The Guild of the Fantastic Quill

Writing Buddies

2011-09-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

I have a writing buddy. I do. Technically, I have two, but there's one I turn to more often than not. AD Spencer(everyone wave hi!). I think I go through every step of every story I ever write with her, and I do this on a daily basis. I mean, from little flashers (stories under 1000 words) to novel plans. She knows everything. And likewise, she does the same with me.

And that got me thinking... not everyone has a writing buddy. I find that kind of tragic. I mean, sure there are some cons to it (ones that rarely bother me, if at all), but the pros far outweigh it if you have a proper buddy. And I'm a glass half full kind of person, so I'll start with the pros.

Pro #1: If you've established a tell all honesty policy, they can often stop you in your tracks before you write yourself into stupidity. We've all had ideas we've questioned somewhere along our prose. Having a buddy that's well versed in your style is so incredibly useful when it comes to getting the answer to the ever-important question: "Does this sound dumb to you?" Or it's popular variation: "Does this make any sense at all?" Now, AD and I are best friends as well as writing buddies so we know we're not out to hurt each other. But sometimes, we fudge the truth. Not a lot. Just enough so that the other can tell what we really mean. (She can pop in here and tell me if I'm wrong about the fudging). I'll discuss that more under my cons.

Pro #2: Editing. We've all had to do it, and we all hate it. Or, at least, we hate it when it comes to our own stuff. (I actually don't mind editing other people's works). And sometimes editing our own stuff makes us miss mistakes because our eyes are tricky devils who like to see things the way we want them to, instead of the way they are. This is where having a writing buddy is especially helpful. They don't know how you meant to write it; they only see the typos you've loaded it down with. And that's great because then they can tell you where they are and suggest another round of edits altogether. This also works in the case of continuity errors (which can occur even in short stories, believe me).

Pro #3: Having a writing buddy--especially one with as much on his/her plate as you--can be a stress reducer. It's great to exchange rants on how scenes aren't working, characters aren't fleshing out, or on the things that are keeping you away from the story when all you want to do is write (this may only apply to those who aren't hermits w/ wifi and if you are a hermit with wifi you are truly blessed). After having a long rant with AD either via phone or chat, I often feel pumped and ready to write where before I might have felt like crawling back into bed. And on that subject...

Pro #4: Cheerleader. This one basically speaks for itself, but to clarify just a bit... it helps a whole friggin' lot when you've got someone constantly telling you "you can do it."

Pro#5: Memories. Okay, hear me out on this one. I'm a girl who likes to laugh. In fact, I love to laugh. I would go so far as to list laughing as one of my hobbies. I find irony hilarious, love stand-up comedians, and I love to be nostalgic and look back on past instances where I've nearly busted a gut. But, in writing, the stuff that cracks you up not everybody gets. For example, you find a typo in a line of dialogue that accidently has your oh-so-innocent character shouting a swearword. That's funny to you, but try to share that with a loved one that isn't a writer or isn't up to speed with your writing. You have to explain why it's funny before you even get to the funny part. And to quote a favorite fictional character, the Joker, "If you have to explain the joke, then there is no joke!" But with an up-to-date writing buddy, all you have to do is quote the typo, and they laugh right along with you. Good times. (PS, as if you couldn't guess, totally don't own the Joker, just quoting).

Pro#6: Competitor. Now, this one can double as a con depending on how vicious you are. I mean this in a fun light-hearted sense. AD and I like to call it "throwing down the gauntlet." And we set punishments if certain things are met. For example, she too is a fanfiction writer--for leisure and fun like myself. And we both decided to do fanfiction NaNoWriMo 2010. So we set a challenge. We had to finish, or for every section of 5k-10k we didn't finish, we had a punishment. For us, it was writing fanfictions about things we hated. We had a different one for each 5k up until 50k--where your reward was finishing NaNoWriMo. I'll tell you, that's probably the reason I finished last year. I knew she would hold me to the challenge--as I would to her. AD once told me that she got the idea from reading about another set of writing friends who set the goals of submitting so much a week to publishers. By the end of the week, whoever lost had to buy the round of drinks when they went out. The fanfiction punishment was our poor-man's answer. But you know what? It did its job. Talk about motivating.

Now that I'm done with the pros, let's do cons, shall we?

Con #1: Fudging the truth. This one can be a huge obstacle. Now, because of how well AD and I know one another, we can tell when we're being nicer than what we really mean. For example, I'm also a fanfiction writer--for leisure and practice, as stated above. And I was discussing an idea for an upcoming scene in one said fanfiction. When I had finished and asked what she thought, she replied with a tight, "Yeah... good. But you need to play it just right." I heard the tones underlying it. And when I was of a saner mind, I re-examined the scene. Yeah, I chucked it. This is a good thing when it comes to me and AD. However, if you don't have this relationship with your writing buddy (or group, I suppose these could apply to as well) then this is a major con. Honesty is a must. And if not honesty, then a good feeling for subtext. This also couples with the idea of letting your buddy know that you can be told that something was bad or needed to be changed without running to a corner, sobbing hysterically.

Con #2: Time. It takes time to read stuff. That's just a fact. And it takes time to edit. And if your buddy is as crunched for time as you are, that proposes a problem. Remember that the world doesn't revolve around you and your epic story so you won't pester your buddy to death about reading something by a certain time. Now, requesting that they have it done within a certain span is all right so long as you can understand--likewise--that that may not be possible. Speaking of not revolving around you...

Con #3: Listening. Now, I don't mean having to listen to your buddy is an over-all con. I enjoy listening and working out ideas on works not my own. I enjoy being supportive and encouraging. And that's my point. If you don't enjoy these things, then you're probably best left alone. Having a writing buddy means being one, and if you don't want to be one then it's simply not fair.

Con#4: Competition. See above for the positive side to this. The negative competition comes in the form of both you and your buddy writing and submitting at the same time. Sometimes it's hard to be truly happy for a buddy when they got the spot in the anthology and you didn't. But if you can truly be happy for them, then good for you! (I'll add that it helps if the buddy has been a longtime personal friend as well). Also, if you have any sort of insecurities, that comes into play here. You might feel overshadowed or that they're just better at getting the work done than you. These are things that you need to discuss in earnest with yourself. Odds are though, your buddy feels the same way about you. But if you can't work past this, then, again, it's probably best to go it alone.

And that's it. I can't think of any more cons. But, looking back over this list, I still feel that--for me at least--the pros outweigh them. If anyone has more pros, or cons, feel free to comment and let me know! Hope this little insight into writing buddies helped. Until next time!

--Originally posted on my writing blog on my site here.

Characters: What's in a Name?

2011-07-22T09:34:00.001-07:00

Have you ever been writing along, really into your story, and then, all of a sudden, you stop. Bewildered, you start scrolling back up your document, desperately checking. Then you realize: the name you were going to use for the character you just created you've already given to some throw-a-way background character.

Yeah, it happens. And one thing is for sure: DO NOT under ANY circumstances give your MC (main character) the same, or a similiar, name to someone else in the story, throwaway character or not. It's some advice I came across one day--and I would link you to the article, but I honestly can't remember where it was--and it makes complete and utter sense to me. After all, do you want to confuse your readers, on which the balance of success and failure hangs on just as equally--if not more--than you? Heck no.

However, I'm sure that many of you have come across the tiny problem this little rule creates. There are probably an infinite number of names in the world. And if it's not infinite, it's pretty damn close. But we aren't omniscient. We, as perfectly fallible creatures, run out of names! I've done it, my best friend has done it, and I'm pretty sure you have too. So what to do? Do you stretch your horizons and maybe give your MC--or any character--a name that may not match their ethinicity, country of origin, etc.? Well, sure, you can do that. There's nothing stopping you. Except that, unless you just leave it like that God-awful giant elephant in the corner of your living room, you have to give a good reason for your character to have that name.

"Hi, my name is Fatima. I was born and raised to Irish Immigrants in the United States."

See what I mean? Now, Fatima is a perfectly good name. In fact, I've always liked the way it sounded--don't ask, I don't have a good answer to that. But I think it's safe to assume that your adverage joe would think, "Huh? Wonder why?" And they might get a little peeved if no answer is provided. It doesn't have to be an elaborate one, if you go this route of naming, but it has to be believable.

So maybe you decide that you've thought up enough for your character's world, and you just want a name that you like the sound of, has no real special meaning to the plot at hand, and that you haven't used a million times before (I'm guilty of all three of these, by the way). What do you do?

I hit the naming problem early into my writing adventures--which began in the 8th and has since improved greatly, I think. I came up with a solution that might be obvious to some, not so much to others, and got me a lot of really weird looks from my teachers. I bought a baby name book. A whole book of names, meanings, origins, and if you really shell out the bucks, the year they first came into usage. I was in the ninth grade by the time I had my first baby name book... can you guess how often I had to answer with, "No, I'm not pregnant."

And if you don't want to put out the money, there's always the internet. Anymore, this is the medium I use to find names. I'm usually typing out my stories, so it's already right there at my fingertips. I offer only one bit of advice for this otherwise great way to find names: do some double checking. If you find a name you like on one sight, try to find it on a few others if you want to use it for a specific time period or meaning. If you're just using it because you like the way it sounds, then by all means, just stop when you find it.

Other than that, I have only one other suggestion for finding names to use: mix and match the names of people you know or have known in your lifetime. My best friend started me on this. We both generally try not to use exact names of people we know--just in case they don't like their character or the fact that you didn't ask for their name--but we do take two people we've known and used the first name of one, and the surname of the other. Old classmates, co-workers, distant relatives, or even names you catch on a cemetery's tombstone (yes, done this too) can work.

And now that I've shared all my methods on getting new names, I wish to ask: what are some of yours? Got any new tips for me? Feel free to comment and let me know!

I'm off to go tackle this problem at this very moment. But, as a parting gift, here's the link to a website I use quite often for names: www.behindthename.com

Until next time! This is Patricia from the Guild! Viva la quill!

--originally posted on my personal writing blog on my site here.

Yet Again...

2011-07-17T22:37:00.000-07:00

We're busy, busy, guys, so we have to apologize for not being here, issuing challenges and whatnot. I actually did a post about character names on my website here, but I might copy/paste it as a post here, as it is helpful advice--I think.

Meanwhile, Ariyana has turned her blog into her writing site here. And the both of us have been redesigning our blogs including my personal one here and my craft one here. Please, take the time to drop in and check those out.

I'll also hope that you've noticed the slide at the upper, lefthand corner of the blog. Those prettyful covers? Yeah,either Ariyana, myself, or both have been published in those books! If you have any book covers that are that of anthologies you've been published in--or novels, novellas, etc. that you've had published--let me know and I'll add you to the GFQ slide!

Also, I know we were promising vlogs, but things have kind of been topsy-turvy in all the Guildmistress's lives, so maybe we'll get some out in the near future. But, if you have a writing related vid you'd like to see up, let me know and we'll get that worked out to be put up on our youtube channel.

