talking about).
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I plan to hit 90,000 words today.
Success! Even if it wasn't in the part of the story I should have been writing in.
Unfortunately I'm suffering from low-grade writer's block at the moment, but I'm trudging through it as best I can.
Gah!! Could this be any more painful? I have to wrench the words from my brain. In one particular chapter. Only about another 500 words to go and I still can't seem to beat it from myself.
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Yeah, good luck with the writer's block, Nessa.
I'd better get over my own writer's block because I've got my first submission due in about a week (for my Novel in Progress class). yipes. I've got about 75 pages of my first high fantasy novel, Counterpart, so far. Boy, I sure hope I can finish it this year come what may!
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I have but one project which has been endlessly postponed, A Rustler of Years, which I've been encouraged to finish by Saint many, many times, but never have.... sigh.
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*Cough* Fell, I would like to read it. I have been curious ever since your blog during NaNo. (My email is on my profile...)
One of these days I want to read something of yours too, Fell. I hear you're a great writer.
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Right now I'm in the second chapter of my seventh book--a postmodern adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I'm also rewriting my fourth book for the third time--it's about alpacas. Don't ask. And my second book is awaiting rejection on the desk of EUOL's agent. It's nice to hear what everyone else is up to. Very interesting.
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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow? I would love to read that! I wrote the dialogue for a musical of Sleepy Hollow once, and it really got me interested in it. I have no idea what happened to it though :P I got paid $700 for it and we parted ways. I even tried to look it up on the internet, but no luck. If it actually ever came out, I doubt I'd get any credit. Ah resume stuff. If it DID come out, I'd at least demand to see a free performance.
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Well, I'm only on chapter two of the first draft, so there's sadly not much to read yet. Also--an update--got a 2 page single spaced letter from EUOL's agent today, telling me he enjoyed reading my submission but doesn't think it's ready yet. Very nice and complimentary, though--and he had a lot of great suggestions and ended it "I'm available for follow-up, and eager to see something new," which is nice. So I'm pretty jazzed right now, even if I don't have an agent.
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Wow, good for you, parker! It's not often you get such -positive- refusals, and he even said he'd like to see more stuff later on! And 2 SS pgs takes a lot of time, so that's a compliment in and of itself. :D
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It certainly was nice. Kudos Parker.
I got through my writer's block and finished the chapter. Kudos for me.
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Nicely done, Parker. I've never gotten a rejetion letter that nice and happy.
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Hey, guess what? Jeff Savage is speaking tonight at 7:00 (that's Wednesday Jan 25th) on the second floor at the Provo library, and he's going to give us ten tips guaranteed to get our manuscripts looked at by national agents and publishers. And he says that we'll be too scared to use the tenth idea, but it's the most effective thing he's used. Very mysterious. I've got to hear this.
I wonder if I should put this on a different post, so more people can see this?
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As long as you list those ten things out for us I'll be happy wherever you put them.
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And he says that we'll be too scared to use the tenth idea, but it's the most effective thing he's used.
Would that be, work hard and write a good book?
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I have one novel in progress, a fantasy, that the speculists writing group has been helping me with feedback. It's about a woman who has inherited a kind of magic that can be passed down from one generation to another.
I plan to hit 90,000 words today. I hope. I still have about 1/3 - 1/4 of the story left to write, and then onto revisions. Unfortunately I'm suffering from low-grade writer's block at the moment, but I'm trudging through it as best I can.
The first draft is done. Finally. Coming in at 165,400 words. Now for the second draft.
Anyone else care to update on their projects? Fell? (I do remember you promising to send me your story to read when you finished it...)
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Yay, Nessa!! I sure wish my first draft were done.
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Current Works in Development:
2 Fantasy books in modern world
1 Fantasy book in ficticious world
1 Sci-Fi book series
:-/ *shrugs* I hope to be an author someday.
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Hey! It's my cousin! Welcome back, chunktile!
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Oh, and be sure to introduce yourself here. (http://www.timewastersguide.com/boards/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=news;action=display;num=1051196804;start=135)
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Hey! It's my cousin! Welcome back, chunktile!
