And then a giant post on stories arrived
Wow it's like I only come to you guys when I need a place to put things that isn't tumblr or twitter I'm sorry.
I think I want to start using this some more than I have in the year or two past, mostly because -- while not a lot has happened -- I like having this space to turn to that isn't limited by characters or viewable by so many people. (Or anyone because I don't know who is still here?!) (IF YOU ARE HI HOW HAVE YOU BEEN I HAVE MISSED THIS SPACE)
A few days ago, after deciding I wanted to talk about my stories, I decided to tweet about them. And I selected 20 different titles to talk about. Novels, "novellas", "idk what to do with these", "I would love to write this if it didn't take so much time" and "oh my god I forgot about these". And then I took the time to pull that all from twitter and format it. Only now it's posted backwards so I have to fix that before I post it on here.
So be prepared for the madness below the cut of like 6k+ of me talking about 20 different stories sobs
We'll start with "Mwyr" because it involves less explaining. It's about a girl everyone thinks is the Goddess made flesh but she's like NOPE YOU'RE ALL WRONG. Turns out she is though, but not in the way everyone was expecting, which made it worse for them!
First wrote it back in high school and I cringe so much reading it but that's nothing new. Tried rewriting it twice before the recent draft!
Mwyr was just a temporary title but it ended up sticking, but it's not very title-y. I think I'll name it "Stars that Burn" after the fst?! Currently planned for two books, but could very easily expand depending on how I deal with the antagonists. Book 2: Stars that Shine? Maybe?
Already planning the next rewrite of the first book. Currently working on worldbuilding for Mwyr the planet. (this is the smallest entry on any of them I think)
Next! My nano novel from '07 that never got a proper title and I could never think of one that would fit hmmm
It's about a boy who is believed to be the leader for a powerful "private army" called the Grave Robbers. Obviously, they're not nice people. Anyway, he's kidnapped (twice) and loses a large chunk of his memories, only to have them replaced with Grave Robber knowledge (ie fighting). So it's up to a broken tribe called the Hill Folk to help him get back to Earth and hopefully destroy the Grave Robbers in the process!
I started writing it back in '07, didn't get very far and lost a big chunk of it when my computer crashed. Tried it again for Camp NaNo '11. Actually managed to get quite a bit further but still no end in sight. Doesn't even really have chapters. Just a giant mess of words.
I super love all the characters and the idea that the plot is taking, I only don't know a large chunk of the middle. Whoops.
Currently, just really want to finish one draft of it before I take a step back and look at it. Then will worldbuild, and figure out a title
Now onto my Alice in Wonderland story! "Well-Oiled Parts and Wonderland Hearts" is the full title, tho I normally call it "WonderHearts"
It's about Traci Connor, the daughter of the original Alice. Wonderland is a floating airship run by the Red Queen, and has its own laws. It serves as a hostess company, with the Flowers being girls for rent as companions for the evening (not a brothel mind you. They're classy)
Traci is kidnapped by Hearts, guards to Wonderland, and told she must act as "Alice" and "The White Rose" in the garden. The Red Queen needs her to become the Gold Queen and surrender the Jabberwock (a clockwork war machine thing) over to her. She teams up with the Spades, a rebel group consisting of the Dodo, the Hatter, and the Hare among others, in order to bring her down.
The original I wrote in response to Soup writing AIII, and I wanted an Alice story too so this was born. It was completely different then. Did NOT get very far at all before it was scrapped. Reused the name Traci Connor and one or two conversations for the rewrite.
I'm not too fond of the tone for it at the moment, as it is too formal and Victorian. Haven't yet found a voice that works though. I would say I'm about a third of the way through. It is planned for only one book but depending on how long it gets, could be more. But I love the characters, the plot, and the ending that I have planned for it. So I want to finish it! Maybe I'll pick it up again soon...
Alright, now I will tackle the wonder trio: Wayfarer, SD, and the as of yet unnamed third series. Yes, there are three connected series.
Wayfarer takes place first, so we'll start there. It takes place about 100 years in the future (2117 to be 'precise'). America has fallen! and by fallen I mean that it was probably a bad result in the presidential election, government collapsed, & threat of nuclear war imminent. So bunkers were created (mostly on the west coast), and our story takes place in one by the NM/AZ border. Cameron volunteers to go Topside in search of a place for the city to relocate to, and partially to try to find news of her brother.
I finished the first book, which was the first novel I finished in about 10 years! it was really exciting!! Not entirely too sure about book 2. But! One way or another, it's through Cam's actions that people rise up and create a "new era": Sine Die. It starts as a fad mostly. But then it spreads, across the US, across the world, and people start using it as the actual dating system, though AD is sometimes used.
I will likely rewrite book 1 before starting book 2. There are things I want to expand, but "travel stories" are hard to write...
Well, 205 years later, across the pond, you get the novel that I'm currently calling Sine Die but will likely be renamed.
The Thames has flooded its banks and forced London to move northwest a bit. It has since become the city of Eminence. Around it is a lot of dead land and only high speed trains will get you from one place to another. Don't trust driving on highways that way.
Some years before the story takes place a group of scientists accidentally created a virus that caused what they named The Jabberwock Defect. So ALICE (which will also be mentioned in Wayfarer and the other series) sweeps in and takes over the city, locking it down. They pump a drug into the air that gets people to remain calm and not question just why they can't leave Eminence (don't want to spread it!)
The Program Manager starts up a game called Lacryma, which is supposed to be a challenge to find people worthy of learning "the Truth". So the following year (June 205 - June 206), hundreds of teams compete to become those Worthy of Truth! and, better yet, a ticket out.
I finished book 1 (205 SD) and have been working on book 2 (206 SD) for 8 months :( probably won't finish 206 this year but I CAN HOPE.
Currently just really trying to finish book 2 and then will think of actual titles for them. Otherwise, I'm pretty happy with it so far!
Last one: the as of yet unnamed third series in my SD verse! It takes place in 162 SD/2280 AD.
While America is still rebuilding itself and the UK is a half-sunk, self-centered megalomaniac, the rest of the word is getting on. Russia has taken advantage of this and has reclaimed a lot of it's previous satellite countries for resources and most of Eastern Europe.
Matyas takes over running things around their city after his dad dies, learning the trade at full-tilt since 5 years old. A plane, fairly old, crashes into one of their fields, and a german man stumbles out, claiming he's a journalist out to see the world.
Story doesn't have much of a solid plot between character arcs, though it will explore Eastern Europe becoming an agricultural super power! So that's still in the plotting stages, and probably won't be written for a good long while. But I super love Matyas and Kaspar ahhhh
Now, Noah and Sebastian! No title for this one yet
It's about this straight-up tomboy mechanic who is engaged to the heir-apparent because her father is a close friend of the king. Their country is in the middle of a war with one of the others (FOR THE LIFE OF ME I don't remember what country I'm sorry I will find it). Also, STEAMPUNK. I haven't got much of a plot for this story, except them growing as characters and ending the war.
I've written a few random scenes for this story over the years. Nothing concrete. But I have their characters pretty set. (okay this is the shortest but at least it can be combined with the next one)
So Sebastian and Noah end up getting along well enough and become a really great king and queen to rebuild the countries after the war. That's where the next novel comes in: Here Be Spirits! It started out as an RP with Cara but I'm just going to write it on my own.
I can't remember some of the finer details, but a girl steals one of her uncle's old warships (mind: AIRSHIP!) and I think wanted to sell it. But one thing leads to another and she basically becomes the captain of this airship with a crew of all ladies from all different countries.
There is this country to the north that no one really wants to talk about because they think it's the "end of the earth" type of deal. Filled with spirits and ghosts and things. I don't remember why she wants to go there. But well, that's where the plot comes from.
