Amph The Writers' Guild

Hey Fenrisulven, that sounds like a pretty neat idea. The only thing I'd suggest is to make sure that there is a good reason that somebody invented cyborgs that have to eat to recharge. As long as it makes sense it should be fine. That concept drawing is pretty cool looking also.


As for my writing, this weekend I am going to start writing my zombie feature. Technically my advisor wants a draft of the first act done by Tuesday, which strikes me as impossible, but I am at least going to get some pages down this weekend and Monday. The rest of the first draft will be written over the summer, at which point I'll send it out to people on my crew and others for some feedback, and hopefully have a final draft done by September or October, at which point I should have been in pre-production for awhile. eek.

 

I've been working on my entry in the writing contest, as well as a few other stories.

EDIT: PAGE 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Sorry for my absense, last 6th Weeks and teachers are making the most of it.

-The Scummy-

 

Yeah...I think I'll be on some reduced time for the next two weeks as well...I start drivers' ed Monday.

 

Run-up to exams, fun fun fun. Two essays today and another one to do . . . is there no END????

Been working on my contest entry as well. Topped 3000 words today

 

I was up to 5:00am last night working on my feature script. I finished the entire first act. Well, a first draft of the first act. 21 pages! yay.

 

Hey, thanks for the feedback Andalite-Bandit. I do have a reason as to why they eat to recharge, and hopefully it's good. The reason is that normal robots in this story needs ercharging at rechargingstations that are expensive to build and maintain. And since the cyborgs are supposed to be all over town it's cheaper to have someone feed them with hay and stuff instead of having tons of rechargingstations.

 

Eek, scary looking! I would not want one o those things chasing me

 

Hey guys, i've been out of it trying to finish up school. I just handed in my Post-Nuke feature script for my senior project.

Good to be done, but i'm going to wait a few weeks then re-write it.

dkt

 

I've been working on three different possible entries for the writing contest...

 

15 hours!

 

Done, dusted and in like Flynn

That now being done, I can get on with revising for A Levels . . .

 

I'm pulling my hair out. I keep getting little ideas (which is better than not) for all kinds of things but I can't seem to make any of them go anywhere. I feel like Michigan J. Frog's owner.

My contest entry depresses me right now to the point where I probably won't submit it. It just seems too unoriginal or something - not enough plot - I dunno. I think I have Darth Writer's Blahs more than Darth Writer's Block.

Maybe it's time to hit the tub of Rocky Road.

KD

 

I'm currently starting on the outline of my book again (lucky me)


I'll be posting snippets and idea's I've had up here sporadically for general idea butchery and to let you rabble critique it.


I think it's only fair considering I've judged some of your competition entries.

 

My problem with writing is that I get so many ideaa, then abandon what I write as I don't think it's any good.

This is mainly because I'm too scared of ripping things off.

The ideas I'm working on now are:

1) Your typical hero's journey story, as it's the most basic and I figured that it would be the most logical place to start.
2) What I like to call "urban fantasy". It's the basic idea of your typical fantasy realm, but they have all the technological advancements that we have in the 21st century. You've got all the fantasy elements,such as magicians, spells, good vs evil, but you also have modern life.


What can I do to stop feeling so self concious when I write?

 

Same thing with me. It has happened more than once that I come up with a story but can't figure out a good ending, or I only figure out the beginning and the end and can't find a way to connect them good; so I abandon it.

Cool, what's the actual story? One of my stories is set in a similar world. Altough that world has been mostly destroyed in some war, so it's kind of postapocalyptic I suppose.

 

Yeah, that's the other problem, I have the setting (the whole "urban fantasy" thing) but lack a story to put in it. Street gangs may feature somewhere though.

 

I finally feel I can put down the BASIC outline of my story.


An idealistic young man who is unknowing of his mage heritage has a vision of his world in utopic splendor and of the path to lead it there.

Despite his initial diplomatic approaches and the subsequent discovery of his heritage his utopic ideal still seems beyond reach.

Looking towards larger and more drastic approaches to reach his goal he finally reaches a point where he has to make a final choice for the good of the world and himself.

