Characters in Role Play & Writing

As someone who enjoys both role playing and writing, I make a lot of characters. Are they all amazing heroes and villains? No. In fact, there have been many duds. Sometimes I can rework a character and shape them into one that I like better, but most of the time I end up removing them completely.

Whether you are a role player or a writer, you know that your characters are important. Even a little side character should give a preview of their personality. You might need them later on and their interaction with your main character might make a difference.

When I create a character, I take one of two approaches: 

1. Plan the character in advance. Give them a back story and know everything about them. 
2. Dive right in and see who they become once they interact with other people. 

Both of these have led to characters I like, but I have to admit that the second method generally produces characters I enjoy more. In role play, I can bank on other players affecting my character's behavior. In writing it might just be luck. I have several characters that have written themselves into my stories and grew into incredible people that play a huge role in the tale I'm telling.

No matter what method you choose, you should have a foundation to build on.

"Data! Data! Data!" he cried impatiently. "I can't make bricks without clay."

~Sherlock Holmes

If you want a good brick, I mean character, you need data. Clay to mold. This mostly applies to characters you plan ahead of time, but even spontaneous ones should be built on a rock and not sand.

There are so many sad stories in RP and books.

"My parents were murdered by a demon and now I plan to hunt them! I have honed my skills and slaughtered thousands of bandits with my blade. Yes, I have a rough exterior and drown my sorrows with violence and mead, but I am actually a sensitive man deep inside."

This is okay every now and again. People make it work all the time. Do we want to see it over and over though?

The answer to that is no. It's not rhetorical. Let's all say it together. No!

Motivation is important. Just give them better goals, maybe even simpler ones. Your character doesn't have to be an orphan wanting revenge. Maybe they just want to get a job, start a family. Then they get dragged into an evil plot or drafted into war. Hell, give them a disease that makes them go on a journey to find a cure.

No matter what their goal or motivation (because that is a workshop/post all its own). They still have a background that needs addressed. 

Once you have a seed planted, your character will grow based on your plan for them, and their environment.

Questions to ask for establishing your foundation:

-Where are they from?

-What do they do?

-Why do they do it?

Nature and nurture.

In writing, your characters are molded based on your plan and sometimes by a hard turn in the story. In role play, other people will have an impact on them. 

This is where your foundation and your seed start to make your character who they are.

If your character is a pampered noble who never left a pristine city, they will be in for culture shock when they walk out those gates into a world war. How they handle that shock is a reflection of their upbringing and personality.

Your character's behavior is directly related to their history and environment.

Example time!

The Miner's Mind

Say your character was forced to work in a mine for the majority of his life. Because of that he prefers to stay inside in confined places as he is accustomed to that environment. Or, for the same reason, he prefers being out in the fresh air because it is still new.

Family Ties

If your character lost their family, they may be eager to start a new one. If they were abandoned or betrayed, however, they won’t be as easily trusting of others.

Same backgrounds, different paths taken by the character. These help you make choices in life and every day circumstances. They determine how your character will handle certain events, big and small.

Bar fights, religion, politics, haunted houses, shopping, every response your character has to an encounter will be the result of their decisions and history.

Hey there. Come around here often?

~D-bag in a bar.

Now that the boring stuff is over (I tried to keep it short), here are some little handouts! As always, feel free to save and print and share if you'd like. Print off the quiz and fill it out! It can be a real eye-opener about your character.

Download: Character Behaviors

Download: Character Quiz

Worldbuilding 101

Are you here to learn about worldbuilding? If you answered yes, great! Because that's what the title says and had you stumbled here blindly I would have been concerned. If you know me, you might know that I love worldbuilding. Love it so much that I often write its name in the margins of my notebook and draw little hearts around it.

Why do I love it so much? Mostly because it is fun, but also I sort of have a degree in it. As in a Bachelor's Degree.

Not kidding.

Maybe a little kidding, but I do have legitimate university training in this subject. You see, I have a BA in Social Studies Education. For my degree, I had to take classes in each aspect of social studies to ensure that I would be able to teach it sufficiently  (in my case, I took way more classes than required and almost had a double major).

What is Social Studies?

Geography, civics & government, economics, psychology, sociology, anthropology, religious studies, and history. Essentially, the study of the world's physical form and the societies that occupy it. How those societies function and interact and the impact they have on the earth.
Past, present, and future.

What elements should you consider in worldbuilding?
See above.

I have now led several workshops on worldbuilding and created many handouts that people have told me are quite helpful. Handouts that I will share with you below. I even learned how to do this fancy embedded PDF thing so you can see what you're getting (I really hope it works...)

To download the file for saving and printing, you can click the link below the embedded image and it will take you to Google Drive to download and/or print as needed.

Feel free to share them with your friends, writing groups, students, and so forth.

Keep in mind that I spoke (fangirled) when presenting these, but you should still be able to get the idea of where my thoughts go with each. (If not, ask me.)

Download: Building Your World

This first handout addresses the top layer of considerations. Geography, time, placement, etc.
The best place to start. Start big or start small and work from there.

Download: What's in a Name?

This one is about naming places in your world. As I mentioned in a previous post, you won't believe all the naming you'll be doing.

