Young Writers Society

So. I'm far from being published (well... I take that back. I've had a couple poems published, and one short story in the school's highly selective literary magazine of which I am now an editor), but I figured it couldn't hurt to list my current projects. Hey, it might even earn me a few minor death threats to continue on my work - that's always good, right?

So. Here's a quick list of things I'm working on:

The Chronicles of Taer

I think I've decided that this will be a trilogy. Because I always seem to start and never seem to get anywhere, I am now going back and using the Snowflake Method to outline. I'm still trying to decide whether I want to outline all three books at once, or one book at a time. Probably all three at once, so I can better weave them together.

Kiens' Battle

I still don't know what I'm going to do with this one. I've sort of left it as is, because I don't know if it's something I want to publish. Maybe under a pseudonym... I'm not sure I want my family to see it, as it has some graphic stuff in it they probably wouldn't approve of. Anyway, the next step is to edit it, and at that point, I might post parts of it here and see what you guys think. *laughs* It really is terrible.

Davy and Di

I'm not nearly as passionate about this story as I was when I first thought of it. I think the research I would have to do is dragging me down, and it just seems sort of blah to me.

When You Come to a Fork...

If I have time, I should start outlining this one. I think it's going to be my NaNovel for this year, but we'll see.

Shadows

Gah. I love this story to death. It was my first NaNovel attempt, and while I only have about 15,000 usable words, the stuff I wrote was surprisingly good. It's another one I would probably publish under a pseudonym if I chose to pursue it, but I'm not sure if I'll really work on it. It's just one of those stories I can't seem to give up.

Along with those, I have to come up with poetry, a short story, or a photograph for the literary magazine. I think I'm guaranteed to get something in, since I'm an editor, but I really have nothing I want to submit. My writing has been going down the drain lately, and I'm just starting to realize that I'm a mediocre writer at best. It's sort of depressing, really. And the paradox is that I don't want to post stuff because I don't feel it's my very best, and yet if I don't post then I won't know how to improve...

*laughs* I think I should just go for it. One of these times I'll respond to a writing challenge and just put myself out there. I think I've critiqued enough pieces to add a few of my own, so we'll see. That's all for now.

The stuff you're writing sounds really interesting. I'd love to hear more about them.

I know what you mean as far as posting goes--I'm terrified to post anything from any sort of novel I'm working on, because A) What if I don't finish it/neglect to write more? and B) I have to edit stuff a billion times before I feel confident posting it.

So I know what you mean, at least a little.

But like HeadInTheClouds said, your stuff sounds really interesting, and I give you props for being able to work on more than one thing at once! I can't have more than one set of characters floating around my head...it confuses me...

Some interesting stuff you have there, I really need to start reading some of your work Crysi.

You need to post some of this stuff when you've done it too, Crys, considering you've been here longer than me, but have posted about a zillionth of what I have. This could point to me posting too much, but mostly to you not enough!

Write! Post!

Oh, and er ... you didn't actually explain what any of your stories are actually about! XD

Yeah... you noticed that too, Jacke?

What's Davy and Di about?

And try not to jump to project to project... get something done!

Wow, you have a quite a bit going on. Impressive.

I'm also curious about what Davy and Di is about. ^_^

I've really got to reread The Chronicles of Taer. I'm interested in this Kiens' Battle.

*sigh*

So here's an update.

I haven't done anything with anything.

EXCEPT for Chronicles.

Thanks to a very long chat with Imp last night (and a scary encounter with Saphirus), I have a halfway new plot. Meaning, I'm keeping half of the plot, but the second half is entirely new. And I'm scared to death to go along with it, but it'll be better in the end, I think. Not so cliche. And far more exciting and psychological (because I absolutely LOVE messing with the minds of my characters...) and wonderful. Saphirus is happy because he comes in much earlier and plays pretty much the main part.

Because you all can't stand mystery, I'll let you know what my stories are about, haha.

The Chronicles of Taer

Basically my life-long novel. The new plot: In the world of Taer, mainly inhabited by dragonkin (humans with the ability to transform into dragons), a young girl and her brother are raised by the royal family of the White Realm, who secretly believe she's the "Chosen One" who will save them all from impending doom. As the centuries-long war between the Sindrykans and Drykorians escalates, the girl takes charge. At the critical moment, it becomes painfully clear to everyone that she is NOT the chosen one. Her kingdom falls, and she is forced to flee to the Dark Realm. Discoveries and internal conflicts build up until the final battle, when the girl must choose where her loyalties lie.