Now, going back to the redesigned blogs. It's been so long here, so how about some change? I open the floor. Got any suggestions?

With that, I'm signing off.

And, as always, viva la quill!

First Video Up!

2011-01-14T15:47:00.000-08:00

It's only a little intro, but our first video is up over at our youtube channel! Please subscribe and comment!

View it here!

Challenge Twenty-Six : Horror Flash Fiction

2011-01-12T14:13:00.000-08:00

See full details here!

But here's the skinny:

In 500 words or less, write a horror flash fiction--which, by definition, is a whole story in only 500 words!

Is is difficult? Is it challenging? You betcha. But is it crazy fun?

Hell yeah.

So, this, as you can see from the link above, is inspired by a contest that is open to all authors--published or not--and there are even cash prizes. For the sake of the Guild, you don't have to submit, but if you get one done, why not? If you need any help on what to do should you want to, feel free to contact either myself or Slinky, who have both done this process for a little while now.

Deadline: The link says July, but for this challenge, how about the end of Feb? After all, the earlier you get it in, the better.

Happy writing and viva la quill!

Winter News: Upcoming Vlog, Challenges, and More

2011-01-06T13:49:00.001-08:00

I hope each and every one of you enjoyed your holiday, followers of the Quill. In order to revive our precious Guild, your friendly Guildmasters have planned out a jam-packed Winter.

Guildmaster, Kimmi Gray, has talked Patricia and me into a Youtube vlog--can you believe it? In the vlog we shall be recognized by our nicknames Blitz (Kimmi), Squeak (Patricia), and Slinky (Ariyana--that's me). The first video will be a quick intro, but from there we'll be updating with helpful hints for fellow writers, challenges, and useless off-subject nonsense. Videos will be posted on a Guild channel, then, likely, uploaded onto the blog. Hope you all enjoy.

Upcoming challenges will be issued soon enough. For the original fiction and poetry challenges, we'll be listing publishers as well who might be interested in your content.

What's the "More"? Well, how would you feel about updates on our publishing successes and failures? We're also planning to provide you with info on some of our favorite Indie presses and useful websites.

Until next time,
Viva la Quill,

Ariyana

Apologies from the Guildmasters...

2010-08-13T15:08:00.001-07:00

We're all still active here, whether we're posting or not. But Ariyana and I do have to apologize for the lack in updates. We're both busy trying to get our writing careers off the ground, find day jobs, and I'm personally planning a wedding.

The good news is this: both Ariyana and I have stuff published out in the world now, and I'd like to say that ALL of the challenges are still open, with the exception of the "submit something to a publisher this month" challenge in June. But, if you have started to work on your own writing careers, drop by and give us a shout!

Fanfiction, original fiction, and poetry shall always be constantly being produced. August is a little busy for the two Guildmasters here, but we'll try our best to get out--and actually do--a challenge for September. Until then, make sure your inkwells are full, and your quills as sharp as your wit!

Patricia
Department of Backstory

Viva la Quill

Challenge Twenty-Five: June's Challenge

2010-06-04T18:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know that nobody's been real active on this site recently. Which, believe me, I get. I mean, I haven't been here in a while either. The challenges have gone nearly neglected with several birthday challenges left to be done. But I have fallen off the challenge wagon myself.

So, here's what I'm going to do. First, I'm going to issue a new challenges (details to follow in a moment) and secondly, I'm reopening all old challenges. That's right! Even the ones that were met! So folks, look back through our archives and pick a challenge. When finished, post here to tell is what challenge you did and if you posted it somewhere, leave us a link.

Now, as for June's challenge... this one is a whopper, in its own way. Now is a time for action. If you recall in a previous post, I mentioned duotrope.com and its deadline calendar. Here's the challenge: pick a deadline, write a story to meet it, and submit. That's it! Now, Ariyana and I have both already submitted stuff this month. So, and I'm sure she won't mind since we both have several deadlines we'll be meeting this month, we won't considered this challenged finished on our parts until we submit another.

The deadline? The 30th of this month. Once you've submitted, comment here and tell us all about your experience!

Good luck, everyone!

Patricia
Department of Backstory

Viva la Quill

Ariyana's Birthday Challenge

2010-03-31T07:18:00.000-07:00

What? Two Guild updates in one day? Indeed, my friends. Indeed.

My 23rd birthday is April 3rd, this upcoming Saturday, so I guess it's about time for me to set my own birthday challenge. I'm going to give you guys a few different things to choose from, so free free to take whatever plot bunny you like and run wild with it.

In the category of Fanfiction:

Winchesters in Castlevania/Dracula's castle.

Ok, so if you don't know what Castlevania is, than you could just set this in Dracula's castle and work with your own monsters. But you really have to know Supernatural for this one. I want the Winchester boys to find themselves in the bowels of Castlevania. There's plenty of material in the show for you to use to explain why/how they got there. I want to see my giant, shotgun toting cuties kicking butt and taking species name. Does Dracula have an evil plan for Sam? Is Dean having to fight his way through to get to his brother? Or vice versa? Is John there? Is there a kinky succubus scene? It's all up to you. . .

Hermione and the Movement for Wraith Rights

Harry Potter/ Stargate: Atlantis crossover. I have a hard time finding fun SGA/HP xovers to read, so I'd love to see one written by one of you guys. My bunny for this one is that Hermione somehow finds out about the wraith and tries to find a way to help fight them without eliminating them. My only requirement would be for Todd the Wraith to appear, either as a special guest star or the main wraith character. Any pairings or subplots you want here. It could be a chapter story or a little "first encounter" drabble.

In the category of Original Fiction:

Mythology

Pick any mythology that you like (Greek, Sumerian, Egyptian, Native American) and write a story where one of the myths is mirrored in a modern day world. Perhaps someone realizes the connection and the story goes supernatural, or maybe the story itself is made up original characters who are playing out the ancient stories of Athena and Poseidon or Seth and Osiris. If you don't want to write a story, you could write a poem comparing events in a life to events in a myth. Have fun--the sky's the limit.

In the category of Art Manipulations:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets the Universal Monsters.

Basicially what it sounds like, draw or manipulate pictures/comics/movie stills of Buffy or her crew meeting a Universal monster. If you're manipulating, they should probably be in black and white or in a tonal color, depending on the movie you're using. I think it would be great to work on a series of these manipulations/renderings for all the monsters :D

Ok, so that's your mission, if you choose to accept one. Enjoy! Can't wait to see what you turn out. Make sure you link the story/art/poem in the comments (however, if you don't want to post your original story online for publishing reasons, just email me a copy so that I can read and enjoy). Have fun!

Script Frenzy Begins Tomorrow!

2010-03-31T07:05:00.001-07:00

For those of you adore the wacky insanity that is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), you might enjoy their sister event SCRIPT FRENZY! And, boy, is 'frenzy' and appropriate word choice for this event. Here's the basic run-down as copy and pasted from their site, scriptfrenzy.org:

The Challenge	Write 100 pages of original scripted material in the 30 days of April. (Screenplays, stage plays, TV shows, short films, and graphic novels are all welcome.)
When	April 1-30
Cost	Free. We run on donations.
Who	Everyone (worldwide) is welcome. No experience required.
Prizes	Happiness. Creative juices. Pride. Laughter. Bragging rights. A brand-new script.
How	Sign up! Prepare with our Writer's Resources. Get ready to start writing on April 1.

Now, even if you're not going to be a part of the event itself, it might be valuable for you future script writers to check out the site because there are great resources to be found, especially in the forum. I'm signed up, but due to the number of Spring deadlines I need to work on (and my lack of scripting knowledge), I'm not sure if I'll be able to fully participate. However, I do plan on starting a graphic novel script in April for the event (because I've been wanting to try my hand at it for a long time now). Wish me luck--better yet, join me!

http://scriptfrenzy.org/

The Wonders of Duotrope

2010-03-30T18:47:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd share this little bit of joy with you fellow wannabe published writers out there. I came across a wonderful place one day while I was researching trying to get short stories published. Though an associated content article, I found duotrope.com... which, get this, lists a whole frickin' bunch of publishers out there for poetry, flash fiction, short storys, and upwards... and how or whether they pay.

And what's even better? Slinky discovered an awesome feature to the site that is at its top called "Deadline Calender" that lists all sorts of deadlines for submissions and whether what the publisher is looking for is themed or not.

Folks, this makes submitting a little bit easier. In fact, Slinky and I have both submitted stories already. It doesn't make publishing any easier, but at least you don't have to worry over what market to send your Sci-fi story to... it's easily found. And writing to try and meet deadlines is a great way to up your production, and maybe your pocket.

Challenge Twenty-Four

2010-03-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, folks! A new challenge for you to work on. Just a reminder, we also have both birthday challenges still open, plus our Women's History challenge. Now, this challenge is called the "What if" challenge. The rules are like this:

Pick one of the following "what if" scenarios and write a one-shot (or chapter length, if inspiration should strike you) that plays out the scene.
The scenarios are as follows:

From Harry Potter: What if Lupin had apologized to Snape (for all the bullying) the night before Snape killed Dumbledore?

From Supernatural: What if the Impala had an all 4 tire blowout in the middle of nowhere?

From Vampire Hunter D: What if D got to speak with his mother again?

From Batman (either Nolanverse or The Animated Series): What if the Joker saved Batman?

From Darkwing Duck: What if the villains made Morgana's wedding guest list?

The due date for this challenge is April 10, 2010

Have fun!

Patricia's Birthday Challenge

2010-03-03T22:01:00.000-08:00

Okay, I am so behind on Kimmi's challenge. Good thing she didn't give us a deadline. Good news, though... I've at least gotten it started! A whole paragraph + 2 lines of dialogue! But it's coming. That being said... let's add another challenge to the mix. Mine. :)

Here's what I've cooked for all you:

I've had the Joker on my mind recently. No, he's not always there... but he's moved there recently. So, one of your choices is this: I would like a Joker fic where he finally gets a win on Batman. Now, he doesn't have to kill him. But he can. It can be comedy, or it can be angst/drama... or whatever. I don't want slash. Just, surprise me. The Joker version I have in mind is that of the 1992's Animated Series. However, I'll accept Nolanverse Dark Knight Joker as well, for I love them both. None of this "The Batman" or Brave and the Bold crap.
I LOVE crossovers! So, here's the deal. I'm gonna list here a few of my fave male characters from different fandoms and a few fave female characters from different fandoms. You choose the pairing, but the two must not be from the same 'verse. And the pairing doesn't have to be romantic, or even friendship. It could just be random meeting. And the newer the crossover to me, the better :). ('Verses in paraenthesis) Here's a few males: Snape (HP), Andrew (Buffy/Angel), Darth Vader, Alucard (Castlevania), Joker ('cause, why not?), House (House, MD... duh, right?). Here's a few females (verse repeats due to lack of females in some: Dawn (Buffy), Tonks (HP), Harley Quinn, Leia (Star Wars), Poison Ivy, Hermione.
And lastly, for those of you are graphically inclined, I would like a rendering of either Jade Snape from the RPG World's Clash or Mia from Girls' Night Out.

