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Post by James on Sept 22, 2015 16:29:51 GMT -5
A shadow weaved its way through the forest. It moved with such speed between trees and over fallen branches that there was just the barest suggestion of its presence. Birds didn’t give flight and foxes didn’t scuttle away, unaware of what had passed them by. The shadow carried on. All black and many footed, it didn’t take the figure of a man on horseback until the gallop had slowed to a canter, the end of the forest in reach.
“Easy there,” the rider said, patting his palm against the horse’s neck. The animal drew up short and the cloaked man slowly pulled himself from his saddle. In front of them was an expansive meadow, green grass as far as the eye could see. Emptiness was everywhere. With the routine of a man who had done it a hundred times before, the rider tethered his horse to the last tree of the forest, the rope slack so as to allow the animal plenty of room to graze.
Pulling back his cloak, the man began his trek across the field. Long ago, before the Glorious Schism or the Great Folly, he was a young man with red hair and a smooth face. Now his skin was lined with deep canyons and his hair peppered with grey. Once, centuries earlier, he was one of the Three Kings, ancient rulers of the land. Now, he was but a myth, a faint whisper on the wind. All grand titles and lordships slipped from his frame until he was just an Admin, one of four. It was better that way.
James the Red stood within the middle of the field, arms outstretched, his cloak swaying gently in the breeze. The meadow was not empty. An ancient power rested just out of sight: Nanomor, the Writer’s Keep. While once it had housed writers eager to practice its craft, it had long since been banished from the world of men. The Admins had not intended for it to be left dormant for so long. Concentrating on the wind and the sun on his face, drawing in the last vestiges of administrative magic, James the Red stepped within the hidden castle.
The front gate was dark and dank, candles and lamps long since snuffed out from existence. Corridors and rooms were hidden in the blackness beyond, and for just a moment, James the Red could have forgotten they even existed. But with a snap of his finger, a rustle in the air, Nanomor was once more bathed in the light of a million flames. What seemed cold and empty was now bathed in warmth, as inviting as a hot mug of tea after a cold day’s work.
The Admin moved slowly through the hallways, pausing at the occasional room, glancing at the few remaining signs of previous habitations. Wolves prowled in the dark, and James the Red greeted them as friends. Phantoms gathered in the shadow and he banished them from view. From certain windows, the Admin could catch sight of the Westward Star, and in other rooms there were whispers of vampires and spaceships, werewolves and priests. All ghosts, the slightest hint of a castle that once housed so many stories.
Blowing away the cobwebs, James the Red settled himself down in the centre of the library. Around him were the runes once drawn when Nanomor was banished from the world. With his fingers, the Admin began to wipe them from existence. The wax came away as if it had not set in a hundred years. The magic within them broke, shattered, drifting away like the fragment of a dream. The castle stirred, brick grinding against brick, the building stretching after its great slumber.
The birds in the forest took flight. The foxes scuttled away to the shadows of the tree. A castle had appeared where once there was nothing. Tall, towers stretching up to claim the sky, the vast keep spread out like a city across the empty meadow. Nanomor, the Writer’s Keep, had returned to the world of the living.
James the Red climbed to his feet, a smile on his lips. He gathered ink and parchment and settled down at a nearby table, ready to write. He hoped others would come.
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Post by James on Sept 23, 2015 3:31:02 GMT -5
So, as we've discussed a few times this year, Pete and I are hoping a fair few people have a crack at NaNo this year. Apparently Sam and Joe are two seasoned veterans, so at the very least it looks like we'll have four people having a crack at it. I'd love to see more.
For those of you who somehow don't know what NaNoWriMo is (and I feel like that's nobody), it's the challenge of writing a 50,000 word novel in a month. AWR has always had a slightly different slant (because a novel isn't usually 50,000 words anyway), and we hope people just aim for 50,000 words of fiction writing. If you want to write an anthology of short stories, go for it.
