Future Short Story


Posted by Laylian

This was a dialogue exercise from a couple of days ago.

“Corwin, I’m a Hunter.”
“I understand that.”
“And nothing you can say will ever make me stop being a Hunter.”
“I respect your dedication.”
“Then you see why this won’t work.”
“Not really, no.”
“I’m a Hunter. You’re my prey.”
“Why?”
“You eat people.”
“I certainly don’t. Why do you think I own the largest cattle ranch in the industry? It isn’t because I like the smelly beasts, I assure you.”
“You don’t… But there were three deaths in the region over the last month. All exsanguinated. Everything points to-”
“It wasn’t me.”
“Then someone’s done a great frame job.”
“I’ll help you figure out who.”
“That cow blood? It’s lowered your IQ.”
“Your ultimate goal is the cessation of these killings? Eliminate me and you’ll lose an ally. The murders will continue.”

I’m excited to see where it leads.


Writing Prompt


Posted by Laylian

This bit came to me after I watched an episode of Outer Limits (Identity Crisis)

“I’m waiting for you to say “I’m not okay”. Then I’ll wrap my arms around you and let you cry. I’ll hold you as you catch your breath. I’ll wipe away any tears you miss. I promise you this: if you’ll just let me close enough, I’ll be there until the end. I love you.”

I’m feeling a bit melodramatic this week, haha.


Writing with Windows 7


Posted by Laylian

I decided to finally take the plunge into upgrading my OS. I got tired of my computer spazzing out while I was typing and neglecting to record what I’d been trying to say. When it freezes in Microsoft Word you know there’re problems.

So I begin the laborious process of reinstalling everything I use. I went for a completely new install over a normal upgrade. I was afraid that whatever slowed me down last time and kept my .net framework from upgrading would follow me over to this new OS. That wouldn’t be fun at all.

This might be something I should have done last month before Camp NaNo. Whether or not it impacts my wordcount remains to be seen. I’m currently ahead of where I need to be. Let’s hope it stays that way!

I’m going to load some more programs.
Ta~


August Writing Project


Posted by Laylian

Well, I’m off again. I wrote about 1,400-odd words today. That’s a victory! And Priest made me so angry I had to go clean something. I suppose that’s a good thing, isn’t it? I know he’s actually not a bad guy, but writing this last scene I hated him, haha. My nickname for him is the ‘Snarky Bastard’ and I say it with affection. He’s a good antagonist for Zero, throwing down road blocks and generally keeping the poor elf from accomplishing his goals.

It’s nice to be writing again. During the good times I wonder why I ever thought I couldn’t do this, why I was afraid to put a sentence to a Word document or even long hand it. The secret is copious amounts of caffeine. I’ve had two pots of tea and four or five cups of soda. When you’re that caffeinated it’s easy to have hope for betterment!

And that’s it for now! Nothing is edited, so I’ll not torture the eyes of you imaginary readers.

See ya~


Another Interesting Writing Prompt


Posted by Laylian

Procrastinating today, I found this little segment tucked into my notebook:

‘They thought I charged ahead without caution and waited for the day I would fall. I knew it. I saw it in their eyes. Do the aristocracy not know their people? I knew mine. I knew they wanted what I had.’

And just below that:

‘I felt like I could lie down and sleep forever. Each step down the marble hall reverberated in my bones. Every sound– if there were any in that silent place aside from my own slippered steps– came from a distance, like hearing the ocean’s waves through ears filled with cotton. It felt like a dream.

A dream wouldn’t have hurt.’

Just thought I would share ^^

In other news, Thomas Bergersen released a CD titled ‘Illusions’. Everyone should go give it a listen. The man does amazing stuff. I recommend ‘Promise’ and ‘Soulseeker’.