So does this mean we can't ask him to do the Truffle Shuffle before he makes another post?
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Nope. ;)
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Well, I just started writing a short story. I was inspired after reading one of those "Unexplained Mystery" books. It might turn out well. :-/
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Current Projects for EUOL:
Warbreaker: 29 chapters done. (About halfway. I'm keeping some back from posting them immediately because I know it will be slow going for a while, what with the revisions I have to do.)
Mistborn 2: Just started the seventh draft. (The last major revision I'll have to do, hopefully.
Mistborn 3: Haven't looked at it since I finished the third draft back in May.
Alcatraz: Revisions coming back from Scholastic in a week or so. I need to have the fourth draft done by mid October, contractually.
So, I'm a busy, busy little writer.
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Good to know you haven't looked at Mistborn 3 lately. I haven't either.
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Parker's Current Projects:
Lesana--56,000 words done of first draft. Should end up around 80,000. It's a contemporary fantasy that takes place in Slovakia. YA.
Buttersby--aka the Llama/Alpaca book that I wrote for my mother (and which she payed me for hehehe)--Should be done with the fifth and pretty much final draft tomorrow or the day after. Then with some help from CtrlZed and his illustrator friend (the same one who did the Mistborn Llamas), the book should be out at the beginning of October, meaning it went from concept to print in about 15 months. Found out the other day that my dad's a personal friend of Sheri Dew, which means this might actually have a long shot of seeing the inside of a bookstore. Otherwise, look for it soon at an alpaca store near you.
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Oh yes. I was about to tell tale of what I'm currently working on.
It seems superheros cannot escape my mind recently. So, in transit to the short story and mostly unrelated, I've decided to take on the task of writing an "epic" poem about a superhero. From birth to death. Albiet that it will be sporadic in which events are posted when.
Currently the death is posted, as is the birth. And when I say epic, I mean it will tell a greater tale once every piece is written. Not that they'll all fit perfectly together.
http://tronrpg.blogspot.com/ Enjoy.
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Currently:
Editing my sixth novel.
Writing my seventh.
And eighth.
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Atreas,
Hey! Book six is the one I eventually sold. Have you had any luck sending them places?
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Atreas,
Hey!  Book six is the one I eventually sold.  Have you had any luck sending them places? ÂÂ
I actually emailed you about this subject a while back, I think. Right after ELANTRIS came out. *Wonders if you remember me.* 8)
Six isn't ready to go. Yet. It's coming along, though. Now that I've written something that I think might at least have a shot, I've got to brush out all the typos. Got most of 'em the first time through, but I'm making some changes this time around.
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I'm currently working on a Sci-Fi novel. Its only at 18000 words right now. I started it a month and a half ago. It's basically about dragons in space.
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I'm working on an Arthurian legend piece. Placed after the death of King Arthur in the world of the dead. Following Arthur on his way to The Hall of Heroes or something. What would his journey be like?
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I am actually working on a project. It is a dark fantasy tale( i cant say trilogy or series given that im not sure how long it will be). What i want from this however is to accomplish major elements that happen in life. I want to capture the magic of a pair falling in love. Of a man finding himself in the place he couldn't be happier. Of someone realizing that they can never be loved--that love was only for a few and the rest would have to settle with content. Of someone leaving her world in search for more--in hopes to be able to say i love my home for what it is and not becuase it is the only thing i know. For an assassin to become a priest. I want to capture what i have begun to call inner revolutions.
I say capture because i don't simply want to write about them. I want the reader to feel submerged in the tale, to find his/her heart throbbing, ripping, faintly beating to nearly vibrating! i want the reader to let out a sigh of exhaustion that comes after a good long run at sunrise when they finish my book...that is what i wan't more then ever.
If anyone here has a self instilled conflict--whatever it maybe--please tell me. I really want to know!