For this, I only have the captain and her failure of a navigator planned. Everything else is up in the air! I'd love to write it tho. Would have to do a lot of world building for this (especially in regards to the war that Noah & Seb take part in). ONE DAY.
But now: I will talk about Cora and Winny! They also do not have a title, though I'm sure I can come up with a cliched fantasy one.
This world is broken down into five kingdoms + a center capitol. After the bloodline of the True Kings has disappeared it's been shifting. Once every so many years, a ruler from each kingdom would come and sit as head of the counsel as a temporary "king". At one point, the adviser said that she had found the "true queen": a girl in the agricultural kingdom. So they send out Winston to get her. As they travel back, they go to each of the kingdoms to find the missing "legendary stones of power" type of deal that vanished w/the king.
Once they get back to the capitol, the adviser goes "WHAT IS THIS SHE IS NOT THE QUEEN I SENT FOR. TREASON. BOTH OF THEM, TREASON!" And Cora is like WELL I TOLD YOU ALL ALONG but Winny actually believes she is the true queen and wILL TOTALLY FIGHT YOU ON THAT.
I have only written very brief scenes, but it has taken more of a direction after I combined it with Knell's Avatar a bit ago. It will have to involve a bit of worldbuilding, and figuring out the countries and their histories. I am pretty sure there were 5...? Red (technology/battle), Brown (agriculture), White (information), Green (druids/healing), and Black (magic/divination)
LASTLY ON THE NOVEL FRONT. It is called Dragon Souls! I originally wanted to try and combine it with Cora's story but I loved my Shakespeare reference too much
It started off after finishing The School of Good and Evil, and I wanted to create something like that in a modern day setting. But I've since eliminated the divide between "good guys" and "bad guys" though a stigma is still associated with the divisions
BASICALLY. It's about these students who go to a super elite magic school that.. I honestly can't remember what they did. I think they acted as a lot of moderators for things like UN Matters and whatever? Not too sure.
I obviously have a lot of plot figured out for this (/sarcasm) but I was going to have it that their head master or TOP MAGE dude person wanted to pretty much start a war or take over and become SUPREME RULER. And then it's up to Titania and her wonder bro trio to stop him (okay not just the four of them but whatever.) I wanted Book 1 to be them in school, and then book 2+ beyond the other plot stuff
Oh, yeah, I was also inspired by The Magicians and it not being as satisfactory as I wanted and taking for-FREAKING-ever to progress. Writing this one will mostly involve sitting down and figuring out what the f the plot is.
So we'll start the day with finishing listening to Jonas' playlist. And talking about my "novellas". I call them that because I'm not entirely too sure how long they will be, or what I will be doing with them. Ah well.
The first up on the list is "The World Listens" which started out as a harry potter fanfic and even got an fst! So try and point out the similarities when I eventually write it harhar.
Anyway, it's about this boy who has the ability to hear the dead. Can't see them, can't talk to them, can't do anything but hear them. And it's kind of obnoxious, but at least he's still alive. The Minister is out to (secretly) monopolize the conversations with the dead, and kills anyone born with the (to be determined) mark. Magic is common place, and those with it are the ruling "class". There are a lot of strict rules in place, though, for classifications.
Ianto is approached by a young witch who says that she wants to start a business with him, and create an underground group to stage a coup. She introduces him to the daughter of a famous inventor, who claims she can help Ianto eliminate this thing that is blocking his abilities. They gather a bunch of strange outcasts from the magic community, and I'm sure they succeed in the end but I haven't figured it out yet.
I had a hard time figuring out how to fit in some things while it was still HP verse, but now i have a lot more freedom haha I also need to figure out more about the characters now that they're not their HP counterparts. And I need to iron out the relationship between the Harry, Neville, and Draco characters with their abilities (hearing/speaking, healing/freeing, seeing the dead)
Other than that, I feel quite confident about it. I only didn't write it for Camp NaNo in April because of RP with Tiffany.
NEXT IS "TAG". Before I start, here is the song I used for inspiration, and lyrics.
Okay so "Tag". Likely won't remain with that title seeing as I was inspired to write it by the Japanese game of tag and you can TELL. It's about this boy and his best friend in an orphanage, and one night, she convinces him to go into the forest where she gets lost. And then he finds her, dead -- or more like brutally murdered -- and all these voices are accusing him of doing it. He stumbles into a lake and something pulls him under. When he wakes up, he's "being summoned" by a paladin on a holy mission to bring him back to the church. She won't stop calling him "demon" and claiming that "he killed the Lady" and that this is his punishment. And of course, he's just wtf mate
When I originally wrote it, it was his trip in the forest, getting pulled under, waking up, then getting pulled under again. The second version: expands before his trip to the forest, getting lost, pulled under, waking up, traveling to the city, Meeting Lady, then traveling back, and offering himself as a sacrifice. I really want to expand on the other world he wakes up in.
Oh, yeah, someone made a playlist for me! she did an AMAZING job with connecting the songs to the characters/points in the story!! The only reason I can't make this a novel is because I honestly don't know if I have enough ability to expand it beyond the central story. Like, the maker of the fst helped me figure out a lot of headcanon and world structure/religion structure and stuff like that.
I love the dynamic between Maasa and Kael's world and Richard and Nelo' world. So I just need to figure out how to show that in a novella. But I do hope to be able to rewrite this a third time and make it EVEN BETTER and not as rushed...
OKAY NEXT NOVELLA: The Mnemosyne Drive! Gah I haven't talked about this in awhile after writing it all July. I came up with plot LAST MINUTE and it was all because of about four songs I had for an inspiration for a playlist-inspired story (much like The World Listens started)
It's about these memories that have been uploaded into this thing called the Mnemosyne Drive, where they can be revisited/relived at will. They all perform in a sort of routine nothing beyond what they knew surrounding the moment of their upload. But some like to break the cycle
One in particular is struggling to figure out why she was uploaded at such a boring point in her life, when strange things start happening. She meets another programmer and an engineer who run a pawn shop doubling as a black-market of sorts in the Drive, both who agree to help.
And as they delve deeper into her origin, and learn more of the truth that brought the three of them together (and not by chance)--they realize they're wrapped up in a WEB OF INTRIGUE (/dramatic chord) Sorry a lot of spoilers happen after that and it would ruin the story
There are some things in the story I keep flip-flopping over but otherwise i got it pretty well figured out. I just need a break haha I had reached a spot that I hate the way I wrote it so it sort of made me drag my feet with it, even though I finally waded through. I don't have the end figured out though. It will hopefully come to me as I write through the rest of my outline? I don't really know ugh It all moves really quickly, though, but I guess that's okay. I don't have the wherewithal to make it a full novel.
I'm going to talk about the one temporarily titled "Redemption". It's a spin-off prequel to my '07 NaNo that I talked about earlier!
It's about a young man from the Hill Folk who is sent to find one of the Elders' granddaughter whom everyone believed to be a traitor. She was kidnapped by the City Dwellers and made to join the Grave Robbers, but her goddess never gave up on her so she's 'redeemable'. Of course, she still has to go through a trial before being reinstated. The story follows Ren as he rescues Beryl and brings her back.
They return just before the revolution breaks out among the Hill Folk, and about a year or so before the 07 NaNo starts!
I wrote a sample blurb back in HS, which then spawned the '07 NaNo, and from there I turned it into an actual, functioning story. I did, however, lose a chunk of it? One that introduced the girl that would eventually become Fennel (WHICH ONLY MEANS SOMETHING TO ME) but I super love it, and I love the world that I created for it. I'll eventually write it. ONE DAY. It and the 07 Nano hah hah
Two novellas left, and I shall now talk about "Keeping Time". I started this A G E S ago in high school! It has changed quite a bit since. I wrote it for a big bang (just like Tag and Redemption). I got art for it and an fst!