Download: Aspects of a City

These are the elements of your city. The foundation, the framework, and the fluff!
This is how you breathe life into it!

Download: Businesses & Beyond

Lastly, we have a little cheat sheet for businesses and the like. I struggled to think of places that were essential to keep a city running and this final list seems relatively comprehensive. Depending on where and when your story takes place, you may need more or less of these or want to combine them into one building instead of several.

The Activity

I do an activity with these workshops that encourages on the spot city creation! You pick one element from each of the categories on the Aspects of a City handout and apply it to a randomly drawn city setting using this list...

Download: City Settings

Some of these are very basic while others are unusual, but I wanted to make sure that everyone got something different and because my fellow wordsmiths are already really creative, I was looking forward to what they would do with their foundation.

And I was not disappointed! They all did an amazing job with what they got and I was internally squealing with delight at their descriptions. 

What makes this activity so great is that everyone's mind can go in different directions!

A town with no humans? I was thinking werewolves, but Brent went for a robot utopia.

Transportation? Planes, trains & automobiles... pthhthp! Chad's city has hydrotubes. Heck yeah!

This is a great way to get the creative juices flowing and some of the wordsmiths may have given me a death stare after drawing their slips, but it was so worth it. 

So get out of your comfort zone and have fun, folks!

A Friendly Welcome

Hello there! 

If you're popping by because you either met me or picked up one of my cards at the Ohio River Festival of Books, I want to take a second to thank you for coming by!

Okay second's up.

Just kidding.

So if this is your first time here, again, welcome and I apologize for it being a little sparse at the moment. I promise it's not always going to be this way. First, let me direct you around a bit.

Up top ( ^ thataway), we have some links to parts of this site. You might notice that it is a bit eclectic, which is the nice way of saying insane. There is a page of recipes (probably not what you're here for) and some pages regarding writing (most likely what you are here for, but the cookies are amazing).

Under the short story link you will find, huh, short stories. Imagine that.
These are usually inspired by prompts or completely random ideas. A lot of them are probably rubbish, but you might notice that the writing style does improve over time which means one day I will suck a little less!

Villarian Chronicles is my upcoming book series which I hope to start publishing soon. By soon I mean book one should be out before the end of the year and I will keep you posted here and on Twitter!

The last link up there that doesn't involve soup is a writing section for you the handsome/lovely reader who is currently looking at these words! Here you will find writing tips, motivation, and prompts. You will also stumble upon some hefty info on worldbuilding.

If you are a local author in the making, my writing group, The Wicked Wordsmiths of the West, will be hosting writing workshops in preparation for NaNoWriMo! I will be leading one on worldbuilding but we will also have workshops on character development, plot, and conflict and more!

Oh look, a flyer!

These are rotating workshops so you don't have to choose. We will make sure you attend all of them!

At the workshops we will tell you more about NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month! But you can also find out about it through the website.

If you have any questions, please feel free to drop me a line through here or social media! I would love to hear from you and I hope to be updating you on more info soon!

More Prompts for Pinning

Life has a way of stealing us from things and distracting us constantly. It seems like ages since I thought of posting on this blog. Ever since I removed my project (which is not dead, I assure you), I haven't known what to do with it.

So here I am, posting some writing prompts for you! A few of these are just bouncing around in my brain while others have been inspired by dreams lately. Since my main writing focus is still on my Villarian Chronicles, I haven't the time for short stories and the like. Thus they are yours!

Some of these look like opening lines, but never restrict yourself in your writing. Just because a prompt gives an initial impression doesn't mean that is what you should go with for your corresponding story.

I made these in picture formats so that you could pin them, share them, or just save them for a rainy day.

This one is based off a dream I had recently. I'll just let you think about how that turned out...

This one is based off a project I never finished (but may go back to). 

There are so many ways to approach it!

This one was also based off a dream that was likely the result of too many video games. 

A group of characters woke up in a room on the top floor of a skyscraper. No memory of how they got there, no idea why they were there, and the building is without power and deteriorating in some places. As they made their way to the bottom floor to escape, they discover that it is filled with murderous lunatics and a few people hiding and living in apartments along the way that are just trying to survive. There were about six people when the dream started and only two made it out alive.

Only to discover that the world outside was way worse than the the apartment building.

A lot of these ideas might seem like they can only become dark stories, but as a writer you can challenge yourself to take them down a completely different path. Don't limit yourself, shake it up and do something unexpected. 

The Italian Masterpiece

The Italian Masterpiece

Nora's nose wiggled as she sniffed the air. She looked up at the recently acquired piece of decor and frowned. "Edwin." 

"Yes, dear?" The man lowered his book to look at her.

“I think we need to take it down,” she whined, clearly disappointed.

Edwin’s eyes wandered to the item in question, and he raised a single brow. “I thought you wanted to leave it up for the holiday.”

“Yes, but there is a smell.”

The man turned toward the fireplace. Despite going to great lengths to obtain firewood cut from an ash to fill the house with a fragrant and potent scent, the aroma was still inadequate for hiding the unpleasant odor from the woman’s sensitive nose. He closed the book and laid it on the side table before standing and slipping off his suit jacket.