So, hope that wasn't too much for anybody. And if anyone chooses to draw the picture(s), I'd be more than happy to help with any description problems that may occur. Like Kimmi's, I'm giving no deadline... well, maybe have it done before my next B-day, huh? LOL

A Question for Guild Members...

2010-03-03T21:53:00.000-08:00

Hi, Quillers! This is just a quick little post to ask all of you a question. I know that we are a writing group, but I was wondering...

Many of our members also do art. Some draw, some do photo manipulations, some do crafts, some do all of the above and/or more. So, I thought that I could start one of those new-fangled group thingies (ie, groups, LOL) at deviantart for any GFQ related art. And I know the day is coming where that will exist. Soon... mwahahahahaha...

So, post a comment because I'd love to know!

PatriciaLouise

Viva la Quill

Challenge Twenty-Three: Women's History Month

2010-03-02T11:53:00.000-08:00

March is Women's History Month and The Guild of the Fantastic Quill will be celebrating with a challenge. Your challenge is to include a female historical/famous figure in either a poem or a story. You can even include your chosen famous woman in your fanfiction if you'd prefer. While she doesn't have to be an actual character, she and some explanation as to her significance to the world at large must be mentioned and relevant to the piece. Have fun, learn something new, and don't forget to comment and tell us about your chosen famous woman and your story/poem. You have the entire month of March to complete this challenge.

On another subject, I'd like to remind everyone that we're still doing birthday wishes. (I, for one, am already behind on Kimmi's wish, but she will receive it...someday, hee.)

Kimmi's Birthday Wish!

2010-01-29T14:22:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I've been MIA in the blogosphere for a while. But thats because my poor little brain can only focus on one thing at a time and the one thing I've been focusing on is my student teaching. I'll get to writing and posting again once I'm certain I know what I'm doing, lol.

Okey! My birthday is next week! And from you, my talented writer friends I have two ideas!

1. House/Glee xover: New Directions go on the road! But as you may (or may not know) Quinn is pregnant. More or less, Quinn goes into labor and who's the lucky doctor that's at the clinic? Why our lovely Dr. House! Does he have a musical bone in his body? Or will he smack each and every one of the gleeks in the shins with his walking stick until they stop singing "Don't Stop Believing" ? Lol well that's up to you, isn't it?

2. There's trouble a-brewing in the Supernatural universe. A musically inclined demon sees how the techno-eastern beats of Bollywood seem to torture the Winchester boys and through some feat of magical do the boys are trapped in an upbeat Om Shanti Om style Bollywood musical! Ghosts, beautiful girls, romance, and awesome dance numbers, what more could a fan ask for?

Okay. So if that doesn't stretch your writing muscles... well I don't know what will. Lol. Give it a shot my friends!

Challenge Twenty-Two: Valentine's 2010

2010-01-14T16:26:00.000-08:00

Well, since poetry seems to be what everyone associates with Valentine's, this challenge is a poetry one!

Write a 50-100 word poem on the theme of love or Valentine's Day.
You must use at least 3 of the following prompt words: courtly love, cards, red, pink, paper, St. Valentine, fertility, champagne, flowers, chocolates, hearts, bird, lace, leather, white
Deadline: Feburary 14, 2010

As usual, post the link to your complete poem in the comments under this post. Have fun, everyone!!

Announcing: Birthday Challenges!!

2010-01-04T18:50:00.000-08:00

A new, fun feature to the Guild! Each member can now post "Birthday Challenges." Allow me to explain:

On your birthday, post a challenge entitled, for example, "Kim's Birthday Challenge." You can add a one, the year, or your age if you want as I'm sure we're all hoping this'll become a regular thing. Then, set a challenge that YOU would like to see especially geared towards you...using a favorite character, a favorite theme, whatever you want. Kind of like asking for a birthday gift from the Guild members ;).

You can post post a one-shot fanfic challenge, a one-shot original fiction challenge, a fanart challege, or a poetry challenge. So long as you give the Guild at least two options. Then, set a deadline. Easy as pie.

The known GFQ birtdays that are upcoming are:

Kimmi's: Feb. 4
Patricia's: March 8
Hillary's: March 18
Slinky's: April 3
Savannah's: May 15

If anyone else would like to post a Birthday challenge whose birthdate is not listed here, please comment with your birtdate on this post. Happy Challenging, and Birthday!

Challenge Twenty-One: Finish the Damned Fanfic

2010-01-04T17:28:00.001-08:00

Forgive the language, but isn't it about time you finished that fan fiction story you've been working on for (dare I say) years?

If you haven't already guessed, this challenge is aimed towards writers of fanfiction. January is here, 2010 has arrived, and yet there are fanfiction stories strewn over the pages of the net, awaiting conclusion. I, for one, have many the unfinished gems (*cough*) awaiting their intended epilogues. So, let's say goodbye to at least one fanfiction chapter story this month.

Challenge: Complete one chapter story this month. It doesn't matter whether you started it last week or three years ago, any ff chapter story qualifies.

Deadline: Feb. 1st

Bonus Points: Bonus points go to anyone who finishes a fanfiction story that requires at least five more chapters.

Comment with a link to the story you finish (even if you haven't posted the finished chapters yet).

Good luck and viva la quill!

Challenge Twenty: Blueprint Your '10 Novel

2010-01-04T17:11:00.000-08:00

So, 2010 is finally here. . . Feels quite a bit like 2009, doesn't it? Oh, well. Perhaps when we're all Timelords, we'll be able to see New Years in a different light. For those of you who aren't completely bogged down with over-ambitious New Years Resolutions, I'd like to present you with Writing Challenge #20, The Blueprint Challenge.

This challenge is intended for original fiction, specifically novels, novellas, and serials. Deep down, ever aspiring writer has several "novel" (punpun) ideas floating about. These ideas are sometimes confined to the mind and sometimes jotted down on a scrap of paper. But the point is, they're simply ideas. So, let's take one of those ideas and mold it into a full story.

This challenge will not have a specific deadline, though I'd like to see a response at the beginning of the year (some time in the month of Jan.). The challenge intended to get your creative little minds focused on the "busy work" of writing. Essentially, though, this is the fun part: coming up with several little plotlines, characters, motifs, etc. and forming a novel around them.

Challenge:
Create a blueprint of your novel. Focus on chapters, subplots, character development. Pretend you're building a house. Start with the base and work your way up. Create the frame. The writing part (the filler) will come later. Come up with your own process.

If you accept this challenge, post a comment below. You don't have to tell us about your novel idea, but I'd like to know if you'll be outlining/blueprinting a story to write in 2010. Also, after you've finished your blueprint, return to this post and comment on your process.

Bonus Points:

Bonus Points, those invisible little gold coins for the competitor inside, go to the participants who not only comment but also post a blog entry explaining how they formulated their blueprint. This entry should be intended to help those who are still struggling with outlining. You don't necessarily have to give away the plot of your story, just explain how you were able to mold your ideas into a workable blueprint for a novel.

GOOD LUCK!

Fear of the New Year

2009-12-31T14:57:00.000-08:00

Just had to share this little comic. If any of you are in need of inspiration or a way to procrastinate on the web, visit Inkygirl 's blog. It's great :D or the WillWriteForChocolate.com comics. If you were part of NaNoWriMo, you might recognize her work.

I identified really well with the comic because sometimes, the world just seems too big. Especially when you're making plans. And what better time to make plans than New Years Eve. So, as you see 2010 unfolding in your imagination, just keep this in mind: if you don't like coffee, there's always hot cocoa via Trish.

Challenge Nineteen: The Gift

2009-12-02T23:40:00.000-08:00

Okay, and welcome back from our detour into Nano-Land! I hope everyone did well. Congrats to our own Slinky for winning. And, to any of our new members, welcome and if you partcipated and won, congrats. Your reward: a fanfic challenge, should you choose to accept.

The rules to this lovely, Xmas themed challenge is as follows:

Pick one of the fandoms listed below. The characters listed are to be the main focus of the fic you are going to write:

--Harry Potter= Harry Potter and Severus Snape

--Supernatural= Sam Winchester and Dean Winchester

--House, M.D.=House and Thirteen

--Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel the Series= Angel and Illyria

--Vampire Hunter D= D and Meier Link

--Castlevania= Alucard and Isaac

--Batman (The Animated Series, the movie franchise, etc.)= Catwoman and Joker

--Stargate: SG-1/Stargate: Atlantis= Sam Carter and Ronon Dex

--Witchblade the TV Series= Sara Pezzini and Ian Nottingham

--Veronica Mars= Logan and Mac

Now, after you have made your choice from the list above, you must write a one-shot (a single chaptered work of 500 words or more) in which one of the two assigned characters gives a gift to the other assigned character for Christmas. You must choose one of the following gifts:

--Nutcracker, rose, a cat, handheld blender/mixer, dagger, photograph, stuffed dog, shoes, self help audio book, or a nail file.

Deadline for this challenge is December 26, 2009...just to give a little extra time.

Remember, after you have written and posted your story, comment on this post and link us to your story so that we can read it. Have fun!

Challenge Eighteen: Thanksgiving Challenge

2009-11-24T15:03:00.001-08:00

Okay, I know that we are all in the midst of NaNo or just finishing up some schoolwork, so this challenge will be simple.

Write a poem of any length about Thanksgiving
Include at least two of the following prompt words: pilgrims, indians, maize, turkey, Mayflower, sweet potato, hunting, football
Due date is Friday, November 27, 2009...to give you a little more time since I'm posting this so late.

Well, happy writing! We'll be posting more challenges soon enough!

Things to Think About when Writing

2009-11-05T15:05:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm taking a few minutes break from NaNoWriMo to talk about a couple of things that have been in my mind while I've beening doing my own mad writing dash through the first five days.

First off, I hope everyone is doing well. And even if you are behind right now, fear not! You can always catch up, regardless of what's going on elsewhere this month. On that note, I've heard one or two out in the NaNo world complain of being stuck in their novel. To them, I offer these suggestions. If you can't think of what's coming next, skip to a part you know. Just leave a little marker or note (notes count as words) to come back after NaNo is done or at the last few days of NaNo when you are still short a couple of thousand words. Also, don't worry about the "whats" of the novel right now. Word count is your primary goal. As it says on the NaNo calendar currently present on my laptop, "Don't have any ninjas? Add some!" Do ANYTHING to get yourself moving again.

I bring this up because I noticed that my output, so far today, has been lower than it has been the last few days. I began to worry that I was stuck...which I thought was impossible, due to my outlines. But, I realized, I was not stuck...I just needed a breather. This could also be the case for those of you who are "stuck." Take a break and come back a little later. Watch some TV, eat something that doesn't have caffeine in it, take a bath/shower, do anything but write. Then, in a couple of hours (or whenever your next section of free time comes that day), try again. That's my plan.