Kiens' Battle

Similar to Chronicles, actually - my 2006 NaNovel, it served as a sort of practice story so I could work on certain skills I lacked. It's about a young farmer who is "recruited" into the army when he refuses to give them food. Because he lives relatively far from town, he knows nothing of the war. He must learn on the go, but unfortunately he is in one of the least respected companies in the war. He rises through the ranks as needed, until he discovers at a crucial moment something that changes his entire perspective. After that, he must decide between the loyalty of his fellow soldiers and his moral beliefs.

Davy and Di

I think I'm gonna give this one up. Basically, it was going to be about a girl, Diana, whose best friend, Davy, is accused of first-degree murder. She spends the entire novel trying to find evidence to the contrary. In the last pages, Davy, who hasn't said anything either way, admits he did it.

When You Come to a Fork...

This was going to be more of a young adult story. Two kids find a map, and they realize it lists every consequence to every choice they make. An angel appears, flustered, and makes a deal with them: he'll let them keep the map for a little while, as long as they only use it for good. The rest of the story just follows their choices and the eventual consequences - not planned out fully yet.

Shadows

A trouble-making teenager, plagued with problems at home, begins to see strange shadows out of the corner of her eye. Because of something she had done in her past, a shadow demon visits her and explains the haunting will continue until things are made right again. The shadows begin to possess things, such as her best friend's gun, which almost shoots her. Again, not entirely planned out, but one I'm hesitant to give up.

So there you go! I'd post if I actually had anything good... I might post the beginnings of some of these, which might encourage me to continue. I dunno. I'll work on it.

Procrastinator!

But oh well. You WILL write soon, right?

I'll try. Hey, I'm pretty proud of the fact that I outlined Chronicles - first time I've attempted that. I just need to get more in-depth. I'm going to try to do the Snowflake method, since the story is basically written by the end, and it usually encourages me to continue.

I just have no bloody time! *sigh*

Which story has Saphirus in it? Is that Taer or Kiens' Battle?

...he is very awesome. The type of person with major swordfighting skills, if I'm correct.

Saphirus belongs to The Chronicles of Taer. Yes, crazy mad swordfighting skills. He's... awesome, yes, but terrifying, my goodness.

Anyway. I really do have a reason for posting again!

I'm trying to write a little bit each day now, just to get back in the practice. Besides, it gives me a few minutes each day to do something I truly want to do, and I always feel accomplished afterward. (If you see me taking part in Fool's Duel or more writing-based activities, that's why.)

So I've been working on Chronicles a lot more lately. Saphirus is pushing me to finish the outline, and that's all I've really been working on. I figure the characters are as developed as they're going to get, and writing it down will simply bore me and waste valuable time. I know these characters inside and out.

I'm on the last stage of expanding my outline, which is absolutely terrifying. It's a very slow process, but extremely interesting as I start setting up events for the new part of the plot. After that's done, it's time to list the scenes. From there, it's simply a matter of writing the first draft.

Oy, this really is terrifying. This means Chronicles may actually get written. And hopefully it will turn out better than Kiens' Battle and earn more of my attention afterward...

If you've been wondering why I haven't posted lately, that's why. Been working on Chronicles obsessively, and I have nothing more written on it. I feel it's bad luck to write and outline at the same time.

*gasp* Has Crysi been writing?

...Well, no, not really. I've written small little sketches and a few poems, but nothing I really want to develop. I've been posting on Necropolis more, does that count?

Anyway. I decided to completely scrap Chronicles of Taer, as it wasn't working out any way I tried it. Except now that I'm reading back on what I wrote about it, and looking through the outline and all that... I don't know. It's hard to ever really leave a story, you know?

My reason for posting, however, is to say that I do in fact have an idea for NaNoWriMo, and I have characters, and they have names. I have a general plot, but I need to figure out how I'm going to stretch it to 50K. It's controversial, and that's why I'm doing it. I never really hear it addressed except in private, between those dealing with it, so why not explore it in a novel?

I have characters, and they have names.

Both wonderful things
The whole novel sounds interesting too!