“Then I will take it down.” 

He watched her pink cheeks as they rose with her smile and removed his coat and cuff links. After dropping the small accessories onto the table, he rolled up his sleeves and made his way to the back door. He would need a ladder to reach the art piece and some sturdy clippers.

Now where did he put those? Were they in the storage building?

He would have to wait and see. Nora knew where everything was at any given moment, but he didn’t want to ask her. She would no doubt sigh and become frustrated if he had misplaced something yet again.

Your memory is atrocious. She would say.

Yes, dear. He would reply.

There were times that she exhausted him. 

Edwin unlocked the building and adjusted his waistcoat as his eyes traveled over the wall of tools. An ax, a hatchet, a saw, and some mallets. A bit rusty and hanging from an old hook were the clippers.

“Ah, there you are.” He whispered to himself.

He lifted the large set of shears from their place on the wall and admired them. Opening and closing the blades a few times, he thought of Nora again. 

Yes, she utterly exhausted him sometimes. What if he were to... dispose of her? Would she put up a good fight? If he were honest with himself, there were many occasions he thought life without her would be better. 

Or would it?

He recalled the first time they met. The quiet girl in the corner of a room who caught his eye with her red dress and black curls. No one paid them any mind as they talked to each other there for hours and disappeared into the garden for a long walk in the moonlight. Every time he saw her, his heart swelled a little, not only in response to his love for her, but also because of the pride he felt. He was proud that she looked at him with such loving eyes. 

Beautiful brown eyes. 

Edwin sighed happily and shut the clippers. Life without Nora would not be better.

He would remove the unsightly abstract piece and set it aside until morning to enjoy the night indulging in her company and remind himself of that fact. Tomorrow he would get her something else to hang for the approaching festivities and enjoy the sparkle in her eyes as he hung it alongside the others. Grabbing hold of the ladder’s rungs, he hurried toward the house again, the hedges on either side of the path guiding him toward the gas-lit lanterns a dozen feet away. 

When he entered the sitting room, he quickly erected the ladder, but laid the clippers aside as he waltzed to Nora’s chair and beamed down at her.

“What is that clever grin for?” She eyed him with a suspicious smile.

“For you, dear. You might think it silly, but I was just thinking of how much I love you.”

Nora’s cheeks were painted a deep pink, likely in part to the blazing fireplace, but his words certainly contributed to her change in color.

“And I love you, Edwin.” She stood with his help and pressed her hand to his cheek. “When you get rid of that awful thing, we should turn in for the night.”

Her wink made Edwin spring into action. “I will make quick work of it!”

He climbed onto the ladder, and she passed him the clippers. Nora moved a few steps away and watched as the gentleman cut the noose from the rafters. The corpse fell to the rug below with a sickening thump, and the woman tilted her head as it crumpled over.

“Maybe it’s because he was Italian. Let’s not hang anymore of those.”

Edwin smiled down from his perch on the ladder. “Yes, dear.”

Thanks to my mom for the photo of my great-grandfather and his wife. 

Just to clarify they weren't serial killers (to our knowledge), but I thought it'd be nice to have a photo.

NaNoWriMo Prep: Worldbuilding - We Built this City...

If you've been around my blog, or have been unfortunate enough to endure a lengthy period of exposure to me, you likely know that I'm pretty keen on the process of worldbuilding. It is incredibly fun and occasionally stressful. But it's great! You get to create your very own world! Past, present, future, another planet, another universe, something in between... It's your decision.

Villarian Chronicle (shameless plug) is not my first worldbuilding project, but to date its the most in-depth (and only one I'm sharing... so far). As with many creative projects, it has been both rewarding and frustrating. 

With November coming up, my writing group is focusing on topics to prepare for NaNoWriMo. Last month it was character development and our October meeting will be focused on worldbuilding. So it is a topic I have been thinking about lately (as if I need an excuse to think about it). I wanted to make a very basic post about the idea and give you a shove into this rabbit hole by setting up a prompt to keep you busy while you fall for hours through the abyss. 

When writing Villarian Chronicles, I started big. I drew a map and started filling it in as I went; naming continents then areas, designing cities and settlements, placing landmarks and determining geographical features all came with time. This method happens over an extended period of time and usually builds off the foundation set by the story.

Don't forget to name all the trees too! I named this birch Brian.

But it can start from the other direction. Two other projects I have started with singular cities and grew from there. One city is a drop in the ocean of your world (yes you should name the oceans too).

Have you read High Rise by J.G. Ballard? That book is guano crazy, but in retrospect, it is an amazing example of worldbuilding on a smaller scale.

I'm not going to say I recommend it because like I said: crazytown. (Think about all the terrible things in this world. Rape, animal cruelty, cannibalism... Do they bother you? If you answered yes, you may want to pass on the book.) It does an amazing job of creating a society and world within a single apartment building, though.

Side Note: There is a movie based on it coming out soon in case you'd like to watch the horror unfold instead of read about it. While I will likely be traumatized, Tom Hiddleston and Luke Evans star in it (along side Jeremy Irons) and I can't pass up that much sexy talent in one movie.