Which brings up another thought I had, even though NaNo is a huge part of our lives in Nov, one must remember to make time to do things that are more relaxing than worrying about word count. Breathers and sleep are important, as well as entertainment activities. And you want to know the upside to this? They'll probably act as inspiration for you novel. In fact, just today in class, I had an idea for something totally minor to mention in my novel, towards the end...but that toally minor mention will still take up word count. Remember, quanity is for Novemeber, quality is for December.

And don't forget to read. It is my personal belief that all authors must be readers...now, I don't care what it is that they read, just do it! Books, magazines, news articles, scientific journals, anything! And again, this could act as inspiration.

So, how is everyone feeling about NaNo? Well, one last reminder from me on this subject...just have fun with it! No one is judging you!

Now, on more Guild related matters, I'll be posting up a couple of new challenges...and maybe some informal ones that serve more as recommendations...later this month. Most will have Dec. due dates, with one--a short one!--being due in Nov.! Be on the look out for those!

And, finally, I'd like to thank dear Slinky for keeping us inspired with her daily updates in the upper left corner of our Guild.

Happy NaNoing!

--Patricia
Head of the Department of Backstory
15,917 words

Keyword Density Info for Freelance Writers

2009-10-12T18:52:00.001-07:00

Since I'm just now getting involved in the world of freelance writers, and I know a few of my fellow Guild members are interested in online writing as well, I thought I'd post this helpful article on Keyword Density and SEO. How Search Engines actually work is somewhat confusing to the novice. This article breaks down some of the bigger issues facing writers learning about SEO and keywords. I hope a few of you find this helpful.

Keyword Density Not Enough for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
All the social bookmarking in the world will not help you if the search engines can't find your article in the first place. And search engines can't find you unless you speak their language.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/215422/keyword_density_not_enough_for_search.html

NaNoWriMo: Soon, My Precious, Soon

2009-10-10T16:05:00.000-07:00

Smell that, Guild folk? That's the scent of National Novel Writing Month, right around the corner. Sure, it smells a little like jerky, pocky sticks, and spilled soft drinks--but isn't it great? Everyone here should know what NaNoWriMo is. If you don't know, refer to previous posts or go to www.NaNoWriMo.org. In fact, one of our active challenges involves NaNoWriMo. And, oh how I plan on tackling that challenge this coming week. I'm hoping this blog serves as a NaNo reminder to Guild members who might like to participate. I know Patricia, Kimmi, and I have already started preparing for our novel writing experience.

I've been trying to get myself inspired. I've written an Associated Content article on the challenge (well, not specifically, but on preparing for NaNo through background stories), and it should be up within a few days.

In the mean time, I thought I might suggest a few activities to keep you motivated while you write your outline for your NaNo novel:

You could begin to gather your music playlist for November (thanks, Patrica, for reminding me).
Aside from this, the more artistic guild members might want to think about drawing character sketches or gathering celebrity pictures to use as character references.
Also, NaNoWriMo has a place to upload your "cover page" under Novel Info, if you'd like to create one for fun.
Maps can be your friend. For fantasy writers, draw a map of the areas, blue print the buildings, decide where to place the mudmen in your bog, etc.
Make a banner for your novel and put it on your social networking sites or use it in your NaNo signature to advertise your story. Mine is above, obviously :D Here's where you can go to make your own:

http://www.bannersketch.com/index.php?pid=home

Make a YouTube trailer. Yeah, I've never made a video before, but this morning at about 2am, I woke up and decided that it would be a good idea. This was the result of that experiment (leave a comment, haha):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clsQpHabBD4

or the video below might also work. (Disclaimer: I do not own the music or the photos. Better disclaimer located on YouTube, haha.)

EDIT: Another thing to help prepare and motivate is a calendar. Check out these calendars made by folks in the NaNoWriMo forums:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/3264274?page=1

2009-10-09T19:36:00.001-07:00

Fiction Writing: Three Ways to Use the Colors of the Seasons to Describe Setting
How to use color to describe setting and set mood in fiction.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/2252127/fiction_writing_three_ways_to_use_the.html

Challenge Seventeen: Trick or Treat!

2009-10-06T14:53:00.001-07:00

Okay, it's that time of year again, boys and ghouls! Halloween is upon us. So, in honor of a most fun holiday, here's a challenge!

Choose three of the following prompt words: witch, black, howl, ghost, candy, chocolate, zombie, vampire, midnight, blood, gore, fright, screech, scream, tomb, dead, or goblin
Write a poem of at least 100 words!
The word "Halloween" must appear at least once inside the poem!
And finally, the end of the poem must be a "trick" (read: twist or surpise) or "treat" (read: nice; the way everyone would hope for).

Due Date for this challenge is by midnight, Oct. 31...the witching hour! Happy haunting...I mean, writing!!

Challenge Sixteen: The Jeopardy! Challenge

2009-10-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this actually has nothing to do with Jeopardy, but it runs something like it's Answer and Question format. This is the Answer Challenge! In the past, we've had several Question challenges, were we would give you selected questions and, through a fandom character, you had to answer that question FOR that character. This time, we're going to flip you on your head.

Because we're all kind of busy this semester, we'll free you up some for this one.

Choose any fandom you'd like to write for (for fandom, read: fanfiction)
After you've chosen your fandom, choose your main character. This is to whom the answer must apply
Then, choose one of the answers below.
Using this "answer," in the space of a one-shot (500 word minimum), find the question that applies to this answer for this character.

Answers:

Because I love him/her.

Because this is my sacrifice.

Because I am evil/good.

Because I live the lie, everyday.

Bonus Points: If you write for a fandom you've never written for before!!

Due: Oct. 28, 2009

Challenge Fifteen: The NaNoWriMo Backstory Challenge

2009-10-05T15:25:00.000-07:00

Visit NaNoWriMo.org for more information on National Novel Writing Month.

NaNoWriMo. . .What a special time of year! Thousands of writers gathered with one common writing goal--finish a 50,000 word novel in one month's time.

This year, to help all you funky NaNos out there, I propose a challenge before THE Challenge.

As you're plotting, outlining, and forming characters for your NaNo Novel, you can take part in this October challenge. It might help you when you start to write on November 1st.

Challenge:
Pick a character who is going to be present in your NaNoWriMo novel. Every character is full of history. After all, they should have lived a life before the events of your story. So pick an event, a moment in their life, or even a previous adventure they were involved in and write a short story.

Character must be present in your future NaNo novel.

Story cannot share the same plot as your NaNo novel.

900 wd Minimum, no max

Due Oct 31st (In other words, before NaNoWriMo begins.)

Post either a link or a short synopsis in the below comments. I realize that, if you're serious about your NaNo Novel, you might not want post your short story on a site like fictionpress.com (just in case you need to tweek it after the actual NaNo event has changed your character).

YOU CANNOT USE THIS STORY AS WORD COUNT DURING NANOWRIMO.

Have fun! I can't wait to see your responses.

Taken down to work on

2009-09-21T22:12:00.000-07:00

I took this idea down to work on it.

Reply to Challenge Fourteen

2009-09-21T19:40:00.000-07:00

The title of my piece is One Month

My storyline is this: An educational-inspired college camp brings together students from several schools, ranging from grades 9th to recently graduated. For one month, four camp counselers that are summer staff only must, while under the supervision of their five superiors, must help the children with their daytime activities. And at night, after the full-time staff have gone home, they must keep the children under control and under the rules. But with 60 students, all with hormones raging and drama running high, will everyone make it through the summer camp without getting kicked out? Told through the point of view of a camper returning for their second year to a new attendee.

There will be several stories within one large story. The focus will shift as each new story is brought to light. Some stories will be solved quickly, while others might run the length of the main plot.

Okay, my storyline actually gives me a LOT of characters to work with...but here are some of the ones that should be noted:
Jessica Hart- one of the female counselers
Penelope Rayson- one of the female counselers
Michael Madison- one of the male counselers
James Mill--one of the male counselers
Aurora--the camper returning for her second year; has all the "dirt" on the older attendees
Lily-- a first time camper...a bit nervous about going, but makes fast friends with Aurora
Derek-- a fourth year camper, involved in a "love triangle"
Jonathan-- a second year camper, friend of Derek, involved in same "love triangle"
Kate--a first year camper, involved in "love triangle" with Derek and Jonathan
Nala-a second year camper, falling for Edmund
Edmund-- a first year camper, but is his love for Nala true?

Those are some of the examples of the longer running stories throughout the main plot. The artist I chose was the band "3 Doors Down." I will now list the songs I chose from their discography and beside each song, describe the scene in which they will be used.

Train-- The opening number. Play just the music as some of the students are shown loading luggage into their parents' cars and vehicles. Show some parents expressing concern about letting their children go for a month. Start with one of the "lesser used" characters singing the song, cut to several students singing, emphasizing on some of the longer running stories.

The Real Life--Aurora explaining her feelings on wanting to go home her first year, then deciding to stay. She talked about being a bad kid, how the camp has made her better.

Kryptonite--The scene has drifted, after a bit, to Penelope and James. James is talking about how he has missed Penelope. After he begins to express too intimate of feelings--wanting to get back together, having helped her through dark times, etc.--she tells him that she doesn't want anything to do with him like that anymore. James sings Kryptonite.

Loser-- One of the "lesser used" characters sings this. She is being bullied by some of the other campers for being "weird." At the conclusion of her song, she enters the head of the camp's office and tells her that she wants to go home.

Let Me Go-- Kate sings this song. After two, separate, moments with Derek and Jonathan,she sings this song in lament of her "secret" that will inevitably keep her from both of them.

When I'm Gone-- A camper who has recently discovered they have been kicked out sings this, their audience changing from camper to camper. The song bring a much needed worry to the other campers about the things they are up to...this camper has gotten kicked out for all the reasons that they are partaking in.

Behind Those Eyes-- Nala sings this song as she begins to suspect that Edmund's feelings for her are less than true.

She Don't Want the World-- Aurora and Lily take turns singing this song as Nala and Kate go sadly about their daily activities at the camp, after all has been revealed in their stories.

So I Need You-- Edmund sings as he confesses his love, for once and for all, for Nala. At the lyric, "Imitation of my walk" Edmund walks with his shoulders slumped, "sadly." Nala and Edmund take turns singing, Edmund picking back up at the appropriate lyrics.

Your Arms Feel Like Home-- The ending song. Campers say goodbye to one another as they return home to their parents.

Challenge Fourteen: A Practice in Creative Pitching

2009-09-15T17:31:00.000-07:00

And we're back with the first of what I'm sure is going to be several challenges to come! Now, this one doesn't require you to post anything anywhere, except here in the comments (or, if it would be easier, in a post all on its own). Now, I personally call this challenge the Musical Challenge, inspired by Mama Mia! Here's the deal:

Pick your favorite artist or band. ONLY one artist or band...NOT an artist and a band.
Now, use your choice's discography (or discography so far) and choose either 10 songs or a full album.
Take those songs, and pitch us a play. Give us the characters (main characters who will have, should you actually want to write it out, several speaking roles...don't worry about minor characters right now). Give us the story (give us the beginning, the high point of the middle, and the end). Give us the setting (just a single setting, like a city or country or something, you don't have to give us every setting that might come into play).
And finally, most importantly, tell us about the scenes that will use each of the songs you choose.
BONUS: If you detail the choreography, and we're not looking for anything professional here, that would be fun.
Due: Oct. 2, 2009

Okay, and just post it here under the comments or make it its own separate Guild post. And remember, just have fun with it!