It's about this girl who is invited to the capitol as a Guest of Honor, as apparently her bloodline is a mediator to the gods/spirits. Just like her great grandmother before her, she is expected to go on a quest and appease the gods in the forest. Seems easy peasy, right? Only several of her companions are mentioning things off-hand that make her uneasy about the whole affair (like, why does she need a guard?)
Turns out they're not so much a "mediator" as they are a "sacrifice". However, hers goes horribly wrong, and she's imbued w/MAGIC POWERS. POWERS, mind you, that enable her to control the flow of time (mostly to herself and those around her). So she's off to figure out the truth
I have about half of it written out, and the rest of it figured out, so it's just a matter of writing it! I love it so.
Last I shall talk about "Flames". It is, currently, a short story at about 8 pages. But there is so much of the world I want to expand on. The short story doesn't have much by the way of plot though it hints at the world beyond the "interrogation room" that is RIPE FOR EXPLORING
There is a war between the Order (those loyal to the True King) and the Faction (traitors to the crown, currently in power). One officer disappears on a covert operation for three months, only to reappear with a signet ring -- proof of loyalty to the Faction
So the short story is the "interrogation" (read: homo-erotic torture) scene between the two with a dubious history because fuck if I know it
here is "stories I don't now how to categorize what are they even" aka "Things I'm not too sure about"
First up on the two-titled list: "Business of Death", last year's NaNo story! Let me tell you how much I love this story: A METRIC FUCKTON.
Alright so it's modern-day America and even the afterlife is run like a business. The Reapers have privatized soul collecting. The famous Grim Reaper runs the American front, is amused by humans, and loves three-piece suits. He has an elite team of reapers employed. Everything is running smoothly until, one day, a larger number of souls and old spirits are wandering around the earth. Which is a big no-no
Turns out someone decided to open the gates to hell's equivalent to a high-end security prison. Not only are powerful spirits released--but old souls like several of the reapers feel the pull of it, and have to fight against giving in to the power lurking deep inside of them. So it's up to a small team to figure out who did the thing and stop it. While not trying to fall apart or die for real in the process.
The reason I don't know what to do with this: The story itself could probably be a novella. It is short and to the point. The only problem is I love writing anecdotes more than the actual story -- shenanigans that the reapers get into & backstories for everyone. I don't know how much to include in the actual story and how much is just "well I'll probably save this as backstory/headcanon..." Could very easily write the novella (which I have no idea how to end, actually?) and then fill the rest of a book with these side-stories? so I GET THE BEST OF BOTH WORDS. BECAUSE I HELLA LOVE ALL THESE LOSERS.
Second of two "idek" titles: Washer at the Ford. Same problems in Business of Death, just with less solid plot.
I originally started it as a series of long short-stories (not novellas, not short stories?), about six or seven, each with individual plots. And they would all surround the central plot of Fe being chased by the Devil because he wants her soul. Only none of the stories had very solid plots. They were all just sort of vague ideas.
I'm thinking that, if I want to follow that vein... I would have "Washer" be the first story, which would resolve the issue I had with solving the "Devil Plot" and his non-involvement. Then from there, proceed as planned with Fe, Finn, and Othello being sort of supernatural hunters for this small town...? And then wrap it up in the last one with the plot between the Devil and Fe. Hm. I rather like the sound of that. Will need a lot of plotting
Because I need to figure out what sort of mysteries they will solve. Washerwoman, of course. Haunted house? Yeah, sure. But what else?
Next is affectionately titled "Things I would leap at the chance to re/write" given the chance to figure out a good style and a better plot
And first on that list is "Still Waiting", the first novel I ever finished, oddly titled after a "Sum 41" song for some unknown reason.
It was about a high school girl who had her soul forcibly removed from her body by someone claiming to be her friend from a different world. He tells her she used to be a powerful mage who was killed 5 years before, and he spent all that time trying to find her & bring her back. He needs her help destroying the Big Bad Guy with tons of Mindless Hordes at his Beck & Call. wow typical fantasy set up, huh?
There are a lot of things I would change, mostly the whole side plot that the Big Bad was her dad and that she was on Earth. I also need to bring out the side characters because they were precious. But really the biggest thing i Need to figure out is world building and making the MC less of a ~Perfect Person~ and more into a pERFECT QUEEN (you know there is a difference). Also, changing the bad guy.
I had a similar problem with Loki and the Ti'Corrah in the original version of Mwyr. Jigur had a billion demons to summon to the slaughter. With the Ti'Corrah, I made them a grand total of six. I don't know what i'll do here in this case. I really should just take the chance to start writing blurbs with the characters to get used to them again and maybe a plot will come?
oh, and while i was looking through my Still Waiting tag on tumblr, I was reminded of the name of their planet. ~PATHESTINY~! Imma cry
NEXT ONE I am unashamed to admit I would love to rewrite is my Wing Goddess stories. I only finished two, but WE COULD HAVE HAD IT ALL. Well, if I knew what I was doing, we could have had it all.
The first one (chronologically, not finished) was about a girl name Faeta. I don't remember ANYTHING except they were at a beach for some sort of project ??? names were basically all keyboard smashes ??? and I had too many monsters ripped directly from Forgotten Realms novels like wtf it's not an homage if it is plagiarism, young!me!!
Second one was about a girl named Ky (who I will probably rename because I have another Ky for 07 NaNo). She was from an elf-inspired race who had to guide these humans SOMEWHERE for SOME REASON and somewhere along the way a love triangle happens! a square? I don't really remember.
The third one (hardly written) was about two sisters who mysteriously appeared in the yard of two brothers. They're obviously Not Human and this one actually takes place on earth. I don't know if it had a real plot? Or was just romance?!
Fourth, considerably plotted, sort of written, generally a big mess: dystopian city of sorts, girl is attacked? I'm not too sure? but she's taken in by this family that finds her. She's the daughter of someone who is big on the Environmental front and decides to carry on his work. I don't remember a lot of the plot. But that's nothing new.
Wing Goddess overall "plot": girls representing dif powers all awaken one way or another into their 'Goddess' selves and then are expected to defeat this bad guy whose purpose I don't remember.
It had potential to be something pretty cool, if I actually figure it out and made it fleshed out stories. Not rushed romance plots. Don't really have the energy or dedication needed to devote to figuring it all out. Maybe next year.
oh, now time to talk about Aneedh's Jewel! My three-book homage to high fantasy! Ah, another "we could have had it all" book.
First book was about this challenge set up by a mysterious benefactor in order to try and select the perfect team in order to Go On A Quest.
second book is about said team Going On A Quest to find a mysterious mystical gem of great power (stolen from the elves long ago).
Third book was about the team splitting up as some of them wanted the money not the honor of helping the elf princess get her heirloom back. And then coming together in the end because the Power of Friendship rules out over all?! I'm not too sure, something like that...
I have the characters pretty solid, I think. Changing around the dynamic of the Token Girl and the Guy With a Tragic Background, tho. Their romance plot was pretty dumb to begin with and it was just because I liked ~FORBIDDEN ROMANCE OOOOO~ when I was in HS ugh her relationship with the swordsman was so much better, so they're more likely going to be the otp. Who am I kidding they are my otp.
Um, I'd do some world building. Figure out the place of religion and other races and stuff like that in relation to the world. And beyond that? Just basically DOING A LOT OF PLOTTING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE EFF WAS HAPPENING.