Fun Fact: The very first line of the book has the character portrayed by the adorable T-Hiddles eating a dog. Actually, that fact is not very fun.

Where was I going with this? OH! Worldbuilding. Here, have a writing prompt. I'll just be over here... mesmerized by his charming smile. Watching that Adam's apple bob up and-

Writing Prompt: Create a City

Just as an exercise, sit down and create a fictional town. Don't just tell me that it's surrounded by purple walls. Tell me why they are there. In fact, don't tell me about it at all. Make me see it. 

Maybe Jorge is new in town and Guy is showing him around. 

An inspector from the capital comes to collect taxes for the first time and she thinks it's amazing. 

Or a bandit is choosing the best neighborhood for his cut-purses to raid. 

Tell me a story.

Think about the city you live in. Every aspect of it. The alleys, the buildings, the parks, the state of the neighborhoods. These are what make it rich and believable. Your city is a character all on its own. It has traits and a personality that you establish for it. Below is a list of questions to ask and features you might want to include to get you started. Feel free to comment on this post with more ideas (apparently Blogger was broken and allowing only Google members to comment, but I think I have fixed that now).

Where is the city? 

• Our world or another? 
• On a mountain, in a valley or a desert?
• Far from civilization or in a busy country?
• In the future, the past?

How's it laid out? 

• Is it rich, poor, or a mix? 
• Are there slums?
• Do people live in their shops or is the shopping district separate?
• Think of key buildings and features: banks, grocers, water source...
• Are the houses tall or short? Skyscrapers or houses with land? Trees or concrete jungle?

What about the culture? 

• Is there a class system? Is one group snubbed or bullied? Racism? Sexism?
• Language, traditions, rituals, ceremonies, curfews, occupations, law enforcement...
• How is disease treated? What are diseases like?
• What's the government like? 
• Do they have a unique currency? Maybe they barter instead.

Hey, whoa that's a lot of stuff... If this list freaks you out, take a minute to blink and chill for a second (Maybe scroll back up to that picture of Thomas). These are considerations, not requirements. Thoughts and ideas to push around in that brilliant bit of gray matter you carry around. 

That's your homework, folks. Have fun, go nuts! Leave some feedback and tell a friend. Draw a map or a picture. 

While you do that, I'll be watching that gif. So many adorable wrinkles....

October: Pumpkins and Plots

It’s finally October, everyone! October is the most perfect month ever. 

Autumn weather and sweaters, sugar comas resulting from an unhealthy amount of candy consumption, dressing up like someone (or something) you’re not, shaking down your neighbors for candy, and plotting for National Novel Writing Month.

Were you expecting that last one? If you weren’t, you must be new here.

Yes, my friends, October is the best. I love everything about it and will spend a good portion of the month plotting murders for my November writing project (if I never post again, it’s because the fuzz confiscated my computer. I should probably get rid of the harpoon in the shed).

October also means that I get to look at the tenth Doctor all month. Rawr!

Starting today, you have 31 days to ponder, plan, prepare, and plot a story to write in November. I know that the idea of writing 50,000 words in 30 days is daunting, but it can be done. I admit, gorging on Thanksgiving delicacies and starting hibernation early sounds like a much better time than spelunking for all that creativity you’ve pushed into the back of your cavernous mind. Even if you don’t “win”, giving it a shot is a really great feeling and a first step. 

It’s like putting your foot in the door of the world of writing. If you dive right in, start penning those day dreams or nightmares, you will grow as a writer and a person.

How to Get Started

Think of a story: Look around your Mind Palace or find prompts online (just search for writing prompts on Google or Pinterest and you won’t be disappointed. Frightened, maybe…). Plot it out, think of where it's going and how you want to get there. Who are the characters? Where does it take place? 

Determine how you want to write: Pen and paper, computer, typewriter, quill, stone slab and chisel, etc.

Write! It takes about 1,667 words per day to get to 50k in the month of November. You may not be able to write every single day, but then again you may get some crazy flow and inspiration and do 3-4k in one day and 2k another day that will make up for missed time. 

How to Keep Going

Find a writing group or some friends. I love my fellow wordsmiths. Since I joined them, my writing has improved, not just structurally but the quality of it as well. A writing group participating in NaNoWriMo is especially supportive because they are going through the same struggle. They can answer questions you have and recommend places for research and ideas. If they meet regularly and have prizes and contests like mine, that can be a great motivator. If you go to the NaNoWriMo website, you can find a group in your area. 

Read More. I struggle with reading. Throughout my years of education I was always forced to read books that did not interest me and rather than read in my free time, I chose video games. It wasn’t until recently that I started reading for enjoyment and it has helped with my writing style as well.

Reserve time in your schedule to write. Find a comfortable place and put on your headphones. Give your spouse some money to take the kids for ice cream. Free yourself from the shackles of responsibility for an hour or two and tell us a story! I’m so fortunate to have a husband who supports me and gives me the space I need to write.

Reserve time away from your writing to relax. If you work all day then write all night, you might burn out and quit. Take time to stretch or play a game. Watch a movie or take a ballroom dancing class. Try to write every day to build up the discipline, but don’t make it a chore that will kill the enjoyment.