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Currently, I'm pouring my heart out into one piece of work. It's also my first stab at this whole "Let's write a novel" idea, and I've realized that this is what I want to be doing with my life. If anyone is curious about it, feel free to send a PM, or contacting me through AOL Instant Messenger. I should be online most of the time, because I'm always signed in while writing.
Currently, around 30k words and counting. I had no idea I had the ability to sit down and write until I pass out before starting this whole thing. ;D
Planning on this first book to be around 150-180k (hopefully it'd become a series if I ever got it published, but I plan on writing at least two or three either way).
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I'm writing a fantasy-mystery with a Jane Austenish social setting. I'm only about 10K words in though.
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I'm plotting out my NaNoWriMo for November.
Also working on several short stories.
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I'm plotting out my NaNoWriMo for November.
Same here 42. Though now that I've had some time to think about it, I now have several projects in mind. One I have plotted out to 6 books. Another may or may not make the 50,000 mark but it is fully plotted and ready to go. Then there's the half dozen ideas buzzing around my head. :o Oh well, I still have 9 days left...
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I have my Nanowrimo all plotted and waiting for actual writing. I have another project that I'm working on as part of a class as well. It's a YA, and I actually don't have writer's block on it because I started on the third chapter rather than the first. Yay! ;D
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I'm revising a few short stories (all speculative fiction) and then plan to return to work on a Fantasy novel I started in EUOL's class.
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I'm writing an epic fantasy novel/series of novels currently titled "Eriadhin: The People of the Choice"
I've only gotten a couple of chapters finished to date. Though recently I've been writing the prequel to the series, for some reason it grabbed me by the throat and demanded that I write it first. Novels are so bossy....
I'm also working on a time travel story, a scifi story, a slipstream story, and others. Though most of them are more in the planning stages than the writing stages.
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Right now I have a SciFantasy Adventure story in the works. It's plotted out for the most part, and I'm the middle of refining my characters.
I recently set aside a super-anti-hero story, and I have 2 same-universe SciFi series, as well as a weird Modern-era Fantasy idea popping around (a little bit of a "His Dark Materials" feel too it).
Creativity + ADD = Unwritten stories. lol.
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I have three basic stories flying around in my head right now.
Hero's Birth: The first one I am tentatively calling Hero's Birth. Its turned into a kind of fantasy vampire-hunting story. A teenager, Talian, finds a mysterious black stone in the forest. (shut up, its not Eragon.) Basically he discovers that this stone is sought after by four major factions; the dhampir (vampires), the sorai, (an ancient race of my own devising; silvery skin, disinheirited rulers of an ancient empire), the Sal Rada (demon-worshipping magic users) and the Darkwatch (think demonhunters.) The major plot twist is that the stone actually contained the soul of the golem lord Ghammorghal, a demon of unimaginable power. He was the one who destroyed the sorai empire and at the end of this book he gets re-incarnated in a new body. For now this story is on hold.
Crystalheart: This is the one I'm currently working on. No title as of yet, crystalheart is just a placeholder. In this story the magic is almost passive; warriors have crystals implanted in their hearts, giving supernatural strength and quickness. No fireballs.
The world is filled with ancient, ruined cities and relics of a lost civilization. The current inhabitants of the world have learned rudimentary uses of their most basic energy sources; the crystals. Basically Aermyst, the main character, gets his crystal stolen and his best friend killed by a mysterious, silver-haired man. This man gets supernatural power far beyond that of even a crystalheart by implanting stolen crystals in his own heart. Aermyst is trying to get his crystal back through various ways but fails every time.
Eventually he discovers the ancient inhabitants of the ruined cities were defeated by an alien race that the silver-haired man is trying to fight off.
Red Dawn: This is little more than a few paragraphs on my laptop. It's going to be a play on the "hero comes of age" cliche; two young men are brought up in the ways of magic, going on missions, etc. There is a type of council between humans, elves ( a very feral and predatory variety) and any other races I decide inhabit the world. One of the young men becomes an anti-hero, one a hero. They are destined to face each other, etc.