One of benevolence and freedom or one of total rule and domination.

Which way will he go?





After spending the past 3 months fleshing out my characters and planning the chapters I finally managed to sit down this afternoon and write a "blurb".



Do you know what I see?


Star bloody Wars




Fortunately the outline and chapters lead very little to the Star Wars saga and there are very few parallels that can be drawn IMO but the "blurb" really destroys my hope for "originality"



i feel I may need to review my "blurb" slightly.

 

I think doubts and little nagging questions about your work are just part of being a writer. No way to get rid of it, that I know of. Just spit the old ruse in the eye and keep pushing through. That's basically all I know to do.

Sure, some bits of something might sound like this or that, but how long has the human race been telling stories really? Just about anything you can think of isn't 100% completely original. Think of all the things that Star Wars owes its existence to, I mean from Flash Gordon to the Seven Samurai, and that's just the start. The trick is to make it your own, say something old in a new way. There's something fresh you can add to the mix, things you can blend together to make it different.

Hmm. I hope that helps. Well, I hope it makes sense at the very least.

 

OK, here's an extract from the "hero's journy" story (for lack of a better title). I've been working on this idea since last October. A little background info:

Elara: Protagonist, 17 years old. Lived in small town until sold by her mother to be a maid in an old manor house here she is told she may go anywhere, except a particular room, so of course she enters it. This is where the extract is from. She will come to wield strange ancient power (because no fantasy protagonist can get away without having extreme pressure being put on them).

Kern: Sorcerer, expelled from order for "betrayel of the highest form"(not telling you what that is yet )

Butler: I will be changing his name at some point. Crookedly tall guy, lifelong friend to Kern. Is also a shapeshifter. This will have a point to the plot later and is not just me thinking it would be cool.

The Workshops: Bad place. Any young person who doesn't find some kind of work by the time they are 17 get sent here.

Penor: The land they live in.

Queen Fernia: Nice queen, loveless marriage, will help protagonist at some point and will have major role later on.

The serious problem with my development of this story is that I have individual moments worked out, but no big plot to put them in.

OK, here we go:

She opened the door hesitantly, not sure of what would lie on the other side. She stepped into a room and stared wide-eyed in shock. The room was huge and luxurious, more luxurious than anything she had ever seen. But what had grabbed her attention were the bookcases covering every space of wall in the wood panelled room. They were impossibly tall, stretching up to the ceiling and were filled with more books than Elara had thought even existed. Gold plated ladders hung from each set of shelves above small tables piled with volumes and documents. A semi-circle of armchairs was placed in front of a blazing fire. Elara froze as she realised that one of the chairs was occupied. Who was this? Had they noticed her entering? She slowly crept towards the door.
?Why don?t you sit down?? Said a man?s voice from the chair. Elara gave a gasp of surprise. He must have heard her open the door.
?Well?? the man?s voice ventured. Elara walked forward tentatively and sat in the opposite chair, never taking her eyes off the man across from her.
He was much older than her, in either his late thirties or early forties. He was clean-shaven with short, slightly messy hair that was the colour of sand. Brilliant blue eyes gazed at Elara, never leaving her face. She matched his stare, trying to appear defiant before the punishment that was sure to come. She had been taken into the house on one condition; never enter the room on the top floor. Would she be sent back home? No, she?d rather run away than be sent home and taken to the Workshops. The man spoke, bringing Elara out of her thoughts.
?I?m very disappointed in you Elara-?
?I was just curious, I swear. It?s hardly something to be punished for and I refuse to go to the Workshops, I?d rather-?
?Let me finish Elara. As I was saying, I?m very disappointed that it?s taken you so long to get in here. And simply walking through the door lacks the imagination I believed you to possess, hardly fitting for my assistant? Elara blinked in surprise.
?Assistant? I was brought here to clean.?
?Uh, I?m afraid that?s my doing miss.? Elara turned around to find Butler standing in the doorway. He strode forward and stood behind the man?s chair. ?I told you that you was to be a maid in order to test you, no point in bringing you here to help the master if you can?t work properly, and I had to test your character, you never know, you could have been working for-?
?Yes, Butler, thank you. Your concern for our work is appreciated. But surely you need not take such precautions in this particular case surely.?
?Blood doesn?t dictate a person?s destiny sir, as you are highly fond of saying.? Butler straightened his back, making himself look even more like a twig. The man smiled broadly.
?True, true. It seems that working with

 

Hello...again.

