The Writer's Guild

[petefeet]

Hello, fellow writers!

 

This accountability group is intended to be for those who include a storytelling portion in their challenges or those who like to write in their real life.

 

ANYBODY can join, we just ask that you be polite and respective to your fellow nerds.

 

This is a fun, supportive group of amateur writers. A resource in which you can offer support, bound ideas off of, look for beta readers, any number of things.

 

We ALL have our strengths and weaknesses, let's come together and pool our resources to become better writer's.

 

Each 4 week challenge will have a mini that either I or another member will suggest as a means to improve our skills.

 

Welcome aboard!!!

[petefeet]

The Writer's Guild

 

January 4 - 29, 2016 Challenge

 

Since this is a new thread and a new year, let's take things off a little slow with some introductions. I'll come up with a mini challenge next week once we have some more people on board.

 

Hi! My name is Peter and I'm an amateur writer. I consider my strengths to be the creation/layout parts of a story and I struggle with grammar and "fleshing out" a story once I have the bare bones done.

 

I generally write sci-fi & fantasy themed stories, and many of the topics I write about are a reflection of my personal life.

 

I also tell a story in my challenge's, in which I mirror parts of my real life into a story told through the eyes of a halfling named petefeet. Current challenge in my signature.

[Kilyra]

Whoop whoop!

 

I enjoy writing, but it's the getting published part that seems to not be in my cards. I mostly do short stories, but I do have a couple full-length novels in the works. I enjoy doing the NaNoWriMo challenge as a writing exercise, but this year I actually got something usable out of it so my big focus is re-writing that - my new year's resolution is to actually have that story beta-reader ready by the end of the year!

 

I tend to stick to sci-fi and fantasy writing. I wanted to dabble in more suspense or horror (have a couple great ideas) but will have to learn a LOT about that side of the craft because I suuuuuck at it haha

 

Looking forward to chatting with other writers! Thanks Petefeet for heading this up!

[Sovellis]

Hello all! I'm Sovellis, and I prefer collaborative fiction (e.i. role play, lol), and feel strongest when it comes to character growth and development. I'm not so great at world building, or plot, or pretty much anything else, which I guess makes sense given that I'm pursuing a doctorate in clinical psychology. I do try to include storytelling as part of my challenges because it keeps me interested in a way that just working out doesn't. I also occasionally do some poetry, and am especially fond of limericks. 

[Jett]

Thanks for setting up the thread, Peter! :3

 

I'm Jenn. I do some writing, but mostly I roleplay (like Sov) or work on the setting for my tabletop RPG game (similar to Dungeons and Dragons). I usually do a storytelling part to my NF challenges. My spouse is a professional writer, and I do a lot of editing for them. I'm really good at worldbuilding, character development, and making developmental editing suggestions to help work through plot holes and messy writing. I'm really bad at coming up with plots on my own.

[Scrawlcreatelive]

I like to write novels, poems, and short stories. I am also interested in fan fiction and roleplaying. I like Fantasy and Science fiction. My strengths are character building and plot.

[Starstuff]

Hi, all! I write useful, but not very entertaining technical manuals for a living, and sci-fi and fantasy (usually with a hefty side of horror and romance) for fun. I tend to write mostly flash fiction and novels, probably because that's mostly what I read, as well.

[pureleeawesome]

Hey, I was looking for a group like this!

 

I tend to have a lot of ideas in my head that people generally like the sound of but struggle to get them onto paper.

I write filk, poetry and this year I'm trying to get a novel out of my head which is fantasy/adventure however there's also a crime novel and general fiction novel floating around up there too.

I used to write fanfiction, haven't in years but as I've just finished watching Humans I can't stop thinking of story ideas for it!

[Sovellis]

Ooh, filk! You definitely have my respect! Quick question, does your username refer to your own name, or a particular fandom?

[pureleeawesome]

My own name. Please tell me about this fandom though.

[Sovellis]

Lol, I was wondering if it might reference the Lee Pace fandom. He is my most recent crush, just ask Noor, I can get a bit insufferable at times.  

[Redbeard the Viking]

I'm an aspiring writer too! Having worked on a series since my sophomore year in high school, I know the pains of Writer's Block rearing its ugly head.

And after twelve long years... I'm not even bloody close to finishing at least one novel of it.

I write traditional fantasy. I enjoy character building, design, history, cartography and settings.

[RMDC]

Hey, glad to see this topic's up and running!

 

I'm an off-and-on writer who's taking this year to get serious about it. I'm working on a sci-fi/fantasy novel right now, but my real love is children's literature of all genres. Might be because my mother was a 4th-grade teacher who focused on literature in her classroom. As Madeleine L'Engle said, "You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children." I'll feel like I've made it as a writer when I can live up to that standard of having something so worthwhile to say that it deserves to be told through a children's book.

 

Tabletop roleplaying occupies a fair amount of my writing time as well, though my RP experience for the past decade has been almost exclusively in the home campaign my ex-wife and I run for each other.

 

Writing neato fiction for challenge threads sounds fun. I think I'll do that for my next challenge.

[UnquietBones]

Hullo all!

 

One of my goals along with all the fitness and Druid'ing this year is to actually write something outside of NaNoWriMo/Camp NaNo. I used to write (and do Art) a lot more than I do now and I really need to get back to my happy place where I'm being consistently creative.

 

I write (but rarely finish) novels and novellas and short stories-- but I do finish flash fiction, drabbles, Songs To Walk To (hey, I get bored!) and a metric ton of Saturday Story Prompts. One of my few 'wow, I really did that??' accomplishments is I've kept the SSPs going for over five years now. It's amazing what you can do putting words to paper a little at time!

