AWKWARD ZOMBIE

Zing

Actually, I read it a while ago. It's good, you guys.

Alright, so I have two ideas for stories that I'd like to write, but I'm having trouble with deciding which one to do. I figure if anyone can help me it's the aficionados in the writing thread. So here are my ideas:

Reaper's Legacy: Sol
Description: Somewhat darker fantasy adventure style, takes some ideas from different mythologies and mixes them with my own ideas, three part series with the other two parts being Reaper's Legacy: Mortem, and Reaper's Legacy: Esse
Plot Summary: The long-standing shaky peace with the undead of Underland and the vampires of Misthaem is broken when the Reaper of Death, Mortuus, overthrows Sol as the Lord of the Underland and incites war between the two races. The Baron of Misthaem, Tarim Edanis, opposes the war and as such is exiled from Misthaem, forced to the Overland where the Humans reside. Meanwhile, Sol attempts to take back his place as Lord and engages Mortuus in a duel that he loses because of Mortuus' newly received power from Lordship. Defeated, Sol goes to the Overland to plan, and encounters Tarim. The two meet with displeasure, but grudgingly agree to work together to bring their respective kingdoms back to their proper state.

A Mage's Tale
Description: Epic fantasy adventure style in the vein of Lord of the Rings and other such series, heavily time-based and the past, present, and future all play a role in the events of the novel and have significant impacts on each other, major plot twist or two that changes the reader's perception of the entire adventure, two part series with the second part not being revealed because of implied spoilers
Plot Summary: The Archmage Laerik von Stormgarde finds himself being pulled through time by an unknown force and lands in the distant future, a nearly apocalyptic dark land where chaos reigns. He meets a young Ranger by the name of Alarik Wraynn, and his little sister Kyii, who shows potential as a healer. They are both part of the Reclamation Force who are trying to take back their beloved capital city; the one that Laerik knows as his home in the past. As he cannot return to his own time, he agrees to help Alarik and the Reclamation Force in getting their city back. However, if one thing is lost from a universe, something must replace it, and everything Laerik does in this chaos-ripped land not only affects his future, but also his past.

The first one is the first idea I actually liked, and the second one is the one that seems more (to me) innovative.

Okay man uh here's a tip

maybe don't plan to write a huge epic trilogy about political intrigue and way cool vampires and undead dudes and he does the thing with the other guy

I'm not trying to pick fault or anything like that but I mean

that's a whole lot of shit to be juggling

maybe just start writing and see what comes out instead of sitting back and thinking "oh man it's going to have this and this and this and it's going to be so cool"

ideas aren't stories

Pretty spot on, yeah. It's about the same as that one guy who goes "oh man I totally have the best idea for a video game you guys"

thinking about things is just thinking, that's it

Yeah, I kinda figured that idea would get flak. I have more backstory and mental plans for the second idea anyway, just wanted to get some input before I go off on a tangent.

I introduced my classmates to second person writing.

They seem to really love it.

See, again, backstory's not really what you should be going for

you don't want backstory, you just want story

the simpler the whole thing is, the easier it's going to be to write

I mean there's obviously nothing wrong with liking fantasy or Lord of The Rings of swords and sorcery Conan the Barbarian whatever but

simple man, simple

Tolkien was an English professor for twenty odd years before he squeezed out Lord of the Rings yeah

maybe start a bit smaller before you aim for that

@ Sol:

I believe in character driven stories - that is developing a character first, then building the situation he has to deal with later.

You can still follow some themes while you're developing him (or her) - for example (a new character completely off the top of my head):
__________

Alderan is a young knight who lives in a medieval-fantasy-world.

His primary task is to police the streets of the Jade Citadel and generally protect its inhabitants from harm.

He has an amulet which gives him the ability to talk to trees.
__________

In that short character summary you already have the context (medieval fantasy world) a setting (the Jade Citadel), the character's motivation (to police the streets and protect its inhabitants from harm) - and an object of intrigue (the amulet which gives him the ability to talk to trees).

Now things get interesting:

Using that simple character profile you can generate a number of scenarios that challenge his motivations (i.e. put the Jade Citadel and its inhabitants at risk), or perhaps his amulet and how it came into his possession could be the focus of a story - how does talking to trees help him in his daily task? Do the trees whisper what they have seen occurring late at night on the streets of the Jade Citadel - perhaps Alderan is more of a medieval 'crime fighter' or 'detective' who relies upon his leafy informants to help him piece together how murders have occurred (for example).

So basically I'm saying that if you start from a character-based standpoint you can have a lot more fun if you build the world around them, rather than if you start with a world and try to strongarm a character into it.

In developing your character you almost automatically create their world and their dilemmas.


Just a suggestion to maybe try writing from a different angle.

Well yeah that's what I mean. The characters in that one are more developed than the ones in the reaper story. I've been roleplaying Laerik for a while now, and Alarik was my first fleshed-out RP character. I've already created a mythos and somewhat of a story based around them but it was more to do with the characters themselves.

Well I think maybe - in keeping with Spoony's advice about keeping it simple - if you were to come to me with a simple three-line character summary of your lead character (like the example I gave) you would grab my attention more quickly than if you go off into a big chunky paragraph or essay telling me about all the fine details your story includes.

First and foremost I want to know about your character:

What makes them tick?
What makes them interesting or unique?
What do they stand to learn?
What do they stand to lose?

A simple character profile can be a really useful reference point for you as a writer - both in quickly explaining your story to others - as well as helping to keep your writings on track and true to your character and their motivations.

