It’s Writing Prompt Wednesday!
I started the prompts as a way to help other writers find inspiration, but I have found I enjoy the escape they provide as well. I’ve written 20 flash fiction pieces so far, and truly hope you find them useful as well as interesting.
This week’s prompt could be seen in a number of ways, and I look forward to seeing what you create!
Happy Writing!
I kept the promise I made to myself and wrote a couple of flash fiction pieces. I used them as a warm-up exercise as I pushed past that third act hurdle I have been struggling with…
The Sis made note that I always set up the story without any follow through; she wants to know more, which I appreciate. I suppose I could work on that, but I write about what the image entails, and with 200 words (or less) it’s hard to get into the story much beyond that. I hope you enjoy anyway. 🙂
Lost
The cavern smelled of death and rot, of days long since passed. Her nose twitched and she winced in response. A cool breeze wafted through swirling her hair about her and with it came expectation. The months of visions had all led her to this moment, and she could feel the vindication welling in her chest. There was light illuminating the cave before her, and she stood up at the bow of the small rowboat eager to see what would reveal itself beyond. She knew it was there.
The few sailors she had aligned herself with rowed a bit faster and she held the lantern up a bit higher. The edge of the cave was like an open mouth; jagged rocks reached upward and hung menacingly from above. She held her breath as her eyes adjusted to the light and then she gasped. There she was. The prized Jewel. She had long been lost, but no longer.
The Portal
I couldn’t remember how we had arrived in this place. I was upon my back, everything ached, and as I looked around I found my companions in similar positions upon the ground around me. Nothing was as it should be; the sky was yellow, the trees beheld faces, and the air smelled of ash. I winced with each movement as I rose to my feet. That was when I was able to take in our surroundings more fully.
There was a tower of sorts that held a world within it; starry sky, a sea of clouds, and a beautiful sunrise in the distance. It clearly held a more sinister purpose as I noticed the trail of blood leading inward from the stairs. The tower was taller than any structure I had ever encountered before, and it appeared as if there were people on the ramparts above. I had the distinct uneasy feeling that they were watching us. Along with the doorway cut into the sky itself on one side and a castle alight with an inferno on the other, my mind reeled. I drew my sword and took an unsteady step forward.
Happy Writing!
As many of you know by now, I love history and lost worlds, and when I found this image, of course I was immediately intrigued. A little Goonies reference perhaps? I fully intend to write a couple flash fictions this week based on the images I’ve posted recently, so remember to share what you create as well! I look forward to seeing your imaginations at work!
Happy Writing!
The last couple of weeks, the impending doom surrounding my birthday has caused random outbursts of emotion. I’ve had some bad birthdays, but this one is different. I was in a home store, looking at the various items that could be useful in the new place; new towels, area rugs, side tables, etc. when I started to well up. It’s frustrating to feel sort of stuck; always hoping and striving for more. I keep banking on this elusive future that I can’t wait to happen, and yet with each passing day I don’t feel any closer. I got a job I was hoping would be something I could be proud of in the meantime, I’m writing every day, but we write rubbish and I don’t even make enough money to make it worthwhile.
So as I stared at the cute side table, thinking that I should be able to walk into a store and just buy something like that once in a while, I was reminded of my circumstances and that with the looming age I should be in a different place. So my eyes filled and I started the self-loathing.
I’m just not satisfied with my life. Being an artist is a difficult path, and as positive as I try to remain, sometimes life just smacks you in the face. I’m usually the first to say, “age is just a number”, but this birthday now puts me in a new box. You know the box. I’m officially in a new one next week.
I found these quotes, that made me feel a little better, and thought I’d share them for if you’re ever feeling low.
“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” – C.S. Lewis
“In my dreams, I never have an age.” – Madeleine L’Engle
“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” – Mark Twain
I hope you all have a wonderful week! And if you have any words of wisdom, please share! 🙂
So, it’s time to continue the obsession saga series known as Dragon Age. I present to you Part 2: Creating your Character aka The Protagonist.