 

I am horrified that this thread has dropped so low.




Anyway update.



I've been working on the backgrounds and characterisations of mey main and major players for the book mentioned above.



I've so far got the basis of the story in plan for and I'm now fleshing out the characters with their motivation and aims, and how they interconnect with each other.

I've also drawn a time line to give an idea of when each character should come in to the story along with when they should depart.


I'm still in two minds as to whether I have the story end on a flat note with the main protagonist becoming bad or to have her renounce her quest and go into hiding. I am also in two minds as to whether I shall have her kill of her partner or not after he turns against her.


Avoiding the obvious cliche is very hard.


Anyway I've got 4 major characters fleshed out now and I know their backstory and history and I've started work on major and incidentals.




My new approach to writing is paying off and I actually have a very good idea on how to proceed now as opposed to my initial approach of just start writing and see what hits you.



Planning is good.

 

Nothing to do with sci-fi and fantasy writing but I did get a job working for my local paper. I'm a reporter and if I can ever get a digital camera I can get into photography again too.

Actually, though, I did start a new horror short story with a fictional newspaper segment just for practice. I'll put it here if anyone's interested.



The Mayfield Gazette
September 15, 2007

The Terror in West Brunswick Continues
by Reginald Johnston (editor)

WEST BRUNSWICK, Indiana? Another disappearance has villagers disturbed and authorities baffled. Thursday night Sheriff Alexander Jefferies confirmed that Prescott James Holdenworth (18) is indeed the seventh resident of West Brunswick to go missing in the past three and a half weeks.

?At this point abduction is the only thing that fits, and unfortunately there?s a great possibility of foul play in these cases, considering all the blood we?ve found.? Jefferies said. ?But my men are doing all they can.?

The efforts of the West Brunswick police, along with the added help of county and state officers, cannot be denied. It could be that this mystery was close to being resolved nearly two weeks ago when only two young people had vanished (Amanda Jacobs, 7, and Caleb Falk, 14). Deputy Isaiah Daniels (29) went missing shortly after becoming separated from one of the search parties.

In the two weeks between the disappearances of Daniels and Holdenworth three others joined this unfortunate company: Morgan Stern (65), caretaker of the West Brunswick Cemetery, Julie Parker (21), hairstylist at the La Rouge Salon, and Miranda Porter (49) former employee of County Metalworks, Inc.

At such a time, when even the police cannot find answers, many have sought solace in the local houses of worship.

Father Gregory Marx of St. Michael?s Parish said, ?The only thing any of us can really do at a time like this is turn to God and pray that He?ll see us through.?

Marx also said that an Interfaith counseling service was being put together, adding that it was essential for all of God?s people to put aside their differences and join together for the good of the community.
(Disappearance continued on pg. 5)

 

Well, this is a link to my first novel. It's password protected, so if you would like to read it, then please PM me for the password

It's a fantasy setting, following the path of a young man, orphaned and sent out into the world to follow a quest that he does not believe in. It's the first in a series. Book 2 is nearly done, three is started and four has some planning in place

Anyways, please take a look. It's a PDF file at about 900K in size.

http://copperraven.com/media/docs/Birthright.pdf

 

Why is "avoiding the obvious cliche is very hard", FatBurt? I find it romantically easy. 90 percent of whatever you read is imitations of each other. One need only name their characters other than a Will or Jon in various spellings, and you're already surfing.

The world has glued their Mick Jagger lips to Tolkien material so rapciously, there's even scarecely a fantasy review that won't compare you to him. With such conditioning in place, and decades of reading the same cliche familiar, your own originality---even though it may not actually be that original---will egg out of a hen loud and proud.