Since we won't be having any Villarian Chronicles posts this month, I'm going to be posting different things related to NaNoWriMo as well as Halloween-appropriate short stories.
So keep an eye out for things to come!

4th Quarter Plan

     

For those of you who have been following Villarian Chronicles (for you new comers, you can click here to visit the archive), here is the plan for the rest of the year.

The final entry for Villarian Chronicles Book One, Part One: "Through the Veil" will be posted on September 26th. 

October is looking to be a busy month for me and I will have more details on that later, but the short version is this:

My writing group published a book and, in addition to other things on my plate, we will be doing some promotional events and at least one signing during the month of October. I will post event details when they are available. 

If this isn't your first time here, you probably know that I also participate in NaNoWriMo events throughout the year and the biggest one of these is in November. To that end, I will be completely focused on my project in order to meet my goal and will not be making many posts in November.

What does this mean for Villarian Chronicles? Well, for those of you who are new to my page and the VC series, this gives you time to get caught up and ready for part two.

However, I am working on book three and some epiphanies have occurred that have made me audibly gasp or shout 'eureka!' and as a result these have altered some events earlier in the series. Because of this, I am doing a lot of overhauling, re-writing, and editing. Those of you who write understand this and are probably whispering "it's okay... I've been there" at this very moment.

So what this means is this: I will not begin posting Part Two of Villarian Chronicles Book One until December. 

 

Beginning December 5, 2015

For the month of October, I will be working my tush off trying to get everything pieced together and ready for December to alleviate my stress during November. I intend to post updates and possibly schedule a few shorts for October, though.

So thanks for sticking with me! I encourage you to participate in National Novel Writing Month and find a local writing group during the writing process. Their support and dedication to reach the 50k goal will infectiously spread to you!

The adventures in your mind will never become epics until you write.

Where are we going?

Where are we going? Are we there yet?

No... but we're getting there. Where exactly? Oh, allow me to explain.

I have a bad habit of working on multiple projects or giant projects that consume my soul. My current obsession is the latter.

While I want to keep this site packed with variety with updates on my life as well as short stories, one of my big goals for it is to start a series.

The serial piece I am working on is an in-depth project that involves worldbuilding and I have been working on it for the better part of the year. It was my Camp NaNo project in April and will be so again in July and I intend to keep working on it among other things. I've been writing, building languages, drawing maps, plotting story lines, and screaming into pillows because naming imaginary places is tough.

I will keep a separate page of the site updated so you can find the newest entry with ease. I don't want you to have to dig for it if I post pictures of, I dunno, me building a deck or wrestling a bear.

I plan to post it in sections with supplemental information, breaking at appropriate places, but being careful not to post too much at a time. If I were more artsy, I would love to do a webcomic, but that just isn't in the cards. I intend to post maps and other items to provide visuals, though, and song recommendations maybe for you to listen to while reading.

The goal is to keep posts between 2,200-3,000 words so that people can read each section in 20-30 minutes. I won't interrupt scenes that need to play out so some posts may be more or less than the average.

At this moment, Villarian Chronicles is plotted to be 3 books broken into 2 sections each. Book 1 is complete and part one of book 2 is nearly there.

My goal is to put up the prologue and first section of Book 1, Part 1 (Through the Veil) by August 1, 2015, but I'm still chiseling out the schedule in my brain.

I hope that you will enjoy reading about this world as much as I've enjoyed living there in my imagination. So thanks for stopping by and sticking around and I look forward to sharing the story with you soon!

Writing Prompt: Splintered

I know I've been slacking on writing posts, but there is a big reason for that which I will post at a later time. (Hint: I've been writing something big.)

So I wanted to post something to hold you over.

My writing group, Wicked Wordsmiths of the West, did a sprint prompt at this evening's meeting and everyone wrote such great pieces! We each drew a picture from a bag and had 15 minutes to describe the world in the picture as a worldbuilding exercise. 

So here is the short little bit I wrote for my picture:

Splintered

The constant barrage of early summer storms usually blocked out the second moon, but the brief moments in between, when the sky was clear, you could enjoy the strange view. While the clouds moved in each morning, we would rush to harvest what we could before they arrived, forcing us to flee back to shelter. It is not wise to carry a scythe in a thunderstorm.

In the late summer, the storms will calm and the moons will give us just enough light to gather the rest of the wheat. When the sun returns in the autumn, though, the earth will be scorched. The annual slaughter of Gaea's orb that prepared it for the devastating winters that covered the barren earth with ice and snow.

No one suspected we would last this long after the splintering of our planet. When it began to tear itself apart, we expected the frequent quakes to swallow us, the storms to batter us, and the massive eruptions to bury cities as if in tribute to Pompeii. Instead, we began to move, as if Earth was seeking refuge somewhere away from itself, but it simply wandered among our surrounding celestial neighbors like a lost child searching for its mother.

To the moons. To the sun. To the emptiness. Then rushing back for what seemed familiar.

And each day, the atmosphere shifted and cracked under the pressure of the constant journey. No one knew how long she could keep this up; how long she would stay together. So we only do what we can from day to day. Continuing to do the work that distracts us from the day she will eventually shatter.