As I mentioned in the first part, I will discuss topics in the order they are encountered, so this post will deal with character creation and we’ll move on from there.
Character creation is one of my favorite things to do in games. If I could get paid to make characters all day, I totally would. Some games do this better than others, and I had really high hopes for this option in Inquisition given the previous games, and from early game footage we knew the graphics were going to be amazing, and for the most part it is really good, but it has its downsides.
In Origins (game 1) you were given a choice of 6 different origin stories to play through as an elf, a human, or a dwarf. Comments made in game play, and how NPC characters treated you, etc. were all based on this choice. In 2 you could only play as a human, Hawke, which many people didn’t care for (in addition to a number of other factors – we won’t go into that here – I still liked the game). There was also a DLC called the Black Emporium that allowed you to change your character’s features at no extra cost, i.e. gold or favor anytime you wished. Inquisition returns to the original format of different races and includes a fourth option, the Qunari; a race of large beings with horns, usually. You do not have an option to change features, but Bioware did try to have the character creator mirror actual game play, and it is very close. What this means is what you see is what you get, pretty much.
The character creator allows for multiple interesting features to incorporate such as unnatural eye colors (pink, yellow, what-have-you or a combination of any along the color wheel), scars, tattoos, and even a broken nose. You could easily spend hours creating just the right eye size, nose shape, chin depth, even the height of the ears, and that’s all great, except…
Here are the downsides. There are no distinctions in hair options for male and female characters. They removed a number of the good ones from previous games (where did my cute bob with the braids go?!) and instead added 13 bald-ish options. You can go completely bald, have stubble, have stubble with a round head, or stubble with a slightly cone head, and the list goes on for 13 different options…gracious.
And let’s talk about beard options for male characters – there are like 40. C’mon now. I realize there are so many other things going on in character creation, especially having 4 races, but you took away multiple choices for one of the most essential features – hair to include all those others?
Side note, here’s a link to a video about some of the ugliest characters created, but be forewarned for explicit language. I found it hilarious!
One feature some gamers didn’t like was the lack of choice in body type. Elves are small framed, dwarves are short, Qunari are tall, and humans are well, human. There is no choice in making any character taller or shorter, heavier or thinner. You cannot create the rare tall elf, or the randomly short Qunari.
So after painstakingly creating your perfect character, choosing a voice of which there are only two across the board for any race of male and female characters, and a name which no one will ever use in game play because gaming is not quite that advanced yet, you start your game.
Depending on your race, whether you’re female or male, and depending on your class especially in this game, you will be treated accordingly in this world. Elves are second-class citizens, dwarves are generally not surface dwellers, Qunari are from a foreign land and in previous games have been referred to as an invading force trying to convert the world to their beliefs, and then there is the “ruling” class, the humans. In Inquisition, regardless of your class, you will be from a noble family, although if you are a mage, you will have come from a circle; a place where mages are kept locked away for the protection of the people.
This is the driving storyline of Inquisition due to events started in DA:2. We’ll talk about story in another post.
What makes the character creator fun, you might ask? As a writer, sometimes I find it fun to try to create a character that might resemble one of my own creations. If you’re really talented you can create a character that looks like someone else, like this, Nigel Thornberry. So, after all my time spent in the creator, this was my first character, who I really liked despite her questioning eyebrows. 🙂 She does not resemble any of my imaginary friends, but after the play through, I suppose she could. I really grew to love her and her choices, despite what some of her companions thought.
All right, that’s quite enough for one day. The Dragon Age Obsession Saga will continue with posts in regards to dialogue, companions, and story shortly.
Happy Sunday!
I don’t have a desk chair. The one I had previously was old, it wasn’t that comfortable, and it was that ugly gray office style kind of chair with thick black plastic arms. It also had wheels. My little dogs did not appreciate the terrible noise the wheels made against the wood flooring in our apartment, and neither did I for that matter. We had been through a lot together over the 10 plus years, we had written so much, but when The Sis and I decided to leave Los Angeles, I realized I didn’t want to move it again. Honestly, I didn’t want to see it again. It was time to end the co-dependent relationship, and so I chucked it into the alley behind our building, hopeful someone would find it and give it a new home – a sad fate for my faithful companion.