Last one in the stories I would leap to rewrite given half the chance is one affectionately titled as "Untilted"! (spelled 'untitled' wrong)
A collection of six young adults who don't know each other are collected together by this weird big monster and brought ~to another world~. They were apparently members of a royal court who vanished in the middle of a Very Critical War. So they try and pick up where they left off
How it ended, how they disappeared, I don't remember. I'll go find the original later today just for nostalgic lols. Obviously needs work. Will have to figure out their personal stories, if I want to keep that whole "teens from earth pulled to another dimension" etc
The first story we're going to talk about in the "oh wait I forgot about these" category is the Chronophage story that never got much of a title, or much of a coherent plot. It is my second attempt at writing a story backwards! (the first being the original thing that eventually turned into Wayfarer) Though, really, it's not completely backwards. Mary's story goes backwards, the Chronophage's story goes forward! ~FUN, RIGHT?~ I didn't do a good job at telling the actual story in the first draft so it wasn't clear and it didn't sound good. Obvs needs A LOT of work. Like figuring out what exactly the plot for Marie is. Is she running? Will she be running? What's the Time Eater's plot? HUNGER. I guess.
It will likely be a novella. My legacy will be in novellas ffs. Anyway, it also needs an actual title, so that's a thing...
Next is a novel called Contra-Diction! Taking all those fantasy tropes and flipping them around!! Hella rad! Loved the characters!
Fun fact: I started a cult for the Goddess of Time & Ducks with a group of friends while in college. Kit can verify this.
It was about this elf who came to a human village to ask for help against a dragon overlord who wanted to destroy them. She got The Rejects: A hypochondriac & incompetent warrior to be the leader, a vain mage, and a cleric-in-training. Later joined by a barmaid + a pink fairy. (I realize now that a hypochondriac for laughs might be pretty un-PC and rude to people who are actually hypochondriacs, so that will change. And likely just stick with the incompetent part.)
Anyway, I didn't have much of the thick of the story plotted. Beginning & Ending? Yep! what happens after they actually start traveling to her home? I don't know! I just know they eventually end up underwater? In trees?! who the fuck knows because I sure as hell don't. But I would love to be able actually write this into a novel. For shits and giggles.
Now: "Pirates are Overrated" which is a silly title but it's the one that it is stuck with. Started after Soup and Amy had pirate stories. I decided I wanted a pirate story too! So I made one that combined Pirates of the Caribbean and the Princess Bride. What a combo.
A girl who met the Dread Pirate Killick when she was younger meets him again, and he wants her to help him get arrested so he can ~ESCAPE~. And she says "I'll help you only if you agree to kidnap me" and he's like fuck yeah this is a brilliant plan I'll be even more fearsome! When they get back to his ship, she basically goes "holy fuck you're a shit pirate we need to fix this" and makes a bet with the 1st mate. If she can get him to be a competent pirate based on what she's learned from reading, she can stay. Otherwise, it's back home w/an apology. She arranges a few deals with finding treasure, and getting a bigger crew -- basically building up the name of the Dread Pirate once again.
I super love the entire loser crew, and I would love to actually write it with a plot more than "pirate shenanigans!" but who knows.
next is something that I would probably write as a screenplay. Mostly because I rely very heavily on the visual of the 3 main characters
It starts off with a struggling writer looking to purchase some memories, and in exchange, gives up his real name for three memories. Following that, I would write the three memories out, but they would all be slightly altered to include the three characters. And it would involve this mysterious man constantly trying to get Paden to remember them, and remember Miriam, their history together etc. Because the three of them used to be friends of sorts? and then Something Happened and "paden" disappeared, and Miriam went to hunt him down
So during the course of the telling of these three memories, it is Very Important that the viewer sees each of these characters as the same. I don't know what the other three memories were, though I hinted at them as Paden selected them so it would just involve a reread ahaha but then resigning myself to either writing it as a script for no reason, or resigning myself to novelizing it for ease of story telling...
Next! Something that can probably one of those that exists in the realm between Novella and short story! Eula of the Cinders! I love Cinderella retellings, and well, fairy tale retellings in general so this was inspired by that. History is pretty much standard:
Girl who lives with her step mom+sisters and is ~very pretty~ and the sisters are jealous of her so they make her do work. but then PLOT TWIST they decide to sacrifice her to summon the fairy godmother to make them beautiful for the prince. Fairy Godmother (who for some unknown reason has a grudge against the royal family) is like "you piece of shits" and kills the sisters. one life for two, she tries to bring back Eula -- which words for the most part, except she turns to ash at midnight (they burned her). The fairy godmother sends her to woo the prince and basically steals his life energy? so that he can die and the royal family fall to pieces
I don't know how it was actually resolved in the end. Don't know if I plotted that far down the line.
NEXT AH i almost forgot about this one! But it was a novel called Contö + a prequel novella. I can't, for the life of me, remember what the girl's plot was. Who was she? Why was she important? Well I mean, I know part of it but... how did she interact with the plot of the others? The elves and the fairies? I don't remember! Well that will be fun to figure out again.
Anyway, she is for some reason taken to the fairy palace by an elf who looks JUST LIKE HER FRIEND THAT WAS MURDERED (for some reason?!) and then it's basically the elf trying to shake off the curse the fairy put him under and well this human is Important for some reason. I had a very elaborate plot set up, having to do with her being the lost princess and everything, but that still doesn't apply to fairy+elf So I would need to figure out THE ENTIRE PLOT AGAIN and basically start from scratch but like CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! HELL YEAH.
Now for the novella attached to it! A ship of human settlers that come to explore the land owned by the elves! Don't remember much of it. But some how or another the queen becomes enamored with one of the sailors, and she's really a Horrible Person but he's fascinated by her. To the point where he thinks he will be able to make her a Good Person but in the end it Doesn't Happen Whoops My Bad. Sorry dude.
But they do actually have two kids together? Or at least one? I don't remember at what point she kills him hahaha But the Lost Princess from Contö is the younger sister to the one child I KNOW the two of them have together. If not their actual daughter also involves a lot of figuring out though not so much from scratch. It sets up the human characters you see in Contö!
LAST BUT FINALLY NOT LEAST!!!!!! My arthurian story!!!! Maurus my love how could I forget you!! It started out with a framing narrative of a girl who went to live with her uncle at a school he taught at in Ireland, and she meets a young man who works there also. He tells her this story of a forgotten knight, galahad's ignored older brother, maurus ("the dark one"). Never actually made it work.
So I scrapped the framing narrative (to save for another date, because hell, now I actually have context + a proper location for it!!) Kept it to just the story of the knights.
Maurus is possessed by a demon when he flies into a jealous fit as his younger brother is chosen to go to Camelot to train under King Arthur with their father Lancelot. He also meets Morgan le Fey who can sense the demon in his arm. She tells him that if he goes out to make his own way to Camelot, should he meet her son, to stick with him and he will find a like mind. So he does, and on one of his first trips out, stays at a church/school thing who offers him a place to sleep + eat and such. he meets a young girl there and they hit it off really well. Years later, he runs into her again while he works as a guard for hire. Only now she's blind and an excommunicate from the Church, who cast her aside with accusations of witchcraft when she spent too much time looking in how to help Maurus with his possessed arm problem. Oops.
WELL IN THE END HE MAKES IT TO CAMELOT and cue Arthurian shenanigans. he teams up again with Mordred and co, who are a Bad Lot according to Galahad but he's like w/e they're nice to me.
I'm not too sure how it was ever supposed to end. I never got past the part where Odilla agreed with a demon to be a host in return to see. but I love Odilla and Maurus and I would love to be able to write for them again iF ONLY I COULD FIGURE OUT HOW. sighs. One day.
(/curtain draws shut across the scene)
Entry originally posted at https://lady-mab.dreamwidth.org/325973.html. Comment there if you please, or here is fine, too.