The main promise I see for this one is getting inside their heads, watching the way someone can become a hero, and then become twisted until eventually he fights against all he once stood for. Basically watching him fall to the "dark side." Obviously if the character growth is going to be meaningful and deep, if the audience actually cares for the villian, I need more than just this as the basic premise of the books. I need to find things that will force the characters to grow, but as I said I've done basically nothing for this story so far.
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My NaNoWriMo story:
It's a character study with vampires and other assorted shape-shifters. The Monkey's Paw and unintended consequences make up the main theme.
"Now I’m pissed, I’ve been given a back-handed wish, told that if I do not consummate my marriage to a female vampire we will both die, we have our cab wreaked and attacked, and now someone has thrown me into a pit for reasons I cannot even begin to guess. This day is just getting better and better."
Excerpt at: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/414056
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The story I've been working on is getting set aside for a few weeks now, and I'll be focusing on a story for my final project in my Creative Writing class.
For this final project I'm writing the prologue or the first chapter to a fantasy story that I will write later. The setting is going to have a sort of colonial era Central America feel to it. You know, cool pirates, crazy natives, Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp (okay, not really those two. . . I was just got thinking about pirates. . . ). The culture is going to be kind of a mix between British and Israeli. Their lineage is very important to them, as their powers are hereditary. The magic system is something I'm proud of. Its based around science and academics, in a way.
Anyhow, the plot is going to be centered around a big war that's going on, and will have lots of politics in it. However, as with any good fantasy, there will be more supernatural events fueling the war.
Now, the problem I will be facing is going to be the temptation to work on this story beyond just what I need for my final project in creative writing. I'm about 30k words into it, and don't want to get distracted with a different story. I haven't finished a novel in seven years (and I was 15 when I wrote that one. . . i'm embarrassed to go back and read it). In that time, I've started at least a dozen, and this is the farthest I've gotten on any since. So, uh, I've gotta stay focused on this one!
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I've finally broken 100k on my main idea, which is around the half way mark for what I have plotted, and looking back on it, I'm pleased with the work. There are definitely a few patches that will need to be rewritten, but the main focus right now is to get the story finished. I've learned the hard way that revising while writing bogs everything down, and that revising a finished story would probably be easier.
In the meantime, I've begun work on another idea; basically a story about Air Pirates and Air Ships, because I've always been fascinated with large ships flying through the air, and I like pirates. So, Arrgh! That's currently only around 5k. Basically, think Skies of Arcadia, and I don't even plan on it being published. I just want to write about pirates and learn about ships, and all the nautical terms I could convert to a sky theme.
So I officially now have two books I'm working on. Hurray!
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For this final project I'm writing the prologue or the first chapter to a fantasy story that I will write later. The setting is going to have a sort of colonial era Central America feel to it. You know, cool pirates, crazy natives, Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp (okay, not really those two. . . I was just got thinking about pirates. . . )
Great idea! It seems like there are so few fantasy stories with that type of setting out there. I guess old guns just aren't cool enough...
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I'm currently working on a series that has the tentative title of...you should take a guess...
*drumroll*
Wielder--a four part series. I think the title of the first book will be entitled 'A Shard of Ellisar.' 'Ellisar' might change because I was told a couple weeks ago that Aragorn's kingly name is Elissar or something to that effect. I have also been told by many of my colleagues that I shouldn't worry about it--and so I probably will.
You probably want to hear something about the book, but I have found that the further I get into worldbuilding, the harder time I have explaining what the story is about. But, I'll give it my best.
Wielders are despised over all beings. The process by which a Wielder is born is unknown, but it is a well known that the use of a mysterious power called Amash'ara is central to their unfortunate abilities. Over thousands of years, there have been a handful of Wielders who scourged the world, some of which attained enough power to challenge the Gods themselves. One Wielder was a curse, two nearly led to the destruction of the world.
Three Wielders brings the ruin of mortal men.
Well, yeah. That's just some random stuff that I crunched out really quick. The story follows three Wielders as they fight to release themselves from the tyrannous hands of the Gods. If you can't already tell, Greek Mythology has been a big influence on my work. Two of the Wielders are pretty well known at the start of the story: Gareth (a banished king--I wonder why he was banished...) and Uriel (a devout priest who has come to question his allegiance to the Gods).