So now, I have no chair. I have to drag the chaise I sit on when I watch tv or game over to my desk, which is too low to utilize as a desk chair, and then have to sit on the back pillow and prop myself up like a booster seat. My dogs like it because they have more room to spread out beside me, but long bouts of writing are not to be found under such conditions.
It’s so awkward.
It sounds like I’m making excuses as to why very little writing has occurred since I determined to write more, and maybe, I am, a little, but the truth is I’m trapped on how to start Act 3. I reread the first two acts, and was empowered to finish this story properly…which is why I think I’m struggling to find the right place to start. I don’t have the time to play around with this one anymore – I have deadlines to make, and this story has been worked over so many times it’s pretty unrecognizable since it debuted many, many, many years ago.
I broke out some screenwriting books hoping to gain some insight, and I thought I’d share a few pearls I discovered. Hopefully, if you’re struggling, you’ll find them useful as well.
1. Have your hero give up just before they reach their goal. By the third act they have determined that they want “it” and they are going to go after “it”, but exhausted they give up just short of reaching “it”. The example used was The African Queen and how they tried so hard to get the boat to the open water, to give up about three feet from it. Then it rains and sets them adrift.
2. Bookends. Can the last scene be an answer to the first? The example was a couple who fall in love during war time and are married on the back of a truck, so at the end of the story they have a proper wedding to commemorate their 50th wedding anniversary.
3. Make a list of all the questions asked or ideas raised throughout your script and be sure to answer them. This is something I have found to be useful so there aren’t any loose ends or plot holes by the end. It’s a great way to look back over your story as a whole and see that those ideas/themes continued throughout.
4. My last helpful tip is to talk the story over with someone. I used The Sis as a spring board and found that by voicing my ideas aloud about how I wanted the story to end was more useful than trying to work it all out in my head. She asked questions that made me reevaluate my ideas and concepts. Also, when you explain your story to someone, they can immediately tell you if something doesn’t make sense or doesn’t work.
Although I discovered all this useful insight, I’m no closer to the opening scene I need, but I’m thinking that I just need to jump in. I know the story, I’ll find a good point to start, and let the chips fall where they may.
When I asked two separate people, I received the same response…”it was a dark and stormy night”. 🙂 I’d love to hear back from all of you. Any advice on a great third act opener?
Happy Writing everyone!
Last week sort of passed me by and I didn’t even realize I hadn’t posted a Writing Prompt until Friday. My apologies to those who find them helpful or just interesting. I’ve been pin happy on Pinterest, so you can click the link to the right (or here) to see all the new stuff happening over there for more inspiration.
For my new friends, if you’d like to see some of the prompts I’ve posted in the past, there are a few highlighted on my page to the right, or you can type in Writing Prompt into the search bar to see all the others and join in the Writing Prompt Challenge fun!
I can’t wait to see what you come up for this one. I found this image so interesting. Remember to link your stories or share below so we can all enjoy!
Happy Writing!
Yesterday I posted the links to a number of writing contests coming up, so today I decided we could all use some encouragement to help us achieve those goals. These are not just for writers, but for anyone who is ready to do great things!
What is it you want to accomplish?
I realized that I have to make some adjustments if I want to get my writing on track and be more productive. The days pass in a blur, and I am no further to accomplishing my goals than I was a few months ago, but that all changed this weekend. I’m afraid it’s going to take a bit to get back in the full swing of things, and I don’t really have that kind of time…but at least I’ve found that spark again, and my brain turns to that instead of blank nothingness.
So, if you have any secrets you’d like to share about writing, rewriting, finding time, or working through the brain dead patches…please do so! 🙂
I wish you all well, my friends! Have a great, and productive week!