I think I want to start using this some more than I have in the year or two past, mostly because -- while not a lot has happened -- I like having this space to turn to that isn't limited by characters or viewable by so many people. (Or anyone because I don't know who is still here?!) (IF YOU ARE HI HOW HAVE YOU BEEN I HAVE MISSED THIS SPACE)
A few days ago, after deciding I wanted to talk about my stories, I decided to tweet about them. And I selected 20 different titles to talk about. Novels, "novellas", "idk what to do with these", "I would love to write this if it didn't take so much time" and "oh my god I forgot about these". And then I took the time to pull that all from twitter and format it. Only now it's posted backwards so I have to fix that before I post it on here.
So be prepared for the madness below the cut of like 6k+ of me talking about 20 different stories sobs
We'll start with "Mwyr" because it involves less explaining. It's about a girl everyone thinks is the Goddess made flesh but she's like NOPE YOU'RE ALL WRONG. Turns out she is though, but not in the way everyone was expecting, which made it worse for them!
First wrote it back in high school and I cringe so much reading it but that's nothing new. Tried rewriting it twice before the recent draft!
Mwyr was just a temporary title but it ended up sticking, but it's not very title-y. I think I'll name it "Stars that Burn" after the fst?! Currently planned for two books, but could very easily expand depending on how I deal with the antagonists. Book 2: Stars that Shine? Maybe?
Already planning the next rewrite of the first book. Currently working on worldbuilding for Mwyr the planet. (this is the smallest entry on any of them I think)
Next! My nano novel from '07 that never got a proper title and I could never think of one that would fit hmmm
It's about a boy who is believed to be the leader for a powerful "private army" called the Grave Robbers. Obviously, they're not nice people. Anyway, he's kidnapped (twice) and loses a large chunk of his memories, only to have them replaced with Grave Robber knowledge (ie fighting). So it's up to a broken tribe called the Hill Folk to help him get back to Earth and hopefully destroy the Grave Robbers in the process!
I started writing it back in '07, didn't get very far and lost a big chunk of it when my computer crashed. Tried it again for Camp NaNo '11. Actually managed to get quite a bit further but still no end in sight. Doesn't even really have chapters. Just a giant mess of words.
I super love all the characters and the idea that the plot is taking, I only don't know a large chunk of the middle. Whoops.
Currently, just really want to finish one draft of it before I take a step back and look at it. Then will worldbuild, and figure out a title
Now onto my Alice in Wonderland story! "Well-Oiled Parts and Wonderland Hearts" is the full title, tho I normally call it "WonderHearts"
It's about Traci Connor, the daughter of the original Alice. Wonderland is a floating airship run by the Red Queen, and has its own laws. It serves as a hostess company, with the Flowers being girls for rent as companions for the evening (not a brothel mind you. They're classy)
Traci is kidnapped by Hearts, guards to Wonderland, and told she must act as "Alice" and "The White Rose" in the garden. The Red Queen needs her to become the Gold Queen and surrender the Jabberwock (a clockwork war machine thing) over to her. She teams up with the Spades, a rebel group consisting of the Dodo, the Hatter, and the Hare among others, in order to bring her down.
The original I wrote in response to Soup writing AIII, and I wanted an Alice story too so this was born. It was completely different then. Did NOT get very far at all before it was scrapped. Reused the name Traci Connor and one or two conversations for the rewrite.
I'm not too fond of the tone for it at the moment, as it is too formal and Victorian. Haven't yet found a voice that works though. I would say I'm about a third of the way through. It is planned for only one book but depending on how long it gets, could be more. But I love the characters, the plot, and the ending that I have planned for it. So I want to finish it! Maybe I'll pick it up again soon...
Alright, now I will tackle the wonder trio: Wayfarer, SD, and the as of yet unnamed third series. Yes, there are three connected series.
Wayfarer takes place first, so we'll start there. It takes place about 100 years in the future (2117 to be 'precise'). America has fallen! and by fallen I mean that it was probably a bad result in the presidential election, government collapsed, & threat of nuclear war imminent. So bunkers were created (mostly on the west coast), and our story takes place in one by the NM/AZ border. Cameron volunteers to go Topside in search of a place for the city to relocate to, and partially to try to find news of her brother.
I finished the first book, which was the first novel I finished in about 10 years! it was really exciting!! Not entirely too sure about book 2. But! One way or another, it's through Cam's actions that people rise up and create a "new era": Sine Die. It starts as a fad mostly. But then it spreads, across the US, across the world, and people start using it as the actual dating system, though AD is sometimes used.
I will likely rewrite book 1 before starting book 2. There are things I want to expand, but "travel stories" are hard to write...
Well, 205 years later, across the pond, you get the novel that I'm currently calling Sine Die but will likely be renamed.
The Thames has flooded its banks and forced London to move northwest a bit. It has since become the city of Eminence. Around it is a lot of dead land and only high speed trains will get you from one place to another. Don't trust driving on highways that way.
Some years before the story takes place a group of scientists accidentally created a virus that caused what they named The Jabberwock Defect. So ALICE (which will also be mentioned in Wayfarer and the other series) sweeps in and takes over the city, locking it down. They pump a drug into the air that gets people to remain calm and not question just why they can't leave Eminence (don't want to spread it!)
The Program Manager starts up a game called Lacryma, which is supposed to be a challenge to find people worthy of learning "the Truth". So the following year (June 205 - June 206), hundreds of teams compete to become those Worthy of Truth! and, better yet, a ticket out.
I finished book 1 (205 SD) and have been working on book 2 (206 SD) for 8 months :( probably won't finish 206 this year but I CAN HOPE.
Currently just really trying to finish book 2 and then will think of actual titles for them. Otherwise, I'm pretty happy with it so far!
Last one: the as of yet unnamed third series in my SD verse! It takes place in 162 SD/2280 AD.
While America is still rebuilding itself and the UK is a half-sunk, self-centered megalomaniac, the rest of the word is getting on. Russia has taken advantage of this and has reclaimed a lot of it's previous satellite countries for resources and most of Eastern Europe.
Matyas takes over running things around their city after his dad dies, learning the trade at full-tilt since 5 years old. A plane, fairly old, crashes into one of their fields, and a german man stumbles out, claiming he's a journalist out to see the world.
Story doesn't have much of a solid plot between character arcs, though it will explore Eastern Europe becoming an agricultural super power! So that's still in the plotting stages, and probably won't be written for a good long while. But I super love Matyas and Kaspar ahhhh
Now, Noah and Sebastian! No title for this one yet
It's about this straight-up tomboy mechanic who is engaged to the heir-apparent because her father is a close friend of the king. Their country is in the middle of a war with one of the others (FOR THE LIFE OF ME I don't remember what country I'm sorry I will find it). Also, STEAMPUNK. I haven't got much of a plot for this story, except them growing as characters and ending the war.
I've written a few random scenes for this story over the years. Nothing concrete. But I have their characters pretty set. (okay this is the shortest but at least it can be combined with the next one)
So Sebastian and Noah end up getting along well enough and become a really great king and queen to rebuild the countries after the war. That's where the next novel comes in: Here Be Spirits! It started out as an RP with Cara but I'm just going to write it on my own.
I can't remember some of the finer details, but a girl steals one of her uncle's old warships (mind: AIRSHIP!) and I think wanted to sell it. But one thing leads to another and she basically becomes the captain of this airship with a crew of all ladies from all different countries.
There is this country to the north that no one really wants to talk about because they think it's the "end of the earth" type of deal. Filled with spirits and ghosts and things. I don't remember why she wants to go there. But well, that's where the plot comes from.
