The Writer's Guild

[Annabelle]

It’s February guys! And that means it’s time for our mini challenges to kick off in style. In keeping with the tradition, I’ve got two ready to go J

 

1.       What’s your literary ‘dream goal’? Is it to be published? To have your work adapted into a film? Do you want to be on the NYT Best Sellers List?

 

2.       I want to try a writing exercise in a sort of follow-the-leader style. For example, I say that I’m the protagonist of a murder mystery novel. The next person responds with who I am. Am I a mousy NCIS style character who doesn’t do well with confrontation, but she’s a wizard in the chem lab? Or am I a brash, outspoken detective who’s banging down doors for answers? Then they post their own character idea, and the next person fleshes them out. Think of it as a collaborative effort to see what other people envision your characters to be.

 

 

Remember – you can do one or both! I’ll kick off the exercise, but I’m gonna wait to post my literary goals J

 

I am the antagonist of a YA romance novel.

[Phytomancer]

Nice ideas!!

 

I want to publish in the US while I'm still here. Maybe (but less likely) have a book tour. Then when I go back to my country I can produce more books with the same income, but less living cost.

 

I know it's super hard, but it's a side quest.

 

Okay, then... the follow-the-leader thing:

 

I am a popular guy, a varsity lacrosse player, and I got a few As in my pocket. I find myself the keeper of both social and school rules. Rule breakers must be punished. 

[TheFatFriar]

1. I want to create my own unique fantasy universe. It doesn't need to be a best-seller, or even get published It's still no easy task, though.

 

2. Everyone thinks my life is perfect, but I'm just trying to fulfill the expectations of my strict and overly-ambitious family, because I want others to respect me like they respect my parents.

[Surakha]

Woohoo!  finally going to  post on here this time darnit! I have re- integrated fiction into my challenge this time too!  Check it out and give me feedback- there is lycanthropy! (here)

 

1) I want to be published. It is a long term dream of mine to be a published author.  First though, I have to defeat the critical voices in my head that keep me from ever writing ever. 

 

2) I don't dare let on that I have been seeing things lately-  ghostly visions like waking dreams.  I thought I was going crazy, or it was just all the stress, one too many  hits  on the football field.  Then, yesterday one of my visions came true!  Now I'm even more confused.

 

hmm so for the next prompt:  I am the heroine of a period fiction piece.

[RMDC]

1.) I want to be published, but I think what would ultimately make my life complete would be to write a children's book and get letters from people - kids, adults, dogs, aliens, whoever - responding to it. I guess I want to be Mr. Henshaw.

 

(I think I'll be abstaining from part 2 this time.)

[Sovellis]

1. I don't care much about being published. I am more interested in becoming a better storyteller, whether in print or in person.

 

2. yeah, I think I'll stand this one out, brain not cooperating on it

[Phytomancer]

Okay, writers! I want your opinion on this piece of writing. I wrote it for a competition, and I'm still waiting for the results in March.

 

It's NYC Midnight Story... Which means we were given a genre, a theme, and a character to work with. I was assigned Mystery genre, a cult, and a barista.

 

I'd appreciate if you take a look and tell me what you think. It's 2,500 words. If it's too long or you're too busy, that's okay too. No pressure! Thank you so much in advance!!

[pureleeawesome]

I'm abstaining from part two.

 

 

My literary goals are to become focused enough to get my ideas out onto paper and to form actual stories. From there I'd love to published someday but right now I'm more about being more dedicated to my writing.

[Teros]

It’s February guys! And that means it’s time for our mini challenges to kick off in style. In keeping with the tradition, I’ve got two ready to go J

 

1.       What’s your literary ‘dream goal’? Is it to be published? To have your work adapted into a film? Do you want to be on the NYT Best Sellers List?

 

2.       I want to try a writing exercise in a sort of follow-the-leader style. For example, I say that I’m the protagonist of a murder mystery novel. The next person responds with who I am. Am I a mousy NCIS style character who doesn’t do well with confrontation, but she’s a wizard in the chem lab? Or am I a brash, outspoken detective who’s banging down doors for answers? Then they post their own character idea, and the next person fleshes them out. Think of it as a collaborative effort to see what other people envision your characters to be.

 

1) Have a book that engages people enough to change them.  One of those books where they say, 'I never thought of that' after reading it.  The amount of $ doesn't matter. I don't care about being on a best sellers list. I don't give a shit about it being made into a movie.  I want to shape a few people's minds, so I'd be fine with it even being an ebook for 2 bucks that sells a few hundred copies.

 

2) I'm a jaded pill-pushing therapist in a dystopian world.

 

 

 I am the heroine of a period fiction piece.