I am still working on the magic system, but it will essentially be very powerful with equally powerful consequences. Wielders are not the only beings that posses magic, but they are definitely the most dangerous.
If any of you want to see a few short stories based on this world, feel free to PM me and I'll send you a copy.
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Aragorn's kingly title is similar, but not quite the same: Elessar. I wouldn't worry about it.
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Okay, my current project(which isn't that current because I haven't worked on it for a month or two ::)) is a novel titled
"Soul Taker" - Staged in a continent called Sarhl, which is made up of many countries like Europe or WoT, it is essentially the story of two men. One is a king fighting to reunite a broken land, the other is struggling with himself as he is caught up in in a rebellion against this king. It will either be a single novel or a two novel series...I haven't decided yet.
It is set 400 years after "The Rupture",( a rip-off of from WoT) when the emperor essentially destroyed himself and put an end to the golden age, as he let loose a power known as "The Darkness". And now, a king from one of the countries, has set it upon himself to re unite the broken land and bring back the glory days. (I know this sounds very cliche, but there is more to the story and characters that I hope makes it anti-cliche) And one country in the North, Rostant, is the last one left, the only one that has not been subdued, and they are fighting back, led by a mysteriously powerful leader. It's very medieval Europe, and the glory days were like the glory of Rome pretty much..
What I like about my story though, is the magic system(s), and the first doesn't have a name, but is made up of different users, Soul Takers and Endurers(this name is most likley temporary). Soul Takers, well, take souls. They tap into their own souls to enter a different dimension which they name the "Unknown Realm", in which everything is shadowed and the only colour is the pulsing blue aura-like souls of men. Here they move faster, are stronger, and physics effect them less(not quite like the Matrix, but along those lines) Time is also slightly askew here, so Takers can sometimes avoid things before they happen. The Soul Takers essentially rip out the souls of men for themselves, layering them around thier own soul. But the Realm is not uninhabited. An entity named The Darkness is there, which feed on souls, but as men's souls are in their own dimension, they feed on the souls of Soul Takers, who are exposed when they enter the Unknown Realm; and the Darkness is attracted to souls, they can sense them, much like the Nazgul's ability to sense the Ring in LotR. So the reason that Soul Taker's take souls and layer them around their own is to protect them from the Darkness; which then feeds off the taken souls(mostly). But Soul Takers feel it still, and the Darkness' voices haunt them(much like the Machin Shin in WoT) and essentially are constantly draining their souls while the Takers are in the Unknown Realm. ( and by the way, when your soul is taken, or drained by the Darkness, you are DEAD: not like the Grey men or when dementors suck your soul, no, you are gone. ( I'm sorry, I didn't mean to write this much, but I get carried away, there is more, but it's also a twist, so I won't reveal it)
So the Soul Takers randomly born with their ability, and are trained as assassins, work for highest pay, but usually have loyalties to certain Rulers. The other main character is one of these, who is hired to work against the King by the rebelling country, and the book is mainly about his personal struggles and the Darkness consuming him while he is trying to fight it.
The Endurers are essentially super amped up versions of soul takers, who can mould some of the Darkness to their will, as well as the powers of a soul taker, and can bend time slightly, there are only a few of them however, and I named them Endurer, because they Endured from the golden age, and there is more to them than it seems...
The 3rd is Light Bringers, who are the opposite on the spectrum, they can take in light, store it, and then bend it as they wish later on, similar to what the Endurers do with the Darkness, only the light isn't an entity. ( or is it... ) no its not.
Anyways, sorry for being so long winded, If anyone wants some samples, just PM me, and I already put up the intro on a "feedback" thread if you want to check it out there.
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By way of introduction, I am a home schoolin' mom who also coaches high school mountain biking with my hubby in Marina, CA. I have been a pastry chef, a truck driver (bread delivery), a very bad waitress, a surfing photographer and a singer-songwriter, among many other things. I have read sci-fi fantasy since the LoTR and the Pern books and always knew I had a t least one in me.