For this, I only have the captain and her failure of a navigator planned. Everything else is up in the air! I'd love to write it tho. Would have to do a lot of world building for this (especially in regards to the war that Noah & Seb take part in). ONE DAY.
But now: I will talk about Cora and Winny! They also do not have a title, though I'm sure I can come up with a cliched fantasy one.
This world is broken down into five kingdoms + a center capitol. After the bloodline of the True Kings has disappeared it's been shifting. Once every so many years, a ruler from each kingdom would come and sit as head of the counsel as a temporary "king". At one point, the adviser said that she had found the "true queen": a girl in the agricultural kingdom. So they send out Winston to get her. As they travel back, they go to each of the kingdoms to find the missing "legendary stones of power" type of deal that vanished w/the king.
Once they get back to the capitol, the adviser goes "WHAT IS THIS SHE IS NOT THE QUEEN I SENT FOR. TREASON. BOTH OF THEM, TREASON!" And Cora is like WELL I TOLD YOU ALL ALONG but Winny actually believes she is the true queen and wILL TOTALLY FIGHT YOU ON THAT.
I have only written very brief scenes, but it has taken more of a direction after I combined it with Knell's Avatar a bit ago. It will have to involve a bit of worldbuilding, and figuring out the countries and their histories. I am pretty sure there were 5...? Red (technology/battle), Brown (agriculture), White (information), Green (druids/healing), and Black (magic/divination)
LASTLY ON THE NOVEL FRONT. It is called Dragon Souls! I originally wanted to try and combine it with Cora's story but I loved my Shakespeare reference too much
It started off after finishing The School of Good and Evil, and I wanted to create something like that in a modern day setting. But I've since eliminated the divide between "good guys" and "bad guys" though a stigma is still associated with the divisions
BASICALLY. It's about these students who go to a super elite magic school that.. I honestly can't remember what they did. I think they acted as a lot of moderators for things like UN Matters and whatever? Not too sure.
I obviously have a lot of plot figured out for this (/sarcasm) but I was going to have it that their head master or TOP MAGE dude person wanted to pretty much start a war or take over and become SUPREME RULER. And then it's up to Titania and her wonder bro trio to stop him (okay not just the four of them but whatever.) I wanted Book 1 to be them in school, and then book 2+ beyond the other plot stuff
Oh, yeah, I was also inspired by The Magicians and it not being as satisfactory as I wanted and taking for-FREAKING-ever to progress. Writing this one will mostly involve sitting down and figuring out what the f the plot is.
So we'll start the day with finishing listening to Jonas' playlist. And talking about my "novellas". I call them that because I'm not entirely too sure how long they will be, or what I will be doing with them. Ah well.
The first up on the list is "The World Listens" which started out as a harry potter fanfic and even got an fst! So try and point out the similarities when I eventually write it harhar.
Anyway, it's about this boy who has the ability to hear the dead. Can't see them, can't talk to them, can't do anything but hear them. And it's kind of obnoxious, but at least he's still alive. The Minister is out to (secretly) monopolize the conversations with the dead, and kills anyone born with the (to be determined) mark. Magic is common place, and those with it are the ruling "class". There are a lot of strict rules in place, though, for classifications.
Ianto is approached by a young witch who says that she wants to start a business with him, and create an underground group to stage a coup. She introduces him to the daughter of a famous inventor, who claims she can help Ianto eliminate this thing that is blocking his abilities. They gather a bunch of strange outcasts from the magic community, and I'm sure they succeed in the end but I haven't figured it out yet.
I had a hard time figuring out how to fit in some things while it was still HP verse, but now i have a lot more freedom haha I also need to figure out more about the characters now that they're not their HP counterparts. And I need to iron out the relationship between the Harry, Neville, and Draco characters with their abilities (hearing/speaking, healing/freeing, seeing the dead)
Other than that, I feel quite confident about it. I only didn't write it for Camp NaNo in April because of RP with Tiffany.
NEXT IS "TAG". Before I start, here is the song I used for inspiration, and lyrics.
Okay so "Tag". Likely won't remain with that title seeing as I was inspired to write it by the Japanese game of tag and you can TELL. It's about this boy and his best friend in an orphanage, and one night, she convinces him to go into the forest where she gets lost. And then he finds her, dead -- or more like brutally murdered -- and all these voices are accusing him of doing it. He stumbles into a lake and something pulls him under. When he wakes up, he's "being summoned" by a paladin on a holy mission to bring him back to the church. She won't stop calling him "demon" and claiming that "he killed the Lady" and that this is his punishment. And of course, he's just wtf mate
When I originally wrote it, it was his trip in the forest, getting pulled under, waking up, then getting pulled under again. The second version: expands before his trip to the forest, getting lost, pulled under, waking up, traveling to the city, Meeting Lady, then traveling back, and offering himself as a sacrifice. I really want to expand on the other world he wakes up in.
Oh, yeah, someone made a playlist for me! she did an AMAZING job with connecting the songs to the characters/points in the story!! The only reason I can't make this a novel is because I honestly don't know if I have enough ability to expand it beyond the central story. Like, the maker of the fst helped me figure out a lot of headcanon and world structure/religion structure and stuff like that.
I love the dynamic between Maasa and Kael's world and Richard and Nelo' world. So I just need to figure out how to show that in a novella. But I do hope to be able to rewrite this a third time and make it EVEN BETTER and not as rushed...
OKAY NEXT NOVELLA: The Mnemosyne Drive! Gah I haven't talked about this in awhile after writing it all July. I came up with plot LAST MINUTE and it was all because of about four songs I had for an inspiration for a playlist-inspired story (much like The World Listens started)
It's about these memories that have been uploaded into this thing called the Mnemosyne Drive, where they can be revisited/relived at will. They all perform in a sort of routine nothing beyond what they knew surrounding the moment of their upload. But some like to break the cycle
One in particular is struggling to figure out why she was uploaded at such a boring point in her life, when strange things start happening. She meets another programmer and an engineer who run a pawn shop doubling as a black-market of sorts in the Drive, both who agree to help.
And as they delve deeper into her origin, and learn more of the truth that brought the three of them together (and not by chance)--they realize they're wrapped up in a WEB OF INTRIGUE (/dramatic chord) Sorry a lot of spoilers happen after that and it would ruin the story
There are some things in the story I keep flip-flopping over but otherwise i got it pretty well figured out. I just need a break haha I had reached a spot that I hate the way I wrote it so it sort of made me drag my feet with it, even though I finally waded through. I don't have the end figured out though. It will hopefully come to me as I write through the rest of my outline? I don't really know ugh It all moves really quickly, though, but I guess that's okay. I don't have the wherewithal to make it a full novel.
I'm going to talk about the one temporarily titled "Redemption". It's a spin-off prequel to my '07 NaNo that I talked about earlier!
It's about a young man from the Hill Folk who is sent to find one of the Elders' granddaughter whom everyone believed to be a traitor. She was kidnapped by the City Dwellers and made to join the Grave Robbers, but her goddess never gave up on her so she's 'redeemable'. Of course, she still has to go through a trial before being reinstated. The story follows Ren as he rescues Beryl and brings her back.
They return just before the revolution breaks out among the Hill Folk, and about a year or so before the 07 NaNo starts!
I wrote a sample blurb back in HS, which then spawned the '07 NaNo, and from there I turned it into an actual, functioning story. I did, however, lose a chunk of it? One that introduced the girl that would eventually become Fennel (WHICH ONLY MEANS SOMETHING TO ME) but I super love it, and I love the world that I created for it. I'll eventually write it. ONE DAY. It and the 07 Nano hah hah
Two novellas left, and I shall now talk about "Keeping Time". I started this A G E S ago in high school! It has changed quite a bit since. I wrote it for a big bang (just like Tag and Redemption). I got art for it and an fst!
