McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
Author In Progress
meg_evonne:
Welcome Valkryst! :)
ihatepeas:
Wow, lots of writers and wannabe writers hanging around here. (And I say "wannabe" in the nicest possible way.)
I am 28. I've known since I was 13 that I'd be a writer, but I didn't have a finished novel until I was 25. NaNoWriMo kicked my butt all over the place, but it's gotten me two finished novels and a huge chunk of a third. I started writing bad poetry in seventh grade. In college, two of my classes were poetry workshops--very scary, but I have a style now, thanks to them. After a couple of embarrassing longer stories in high school, I started churning out short stories in high school, but they are mostly crap. I'm better at novels.
I tend to write murder mysteries, not always by design. So many times I start writing, and then someone trips over a body, and it's all downhill from there. But I also write some sci-fi/fantasy, and really bad literary fiction. Right now, I'm working on a teen murder mystery, a sort of fantasy-literary hybrid, something that is a bit of a Doctor Who rip-off just for fun, and I'm running to finish a couple of short stories before a contest deadline rolls around. And somehow I have to find the time to edit, rewrite, and submit. Ha. I eat deadlines for breakfast, with bananas.
--Sarah
Nessus_Wyndestrike:
As I've mentioned in the Introduction thread, I am an "author-in-progress" so to speak. I tend to have many ideas, and never the time to sit down and write them out properly. So I am only able to write in spurts.
I hope my new method of planning will help with this.
If you like, I offer a small sampling of my prose. Please, PLEASE do not steal any of my ideas, names, etc., as I plan to publish the material.
***!***!***!***!***!
The temperature dropped fast. The vast study, with its books strewn about, plummeted into a flickering darkness. He stood just below the coldly glinting chandelier in the center of the room.
“You come to me now?” A cloud of breath billowed from thin, bloodless lips. He turned slowly, dramatically, to regard the man hovering in the doorway, “You come to me now, to kill me?” He asked again, a mocking lilt edging his voice.
“To kill you,” The man in the doorway replied, drawing a sword from his side. The blade slid out and the edges gleamed coldly, “To have my revenge for this madness, I will kill you Ibial.”
Ibial laughed then, his hands sweeping outward to gesture to an invisible audience. He spun around, his velvet black robes twisting about his sickly frame, “There is method in this madness!” He brought a long, pale hand to his chin, half-covering the bemused smile upon his face.
“You will die.” The sword came up, to point accusingly at the Magi in the middle of the room, “You will die, accursed magician, I will be the one who will kill you! Your blood will be upon my blade!”
“You are upset now. Poor ignorant Riléc,” Ibial’s back still faced Riléc, who stood in the doorway. He could strike at any time. He did not. Ibial turned his head back toward the sword wielding man, looking over his shoulder, “How can you kill me…. when you are already dead?”
~
The stubs of candles on the mantelpiece flickered as a sudden wind blasted in through the door with a bang. The patrons of the inn shivered as a heavily cloaked man wrestled with the battered hulk of a door. The icy wind halted, and the man heaved a huge sigh, leaning heavily against the wall.
“T’sa bigg’in.” He announced in a deep grunt, “Knew winter was cummin’, but came too fast ‘f ya ask me.”
“Hail ye ta that,” The barkeep agreed, scrubbing at a grimy glass, “So what brings ya t’ these parts, Crais? No noblemen ‘r in need of yer sword right now, aye?”
“Aye.” Crais removed his hood and pulled off his cloak awkwardly, “Yew remember that youngling boy I brough’ in, say ‘bout ten years back? Y’know, th’ boy who could only speak tha’ Elvish language, er whatnot?”
The barkeep scratched at his short, graying beard, “Ah, th’ boy, Riam, was’is name, tha righ’?” He noticed Crais’s hair, which had been chestnut brown the last time he had seen him, was now highlighted by multitudes of grey.
“Aye,” Crais nodded, “Tha’s th’ one. I hear ‘is name now ‘n then, somethin’ ‘bout th’ rise of th’ Gods.” The barkeep’s steady polishing slowed, until it stopped completely. He regarded Crais with steady eyes. Crais rubbed his chin, scratching at the stubble with blunt fingernails.
“Nay, never heard nuthin’ like that,” He frowned and picked up the glass again, not really putting much effort into polishing it. Crais looked thoughtful, leaning on his elbows, “Why would that learn’d boy trouble ‘imself with Gods an’ Temples ‘s? ‘S beyond me. His swordsmanship was fine, finer, almost then ye.”
“I dunna,” Replied Crais, shrugging out of his broadsword. He was safe in the Inn, there would be no need for a sword. At least, he hoped. The rumors of war had been growing, and the march of the third battalion of the Imperial Army was troublesome.
“So why were ye lookin’ fer ‘im?” The bar had gone almost deathly silent.
“I dunna…” Crais said again.
***!***!***!***!***!
Thank you for reading. <=) Ibial's name, in case anyone was wondering, is pronounced Ib-ee-uhl, I as in "ick", two syllables [Ibi-al].
~N.W.
meg_evonne:
Hi Nessus,
Just some suggestions. I'm not sure this is the forum for putting out our work, but there are apparently some great sites in another thread under authors. I'd suggest looking into those and you can get someone to really do a thorough critique on your work. One named was critters.com. I was impressed with the site when I visited and plan to use it myself. I'm not published and seriously doubt I would ever go through all those hoops, BUT I've learned that the ability to critique others work will ONLY INCREASE your skill!
I've found that taking a class will help you stick to a structure. Checkout sites on line, including mediabistro.com.
Good luck on your writing!
Nessus_Wyndestrike:
Thanks, Meg. =) I'm still in the process, as it were, still in college and majoring in English. [Just started sophomore year, actually.] I know I'm still a fledgling writer and am always looking for a good place to gather critiques.
Thanks for the tips. =>
The piece, I know, is not anywhere near my best piece of work in my opinion. X) And I know the structure sucks. =x The writing’s almost a year old now. :-\
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version