And I added 650 words to Old Dominion today. Yay~

-Laylian


Ema Eggs


Posted by Laylian

On a gem hunting foray with my mom, we ended up in Black Market Minerals. I found something there called Ema Eggs. From the card that comes with the stone Ema eggs “are quartz stones that are naturally tumbled in the Ema River in Brazil. A flat polished surface has been cut to see the inside. Some call this the original crystal ball. The fortune teller would tell a person’s future by looking into the ‘window’ of the quartz stone”.

The moment I saw them, a scene for Priest and Zero formed in my head. I even found the perfect stone for poor Zero. I’m excited to try and write it. Maybe it’ll end up being a submission for class next semester. If I can, I’ll put up pictures of the stones that Zero uses in the novel.

That’s all for now~


Summer Writing


Posted by Laylian

Well, I’m stalled. Not in a ‘hit a wall’ kind of way, but more of a ‘I lost all confidence in myself’ sort of way. I feel like I’ve let a lot of people– including myself– down recently and it’s sapped my will to do anything clean away. Whether I have or not is up for debate. But this is a writing journal, not a place for my melancholy postings.

I did come to a realization about my novel in this time though! I’ve been poking at it, studying it (yes, studying it is the antithesis to getting a first draft done) and I think I’ve made real progress. Since no one else ever reads this anyway, I feel I can post it here and not let the sand out of the proverbial bag.

I’ve been rereading Les Edgerton’s ‘Hooked” book. He talks in there about the Inciting Incident, or the place where all trouble starts, the Initial  Surface Problem, the thing they’re trying to solve, and the Story Worthy Problem, something I’ve been struggling to understand for a year and a half now. It’s easy, you might say. Well, sometimes people forget how to spell the word ‘the’. Things come quicker to some people than others. Anyway, I’ve never been able to figure out what exactly the SWP was for Old Dominion. I think I have an inkling now.

Zero’s buried problem, the one that’s going to take him all novel to realize he needs to overcome, is his decision to make bad choices. Looking at what I have for the book now, it makes perfect sense. Because he blames himself for what happened the second time he touched the Cursed Prince’s Stone, he unconsciously makes himself suffer by making decisions that hurt him. He’s punishing himself for something that wasn’t his fault. Only he doesn’t know that. He has no idea. The SWP is the “driving force behind the initial surface problem as it’s ultimately what the protagonist must reconcile at the end of the story” (Edgerton, ‘Hooked’ 26). It’s never overtly stated in the novel. I feel like I understand things a little better now. Yay!

And that’s my update for now. Jya~


Word Count


Posted by Laylian

I’m finishing the night with 1,821 words. I still need 2,170 until I’m caught up for today, but I think I’ll get some sleep.

I’m making progress on the part that’s giving me trouble. It seems Priest is going to be getting his own little sections in the book. The trick will be to not give too much away. Before, I was going to have Zero (and consequently the reader) find out that Priest knows everything after the events in the book’s middle. I’m going to aim to only give hints that Priest knows what’s going on and is manipulating everything. Be all cryptic like. We’ll see how that goes, haha.

Ta~ Sleep now.


Old Dominion


Posted by Laylian

I dove into my summer writing project with a couple friends. Yay! Writing is much more fun when you know other people who are also laboring along. And it kick drives my competitive spirit, haha.

I’m working on a section for my novel that’s been in the works for months. I’ve done ten different versions before the one I have now. Why it’s resisting being written, I don’t know. I’m missing something. Might be one of those sections that gets outlined, bypassed and come back to later when I know more. There’s something there that I don’t know about yet.

And so I go back to the writing. I have 527 words done out of 3200ish. There’s a couple hours work in front of me still tonight.


Summer Writing


Posted by Laylian

I haven’t done much so far. I’m blocked, actually. I lost my favorite writing book (no excuse, but its important to me). If I just push past the feeling that everything I write is bad, things will work out.

Life has been a little difficult recently. I’m waiting to hear if my grandmother’s cancer has spread. It’s still in that ‘this doesn’t feel real’ phase, so I haven’t been stressing out. Only I suppose I have, because everything else seems pointless. Ah, life.

I have a couple writing exercises I still need to post. I’ll try to get those up soon.