Pitch a Tent and Write

Hey folks, remember when I talked about Camp NaNoWriMo? They usually have it a couple times a year and the month of April is one of those camps!

“But Stacy,” you say, “It’s already so far into the month! I can’t write 50,000 words now!”

Well, you probably could if you put your mind to it, but that’s not what I’m encouraging you to do. Campers can set their own goal (unlike the official NaNoWriMo in November) with a minimum of 10k words. You can totally write 10,000 words.

I didn't actually intend to participate this month because I have a pretty full plate, but I have felt quite a bit of pressure to do it anyway. So here I am, pressuring you to join in too.

“But Stacy,” you repeat, desperately grasping for excuses, “I don’t know what to write about.”

Seek and ye shall find, child.

I have the tendency to think of ideas or have crazy dreams and never actually produce anything related to them, so why not share them with you? Below are some different writing prompts to help you get started on pumping out those words like an absolute boss!

Here is the link to the Camp NaNo website: https://campnanowrimo.org

Keep an open mind when looking at prompts online. Don’t assume the dialogue or scene falls into a specific genre.  Be creative in using what you find instead of conforming to a pattern.

One

Dialogue Prompt

"In my line of work, one should expect to see a good deal of blood."

"And what line of work is that, exactly?"

"I am a secretary."

Ni

Synopsis Prompt

A man has become a squatter in the crawlspace of a house. Describe what the residents go through on a day to day basis until they discover him. Sounds through the house, a faint whispering, etc.

Sahm

Scene Prompt

Detectives and a medical examiner arrive at an apartment a few hours after a woman has been murdered. When the doctor begins to examine the body, however, the woman opens her eyes.

Quatro

Character Prompt

A former Soviet spy has settled in a rural American town, but even as an octogenarian, he suffers from constant paranoia that the friendly townsfolk are actually plotting to kill him for his treachery decades ago.

Cinq

Synopsis Prompt

You are the lead for a team of scientists waking up on their last morning on a space station. Everyone is excited to go home after being there for over a year. Before you can get on the shuttle, everyone must have a final medical exam to ensure they are healthy enough for the trip home. During the morning of packing, a scream is heard and the doctor is found dead, surrounded by a number of vials filled with blood samples. One of the samples is clearly tainted, meaning one of your team is carrying a dangerous disease, but there is no label. No one can go home until you determine who is infected. Everyone is desperate to leave, but no one is willing to give another sample. Your wing of the station is placed under lockdown until the host is found: violence ensues..

Sei

Synopsis Prompt

In an apocalyptic world, an insane billionaire runs the city. Your character has committed a crime by his standards and has been sentenced to death, but they wake up the morning after their execution. So they are executed again and the process repeats. Death and awakening over and over. It becomes a sport for the man to have them killed, but during the day the character forms strange relationships with the others in his estate.

I actually started one based on number 3, but kept re-writing it over and over and never finished it. So go nuts!

I know it’s tough to get motivated when the weather is (occasionally) nice or you come home from a long day at the office and just need a break. I feel you, I really do. It’s the end of tax season and I work at an accounting office and on top of all the last minute tax returns, we also have financial statements and other documents out the wazoo! When I get home, I want to shovel in some dinner, drink an iced coffee and then enjoy a cup of tea while mass murdering orcs.

And I can still do that too. Just not as much as I would like. The orc kill count is going to be lower than my word count this month, but I will have a greater sense of accomplishment for sure!

Love & The Lost

I saw a prompt long ago to take a quote you love and make a story from it. Most of the quotes I like are from stories to begin with so I just sort of passed over it. However, with Valentine's Day coming up I decided on one to use for a prompt.

The quote I chose is from Nick Dear & Danny Boyle's Frankenstein (which is brilliant by the way, and I really hope they make a DVD of it).

Copyright National Theatre

Victor asks the creature "How does it feel to be in love?" And the response is what I used for the story (this dialogue varies from performance to performance):

"It feels like all the life is bubbling up in me and spilling from my mouth, it feels like my lungs are on fire and my heart is a hammer it feels like I can do anything in the world!"

Love and The Lost

How does it feel to be in love?

It's like a construction crew is working in my chest. They are using my heart as a hammer to connect each piece of the structure and welding the metal beams with the fire in my lungs. I can barely hear my own thoughts over the racket they’re making.

This is how it always is, though. Each morning we step on to the train and share the same car, but never speak a word to one another. I'm too afraid to open my mouth, as if doing so will cause all my feelings, all my affections for her to spill out into a puddle on the floor.

I feel braver today. Like a superhero waiting on that cry for help to spring into action and rescue the damsel. Of course, she's no damsel in distress. She walks with confidence and has an air of culture about her that I will never wear. I just need an excuse to approach her.

What are you reading? I could ask that to start.

No, I can't interrupt her while she's reading. She's always so engrossed in the pages that the interruption would be devastating. No one likes to be interrupted while they are reading, and she is a passionate, voracious reader. Except there's something different about today. Her gray eyes barely move and we have passed two stations without her turning the page. She's not reading at all. She must be thinking about the book instead; I can't interrupt her.