It's about this girl who is invited to the capitol as a Guest of Honor, as apparently her bloodline is a mediator to the gods/spirits. Just like her great grandmother before her, she is expected to go on a quest and appease the gods in the forest. Seems easy peasy, right? Only several of her companions are mentioning things off-hand that make her uneasy about the whole affair (like, why does she need a guard?)
Turns out they're not so much a "mediator" as they are a "sacrifice". However, hers goes horribly wrong, and she's imbued w/MAGIC POWERS. POWERS, mind you, that enable her to control the flow of time (mostly to herself and those around her). So she's off to figure out the truth
I have about half of it written out, and the rest of it figured out, so it's just a matter of writing it! I love it so.
Last I shall talk about "Flames". It is, currently, a short story at about 8 pages. But there is so much of the world I want to expand on. The short story doesn't have much by the way of plot though it hints at the world beyond the "interrogation room" that is RIPE FOR EXPLORING
There is a war between the Order (those loyal to the True King) and the Faction (traitors to the crown, currently in power). One officer disappears on a covert operation for three months, only to reappear with a signet ring -- proof of loyalty to the Faction
So the short story is the "interrogation" (read: homo-erotic torture) scene between the two with a dubious history because fuck if I know it
here is "stories I don't now how to categorize what are they even" aka "Things I'm not too sure about"
First up on the two-titled list: "Business of Death", last year's NaNo story! Let me tell you how much I love this story: A METRIC FUCKTON.
Alright so it's modern-day America and even the afterlife is run like a business. The Reapers have privatized soul collecting. The famous Grim Reaper runs the American front, is amused by humans, and loves three-piece suits. He has an elite team of reapers employed. Everything is running smoothly until, one day, a larger number of souls and old spirits are wandering around the earth. Which is a big no-no
Turns out someone decided to open the gates to hell's equivalent to a high-end security prison. Not only are powerful spirits released--but old souls like several of the reapers feel the pull of it, and have to fight against giving in to the power lurking deep inside of them. So it's up to a small team to figure out who did the thing and stop it. While not trying to fall apart or die for real in the process.
The reason I don't know what to do with this: The story itself could probably be a novella. It is short and to the point. The only problem is I love writing anecdotes more than the actual story -- shenanigans that the reapers get into & backstories for everyone. I don't know how much to include in the actual story and how much is just "well I'll probably save this as backstory/headcanon..." Could very easily write the novella (which I have no idea how to end, actually?) and then fill the rest of a book with these side-stories? so I GET THE BEST OF BOTH WORDS. BECAUSE I HELLA LOVE ALL THESE LOSERS.
Second of two "idek" titles: Washer at the Ford. Same problems in Business of Death, just with less solid plot.
I originally started it as a series of long short-stories (not novellas, not short stories?), about six or seven, each with individual plots. And they would all surround the central plot of Fe being chased by the Devil because he wants her soul. Only none of the stories had very solid plots. They were all just sort of vague ideas.
I'm thinking that, if I want to follow that vein... I would have "Washer" be the first story, which would resolve the issue I had with solving the "Devil Plot" and his non-involvement. Then from there, proceed as planned with Fe, Finn, and Othello being sort of supernatural hunters for this small town...? And then wrap it up in the last one with the plot between the Devil and Fe. Hm. I rather like the sound of that. Will need a lot of plotting
Because I need to figure out what sort of mysteries they will solve. Washerwoman, of course. Haunted house? Yeah, sure. But what else?
Next is affectionately titled "Things I would leap at the chance to re/write" given the chance to figure out a good style and a better plot
And first on that list is "Still Waiting", the first novel I ever finished, oddly titled after a "Sum 41" song for some unknown reason.
It was about a high school girl who had her soul forcibly removed from her body by someone claiming to be her friend from a different world. He tells her she used to be a powerful mage who was killed 5 years before, and he spent all that time trying to find her & bring her back. He needs her help destroying the Big Bad Guy with tons of Mindless Hordes at his Beck & Call. wow typical fantasy set up, huh?
There are a lot of things I would change, mostly the whole side plot that the Big Bad was her dad and that she was on Earth. I also need to bring out the side characters because they were precious. But really the biggest thing i Need to figure out is world building and making the MC less of a ~Perfect Person~ and more into a pERFECT QUEEN (you know there is a difference). Also, changing the bad guy.
I had a similar problem with Loki and the Ti'Corrah in the original version of Mwyr. Jigur had a billion demons to summon to the slaughter. With the Ti'Corrah, I made them a grand total of six. I don't know what i'll do here in this case. I really should just take the chance to start writing blurbs with the characters to get used to them again and maybe a plot will come?
oh, and while i was looking through my Still Waiting tag on tumblr, I was reminded of the name of their planet. ~PATHESTINY~! Imma cry
NEXT ONE I am unashamed to admit I would love to rewrite is my Wing Goddess stories. I only finished two, but WE COULD HAVE HAD IT ALL. Well, if I knew what I was doing, we could have had it all.
The first one (chronologically, not finished) was about a girl name Faeta. I don't remember ANYTHING except they were at a beach for some sort of project ??? names were basically all keyboard smashes ??? and I had too many monsters ripped directly from Forgotten Realms novels like wtf it's not an homage if it is plagiarism, young!me!!
Second one was about a girl named Ky (who I will probably rename because I have another Ky for 07 NaNo). She was from an elf-inspired race who had to guide these humans SOMEWHERE for SOME REASON and somewhere along the way a love triangle happens! a square? I don't really remember.
The third one (hardly written) was about two sisters who mysteriously appeared in the yard of two brothers. They're obviously Not Human and this one actually takes place on earth. I don't know if it had a real plot? Or was just romance?!
Fourth, considerably plotted, sort of written, generally a big mess: dystopian city of sorts, girl is attacked? I'm not too sure? but she's taken in by this family that finds her. She's the daughter of someone who is big on the Environmental front and decides to carry on his work. I don't remember a lot of the plot. But that's nothing new.
Wing Goddess overall "plot": girls representing dif powers all awaken one way or another into their 'Goddess' selves and then are expected to defeat this bad guy whose purpose I don't remember.
It had potential to be something pretty cool, if I actually figure it out and made it fleshed out stories. Not rushed romance plots. Don't really have the energy or dedication needed to devote to figuring it all out. Maybe next year.
oh, now time to talk about Aneedh's Jewel! My three-book homage to high fantasy! Ah, another "we could have had it all" book.
First book was about this challenge set up by a mysterious benefactor in order to try and select the perfect team in order to Go On A Quest.
second book is about said team Going On A Quest to find a mysterious mystical gem of great power (stolen from the elves long ago).
Third book was about the team splitting up as some of them wanted the money not the honor of helping the elf princess get her heirloom back. And then coming together in the end because the Power of Friendship rules out over all?! I'm not too sure, something like that...
I have the characters pretty solid, I think. Changing around the dynamic of the Token Girl and the Guy With a Tragic Background, tho. Their romance plot was pretty dumb to begin with and it was just because I liked ~FORBIDDEN ROMANCE OOOOO~ when I was in HS ugh her relationship with the swordsman was so much better, so they're more likely going to be the otp. Who am I kidding they are my otp.
Um, I'd do some world building. Figure out the place of religion and other races and stuff like that in relation to the world. And beyond that? Just basically DOING A LOT OF PLOTTING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE EFF WAS HAPPENING.
