Writing thread

[Jalathas]

Alright, I still couldn't work on my short story, but I did get this written. What do you think?

As I stared at the pages, I found my eyes unfocusing and blurring the words as I tried to read them. I'd been studying for hours, but the only effect it seemed to have had was to bore me out of my mind. I stood up to stretch, sighing, and let my eyes wander. Across the room, something caught my tired eye. The Green Day poster on my wall was moving! I walked over to get a closer look. The image was twisted and distorted, the band members' faces meshing with instruments and warping into strange shapes, like the creation of a demented photoshopper. As I stared at the changing picture, a voice seemed to beckon me towards it. I stepped forward, and the edges of reality unfolded around me. I found myself formless, in an empty back void beyond all comprehension. I could see nothing, but at the same time I saw everything. I saw all that occurred on Earth, the fighting and peacemaking, the births and the deaths. I saw the horrors that men can commit, and the kindnesses they can show. I saw slaughter and intolerance and hate, and I saw compassion, charity, and good deeds. I saw that every man and woman wants the same things, and I saw how every conflict could have been avoided if everyone had just stopped and tried to talk it out. I saw soldiers fighting, dying for reasons they barely understood. I saw families starving while their neighbors feasted. I saw men taking everything they could from whomever they could take it from, and reaching for more when they realized that it couldn't make them happy. I saw people divided, separated, and segregated into their own ever-smaller groups for no reason other than because they could. I saw those same people directing fear and anger at other groups just like theirs because they saw them as different and different as bad. I saw everything wrong with the world, and I knew that all it would take to fix it was a little understanding. I felt myself drawing downwards, and looked closer. I saw myself, sleeping at my desk, my head cradled in my arms over my algebra book. I woke up. I glanced around at my room. My poster was normal, and I seemed never to have moved from my desk. I sat for a moment, looked down at my book, and then closed it and walked outside. My grades might suffer, but some things were more important than studying...

[BugHunter]

Is like a sociological look at the contrasting aspects of the world. It'd make one freaky music video

[Fargo Squire]

I like it. You could turn that into something bigger, I think. Of course, I'm in novel mode until the end of the month. I suppose there's no reason to expand or build on it, necessarily. But does the narrator do something about it? I'm curious.

[Jalathas]

bughunter said:

Is like a sociological look at the contrasting aspects of the world. It'd make one freaky music video

Funny thing is, it was almost a story about peeling peoples' skin off.

fargosquire said:

I like it. You could turn that into something bigger, I think. Of course, I'm in novel mode until the end of the month. I suppose there's no reason to expand or build on it, necessarily. But does the narrator do something about it? I'm curious.

I probably could, but part of my problem is I have no writing stamina. I can come up with good ideas, but I can't make them last long enough to make a novel or a decent-length short story. And I kinda left it open to interpretation, but the general sense is supposed to be that yes, he goes out and tries to do something about it.

[Cobra5]

I was reading through the archives today...

I was reading all our old Bughunting stuff. And Soul Saber, and everything... it made me really miss all that old stuff. Now, the board is getting less and less action. It makes me sad.

It makes me really want to write again. Or make an RPG. So much unfulfilled potential. We tried, too, most recently with Emenon (Which, I did really like, I don't really know what happened. Probably my fault, I missed posting or something )

There hasn't been much to talk about I guess... people post less and less often. But there's so much that could, or could have perhaps, been done. I guess maybe, we all just got lives Going to college, getting jobs, etc.

I tried writing on my own, but the quality of my stuff has really slipped, I guess I'm rusty. And honestly I never considered myself a terribly great writer in the first place... I've been posting my stuff on the hidden board and Dan (Who still visits here frequently, believe it or not) has been reading them and trying to give me tips, but it isn't helping much.

That was one of the reasons I loved RPGs so much. It was all in short bits, and half of it was reacting to other people's stuff. I think the biggest thing our old RPGs had that our newer ones didn't is we all planned (most) everything out before hand. Its not really lack of people... Bug's Itch was mostly just me, Bughunter, Tass, and later on Dan.

I dunno. Just felt like trying to start a conversation I guess... or incite some action, or something

[BugHunter]

dejavu, why do I have a feeling you've written this post somewhere else a long time ago?

[Cobra5]

Eh, history repeats, hm?

[Jalathas]

Right, so I have this idea for a unique way to tell a story. Basically, it would be a fairly generic sword and sorcery sort of thing, a group of mismatched adventurers on a quest to fight evil and such. Thing is, I'd tell it from multiple points of view. One for each momber of the group. I'm thinking one of them is some sort of mistrel or something, and his part will be in the form of a story told on stage or somesuch. All the events would be slightly embellished, to make it seem more exciting and heroic. Another character could keep a journal, updated daily. It would probably have the most accurate rendition of events, and it would give a more direct window into the character's mind. Maybe another one could be a soldier, and his part could be in the style of a report to his commander or soemthing. It would be very precise, but it might leave out embarrassing or trivial events that the other accounts would have.

I'm kinda wary, though, because I really don't have all that much experience writing. I haven't actually managed to complete even one story, let alone multiple intertwined ones. I'm also having a bit of trouble coming up with alternate viewpoints. The soldier and the journal seem like they could be a bit too similar, to me. I dunno, but input would be nice.

[Fargo Squire]

A couple of friends and I are doing something somewhat similar, actually. Each of us is writing one character in a book, so the styles and such will be totally different. Though we're not doing the journal/report/story thing.

Your minstrel could tell things in the form of a song, maybe. I don't know. It would be interesting. One character could just straight up write it, like you'd read in a novel. It's kind of hard to think of more variations, at least for me.

[Jalathas]

Hmm... I don't do songs, but maybe sort of an epic poem from the minstrel. Then I could use the exaggeration approach for some sort of self-absorbed warrior-type telling the story to his buddies around the campfire. I'm kinda aiming for at least four views, like a standard D&D party, but I could work with three(poem, journal, story). I like the novel idea, but I can't think of a character type who'd write a novel.

[copyKatt]

a mage might write, or some other scholarly person. or, you could make a con-artist/thief type of person whose writing an 'actual account of events' thats so over blown and dramatic that makes himself look like a hero, that it ends up being more of a fiction novel. you know, toss in a bit of humor. its fun : )

but speaking about writing and whatnot, one of my college Alums wrote a 10-min one act play, and i (think?) ill be performing it. screen play is another great way to get your thoughts across if your looking to expand your horizons. it makes everything more visual.

im also saying that because its my preferred style of media, but what the heck