One more stop and we will reach our station. That's when I'll do it. I will ask her about the book or compliment her yellow sweater. I feel like I can do anything today. She empowers me to be a better person, motivates me to be happier.

I can do anything in the world and it will all start on this station platform. I'll let her exit first and walk in time with her. Months of waiting, but today I have my courage. There she goes and now I will follow. Not too close, not too eager.

She's stopped. Everyone moves around us to file off the train, but she's waiting. On what? Are we at the wrong station?

The train is pulling away and I'm too nervous to approach her, but something is wrong. Maybe she's going somewhere different today and has to wait for the next train. Or maybe she has noticed me. 

She might think me a stalker. It would be difficult to explain that I'm not. Today is not the day after all. Maybe tomorrow or the next day. 

I pass her by, and she returns to the platform. Did she lose something? 
The sound of another train. She can't be boarding, she's on the wrong side. 

A thump, she's dropped her book! This is what I have waited for, this is my opportunity!

But where has she gone? People on the other side are panicked and flailing their arms. My girl in the yellow sweater has jumped onto the tracks.

Construction is in full swing; my heart is a hammer and my lungs are on fire and all the life inside me is bubbling up and escaping my lips in pants as I run. I will never have this feeling again if she is gone. The sound of my heart is drowned out by the roar of the approaching train and it will be the only sound I ever hear when I see a yellow sweater again.

The roar of the train and the screech it made as it stopped moments later.



Is this how love feels? Breathless and frightened. Lying on the platform with the girl in the yellow sweater. Clinging to her and the copy of Paradise Lost.

"You dropped your book." 

You finally have your chance and you decide to be clever. That's all right, you can do better next time. She makes you feel like you can do anything and maybe now she will feel the same.

Prompt: On This Day...

My writing group had a prompt suggestion to find an article published on your date of birth and tell a story using information from it. After lots of digging, I found a few articles that I thought were interesting (and a bit terrifying). I ultimately chose one with a hint of inspiration from another.

Main Article: Tugboat Massacre

Secondary Article: Horror Movie in the Making

Date: November 21, 1984

The Illusionist's Daughter

Stefan flicked the remains of his cigarette into the shifting water at his feet as he watched the police force work further down the port at another dock. He had been waiting for more developments since the initial announcement on Monday that the missing boat had been found. There were four bodies found on board, but not ones that interested him.

"Sir!" Nicolae was breathless by the time he stumbled onto the pier and bent over, resting his hands on his thighs to recuperate.

"What did they find? I can't see anything this far away. Hurry, hurry." He tapped his walking stick against the knotted wood planks below him to express his urgency and Nico nodded weakly. "Two bodies. Captain Markey and another crew member. Young guy."

"Excellent! Well, not for Charles and his men. But for us; for her! That's everyone accounted for as far as the police are concerned so we can do our work in peace."

"I don't mean to bring you down, but if she isn't dead in the Tug doesn't that mean she was taken?"

The older man smacked Nico's leg with the cane and shook it at him unsteadily. His accent thickened with his irritation at the young man’s comment and he muttered in between words to himself. "Taken means she is alive! Her safety is what matters. Go to Vasile's shop and collect Anton and Cornel. You are to search the ports and buildings until she is found. Put out word at the shops that we are looking for the illusionist’s daughter. If she was taken, it was by someone Yuri hired and we have not gone to all this effort to see her fall into that Russian’s hands. Da?" The younger man had been rubbing his injured knee, but upon receiving new orders he shook it out and backed away meekly.

***

Jake pushed the door open slowly and peered into the small room beyond, studying the woman on the bed with interest until she looked his way. He took a deep breath and opened the door further to slip in with a plastic bag. "Hello again."

No response as usual.

"I brought you some food and soda. I thought I might find you some sneakers or something, but I don't know your size." He gestured to her bare feet and though she looked at them, she was still silent.

With a quiet sigh, Jake sat down on the bed beside her and dug through the convenience store bag and removed a few snacks and bottled sodas. Despite her apparent muteness, the girl seemed generally unperturbed by her bizarre situation. He and his compatriots had commandeered the tugboat as per their employer's instructions and he was sent into the bow of the ship, for what, he didn’t know until it was all over. The barge being transported was loaded down with scrap metal, but the item they were hired to get was a large crate. They were all shocked when they removed the lid to find a woman inside the box. 

That was last night and she had been sitting in this little room ever since without speaking a single word. She looked a little older than him, maybe late twenties or even early thirties, but she reminded him of a child through her actions. The woman was fascinated by everything around her and while he opened a bag of chips, she inspected a bottle with her bright doe eyes. She tilted the bottle, turning it over to watch the liquid move and he gently corrected it.

"If you shake it, it will taste bad." He twisted off the lid and handed it back to her, "It’s like water, but better." He tilted another bottle to his lips in demonstration and she followed his example. She winced, her nose wrinkling at the abrasive taste and strong flavor and he chuckled at her surprise. "Never had it before?"

There was still no verbal response, but the answer was clearly written on her expression. She took another drink, then another and repeated this until the frown disappeared. It was apparent that she still wasn't a fan, but it had certainly grown on her. He offered her the bag of chips, eating one as well and she mimicked him again.