Sugar Quills: Energy for GFQ Members

2009-09-11T13:40:00.000-07:00

These are sold in Gulf Shores souvenir shops. (I have no idea why.) We remembered to get a picture of them this time.

2009-08-27T08:14:00.001-07:00

Writing Tip: Use a Bad Situation to Create a Descriptive Scene
Out of writing steam? Perhaps the key to your next writing spill is as close as your last meaty rant about the driver who took your parking space.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/2092149/writing_tip_use_a_bad_situation_to.html

2009-08-26T10:39:00.001-07:00

FictionPress.Com Can Be an Amateur Writer's Best Friend
FictionPress.com is a huge site where writers can post their fiction and poetry for a wide audience. While it has its problems, the pros far outweigh the cons.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/2082067/fictionpresscom_can_be_an_amateur_writers.html

2009-07-31T09:48:00.001-07:00

Can Writing Fanfiction Improve Your Writing Skills?
Most of today's fanfiction is written by teens and tweens, but can the amateur writer learn anything from this type of pleasure writing? I argue that fanfiction writers can and will learn valuable skills, if they're willing to do the work.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1990818/can_writing_fanfiction_improve_your.html

Challenge Thirteen: Underwire Challenge

2009-07-20T09:37:00.001-07:00

Ok, Ok, so you've just read the title of this challenge and received a large mental question mark in return. Here's the deal: I watch action and horror movies, most of which are cheesy or simply lack realistic characters. I constantly see girls get into situations where they have "nothing" they can use to fight the bad guy/girl, get out of the trap, save another person. I think that, aside from a brain, the most unused tool at their disposal is just a cup-size away. Think about it (I'm talking to the ladies here--the nondrag guys amongst us will have to use their imagination), the majority of women wear bras, even with formal wear, though many Sci-Fi (excuse me, Syfy) writers would have you think otherwise. And, in turn, the majority of bras have underwire for lift. Now, any woman who's had a cheap bra has felt the stinging end of the underwire and knows its dangers.

Are we forming a picture now?

So, my challenge to you: write a scene, story, script, etc. where a woman or man (be creative, Mr. Kinky Boots) uses their bra in a tight situation for something other than seduction. Specifically, I'd like it to be a very high-action moment, but any creative use will be worth it.

This challenge has no real due date, and, unless it's a piece you're posting online, you won't need to put a link in the comments. Just comment below and tell me a little about the situation you're planning to write about, and how the bra comes into play.

Have fun and, as always, be creative!

Challenge Twelve-- The Murder Challenge

2009-04-21T14:01:00.001-07:00

Okay, a new challenge for all! This challenge is original fiction ONLY!!!! The rules are as follows:

The idea of this challenge is to help you get a feel for murder in writing and how to implant a murder mystery into other genres.
It MUST have "mystery" as a subgenre, but NOT as the main genre! This means that it can be a type of "who dun it?" but that does not need to be the main focus.
Has to have a twist at the end, and not necessarily a "who dun it?" twist, remember!
Deadline for this challenge is May 6, 2009

Some examples for what the challenge is looking for are books like The Sookie Stackhouse Series, The Harry Potter Series, or the young adult book Never Trust a Dead Man. Happy writing!

Challenge 11--The Song Challenge

2009-04-19T21:01:00.000-07:00

Most of us listen to music for inspiration, so it's only fitting that we have a challenge that brings this song inspiration directly into play. Here's the challenge:

Shuffle your music player.
Use the first song that plays as inspiration for either an original or fanfiction story. The song should influence the atmosphere of your story as well. It's as simple as that! Enjoy!

Now, if that's too simple, here's a little extra challenge to tide you over:

BONUS CHALLENGE

This extra challenge requires you to shuffle your music at least four times.

The first song to play should represent your main character's driving motivation or emotional state.
The second song should represent your plot.
The third song should be your secondary character's driving motivation or emotional state.
And the fourth song should represent your setting. (For example, if "Don't Fear the Reaper" was your fourth song, you could set your story in a cemetery, at a school for reapers, at a Blue Oyster's concert, in the seventies, etc.)

The only limit to this challenge is your imagination.

DUE DATE: May 1st, Midnight

Challenge Ten-- The Question Part III

2009-04-12T12:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, this challenge ups the difficulty just a little bit. Here we go!

This challenge is fanfiction ONLY!!! (Don't worry, we'll have some original challenges and another fanfiction challenge following this one soon!).
Like in the other Questions challenges, you must have your fic answer one of the questions given below.
This can be anywhere from a drabble, to a one-shot, to a chapter piece. And, for the added challenge to this one, I'd really recommend a short one-shot. You'll see why in a minute.
Now, here's the kicker. Again we have a list of 'verses for you to choose from with an assigned character. But here's where it gets a tad more difficult than the previous Question challenges. You must pick TWO of the 'verses and cross them over. That's right, folks! The Question Part III is a crossover challenge; I guess you could say it is in part a celebration of the new crossover feature at fanfiction.net.
We've upped the number of 'verses to choose from. Here they are with their character assignment:

--Harry Potter= Severus Snape

--Batman: The Animated Series (again, NOT Batman Beyond or Justice League, just the animated series)= Harley Quinn

--Castlevania= Alucard

--Darkwing Duck= Negaduck

--Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood Series= Sookie

--Supernatural= Dean Winchester

--House, M.D.= Cameron

--Vampire Hunter D= Leila

--Star Wars= Obi-Wan Kenobi

--Stargate: SG-1= Daniel Jackson

--Stargate: Atlantis= John Sheppard

--Angel: The Series= Winifred (Fred) Burkle

--Buffy: The Vampire Slayer= Tara Mclay

--Firefly= Kaylee Frye

--Forever Knight= Lucien Lacroix

--Twilight= Alice Cullen

--Legend= Gump

--Labyrinth= Hoggle

--Vampire Knight= Headmaster Cross

--Dark Knight= Rachel

As stated above, choose TWO of these 'verses and cross them over. In your fic, you must answer one of the following questions:

--Who are you in bed with?

--Who has tasted your blood?

--What are you doing here?

--What are you thinking right now?

--Aren't you lonely?

--Will they forgive you?

Again, the question must apply to your main character. Now, because you have TWO 'verses present, it may apply for one or both.
Deadline for this challenge is Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at midnight.

Happy writing!

Which is harder?

2009-04-04T10:08:00.000-07:00

Which is harder? Writing a story from scratch where your ideas are new and you know more or less what you want to happen and how you want it to happen. Or. Re-writing an existing story (chapter, part, etc.) where you have things established the way you thought you wanted them only to find out that they didn't work out so now you have to go back and re-do almost everything?
I found myself asking that question last night while I was working on Blue Shadows. I couldn't help but try and discourage myself thinking "well, it was a bit of a flop before, so what's going to be different this time around?" "it was hard to write this part before, why should it be easier now?" "what the hell was I thinking when I wrote this part? how can I fix it?"
I bummed myself out a little bit, I think, but I'm back on the horse and ready to ride.
So, which do you think is harder? Making something from scratch or warming it up in the proverbial microwave in hopes that it was better than the last time?

-Kimmi

Challenge Nine-The Question II

2009-04-03T19:15:00.000-07:00

This is the sequel to the Question Part I. Same rules, different 'verses/characters and questions. Here goes!

This challenge is fanfiction ONLY!!!
The character attached to the verse, as before, must be the one to whom the answer of your chosen question applies...preferably, the main character of your piece.
This challenge can anywhere from a drabble, to a one-shot. You could even do a chapter piece if you so choose.
The verses and characters for this challenge is as follows:

Harry Potter--Voldemort

Batman: The Animated Series (seasons 1-4 NOT Justice League or Batman Beyond)--Catwoman

Sookie Stackhouse books/TrueBlood--Sookie Stackhouse

Supernatural--John Winchester

House, M.D.--Thirteen

Angel, The Series--(Charles) Gunn

Castlevania--Lisa Tepes

Star Wars--Han Solo

Stargate: Atlantis--Major Lorne

Dexter: The Series--Aster

The questions to choose from are as follows:

--Why are you such a bitch?

--What the hell was that?

--What do you have to live for?

--Who do you miss the most?

As before, other characters may appear, but the listed character must be the main character and, as stated above, the one to whom the answer of the question applies.
The deadline for this juicy bit of a challenge is April 11, 2009 by midnight.

Happy writing!

Insperation: Some Babbelings from Kimmi

2009-03-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

While working on my Friday the 13th (the 2nd) challenge piece, I came across a weird news article. It seemed like a bit of a god-send that this little six lined article from the Associated Press would show up in my news feed on my Yahoo! account just when I was looking for something to inspire me to write. This little article turned into a 4 page story of misfortune for a poor man who owned a pet store.
Originally, the news story reported the ill fortune of a shop owner who (somehow) wound up with a corpse instead of the fish he had originally ordered. How's that for luck?
When I read the story I at first thought "huh, sucks to be that guy" and clicked off to play on Pet Society. But after a few minutes I went back to my homepage and stared at the article title.
I remembered hearing something clicking into place.
Who was this unfortunate shop owner?
Did he think it was some kind of prank?
Was there anyone there with him when he found the corpse?
What happened to the fish?
Stupid UPS, they screw up everything.
And thus, with those thoughts flying through my head, I copied the article into my beloved OneNote, and set to work.
Thus, "I Blame UPS" was born, and surprisingly, I like it.
It always amazes me how inspiration just kinds of hits you in the face sometimes. Sure, we all have our muses that guide our pens and our thinking. But sometimes, something pushes the muse out of the way and just screams WRITE ABOUT ME!
At least thats how it is for me.
A flickering light, or a shadow that I see out of the corner of my eye: a story about a tortured lover that wants revenge.
An episode of my favorite TV show: a story centered around a guy that is created into some kind of zombi and is forced to protect someone he hates.
I mean, its weird how the smallest thing seems to set off the imagination (especially if you have an over active imagination like I do).
The point of this blog, I think, is to keep your eyes (all three of them) open to inspiration. Take the time to look at something and ask yourself questions, even if they seem silly and pointless. I always find its the pointless questions (such as what happened to the fish?) that gets my creative juices flowing. Inspiration is all around us, we just have to be willing to let it hit us in the face sometimes.
Viva La Quill
Kimmi
The Ink Finger

Guild Weekly Newsletter 3

2009-03-09T21:52:00.001-07:00

Greetings, all! We have much to cover in tonight's newsletter! So, let's get right to it!

First of all, challenges. The following is a list of challenges that are currently on going, their deadlines, and the rules of which can be found on previous posts.