I kinda thought I'd wait till the last kid was gone, or at least not home schooled, to write my first book, but it just started pouring out of me not long ago and I got this great new laptop...
Anyway, that's who I am and it's been fun getting to know you all through your posts. I may disappear and be back when I'm published (I have these visions of grandeur quite often) or I may lurk (my usual habit) and pop back in from time to time. I am here because of reading and enjoying EUOL at the moment, but I may stay because I like you crazy Mormons.
BTW, my protagonist is a female slave in a world like and unlike ancient Persia, but she will not ever marry a king/prince or become some kind of hero. There will be events swirling around her and she will partake in important aspects of them, but she will remain true to herself and her original goals. I'm not saying she won't be given amazing opportunities or that she won't grow in satisfying ways, but my little anti-hero will have a lot to teach us about finding one's true place.
I am discovering that inspired writing, be it verse or prose, teaches the author things about themselves and their world that they did not previously (consciously) know before putting pen to paper/fingers to keyboard. I can't wait to find out what my slave girl has to say next! She has already surprised me.
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I'm new here, so just looking for places to chime in...
Current Project: Fantasy novel that's been in the works (on again, off again...) for several years...finally figured out where I want the story to go so most of my recent breakthroughs are layout related...the story is driven by the concept of redemption and bringing the story of several characters separated by hundreds of years of history and purpose together to redeem their own cultures through unified purpose and each other...
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Cool, and welcome to you! I don't know if you'd be interested, but some of us have set up a writing group here. We submit and review pretty much anything you'd care to send in. Just log in at the top and you'll see it: its toward the bottom, called Reading Excuses.
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I'm going through rewrites and editing for a story I finished a month ago. After I'm done with that I plan on starting something equally weird, and unique... 8)
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I think I posted here a while ago about some projects, but recently another one has joined the list.
In school I drew this picture of a man. He is something like half-dragon; tattered shreds of wing hang from his arms, he has cat pupils, and hes got claws for feet. I don't know who he is or what his story is, but I want to find out.
I kinda doubt it really has any potential as a full book but I'm really interested in it right now. He would be a very conflicted character who thinks he is a monster. He wants to die.
And thats about all I know so far.
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TROGDOR!
No, sorry, but I was reminded of Trogdor when you described your story.
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TROGDOR!
No, sorry, but I was reminded of Trogdor when you described your story.
Burninating all the country side. Burninating all the peasants. Burninating all the thatch roof cottages. Trogdor strikes in the NNNIIIIIIGGGGHT!
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Cool, and welcome to you! I don't know if you'd be interested, but some of us have set up a writing group here. We submit and review pretty much anything you'd care to send in. Just log in at the top and you'll see it: its toward the bottom, called Reading Excuses.
Thanks! Sounds great...
Um...I'm currently wading through the Reading Excuses threads that seem relevant...trying to figure out how to get started, the final rules, etc.
Interested in both reviewing and submitting...
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Hello, I am new here and couldn't find a New Person forum area. Anyway, I am currently writing a series. I have been working on the first two books. The first is nearing completion and the second is almost done with it's first draft. It is going to be about four ot five books long. It has been a long way coming, two years actually to get this far.
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Welcome! I'm also new here...'bout a week or so...
When I signed in, Reaves generously invited me to a writing group for online submission/feedback/workshopping...so, I'll "pay it forward" and pass it on...it's called Reading Excuses...there are a few posts in there about rules/guidelines/etc....if you're interested, take a look! in the Local Authors section, it is directly under Writing Group, but you have to be logged in to see/access it.
Good luck with the series!
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I'm working on a spoof/adventure/comedy/tragedy piece in third-omniscient. I dreamed it up as a short story, but it may run closer into novella territory by the time it's done. I can't tell yet. Right now the plot is running at breakneck pace through the forest, dragging me along behind. I'll have to wait for it to pause and catch its breath before I know for sure.