"So, can you not talk? It's okay if you can't, my friend's dad can't talk either. Maybe you know sign language?" He held up three fingers and moved them toward his lips. "That's the only one I know; water, right?"

He was getting nowhere. She was still silent and staring at him with wide eyes. They would be delivering her to the Russian who hired them in a few days so there was no point in getting attached. He stood and made his way to the door, "Well, good talk. Enjoy the snack and yell 'Jake' if you need anything." He jerked his thumb towards himself as he spoke the name and she grew anxious as he tried to leave. 

"Jay?" He froze at the door and looked over his shoulder at the woman who was struggling through the sounds. "Jay."

"Jake," he pointed to himself and returned to her side. "My name's Jake."

"Jake." She pointed at her chest and he fought down a chuckle. "No, I'm Jake." He emphasized his words by taking her hand and redirecting her pointed finger to him. She repeated his name quietly like a mantra, then pointed to herself in confusion.

"Do you have a name?" She looked thoughtful and he thought for a moment that she did not, but she finally tapped her chest just above her heart. “Irina.”

He had never heard the name before, but it was enough to tell him that her reluctance to speak was simply because of the language barrier and before long he had become captivated by her accent and the thought of teaching her to communicate. There were certain words that, no matter how he emphasized them, she always spoke them in the same way: ‘da’ for yes and ‘nu’ for no.

The evening had passed quickly and when he finally left her, she was visibly depressed at the idea of being left alone again, but he assured her that he would return in the morning. He walked by her door a number of times that night and paused to listen to the quiet conversation that she had with herself. She spoke a number of words that he didn’t understand, but smiled each time she said his name even though he didn’t know the context.

Monday the police announced that the boat had been found and that the bodies of the crew were on board. Jake hadn’t realized that his comrades had killed the men and he panicked internally at the thought of being involved in the whole business. Theft, rather kidnapping, was by no means justifiable, but murder was never discussed and he worried about what would happen to Irina once she was handed over to the Russian that had hired them.

He kept his concerns from her so as not to incite worry, but Wednesday night he eavesdropped on his companions and resolved to abandon the job. The remaining two bodies had been found and the police were still clueless as to why the boat was stolen, yet nothing taken. Yuri, their suspicious employer, would arrive to collect Irina in the morning, but Jake would not let him take her.

He threw open her door and she beamed with delight until she saw the look of determination on his face. “Ce? What is the matter?” Jake tore off his sweater and threw it around her shoulders before pulling the hood down over her eyes and bending down to her level. “Irina, I don’t think it’s safe here. I’m going to take you somewhere else.”

“We are running away, da?” He nodded, looking back at the door in fear that the others would find them before they could escape. “Da, I mean yes. We’re going to go someplace else. If you want to go with me.” He held out his hand and she grabbed it. “I want to run with you.” He squeezed her hand and smiled, tugging her along behind him as they maneuvered through the halls of the derelict apartment complex they had been calling home.

"Where do we go?" He looked down at her and forced a reassuring smile. "I know some people who can maybe help, we just have a ways to go." It was a long shot, but if they could get to East Harlem he could speak to one of the Circus Arts instructors he had worked with before. As a child he had joked about joining the circus, but now he held out hope that he would succeed in the endeavor.

"Jake? What are you doin'?"

The couple halted as the harsh voice of Tony stopped them and Irina tightened her grip on Jake's hand. "I'm just taking her for a walk."

"A walk? She's not a dog. Take her back." Jake stood firm despite Tony's threatening appearance, "She needs fresh air."

"Well she ain't gonna get it at the docks. She'll get plenty of air tomorrow when she goes to her new home." Silence was the man's only response and the couple stood unmoving while Jake searched his mind for a plan. "Jacob, I won't repeat myself."

Irina tugged at his sleeve and whispered from under the hood, "Close your eyes and we will run." 

He was baffled by her command, but her smile and frantic nodding encouraged him to obey. He closed his eyes and heard Tony's heavy footsteps and muttering as he approached.

He was in darkness for only a moment as a bright light flashed around him. It was as if a sparkler had been lit before his sealed eyes and he flinched when a startling sound followed. He heard Tony shout and felt Irina's tug, "Run!"

He ran looking back to see the kidnapper on the floor, rubbing his eyes and groping around him as if he had been struck blind. "What did you do to him?"

"It is all right. He is just, er, dizzy?" They dashed through the door and into the cold November air. Irina looked around her curiously, surprised by the new view, but Jake gave her hand a squeeze to remind her of their urgent situation.

As they ran, he assessed the situation and realized that he was a complete fool. Was he really going to run away with this strange foreign girl that he helped kidnap? How many people were after her? Certainly the Russian and now his former partners, but who else would be looking for her?

It was too late to change his mind now. He looked back at his precious cargo and saw the joy on her face. He originally wondered if she actually understood what was happening, but the smile she wore told him she did; maybe even better than he.

As for Irina, the only thoughts that went through her mind were of freedom. After years of being in cages, she was free; from her father, from the man he sold her to, and all the others who wanted her for her gifts. She didn’t care where they went, so long as they went together.