 

I totally misread this and assumed you meant drugs so I was going to say:

 

A person that was desperate enough for money for a fix, that they went to rob one of the king's caravans- expecting gold and riches, but inside was a child with completely black eyes that was chained up.

 

What happens then?

--

 

But then I noticed it was heroine....like a female hero, not the drug.

 

 

[Hi Phyto, Purelee, and Petefeet. ] (only looked at the past page)

[DollarStoreHero]

I'm a writer.  I'm just not a very good one!

[RMDC]

Okay, writers! I want your opinion on this piece of writing. I wrote it for a competition, and I'm still waiting for the results in March.

 

Spoilered for, well, spoilers:

 

You pack a lot into a little space. It's very strong overall. The moment where Vincento discovers Dan's ear is placed exactly where it should be, upsetting the cart before the reader can get complacent. It's well-paced throughout, with a couple of moments of rising tension that don't allow the reader to fully relax when they pass. The payoff was satisfyingly incomplete, if you get what I mean - it left me wanting to know all the details of Dan's religious background, yet it said everything that was necessary for the story.

 

I did feel that the officer was perhaps too permissive with Vince, and I was confused at first when he told her that he knew where Dan was and she didn't press for details or demand to accompany him. The community service bit was also off - but then again, my ex-wife is an attorney, so I get pedantic over legal issues.

 

It's good work, and I'm glad you shared it. It'll be turning in the back of my mind for some time.

[Phytomancer]

Spoilered for, well, spoilers:

 

You pack a lot into a little space. It's very strong overall. The moment where Vincento discovers Dan's ear is placed exactly where it should be, upsetting the cart before the reader can get complacent. It's well-paced throughout, with a couple of moments of rising tension that don't allow the reader to fully relax when they pass. The payoff was satisfyingly incomplete, if you get what I mean - it left me wanting to know all the details of Dan's religious background, yet it said everything that was necessary for the story.

 

I did feel that the officer was perhaps too permissive with Vince, and I was confused at first when he told her that he knew where Dan was and she didn't press for details or demand to accompany him. The community service bit was also off - but then again, my ex-wife is an attorney, so I get pedantic over legal issues.

 

It's good work, and I'm glad you shared it. It'll be turning in the back of my mind for some time.

 

Thank you so much! Your comment is valuable. 

 

What I had in mind about religious background was hinted at the beginning of the story: prayers at sunrise, [mid morning, which wasn't mentioned] and later at mid afternoon. Dan was a Muslim, but I feel that the name of his religion was not as important as how it makes him feel about himself. I am glad you caught it! Even if he is a Christian, the ending could still be the same, but the sunrise prayer and coffee was a comparison I wanted to make.

 

After rereading, I agree that the police was a little too lenient, especially after the freak show Vince just pulled. I should have researched and worked it in better.

 

 

I'm excited to read some of your work sometimes to!

[Plazmotic]

My literary goal is definitely to have my finished picked up to be a movie or TV series. As much as I love writing, I’m very visual as well; most of my writing is based on vivid dreams I have. Seeing my precious story come to life would be a thrill. But that’s a long shot, I’d be happy to just finish a full length novel that I’m proud of.

[petefeet]

February 1 - 29, 2016 Challenge 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. Share an interesting piece of a real life conversation that you've had or heard that you would like to integrate into a story someday. It could be a regional saying, a family catch phrase etc... 

 

or

 

B. Share a part of a magical system you have used or would like to use in a story.

[petefeet]

February 1 - 29, 2016 Challenge 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. Share an interesting piece of a real life conversation that you've had or heard that you would like to integrate into a story someday. It could be a regional saying, a family catch phrase etc... 

 

or

 

B. Share a part of a magical system you have used or would like to use in a story.

 

I'll do both just for fun.

 

A. One particular turn of phrase that I always have a bit of fun with is "is that going to be un-thawed in time?". To me, if something is "un-thawed" it's frozen and when I point this out to some people it can take one a life of it's own.

 

B. I have yet to write a story using this system, but I have put some thought into it. This system is shamanistic in that the magic user has tattoo's of the animal he/she can transform into, and the ink for said tattoos comes from the beasts the magic user can transform into. For example my magic user might have an tattoo of a bear on his back and the ink is magically imbued blood from a bear. 

[Phytomancer]

A: I always argue with my best friend with the most random stuffs. Then I will hide some argument fallacy where he can't detect and press him to answer me. His response when he is cornered: "I'm not going to indulge you, [Phyto.]"

 

Example:

Me: So, I notice you eat cereal with milk.

Friend: Yes...?

Me: Why?

Friend: Because that's how you eat cereal.

Me: Says who?

Friend: Says the instruction in the box. See? There is even a picture of cereal with milk on the box.