 

Now if I can just get that to apply to the rest of my writing...

 

I write high fantasy, urban fantasy, science fantasy, soft science fiction, a smidgen of horror, and very rarely 'normal people in normal worlds being normal'.

[TheFatFriar]

Greetings from another aspiring writer!

 

I'm mostly a hobbyist, I tried getting into publishing, but it didn't go well. Since then, I only write fan fiction to keep myself entertained and my writing skills polished. I'm also considering to have an MFA in Creative Writing.

 

My ultimate dream is to create my own fantasy universe one day. But for now, it's just a dream, because I haven't even started working on it.

[petefeet]

January 4 - 29, 2016 Challenge Week 2 mini-challenge

 

(Take part or not, just a little bit of fun. I think it goes without saying that being polite and respectful is expected.)

 

The challenge this week is to either...

 

A. Introduce us to the protagonist in story you are currently working on.... Or

 

B. Share a paragraph of a story that you have completed.

 

P.S. Suggestions for mini challenges are also appreciated. What do you kids want to see/do?

[Sovellis]

Hm, for option A, do you mean a written scene, or just a description? Or, hells, even the character coming in and saying hi?

[petefeet]

Hm, for option A, do you mean a written scene, or just a description? Or, hells, even the character coming in and saying hi?

 

Any or all, though I was thinking more along the lines of this...

 

Met "Anna", she is the protagonist in the short story "Breathless" that I'm currently writing.

 

She and her boyfriend Tommy are young lovers who have grown up in a world destroyed by the zombie apocalypse. Having never seen "our" world, she never the less finds the tattered remains of our lives one of the few happiness to be found in hers, and carries a bottle of perfume with her that she opens and smells when Tommy isn't watching. In their home she has pasted colourful pages from any and all magazines that she can find and spends countless hours just staring at the faded and torn pictures. 

[Teros]

Who raised them?

[petefeet]

Who raised them?

 

Hmm... Haven't put to much thought into it to be honest, it's a 1000ish word piece of "flash fiction", so background isn't all that important, at least in my opinion.

[Sovellis]

Background might not make it into a story that short, but it could help inform your approach to the characters.

[RMDC]

I'll take option B. As a side note, all of my story's characters were given names from a random word selector. It's an experiment. I'll give them proper names once the story's done.

 

Harmony bet that Shack would show herself in the park first. After three days spent crossing the salt flats to reach a trail that led up the ridge face before terminating on the rainy, rocky road to Featherpeak, Harmony expected that Shack wanted to enjoy the green riot at the heart of the city’s south-facing sunny side. If not today, then tomorrow for sure. Whatever business had led the woman to the mountain wouldn’t keep her within the city’s rock walls for her entire visit. If the demon hadn’t spotted Shack by the time two days passed, she’d have to give up the tower and stay in the small traveler’s hostel outside the town’s gate. She was only willing to splurge so much on aerial reconnaissance. While the rooms at Cloudrest facing the city were cheaper than those with a view of the cloud-spotted valley, Harmony was still paying for fresh linens, two meals a day, and abstract art prints over the double beds.

[Sovellis]

The smokey tavern was crowded, every table packed, and it definitely wasn't because of the food. The noisy crowd goes quiet as an elf steps up onto the short platform generously called a stage. His bright, emerald green eyes sparkle with humor and genuine enjoyment as all eyes turned to him. A little on the short side for an elf, he still cut an impressive figure, well muscled, meticulously groomed, and dressed with definite flair. His long, jet black hair was shaved on the sides of his head, revealing runic tattoos. The remaining hair was braided tightly with glowing beads woven in to the plait. "Good evening, everyone! While I'm sure many of you already know who I am, let me introduce myself for those new members of the audience. I am Sovellis Nialo, Heirlan of Ferry Point, Sule of Sejabird Hill, Bard of Suthrie, and founding member of The Path, that famous group of adventurers who returned the Books of Loric, allowing the land to become fruitful once more, and who returned the last Hand of Helea with The Shield of Mar, making it possible to locate and return the lost Icons of Helea. I could continue, but my famous modesty requires that I do move on." He smirks and winks at the crowd, knowing that modesty is the last thing he would be accused of. "Now, who would like to hear a song?!"

 

<------<<<

 

The only story I'm writing right now is for the challenge, and since the protagonist is a bard, I figured I'd let him introduce himself, lol. I know no one will really know the things he's referencing, but I feel this gives a good feel for the character.

[Sovellis]

Okay, in all truth, Sov hasn't really been himself for a while, so he hasn't really been written like this in my challenge posts, but hopefully now that he's beginning to feel better he will get back to this version of himself.

[Kilyra]

Alrighty, here's a paragraph from my short story "The Joshua Complex". And this is the short story that spurred on the long one I did for nano, which has turned into the word beast I'm currently battling with

 

The splatter of rain on the large bay window was the only thing to break the stillness in the sitting room of Catherine’s home. Not even the insistent beating from the sullen skies was enough to break the concentration of the man staring down at the woman in the bed. Ignoring the silent heart monitor, he watched for the smallest signs of life. The rise and fall of her chest was so slight that it was impossible for a human to see with the naked eye. Joshua, however, monitored the movement effortlessly.

 

PS: For challenge ideas, what about one where we have to think about/describe how an interaction with our main character might go? Or what they would think about us if they met us. Not necessarily a breaking the 4th wall kind of way where it's a character meeting their creator, but just if we were in the story or something?