Kevin's Watch

I'm sure you'd be counted before I would Variol.

Actually, I see I was counted. Missed the fact that there were two Variols in that roll call.

I'm surprised anybody remembered, really.

I could've sworn my name was missed off as well, but now I see it there.

I suppose I might as well answer the thread question while I'm here. I do write, in bits and pieces and (alas) never quite complete stories. Recently I've been setting more and more of my fragments in a city setting, somewhere inbetween near-future and alternate world, called Del-fi (rough, almost ugly devolution of the name Delphi).
However my picture of this setting is as incomplete as my story fragments. I suppose eventually the missing piece of the puzzle (the city's government) might occur to me, helping everything fit together, but until then I'll be writing in a setting that feels incomplete.

Variol Farseer wrote:I'm surprised anybody remembered, really.

Your writing is very good, how could I forget you?

It always surprises me a little when anybody remembers me, except by hating my guts.

Variol Farseer wrote:It always surprises me a little when anybody remembers me, except by hating my guts.

Don't be so hard on yourself, my friend.

Surprisingly, I've tried to create my own.
A few times.

The first Was a little map they I had sketched of a large Island, way back in high school..I added a few more, and tried to figure out a story.
Off course the story had all the typical Fantasy plot hinges--even a magic sword; there were also a fair amount of rip-offs from the Chronicles, including a race of lost Giants!!!

The story that I had thought up though, still kicks around in my head quite frequently..so maybe someday....who knows--the magic in the story had a certain native American feel to it, rather than Elves and wizards, and supreme evil beings; there were different life spirits, unfortunatly, some of the spirits kind of turned sour; and that's where the story starts.

A friend of mine, and I were going to write a rock opera with a fantasy setting--no real magic in it, but the story of a three kings..who were incidentally triplets, the two identical kings ruled one kingdom jointly, and the paternal triplet had left and conquored the more barbarian lands north of the existing kingdom to start his own..but...do you know how hard it is to write a rock opera like that? Damn Hard. Although we still play a couple of the songs every now and then; they were fairly heavy Prog-rock tunes..if anyone had heard of the group Savatage, it was similar to their stuff.

Then one day about five years ago, when we only had the one kid (Isaac), who was just a baby, I was walking him through the woods in the winter time----and a setting, and later a story to fit that setting came into my head. Through the years I've thought up a lot more to go with the basic plot and last summer, I sat down and wrote out the entire outline, as well as charactor lists and stuff. I'm kind of cheating and using my old story idea as the background--just without the giants and magic sword! And what I'm shooting for now is to get away from any of the typical things that are in many fantasy stories--no magic swords or any other kind of magic talismen. No mystic beings who know everything about the world. No great knights who are brave (and dumb) enough to try to fight through anything, no "Return of the King"...heck, not even a personification of evil. It's all mankind, and about the first discovery (or rediscovery) of magic, and how different groups of people handle it (of course some of them will want to use it for their own misguided ambitions--this IS a fantasy story afterall).

Anyways--I had no real intentions of ever doing anything father than thinking about the story, when I was sitting in traffic or stuff like that...until one day I told my idea to a frind--a fellow watcher actually (Lucimay to be exact)-and she encouraged me to write it down...so around Christmas I hammered out a chapter, and sent to her--She (said that she) liked it-so I kept on going..slowly---I still drive about 60 hours a week---but I'm nearly finished the fifth chapter.

Anyone who has read my posts, noes that I type two fast, and spel lyk kraep..so I use a dictionarry and thesoaurus constantly, and I re-read everything time and time again..looking for gramatical errors. But it's really enjoyable, and I'm glad I finally started..and especially glad to Lucimay for encouraging to do it (without her...it would never have come to be)-I doubt anything will come out of it -the last author from my neck of the woods that any one has ever heard of was Lucy Maud Montgommery (Anne of Green Gables)-but when it get finished..at least I can say that I finished it.

Hey cool, I'm glad people are getting into writing !

Yeah, I can honestly say that my PC (message board) time has been cut back because I am writing a novel right now. I don't have a map sketched, but it's in my mind. Languages- I gotta say I use a different language for spell-speak, but other than that I simply state what language is being spoken...a small cop-out but I'm no Tolkein.

Actually, some of you may not know this, but my mother is an accomplished writer with more than 18 books out at the moment and even spent a significant amount of time on the bestseller's list along side a list of names she couldn't believe.

At the moment my mother and I are actually writing a series of novels that tie-in together...I've got fantasy in the blood and she's trying to write fantasy for the first time...hopefully we'll accomplish something people will like...if I ever get the nerve to try and get puiblished, LOL...I'm a perfectionist and always hate what I've written...you know what I mean.

Wow!!

I have written a book. I've self-published it... sold some copies to some friends and family, but that's about it. They seem to like it If you want to check it out, I put a big chunk of it online in another forum... www.council-of-elrond.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6999. There's the link for you. Give it a read! If you REALLY love, it, click on the link in my sig to buy it Otherwise you can wait for another sample of my writing if this anthology thing ever gets finished!

I actually gave up on my fantasy because I found myself with too fundamentally a "modern" pov. The whole thing just bogged down terribly.

Murrin wrote:I could've sworn my name was missed off as well, but now I see it there.

I suppose I might as well answer the thread question while I'm here. I do write, in bits and pieces and (alas) never quite complete stories. Recently I've been setting more and more of my fragments in a city setting, somewhere inbetween near-future and alternate world, called Del-fi (rough, almost ugly devolution of the name Delphi).
However my picture of this setting is as incomplete as my story fragments. I suppose eventually the missing piece of the puzzle (the city's government) might occur to me, helping everything fit together, but until then I'll be writing in a setting that feels incomplete.

A bit of advice my mom gave me a while ago...

Sometimes when you write, it is just a chapter. That chapter may not fit in with the rest of the book, but it's just your mind getting out ideas. They come and go...

And another I've found useful...

If your story stalls out, a lot of times you've taken a wrong turn, and perhaps if you go back and read it over, it's possible that somewhere you may have taken a character in the wrong direction or something that goes against what the character would do, etc...

Anyways, these two ideas have actually helped me out alot and most of the time, they're right.

Luke The Unbeliever wrote: A bit of advice my mom gave me a while ago...

Sometimes when you write, it is just a chapter. That chapter may not fit in with the rest of the book, but it's just your mind getting out ideas. They come and go...

And another I've found useful...

If your story stalls out, a lot of times you've taken a wrong turn, and perhaps if you go back and read it over, it's possible that somewhere you may have taken a character in the wrong direction or something that goes against what the character would do, etc...

Anyways, these two ideas have actually helped me out alot and most of the time, they're right.

That's good advice.