Last one in the stories I would leap to rewrite given half the chance is one affectionately titled as "Untilted"! (spelled 'untitled' wrong)
A collection of six young adults who don't know each other are collected together by this weird big monster and brought ~to another world~. They were apparently members of a royal court who vanished in the middle of a Very Critical War. So they try and pick up where they left off
How it ended, how they disappeared, I don't remember. I'll go find the original later today just for nostalgic lols. Obviously needs work. Will have to figure out their personal stories, if I want to keep that whole "teens from earth pulled to another dimension" etc
The first story we're going to talk about in the "oh wait I forgot about these" category is the Chronophage story that never got much of a title, or much of a coherent plot. It is my second attempt at writing a story backwards! (the first being the original thing that eventually turned into Wayfarer) Though, really, it's not completely backwards. Mary's story goes backwards, the Chronophage's story goes forward! ~FUN, RIGHT?~ I didn't do a good job at telling the actual story in the first draft so it wasn't clear and it didn't sound good. Obvs needs A LOT of work. Like figuring out what exactly the plot for Marie is. Is she running? Will she be running? What's the Time Eater's plot? HUNGER. I guess.
It will likely be a novella. My legacy will be in novellas ffs. Anyway, it also needs an actual title, so that's a thing...
Next is a novel called Contra-Diction! Taking all those fantasy tropes and flipping them around!! Hella rad! Loved the characters!
Fun fact: I started a cult for the Goddess of Time & Ducks with a group of friends while in college. Kit can verify this.
It was about this elf who came to a human village to ask for help against a dragon overlord who wanted to destroy them. She got The Rejects: A hypochondriac & incompetent warrior to be the leader, a vain mage, and a cleric-in-training. Later joined by a barmaid + a pink fairy. (I realize now that a hypochondriac for laughs might be pretty un-PC and rude to people who are actually hypochondriacs, so that will change. And likely just stick with the incompetent part.)
Anyway, I didn't have much of the thick of the story plotted. Beginning & Ending? Yep! what happens after they actually start traveling to her home? I don't know! I just know they eventually end up underwater? In trees?! who the fuck knows because I sure as hell don't. But I would love to be able actually write this into a novel. For shits and giggles.
Now: "Pirates are Overrated" which is a silly title but it's the one that it is stuck with. Started after Soup and Amy had pirate stories. I decided I wanted a pirate story too! So I made one that combined Pirates of the Caribbean and the Princess Bride. What a combo.
A girl who met the Dread Pirate Killick when she was younger meets him again, and he wants her to help him get arrested so he can ~ESCAPE~. And she says "I'll help you only if you agree to kidnap me" and he's like fuck yeah this is a brilliant plan I'll be even more fearsome! When they get back to his ship, she basically goes "holy fuck you're a shit pirate we need to fix this" and makes a bet with the 1st mate. If she can get him to be a competent pirate based on what she's learned from reading, she can stay. Otherwise, it's back home w/an apology. She arranges a few deals with finding treasure, and getting a bigger crew -- basically building up the name of the Dread Pirate once again.
I super love the entire loser crew, and I would love to actually write it with a plot more than "pirate shenanigans!" but who knows.
next is something that I would probably write as a screenplay. Mostly because I rely very heavily on the visual of the 3 main characters
It starts off with a struggling writer looking to purchase some memories, and in exchange, gives up his real name for three memories. Following that, I would write the three memories out, but they would all be slightly altered to include the three characters. And it would involve this mysterious man constantly trying to get Paden to remember them, and remember Miriam, their history together etc. Because the three of them used to be friends of sorts? and then Something Happened and "paden" disappeared, and Miriam went to hunt him down
So during the course of the telling of these three memories, it is Very Important that the viewer sees each of these characters as the same. I don't know what the other three memories were, though I hinted at them as Paden selected them so it would just involve a reread ahaha but then resigning myself to either writing it as a script for no reason, or resigning myself to novelizing it for ease of story telling...
Next! Something that can probably one of those that exists in the realm between Novella and short story! Eula of the Cinders! I love Cinderella retellings, and well, fairy tale retellings in general so this was inspired by that. History is pretty much standard:
Girl who lives with her step mom+sisters and is ~very pretty~ and the sisters are jealous of her so they make her do work. but then PLOT TWIST they decide to sacrifice her to summon the fairy godmother to make them beautiful for the prince. Fairy Godmother (who for some unknown reason has a grudge against the royal family) is like "you piece of shits" and kills the sisters. one life for two, she tries to bring back Eula -- which words for the most part, except she turns to ash at midnight (they burned her). The fairy godmother sends her to woo the prince and basically steals his life energy? so that he can die and the royal family fall to pieces
I don't know how it was actually resolved in the end. Don't know if I plotted that far down the line.
NEXT AH i almost forgot about this one! But it was a novel called Contö + a prequel novella. I can't, for the life of me, remember what the girl's plot was. Who was she? Why was she important? Well I mean, I know part of it but... how did she interact with the plot of the others? The elves and the fairies? I don't remember! Well that will be fun to figure out again.
Anyway, she is for some reason taken to the fairy palace by an elf who looks JUST LIKE HER FRIEND THAT WAS MURDERED (for some reason?!) and then it's basically the elf trying to shake off the curse the fairy put him under and well this human is Important for some reason. I had a very elaborate plot set up, having to do with her being the lost princess and everything, but that still doesn't apply to fairy+elf So I would need to figure out THE ENTIRE PLOT AGAIN and basically start from scratch but like CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! HELL YEAH.
Now for the novella attached to it! A ship of human settlers that come to explore the land owned by the elves! Don't remember much of it. But some how or another the queen becomes enamored with one of the sailors, and she's really a Horrible Person but he's fascinated by her. To the point where he thinks he will be able to make her a Good Person but in the end it Doesn't Happen Whoops My Bad. Sorry dude.
But they do actually have two kids together? Or at least one? I don't remember at what point she kills him hahaha But the Lost Princess from Contö is the younger sister to the one child I KNOW the two of them have together. If not their actual daughter also involves a lot of figuring out though not so much from scratch. It sets up the human characters you see in Contö!
LAST BUT FINALLY NOT LEAST!!!!!! My arthurian story!!!! Maurus my love how could I forget you!! It started out with a framing narrative of a girl who went to live with her uncle at a school he taught at in Ireland, and she meets a young man who works there also. He tells her this story of a forgotten knight, galahad's ignored older brother, maurus ("the dark one"). Never actually made it work.
So I scrapped the framing narrative (to save for another date, because hell, now I actually have context + a proper location for it!!) Kept it to just the story of the knights.
Maurus is possessed by a demon when he flies into a jealous fit as his younger brother is chosen to go to Camelot to train under King Arthur with their father Lancelot. He also meets Morgan le Fey who can sense the demon in his arm. She tells him that if he goes out to make his own way to Camelot, should he meet her son, to stick with him and he will find a like mind. So he does, and on one of his first trips out, stays at a church/school thing who offers him a place to sleep + eat and such. he meets a young girl there and they hit it off really well. Years later, he runs into her again while he works as a guard for hire. Only now she's blind and an excommunicate from the Church, who cast her aside with accusations of witchcraft when she spent too much time looking in how to help Maurus with his possessed arm problem. Oops.
WELL IN THE END HE MAKES IT TO CAMELOT and cue Arthurian shenanigans. he teams up again with Mordred and co, who are a Bad Lot according to Galahad but he's like w/e they're nice to me.
I'm not too sure how it was ever supposed to end. I never got past the part where Odilla agreed with a demon to be a host in return to see. but I love Odilla and Maurus and I would love to be able to write for them again iF ONLY I COULD FIGURE OUT HOW. sighs. One day.
(/curtain draws shut across the scene)
Entry originally posted at https://lady-mab.dreamwidth.org/325973.html. Comment there if you please, or here is fine, too.