Me: Since when do you follow conventional advice from some evil corporate?

Friend: What-- no! I like the way it tastes, ok?

Me: How do you know that without trying other combination? Have you try it with juice? Ice cream? Tea?

Friend: I--no. Gross!

Me: You just follow whatever the evil corporate tell you? Without question? That could lead to disastrous results!

Friend: Shut up. I'm not going to indulge you!

 

Might stop by to do B. later!!

[Ahyar Dreamspark]

B.  I used to write Diablo II fan fiction (mainly about public game PvP, which always turned into a hilarious, rage-filled shit show) and came up with a magical explanation for lag: it was like a constantly moving cloud of invisible energy, and only being felt by a select few beings at a time.

 

The magical equivalent of an invisible winter storm, basically ;P

[RMDC]

For a D&D 3.5/PF/homebrew RP I once ran taking place within a computer ancestor simulation, magic was a set of routines that the system constantly ran disengaged from the rest of the simulation, and tapping into it required dedicating a certain amount of one's own program space to linking those routines to the world. When a person's program went through its daily maintenance reset (i.e. long rest), those spaces were reset and made newly available. Making new spells was essentially a matter of crafting new program architecture and releasing it into the routine library. Scrolls and spellbooks were pointers to the routines themselves. All of this operated below the awareness of those being simulated. In other words, the plot of the world happened to provide a pat explanation for the hodgepodge of BS that D&D expects people to accept without looking too closely.

[Phytomancer]

B.  I used to write Diablo II fan fiction (mainly about public game PvP, which always turned into a hilarious, rage-filled shit show) and came up with a magical explanation for lag: it was like a constantly moving cloud of invisible energy, and only being felt by a select few beings at a time.

 

The magical equivalent of an invisible winter storm, basically ;P

 

I loled to this. Magical explanation for lag, rage, awfk, etc.

 

 

For a D&D 3.5/PF/homebrew RP I once ran taking place within a computer ancestor simulation, magic was a set of routines that the system constantly ran disengaged from the rest of the simulation, and tapping into it required dedicating a certain amount of one's own program space to linking those routines to the world. When a person's program went through its daily maintenance reset (i.e. long rest), those spaces were reset and made newly available. Making new spells was essentially a matter of crafting new program architecture and releasing it into the routine library. Scrolls and spellbooks were pointers to the routines themselves. All of this operated below the awareness of those being simulated. In other words, the plot of the world happened to provide a pat explanation for the hodgepodge of BS that D&D expects people to accept without looking too closely.

 

This is the magic in the eyes of the coders, I see.

 

 

B.) My magic system comes from the parallel worlds between mythological spirits and humans. To enter and influence the other realm, one must have a host. For example, if a ghost/god/deity wants to come to the world and use their magical powers, they have to possess humans. And this can be done only by agreements. One can contact the other through dreams, or when ones' emotions are highly impacted i.e., morbid sickness, grieving, rage. The more the spirits and humans have in common, the more powerful their combination will be.

 

Humans can visit spirit worlds as well, and they will have cool power in those worlds, but of course, the knowledge of how had lost through modernization.

 

This is the main magic system I use for many stories from past to present, and it's fun to explore! 

[RMDC]

I like that, Phyto; the idea of magic coming through bonds forged during significant moments appeals to me.

[Phytomancer]

I like that, Phyto; the idea of magic coming through bonds forged during significant moments appeals to me.

 

Thanks. This idea come from the tales I heard across the cultures. People becoming violent monsters during anger, doing unimaginable things. Some sick people see Grim Reapers in their final moments. People with high fever hallucinate apparitions. Some grieving people seeing their loved one stopping by, etc. Many people claim they are the hosts of gods and the dead across Western and Eastern worlds (although most are fake). 

 

Psychology explained all these phenomena, but the deeper I study neurosciences and psychology, the more I learned that we don't know squat. So the lorist in me decided to have some fun with it. 

[petefeet]

Hey kids,

 

Just thought I would share with you all that I'm going to be a published author! This is the first time one of my short stories will be published and it will be in a regional anthology. I'll be honest, I'm pretty proud of myself! <g>

 

Shameless plug!

[RMDC]

Big congratulations! Will we lousy Americans be able to grab a copy when it's out?

[petefeet]

Big congratulations! Will we lousy Americans be able to grab a copy when it's out?

 

It's being released in print and digital on April 1st, I'll know more then.

[Jett]

Hey kids,

 

Just thought I would share with you all that I'm going to be a published author! This is the first time one of my short stories will be published and it will be in a regional anthology. I'll be honest, I'm pretty proud of myself! <g>

 

Shameless plug!

Congrats, Peter, that's super awesome! I'm proud of you, too.