Heck, if you want to set yourself a smaller target of 20,000 or 30,000 words, I'm all for it.
So who's up for giving it a go?
Participants:
James
Zovo
Kaez
Allya
Ad
Inkdrinker
Sawyer
Ref (?)
Jordoom
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Post by ASGetty ((Zovo)) on Sept 23, 2015 5:14:45 GMT -5
I'm in, even if it's just 50,000 words of outlining and notes.
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Post by Kaez on Sept 23, 2015 9:14:03 GMT -5
Excellent intro post, James. Especially enjoyed the little references in there.
As I've said before, I'm game, and have even begun the initial steps of outlining/coordinating myself to make it happen.
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Allya
Senior Scribe
My Little Monster!
Posts: 2,271
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Post by Allya on Sept 24, 2015 11:19:27 GMT -5
I'm writing a novel anyway so I might as well be in.
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Inkdrinker
Scribe
Sepulcher: a stage enlived by ghosts.
Posts: 908
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Post by Inkdrinker on Sept 24, 2015 17:55:56 GMT -5
I've never written anything properly long-form before. I might try.
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Post by James on Sept 24, 2015 17:58:59 GMT -5
I've never written anything properly long-form before. I might try. There is no try. Only do. |
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Post by The Counter Cultist(Sawyer) on Sept 24, 2015 18:44:29 GMT -5
I'm in.
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Post by James on Sept 24, 2015 18:50:10 GMT -5
We're already up to 7 people which is way better than I was expecting.
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Post by Kaez on Sept 24, 2015 21:25:29 GMT -5
Anyone else started planning/outlining at all? Anyone -not- know what their story's going to be about yet? Anyone not planning on outlining/planning at all?
Talk to me, guys. Whatcha thinkin 'bout?
EDIT: To the other thread!
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Post by James on Sept 24, 2015 21:27:36 GMT -5
Anyone else started planning/outlining at all? Anyone -not- know what their story's going to be about yet? Anyone not planning on outlining/planning at all? Talk to me, guys. Whatcha thinkin 'bout? *points to Planning & Outlining thread* |
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Post by Kaez on Sept 24, 2015 21:31:50 GMT -5
Anyone else started planning/outlining at all? Anyone -not- know what their story's going to be about yet? Anyone not planning on outlining/planning at all? Talk to me, guys. Whatcha thinkin 'bout? *points to Planning & Outlining thread* We have a whole little NaNo board?! Oh man. I hope AWR really gets in on NaNo this year. That'd be cool. |
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Post by Jenny (Reffy) on Sept 25, 2015 5:06:03 GMT -5
Mebbe ... Possibly ... Could help with LARP withdrawal.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2015 12:22:31 GMT -5
I'll give 'er a go.
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Hwem
Junior Scribe
Glad to be here.
Posts: 50 
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Post by Hwem on Oct 16, 2015 5:05:45 GMT -5
<Raises hand> I'm never too shy to admit to being the most clueless in the room. What is "NaNoWriMo"?
I have not been here for some time now. Well, not entirely true. I entered a contest earlier this year that had a pretty disappointing turn out, was just me and Sekot. Then to add insult, nobody except the contest's judge even read our entries. I didn't bother coming back because it seemed that the site was dying off. Then I read the preface to this post and it seems that I was.. am.. right.
That being said: I logged on tonight before bed to look about. I desperately need some motivation to put my fingers back on the keyboard. If I understand all this correctly, the assignment is to write something.. anything.. just do it. Preferably something like a complete story of about 50,000 words.
But then what, beyond stimulating our own creative egos, are we going to do with them? Is the plan to post them here? Will we be encouraging each other to honestly critique each others' work? This sounds as if it has great potential for fun, however, is it realistic to think that we, the AWR community, are going to actually read each others' 50,000 word novels when, as I recall, we have a hard time just reading and responding to 2,000 word short stories?
Hwem
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