Challenge 5--The St. Patrick's Day Challenge will end at 12:01 a.m. on March 18, 2009. And kudos to Slinky for the cute kitty pic on the challenge!
The Friday the 13th Challenge has been reopened and the rules of which have been reposted under the comments of that post. Deadline: March 13, 2009 at midnight
Challenge 6-- The Urban Legend Challenge. Deadline: March 30, 2009 at midnight
Challenge 7--The April Fools' Challenge. Deadline: April 1, 2009 at midnight. No foolin'.
Challenge 8-- The Sue Slayer Challenge. Deadline: April 16, 2009 at midnight. Kudos to Hillary for contributing this challenge!

Now, I'd like to bring your attention to the upper left hand column of this blog (and if you're reading this on facebook, please visit the blog to find out what the heck I'm talking about). We have a new addition to our little group. The Word Prompt of the Month. This will be present until April 1, at which time the word will change. We encourage all our participants in their challenges to use this word in some way, shape, form, or fashion. It's just a fun way to get your mind flowin'!

Coming up next is a little something us GFQ people are calling The Quillies! It's a little nominate and award thing we're doing seasonally. More information on that when the categories are announced. Be looking for that post on Saturday, March 14. What we have now I can tell you. The nomination dates are from March 13 until March 20. Then, there will be a reading period. Following that, there will be the voting period which will last from March 29 until March 31. The results will be up by April 1.

On a similar note, on our facebook group's discussion board, we'll be posting a little game for all Guildmembers to partcipate in! You can expect it around the same time as the information on The Quillies is released. The game, for a shortened explaination, will consist of a list of quotes from books. The object: in one post, tell what book each quote from...or as many as you can. They won't be obscure quotes, and you definitely won't be expected to get all correct. For each quote correctly identified, you receive one point or Quill Mark. Also, if you're doing the St. Patty's Day Challenge and mention beer will get two Quill Marks. And what will you do with these Quill Marks? Look for the answer for that (and more) in the information on The Quillies!

And, on a final note, I'd just like to say a couple of things about our little group here. First of all, please don't limit yourself to only the challenges. We are a group that is here to read and helpfully respond (and by this I mean, critique) to any bit of writing you want us to look at. All you have to do is ask. The challenges are just to help for extra output and to get the muses flowing. Further on this...we are here to read each others works. If someone does a challenge and posts it...review it. If they email you something they want you to read, read it and email back. Otherwise, this group is pointless. We must work together, or we won't work at all. To this end, I invite all of you to start emailing each other work to be critiqued or to ask for reviews on any posted works.

Now, I hope we all have fun on these new and exciting things to come!

Until next time,

Patricia

Department of Backstory

Viva la Quill

Challenge 8--The Sue Slayer

2009-03-09T21:27:00.000-07:00

MARY SUE!!! Run! For the sake of all that is good and half-way decent, run, fool, run!

The inventor of this particular challenge was Hillary. *bows*

For all those reading, if you don't know what a Mary Sue is, you should really google her. A quick definition of Mary Sue would be a character who is too perfect or too anti-perfect for her/his own good; usually said character captures the affections of all other characters around her/him and becomes the main focus of all things within the story. Have a character who is part elf, part vampire, part angel and has four lovers competing for her love...well, then, you have a Mary Sue. It's an uber Sue if you gave her lavendar eyes, turquoise hair, and a banging body she's not aware of. The Mary Sue is traditionally an original character written by fanfiction writers but the term has recently evolved to include characters in original fiction.

Due Date: April 16th

Writing Type: Fanfiction

Length: No word limitations.

So, for the challenge you can:

Write for a Sue without fear. This means that you write for a Mary Sue without fear of being flamed. This doesn't mean that you won't be flamed by reviewers, however. But it could be fun to indulge in the life style of the perfect :)
Be on the receiving end of a Sue. Write as a canon character being faced with a Sue or an original character who runs into a Sue.
Kill a Sue. Fun, fun, fun.

As usual, post your links in the comments below. Have fun!

Challenge Seven- The April Fools' Challenge!

2009-03-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

Here's a Cha, cha, cha...Challenge for you! (And please ignore the 05 on this pic...it's not mine, all rights to the creator of it...and it was done in '05).

This challenge may be either for original or fan fiction.
Must be at least 100 words.
Now, write a drabble, one-shot, or even a whole story if you'd like about either an April Fools' Day prank that went horribly wrong or went too right. The prank MUST have either just happened--like the day before or some other such close timing--or is happening as the story progresses.
Must use at least TWO of the following prompt words: clown, pie, flower, joke, dirty, monkey, squirt, jester, bells, jingle, dance, or stink.
The deadline is of course, April 1 at midnight. And please, no pranks about if you did it or not...we will know...haha.

Have fun!!!

Challenge 6--The Urban Legend Challenge

2009-03-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Patricia's class assignment, we bring you Challenge 6, The Urban Legend Challenge.

Writing Type: Original fiction only.

Due Date: Midnight, Monday, March 30th.

Length: 1000+ words.

The Challenge: Take an innocent urban legend and do with it what you will!!! Muhahaha. Anyhow, this challenge focuses on rewriting an urban legend into a fiction story. This means that the urban legend needs to be the FOCUS of the story, not simply mentioned in the context. If you don't understand the assignment, see Patricia's story "A Bridal Affair" http://www.fictionpress.com/s/2643314/1/A_Bridal_Affair

Need Help?: Try wikipedia or snopes.com (nothing but urban legends).

Have fun with this guys!

Reopening Now: Slinky's Friday the 13th Challenge

2009-03-09T17:19:00.000-07:00

That's right, folks! I'm offically reopening Slinky's challenge made back in January for Friday the 13th, in honor of yet another of those wonderful days coming up! That's right, this friday is another 13th, so you have until midnight that night to complete your challenge! See Ariyana's orginal post for rules and guidelines. Post your links to your posted works on this comment!

Happy writing and viva la quill!

Challenge 5--St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-04T17:14:00.000-08:00

With less than two weeks to St. Patrick's day, it's time to lay out your green t-shirts and draw inspiration from the wee folk! Let me present Challenge 5, The St. Patrick's Day challenge. Now this is going to be a very loose challenge. Your options are

Fiction or Poetry (including song)
Original Fiction or Fanfiction

Here's the challenge. By 12:01 am, March 18th (just so the deadline can fall on Hillary's birthday), you must have a work of at least 100 words written. Your restrictions are as follows:

Must involve St. Patrick's Day, if only in setting or mention.

Must include one of the following prompts: shamrock, irish music, snake(s), corned beef, leprechaun. Now, these prompts can either be the subject of the story/poem or simply a word used in the poem. These prompts were headings listed under the symbols and traditions of St. Patrick's Day article at history.com. Check out the site for inspiration, if you need it. ( http://www.history.com/content/stpatricksday/symbols-and-traditions )

Must include the word GREEN. Or you'll be pinched. The word can be in the title, text, or the letters hidden at the beginning/end of lines (in the case of poetry).

BONUS POINTS: Go to any participant who uses a BEER reference... (I don't know what you'll be doing with these points. Perhaps they'll come in use during the Quillies.)

Have fun! And don't forget to leave a link to your story or an update on your work in the comments section.

Guild (Sometimes) Weekly Newsletter 2

2009-03-01T23:01:00.000-08:00

February was Black History Month and March reflects on the female writer. In order to usher out the old and bring in the new, here's a quote by Alice Walker (The Color Purple):

Deliver me from writers who say the way they live doesn't matter. I'm not sure a bad person can write a good book, If art doesn't make us better, then what on earth is it for.

Over the past few weeks, Guild Members have been busy writing their fingers to the bones in order to finish challenges and expand their writing horizons. . .

Saturday Feb. 28th, Challenge Three (The Hate Challenge) closed its vengeful doors. Participants included Patricia, Ariyana, and Droo. Both Patricia and Ariyana posted both original fiction and fanfiction drabbles for this challenge. The floor is most definitely open to any members who would like to post challenges related to repressed feelings.

REMEMBER! Fanfiction writers, and other daringly experimental writers out there, Challenge Four (The Answer Challenge) still has another week left and will be closing for good on March 8th (Patricia's Birthday--be sure to send a card or an anonymous cookie). Keep in mind that this challenge is for short story fanfictions and has a specific list of guide lines. Patricia, Ariyana, and Kimmi have already responded to this challenge, but everyone is welcome to try their hand at a second short story, if the muses allow. Also, those not participating in this challenge may still want to take a look at the question portion of the guidelines for inspiration in their poetry and original fiction works.

Coming Up!

The St. Patrick's Day Challenge
The Mary Sue Challenge
The Reading Challenge
The Quillies (Fiction, Poetry, and Fanfiction Awards)
A new Guild website address
A new forum for the Guild at Fanfiction.net

More information on upcoming challenges and events to come.

Please keep in mind that the floor is open to any members who would like to set new challenges for the Guild. Also, all members are encouraged to participate in challenges and to review challenge responses, if at all possible.

Happy Writing! And Viva La Quill.

Guild Weekly Newsletter 1

2009-02-15T21:04:00.000-08:00

For sake of loading down your inboxes, here's our newsletter! Mainly, just some recaps.

First, about our challenges. Actually, our first challenge was Ariyana's Image Challenge. We're calling this Challenge Zero. Technically, it's still up for grabs. You can ask her for a deadline, if you'd like.

Next, our Challenge One was our Valentine's Day challege, which ended yesterday at Midnight. Congrats to myself, Ariyana, and Kimmi, who all put forth a response. Let's keep it up!

Following that, we had Challenge Two, which was our Friday the 13th Challenge. It ended at midnight Friday, obviously. Congrats to myself and Ariyana for completing it.

Currently, we have two challenges going. We have Challenge Three, which is our Hate Challenge. See the post for specific details. However, note that the deadline is Feb. 28 at midnight. Myself and Ariyana have already completed responsed, both of the fanfiction and original fiction variety. I look forward to seeing more from our memebers!

Our second current challenge is Challenge Four, dubbed the Answer Challenge. Once again, see post for details, but the deadline is March 8, by midnight. Currently, no one has responded.

Now, I'd like to officially open the floor to all our members to set challenges. I only ask that you keep them numbered so we know what challenge we're responding to.

Now, we currently have a facebook group, started by Kimmi. The link is here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=49890924581
We also have a fictionpress forum, whose link is here: http://www.fictionpress.com/forum/The_Guild_of_the_Fantastic_Quill/210/
Soon, we'll also have a fanfiction.net forum, started by yours truly, but I haven't been able to get around to it right at the moment.

Well, that's all for this week's newsletter. Welcome to a few new members we have on our facebook group, by the way! Happy Writing!

~Patricia, of the Guild Department of Backstory

Challenge Four

2009-02-13T19:33:00.000-08:00

This challenge was a joint effort of myself and Ariyana. This one is getting a bit more complicated. Here goes!

This challenge is fanfiction ONLY!!
Choose from ONE of the following fanfiction universes (here on referred to as 'verses). You MUST use the character adjoining the 'verse on this list as your main character.