I found this somewhere. Thought it was cool:

Gather round while I sing you of Wernher von Braun
A man whose allegiance is ruled by expedience
Call him a Nazi, he won't even frown
"Ha, Nazi schmazi," says Wernher von Braun

Don't say that he's hypocritical
Say rather that he's apolitical
"Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down
That's not my department," says Wernher von Braun

Some have harsh words for this man of renown
But some think our attitude should be one of gratitude
Like the widows and cripples in old London town
Who owe their large pensions to Wernher von Braun

You too may be a big hero
Once you've learned to count backwards to zero
"In German oder English I know how to count down
Und I'm learning Chinese," says Wernher von Braun

Banterwick made his way through the forest quickly yet quietly. Low to the ground he could avoid the noisy, dry branches at the level of the human knee. He knew exactly where the human knee was. This goblin was hungry. He felt his need keenly.
It was not the hunger of a human, strength depleting and easily diverted. It was the hunger of an arcane creature, talon sharpening and skin leathering. The hungrier he became the faster he ran towards that which would sustain him. It was a hungry run. Getting hungrier. It began as a skittering, from tree to tree. The skirting motion left him hidden as did all his actions.
A few squirrels fell to his hunger as he moved about the forest. But his hunger was not sated by those paltry beings. This worried him as it had been a while since he’d been hungry enough to prey upon the rodents. It had been even longer since the fat rats had left him as hungry before as after the meal.
His running became hungrier. It was now a full run on twos. Both his twos. His two hand-like feet and his two scalpel-like hands. When flesh did not sate his hunger it fell to a rarer meat, a sweeter meat to fill the abyss beneath his skin. A meat of desire to quench his desire. This was his only option. His ferocity increasing with his hunger he sped through the forest towards desire.



A few miles south and upwind from Banterwick’s increasingly frantic search, a man named Frank kept a leisurely pace up a gravel path. This path led to a pond once popular in his childhood as a place to swim. Having claimed a small child about fifteen years ago a “no swimming” ordnance was implemented and the children of the little town lost one of the few pastimes available to them. Somebody had tossed a few goldfish in there a while back and now it was positively infested with them.
They were as big as Koi fish now with all that room to grow. Koi fish were basically expensive gold fish, carp really. They’ll eat anything and grow big enough to swallow a duck. They had one advantage over carp. They were shiny. Frank did not really appreciate a fish that got to swim in a pond that was off limits to himself and his nephews. That was an old tune to harp on, though.
Frank was not strolling down to the pond anyway. He was taking a left before he got there. Hidden from a distance but visible if you got close enough was an old well. The wishing kind of well that stories are written about. Frank had a pocket of change from the Subway and he always made use of the quarters at the wishing well. Quarters seemed appropriate where other coins seemed cheap. Gold coins or groats would be best but who had those anymore?
Frank walked though a few feet of tall grass before coming upon his well; it’s stone circle standing where its cover had long rotted away. The stones were worn but steadily resisting the march of time. They were smooth, gray and not a one identical. Frank palmed his first quarter and considered his options.
He tossed the first coin in and wished for an idea. He needed them to figure out what to get his nephews for their upcoming birthdays. cheddar was not really an issue but he was too old to figure out which videogames were popular. And he could not stand to hear his nephews groan upon opening a gift. It reminded him of getting a book on origami when he was ten.
The second quarter went to a wish for a few more years of hair. He was happily divorced from his second wife and not in the market for another, but he had his pride, a pride that was dissolving with the thinning of his hair. He did not wish the grey away. That was asking too much. He did not need to pretend he was thirty-five again.
The third quarter went towards world peace. It always seemed like a good idea and who was he to not exhaust every possible option. A handful of nickels and dimes went in too, to back up the wish and to ensure the walk back was quiet.
Frank left feeling satisfied. As he walked back towards town he knew he had guaranteed his luck for the rest of the day. Wishes had been made and he had walked close to a mile that day. He would not have to worry about that paunch for much longer.



Banterwick stopped a few yards of his goal. There were two confusingly similar scents. Both were sources of power. Both were wet. One of the sources was older, gentler than the other. It seemed too good to be true. So rarely was tribute paid to old ways on a regular basis by so many. He moved slowly towards the older source but hesitated when a strong wind pushed the second source’s scent to his nostrils.
The younger source had a different texture. It tasted of anger and loss. It attracted with power and repelled with the same. It would be a more satisfying meal, indeed, but it would be a fight. The ghost child had gripped reality with his nails and would not let go to die a second time. Banterwick turned towards the wishing well, away from the koi pond, erring on the side of caution.
He breathed deeply, scenting no human presence. A man had been there a few hours earlier and paid tribute. The meal was unguarded and oh, so succulent. With a hunter’s glance Banterwick took stock of his surroundings once more. The goblin leapt into the source and began to feast.
Here was a wish for world peace that alighted on the tongue like tonic. There was a wish for sexual fulfillment that was so very filling. Next to it laid a wish for revenge, heady, like ale. Even better were the mundane wishes which wasted so much power yet fed him all the same and were so numerous. He grew strong and sated on the desires left there. His claws clenched in ecstasy as dreams died within him.

The creature crawled out of the well hours later, bloated and considerably less agile. He would live for years on the wishes consumed in that place, hiding in the old places like trees and crawlspaces until his hunger returned. He would return at a later date to collect again if the well still stood and fools still gave tribute. And if not he would risk the pond spirit’s wrath to taste koi and ghost.

Did you write that or did you happen upon it while browsing around?

I found it on the xkcd forums