As promised, here are a couple of resources to utilize to find contests and their deadlines. While some screenwriting contests are just beginning (Nicholl, PAGE, and Scriptapalooza), others are nearing their end (Cinestory, Creative World Awards, and Bluecat is already closed). I have updated my Calendar of Events page to highlight screenwriting contests in particular, and by no means is this a complete list, but they are among some of the more notable ones.
Also, here is a link on writing loglines that you may find helpful.
Aerogramme Writers’ Studio has put together the following list to highlight those events coming up in February and March many of which are open to both experienced and novice writers alike.
If you know of any great contests and would like to share them, please leave me the info in the comments and I’ll be sure to add them to the list!
So let’s get crackin’! Let’s get our work in order and show them what we’re made of! 😉
Happy Sunday!
So the time has finally come for me to talk about Dragon Age, Inquisition. Oh, yes…and I have lots to say, so let’s just call this Part I in a series, aka The Introduction. Let me start off with this, I love it! It’s beautiful, it’s vast, there’s plenty to do and see, and there’s lots of content to keep you occupied. I finished it a little over a week ago, and immediately felt this void…I was sad to say goodbye. I had spent so many hours with my merry band of misfits, and I was conflicted about whether or not to start a new character or do the responsible thing and do all the “grown up” things I had been putting off since it arrived.
There is this odd side effect to game playing – a sense of accomplishment. You have a list of quests or things to find, etc. and as you complete each one, you can feel the satisfaction that you did something with your day. Don’t judge. It is satisfying, especially when in real life it usually takes much longer to see the fruits of your labor. And when things aren’t going according to plan, you can spend a few hours slaying demons, saving the world, and finding romance.
Hello, have you seen how much better Cullen looks since Origins?! I was disappointed by a one year delay in the game’s release, but it was because of this delay that we got this new romance option. So, thank you, Bioware! He was worth the wait. 😉
And then there’s Dorian, oh Dorian, Bioware’s first gay character who is not only dashing, but also sassy, clever, and has one of the best moustaches ever. As I played as a woman, because I always do when it’s an option, he was a fun flirt option and a great addition to my party.
For those of you who have been following me for a while, you have seen the effect this game series has left on me (refresh your memory here or here or check out my Pinterest board entitled “A Minor Obsession Called Dragon Age“), and they did not fail to continue this trend with Inquisition. I felt the best way to share the pros and cons of the new installment was to start at the beginning, before you even put in the disk to play, but worry not, I’ll keep this one short to begin with since I’ve already rambled a bit.
My excitement at its release enabled me to talk two of my coworkers into playing, and found myself a walking encyclopedia of information for their game play. It felt nice. Neither had played DA2 and because I was able to share a bit of the history and interesting points, I turned them toward playing that one as well. I’m sinister like that.
If you’re interested in playing, you can find a plethora of articles, videos, and the like pretty much anywhere to garner more information, but why spoil the fun? It was extremely difficult to avoid all the spoilers that continued to inundate my feeds, but as I’m always behind in my tv watching and anything else relevant in the world, I just averted my eyes and continued to scroll.
So for today, I’ll only talk about the Dragon Age Keep. Even if you haven’t played the first two games, you can develop a back story that is unique to your new world by utilizing the Keep to answer a series of questions relevant to the first two games. This will then carry over into the history, comments made, cameos, etc. It makes each play through a different experience. In Origins did you make Alistair king? Did you romance Morrigan? In DA2 did you fight the Arishok? Did you become Viscount? It’s these big decisions and many smaller ones that will determine your play through…it’s so much fun!
This is also a fascinating tactic to employ as we are able to see how the choices we make do indeed affect the world around us. The other thing I like about this idea is that as storytellers, we can see how many of these events are connected, and how important world building truly is. I’ll end on this note, it’s a whole lot of fun, and hopefully as I move forward in this series if you didn’t want to play before…you now will! 🙂
Have a great weekend everyone!
A Writer's Discrepant Memoirs and Other Tales 