'Verse List with Character:

Harry Potter--Hermione Granger

Twilight--Jacob

House M.D.-- Dr. James Wilson

Buffy the Vampire Slayer-- Tara

Angel the Series-- Doyle

Firefly-- Wash

Supernatural-- Sam Winchester

Darkwing Duck-- NegaGosalyn

Stargate SG1-- Cameron Mitchell

Stargate Atlantis-- Dr. Jennifer Keller

After you have chosen your 'verse with its character, then choose from one of the following questions.

--What do you have to live for?

--Does it hurt?

--Who do you miss the most?

--What is power?

In a drabble (100 words to about 1000) to a one-shot (1000 words and up), answer the question, using that character in any way you want. Just so long as you answer the question, it works.
Other characters may, of course, appear in the story, but the one given MUST be the focus of your story and to whom the answer of the question applies.
Deadline for getting Challenge Four (aka The Question Challenge) done is March 8, 2009 by midnight. My birthday!!!

Happy writing! Once again, Slink or I will recap all this challenge business in the Newsletter. Oh, and post what you're doing in the comments for this post, including the link once you're done.

Challenge Three

2009-02-13T19:26:00.000-08:00

With challenge two coming to a close and challenge one coming to a close at the end of tomorrow, I propose a new challenge. Here it is, Challenge Three or The Hate Challenge!

Since our valentine's challenge implied love, here's a challenge about hate.

This challenge can be original fiction or fan fiction.
It must be from 100 words to 400 words ONLY! Now, I know at fanfiction.net, they count the divider line thingy as words. Don't worry about that. If, at either site, this happens, just mention it when you post here.
You must use two prompt words from the following list: Freud, ego, genocide, figgy pudding, class, stupid, fire, passion, red, heat
Um...in efforts to keep the blog page here clean and nifty, when you decide what you're going to do, post it under the comments her. As well as a posting a link when you're done.
The deadline for this challenge is Feb. 28, 2009 by midnight.

Happy writing! We'll do a recap of the challenges past and the upcoming ones in the Guild Newsletter Post Sunday night.

Darkside Daughter

2009-02-13T08:28:00.000-08:00

Yes. That's right. That's a working title for my new project. Not going to mention much about it, just in case I fizzle. But I think its an intresting start. Bwahahahahahahahahahah.
Um...
Happy Friday the 13th! <3
किमी
Kimmi

Friday the Thirteenth Challenge Response

2009-02-12T22:11:00.000-08:00

Well, I had an original fiction one planned...and I'm still going to do it...it's just not going to be done in time. However, here's my fanfiction answer! It's set in Angelverse. Please review! It's called "Goddess Sized Mistake." Prompts used were "Frigg" and "Witch."

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4858818/1/GoddessSized_Mistake

A Call to Arms...Quills...

2009-02-12T22:02:00.000-08:00

Well, it's officially Friday the Thirteenth. A reminder...the challenge is due in by midnight! I'll do another post here in a moment to post a link to mine!

Now, the real reason for this post is thus: Over the years, the Guild has had varying degrees of success. Sadly, it's had less success than what it should. I call for a revamp. I say, we--and I mean, all Guildmembers--post challenges (with deadlines, rules, and the like) and set goals. For example, Ariyana and I have both set a goal for the end of this semester. She intends to have 50 fanfictions started before she graduates. I plan to have 100 before the end of this semester. I call on my fellow guildmembers to make similiar goals. Kimmi, you have two fanfics...hit a goal for ten by the end of the semester, why don't ya? This will get everyone's creative juices flowing! And Savvy, you don't have any, but...why don't you start an account and aim for like...five? And we can make similiar goals for our fictionpress accounts too.

Also, I'm officially calling back into existance the Guild Weekly Newsletters. Every Sunday night, either Ariyana or myself will post a weekly newsletter for the Guild. Let's get this group moving again! Let's encourage new members (*cough* Hillary *cough* Alisha *cough*). Let's everybody post challenges and actively compete in them! I know we can find a balance between schoolwork, work, and our personal lives if we just try.

So what do you say? The glove's been laid down. Who accepts?

On a final note, great going to those of us who've posted a challenge response. Let's keep it up!

Kimmi's V-Day

2009-02-12T21:31:00.000-08:00

Welllllll I've started on the V-Day challenge. A Harry Potter fanfic... link would be http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4858796/1/Valentine_Peeves
Sooooo let me know. More to come, I just had to upload the intro before Slink and Trish killed me. heheh
-Kimmi

Slinky's Response to the V-day Challenge

2009-02-09T22:11:00.000-08:00

Well, I completed my Valentine's Day challenge. It came in around 800 words. I was actually planning another story entirely, but this fell out. It's called "His Valentine," and it's after Deathly Hallows. Narcissa visits a grave on Valentine's Day. I know, I'm so depressing. That's what happens when you're single on Valentine's Day. R&R is much appreciated.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4852770/1/His_Valentine

Oh, and by the way, the pairing is only slight. It's Narcissa and Remus from the Potterverse.

Friday the 13th Challenge Response

2009-02-08T17:08:00.000-08:00

OK, so I have a response to my challenge up. This one is fanfiction for Buffy the Vampire Slayer called "Lucky Charm." It's a little moment between Xander and his ex-demon girlfriend Anya. Word prompts used were “knight,” “witch,” and “flood(ing).” And my luck topic is, well, obvious. Reviews would be great. Here's the link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4849885/1/Lucky_Charm

I also plan on trying to do an original fiction short story for this challenge, too, if I have time. I'll edit this blog and post that link as well, if I get around to it.

I can't wait to see if anyone else responds to this challenge :) I plan on doing the Valentine's Day Challenge as well. It should be fun.

Link to My Valentine's Day Challenge Fic

2009-02-07T21:33:00.000-08:00

It's House, M.D. Please, everyone, read and review!

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4847840/1/Exchanges_of_Love

My Response to the V-Day Challenge

2009-01-26T19:09:00.000-08:00

I'll be writing for House, M.D. The pairing will be various, both of the romantic and friendship varieties. I'll link to it when I write it!

Slinky's Friday the 13th Flash Fiction Challenge

2009-01-26T18:27:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone participates in the V-day challenge. If I remember correctly, last time we had a Valentine's FanFiction Challenge, several of us were very successful. Well, since the V-day challenge doesn't necessarily have to be very long, I've decided to take advantage of another striking day: Friday the 13th.

Due Date and Time: Midnight, Friday February 13, 2009

Challenge:

Your mission, if you choose to accept it (and you better), is to complete by midnight on the 13th a piece of flash fiction. Flash fiction, by my loose definition, is between 101 and 5000 words.
The story should involve in some way Friday the 13th lore (check at Wikipedia for more info), bad luck, or the actual date "Friday the 13th".
The story can be either original fiction or fanfiction.
It must contain at least two of these promp words: witch(es), devil, Norse mythology, Frigga, Judas, knights, black, Babel, flood, accident, or paraskavedekatriaphobia.

This challenge can take as little as twenty minutes to complete, but please be creative!

When you finish, post a comment with a link to the story and tell us what prompt words you decided to use.

I See Your Challenge to Make a Challenge...

2009-01-26T17:11:00.000-08:00

And raise you a Valentine's Day Fanfiction challenge! This is for me and all my guildmembers! ALL our guildmembers! Here it is:

Due Date and Time: Midnight, Saturday February 14, 2009

Limits (?): Minimum is a 100 word drabble or poem. If a poem, it MUST be a FANFICTION poem. The Maximum is...well, the sky's the limit!

Actual Challenge: Pick a fandom, any fandom. Harry Potter, Batman, Twilight, Castlevania...if it's on fanfiction.net, it's up for grabs. Then, pick a pairing (or, as we call it in fanfictionland, a "ship"). Any pairing you want. And then...write a valentine's story with that pairing and post it on fanfiction.net by the deadline. And you MUST either set your plot on or around Valentine's Day or mention, at least once, something to do with Valentine's Day lore. For example, cupid, flowers, candies in a heart-shaped box, etc.

Please post what ship and what fandom you'll be writing for here on the guild, that way if it is a fandom that one of us doesn't know anything about, we can ask before we review it.

I'm asking for maximum turn-out. Please, don't disappoint the Trishy. Every time a Trishy is disappointed, a cute, fluffy kitten dies.

I'll post my challenge response details here within a day or two. Happy fan-ficcing (or ficking...whichever way you think it should be spelled.)

Dude, Where's My Challenge?

2009-01-26T16:57:00.001-08:00

OK, this isn't an official Guild post. It's more of a reminder. The Guild will be hosting challenges in the future. I, myself, have a few in mind, but I'd also like to hear some challenge ideas from other people. So, here is your mission. Think of a writing challenge of some sort. Nothing too extreme (this isn't NaNoWriMo, people), but something simple that would be creative.

Perhaps you think it would be cool to get inspiration from a specific song? Or there's a plot idea you want to see explored further? That's what I thought.Got a challenge in mind? Now, think it through and post it. If you want, post another image challenge.

I'm dying for a good challenge. So go do it already. Post.

Winter Image Challenge

2008-12-29T11:42:00.001-08:00

The image is of a snow covered tire, the little red berries surrounding it. Take this image and think about it a moment. Write me something, a poem, a story, a stream of consciousness ramble. Describe it if you like. Or go somewhere else completely. . .

Pretend you've fallen and this is what you see. Is the tire part of a yard? In the middle of the woods? The remains of a winter evening car crash?

Are the specks of red berries or fairy eggs? Are they mystic berries or poison for the unfaithful spouse?

Or is this image about the snow for you? Is your story about the cold? Is your poem about the winter?

This the Guild's first image challenge. Others should feel free to post images and challenge their fellow writers. Or maybe tell us about an image that you wrote about. This is your mission: visual inspiration. Tell us about it. You don't have to post your work or the result of the inspiration. Just the "about".

Have fun, and happy holidays!

Inspiration in Weird News

2008-12-13T19:48:00.000-08:00

So, I have a little box on my yahoo homepage that is weird news feeds from the associated press and international news papers. It has things like stories that involve men who bite dogs and dogs who decide they want to drive their owner's minivans into doughnut shops.
Recently, however, I've discovered that this little box that I glance over every now and then often times has a lot of unusual stories that I can use.
It has become a source of inspiration.
It didn't hit me that I used my weird news feed for anything other than something to read to pass time until I found myself dragging an article about a burglar being trapped in a house that he was trying to rob by a ghost into my One Note (I love one note. Have I mentioned this?) and went over a couple of ideas that might make somewhat amusing short stories.
I just found it interesting that something I barely even look at unless the headline really grabs me turned out to be a major source of inspiration for me.
Hum, so I thought it was useful and interesting. *shrug* I think I might have some incentive to write this Christmas break. And half my work is done for me, haha.
-Kimmi

NaNoWriMo: Finish Line. Not Quite but Kinda.

2008-12-06T10:23:00.000-08:00

Can you believe November is over? I just barely crossed the 50k line myself. And that was without my actual novel reaching anything close to a conclusion. I still have work to do if it's going to be anything. This year wasn't a great year for writing but it did teach me a few things:

Head starts are awesome. I was sick for a week. I took tons of days off, but because of the head start I got on my word count goal (10k in three days), I was able to keep up. Also, I learned that I can write wayyyyy too many words in a weekend if I put my mind to it.

Journals are the bomb diggity. I kept a NaNo journal on my One Note. It really kept me informed of where I was lacking and when I was a powerhouse. I also realized that One Note is so convenient that I'll probably be using it for everything from a food journal to a poetry diary.

NaNoWriYe. So maybe it's not national, but I think I could benefit from a National Novel Writing Year. I'm at that age. I need to be working my baby. It's that time. I've got to keep my writing chiselled to rock hard syntax perfection and get my dialogue lookin' sexy. This is the year. I say that all the time. Every year. However, my life is about to hit an oil slick. I'm going to be tossed out on my butt careerwise. Also, I realized that several of my stories have not been worked on since '06. What happened to '07 and '08? Seriously. College. Anyhow, this year needs to be the year that something is done. Who's with me?

*silence*

Seriously, any takers?

*crickets*

Well, I'm still doing it. Here goes an entire year of setting goals and failing. I mean, overcoming obsticals. Yeah. That's what I meant. I plan on keeping up with my failures and my successes in a journal. What do you guys think? Is the writing journal worth the extra writing? This question goes out to those of you who know about my list obsession...

NaNoWriMo

2008-10-27T21:55:00.000-07:00

Yep, can't wait for it to start! I hope I've planned enough this go around to ya know... actually get more than one long breakfast scene finished.
I love my little calander, though. Maybe it'll help me get finished more quickly or summthin.
Writing party here we come! We must prepare and get nummy snacks and such... hummmmm....

Nanowrimo

2008-10-27T17:03:00.000-07:00

So yeah I'm doing it....

Savvs

NaNoWriMo

2008-10-24T11:55:00.001-07:00

NaNoWriMo--aka National Novel Writing Month--starts at Midnight, Oct. 31st and goes until Midnight, Nov. 30th. I know of at least three partcipants that frequent this blog: myself, Slinky--the offcial Nano Pimp--and Kimmi. We're currently trying to talk a few more people into participating with us.

So, the short of it: 30 days, 50,000 words. That's it. What do you win? The satisfaction of knowing you have completed a full novel--or maybe not, maybe you just did the beginning or beginning and middle of a novel in 50,000 words, it works--in 30 days. It's hectic. It's hell. And it's a hell of a good time.

Now, as for myself, I'm doing a rewrite of a novel that I hope to publish one day. A COMPLETE REWRITE! I've kept meaning to. Now, I have no reason not to.

I'll let the others post here and let them tell you about their works. My is entitled Dark Mistress and the Lady of Light. Well, happy Nanoing!

INSPIRATION

2008-10-16T16:36:00.001-07:00

I have found it...Eureka! In the most painful of ways too. My friend Zack professed his undying love for Hannah...his undying and painfully unrequited love I might add. Anyway four poems have come of it so far and I hope to write 3 more and then I will be at 100. Don't get me wrong I am not using his torture to simply get to 100, I am using his torture to fuel something beautiful! It is such a sad situation and just thought of it makes me sad. I will post them on here if anyone wants to read but isn't on Fictionpress.

Savvy

EEP!

2008-09-23T15:15:00.001-07:00

don't know if anyone ever looks at this anymore...but I totally messed it up trying to edit my layout! Help Ariyanna FIX IT PLEASE!!!!!

A Bottle of Wine and Black Hair Dye

2008-09-22T14:18:00.000-07:00

A Bottle of Wine and Black Hair Dye

I’ve seen the problems of this world

And to me has happened a few

But I’ll save this song for the ones that know

My woe is found in you

You take me for the ride of my life

With no direction where to go

The trail marked lightly down the map

The future no one can know

Laughing.

Singing.

Shouting.

Crying.

I gave my best

It was all I had

But it wasn't good enough for you

The problems of this world are far and wide

With my problems just a few

But I’ll solve mine with a bottle of wine

And black hair dye

So Baby, Here’s to you

Let me know what you think, it is already posted on Fictionpress. I dyed my hair to try to get out the red and it inspired the poem. Cause people think with my hair black it is like some kind of emo expression or something lol.

Savvy AKA LoneLilyintheGarden

Ah to be inspired...

2008-09-17T18:32:00.000-07:00

I was hoping to have a post talking about what inspires me to write poetry. Well the answer is definitely everything, however lately I have been particulary uninspired. I hate the feeling of searching my brain for inspiration. There is this huge wall, surround by a fog, surround by an electrical shock fence, and I can't get through. Everytime I attempt to write uninspired it feels as if I have just hit that wall at about 90 mph. In other words, I have writers block. Seems like the only way I can write is if I am in love or I hate everyone. Which isn't really good terms to write on. My poems are like my diary screaming out loud, they are the reason I live, the breath of my being, the definition of me, and my soul is completely poured into each and every drop of ink I spill onto the page. The pain of being without inspiration is an extreme downer, a downer without a fix. Nothing will give me the high I need to write. I don't mean a physical high, but an emotional high. I wanna be able to close my eyes and see dreams come true, visit other worlds, murder with my thought, and love and be loved unconditionally for who I am and who I can be. So I guess it just boils down I need something life altering to happen in my life or my fictionpress account may never make it to 100! So what inspires you, any idea how to free the writer form the block.

The Painfully Less Inspired Savvy

CrushCrushCrush on Fiction

2008-09-04T15:39:00.001-07:00

Fictional crushes. We think they're silly when they concern a game junky drooling over his favorite digital rendering of a big boobed elf, but there's more to fictional crushes than hormones. Now, let's get something straight, the fictional crushes I'm discussing do not involve Gary Sue the lovable emo warrior or your favorite Harlequin hunk. I'm concerned with the characters who stay with you, the ones who remain long after the spine is broken and the pages memorized. I'm talking personalities, realistic but unreal.

Books. Television. Movies. Comics. Games.
Full of people who aren't real. Sure, they may look like people you know, they may be played by famous actors. But the characters themselves are pure fiction. So how do you crush on a fictional someone? It's pretty easy: you get addicted.

Does prefered gender matter? Probably not. If the crush concerns a character outside of your orientation, you'd probably consider the character to simply be a favorite. But there's an attractive quality to personalities can't live without.

As a writer, I collect these personalities, store away my crushes for later, but not for real-life comparasions when I'm looking for a prospective date. No, fictional crushes stay in fiction, are torn apart and put back together again to become something new. To become another reader's fictional crush.

I can't wait to make a few of my own.

The Big Fish Assignment

2008-09-03T07:29:00.000-07:00

I doubt that I will blog very often on assignments given in class; however, I felt that this one could be beneficial to The Guild. In my Advanced Composition class, our first workshop assignment is based on Big Fish, the famed novel and Tim Burton movie. In the book/movie, an old man tells his son stories from his past, all of them outlandish and over the top but based in truth. The son doesn't appreciate his stories because he wants the facts about his father's life, partly because of his nature as a newspaper journalist. Our assignment is to find a newspaper article and use the facts of that article to create a very outlandish short story with strong narrative, elaborate description, and, of course, the human element (in Big Fish, it was a love story and a father/son story).

I've read other writing aids which mention drawing inspiration from the bare facts of newspaper articles, and I look forward to this assignment. My own story will involve a monkey interrupting commuters in Tokyo (that's the article's contribution). Other Guild members might be interesting in attempting this assignment on their own time. I think this experiement with fact and fantasy could be used in novels (obviously), short stories, and even poetry--for poetry, though, you would most likely be diving into the human emotions related to the facts of the stories.

As writers, we all draw material from real life, often our own life. But, if you're in a rut, this assignment could help you dig your way back to the surface.

New Frontiers...Sort Of

2008-08-27T22:49:00.000-07:00

So, I had a story idea long ago for something called Script Frenzy. However, I was not built for script writing. More power to those who are. But I loved the story. As a script, I was seeing it as a TV series. As a story, it was a novel/book.

But I got to thinking: What if I treated this story as "seasons" of a TV show? Each piece (a short story piece being at least 6 to 10 pages in length) would be an "episode" and the overall collection would be the "seasons."

I have never before had my blood pumping so excitedly for short story writing in my entire life! I can't wait to do little exercises to get to know my characters. I also can't wait to structure my "seasons" which will each contain about 26 episodes.

So, I felt creative. Any thoughts?

blogs,blogs, and more blogs...

2008-08-12T23:02:00.000-07:00

How in the world do you invite members?? I started a new blog...I created a profile so you can get to it that way but I want it shining on the dashboard of my dear friends!!(this means you)

Little HELP please!

Peace

Savvy

For Fear of Fantasy

2008-08-07T09:07:00.001-07:00

So I'm afraid of fantasy. Why would I be scared of this genre? Why not Horror or Suspense Thriller or Comedy or Young Adult or, dare I, Romance? Fantasy. Scares me because I know it best.

I know the worlds. I know what makes I High Fantasy high. I know it, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I'm a fan of the good. I'm afraid I write the ugly. The cliche, seen this a thousand times before, fictions riddles with borrowings from other authors and hollow of significance.

Sometimes when I attempt fantasy (and not in short doses but in novel-riffic ideas) I get lost in the story, the difficult details, the magic, government, military, journey. . .Which sucks because my favorite part of any book is the characters. I love humanity--the awkwardness, the struggle, the emotion--and I love characters in my favorite books as if they were real people. I cry for them, I squee for them, and, sometimes, I long for their company. However, characters never quite come to full light in my fantasy. They blend in with the stereotypical fantasy characters. I can classify them on sight and sort them into groups. I hate that.

So. I have a plan. And if you know me, you know my love for plans. Here it goes: next time I go to pen a story idea, I'm going to pause. I'm going to do what I really love first. I'm going to set the cast and write through them, know their ends and outs before I ever drench their world in magic and dreams. And to know a person is to know their life, their world. Knowing them and the decisions they've made (or not made) will paint my fantasy dream for me.

Summer heat sucks more than energy...

2008-08-05T13:41:00.000-07:00

It also seems to suck inspiration and general ability to think coherently from someone foolish enough to acknowledge that it is summer, and then innocently realizes they have free time to actually do something.
Ariyana and I were discussing this earlier on the phone. Why is it, when you have the time, the peace and quiet an empty home provides, the knowledge that you have absolutely NOTHING to do it is almost impossible to pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) and write something? Its almost as if as the temprerature rises outside the ability to be creative lowers.
And of course, when you're in full swing of college with a full 15 hour course load, 3 papers, 2 projects, and 54 hours of observations to complete within the next week and a half in seems as if nothing but ideas, characters, locations, situations, and conflicts fill your head, begging to be released.
What's the point of having a break when you are unable to do what you want?
Might as well cancel summer if that's the case.
राजकुमारी
Kimmi