Day Thirty-Write a Story Based on Five of the Challenges

YES!!!!!! I did it! Albeit, I'm a little disappointed in the story I wrote. It is okay, I mean it isn't bad, at least not really bad. The really sad part though is that I had come up with some rockin' ideas...unfortunately they were all too complex for a short story. Novella length maybe, if I work on keeping things short, but not a short story. At first I thought all of them would work, and it was only a matter of picking the right one. So I wrote short outlines of all of them, thinking that would help me decide. It did, but only because once I had written down the outline I realized the ideas were far too complex. The only idea I could come up with that was short enough, I did not really like. Ah well, the whole point to this challenge was to be inspired to write something larger than a paragraph, and I did write a short story, and now I have a ton more ideas to work with.

Oh, and another mark of celebration, this just happens to be my one-hundredth post. Imagine that! Timely isn't.

Pretty exciting huh? And I managed to do it in under a year. It will be a year in about eleven days, but still, under a year. Honestly, with how little I post I would have thought it would take a couple years at least.

And, another thing to celebrate, (yes another thing!) is I finished editing The Drosselmeyer Legacy. If knows an editor I would be more than willing to let them take a stab at it, I would even make coffee dates with them and we could edit it together. One my own though, I think it is as good as it is going to get. I could go through it yet again, but I honestly don't think I would change it that much. Maybe a few sentences here and there to make the language flow better, but not more than that.

I guess now is when I would usually post the challenge. I don't think I am going to though. Like I said, I am not really fond of what I wrote, but not doing the last challenge? That does seem a bit of a cope out, doesn't it? It is almost even worse than skipping the first challenge. So I will do something a little differently, basically I will be cheating. Instead I will write the ideas for the novels this challenge has inspired. I'll give a synopsis and write down the challenges that were going to be in them. I guess, since it is the short story I wrote for the challenge, give a synopsis of the story I don't like.

Binder's Keep-Alexa finds a mysterious book shop and meets mysterious people inside of it. Day three, Day five, Day Nineteen, Day Twenty-Two, Day Twenty-Five.

Now on to some of the ideas I actually liked.

God Syndrom-Alexa Quillan is a wanna-be writer. Sure, she does write, and she is even published, but her books sell so little, she struggles to make more that 25,000 a year off of it. She's only able to actually live in a house because of part time work at a local coffee shop. She likes to view herself as an undiscovered genius. That the books she writes are actually really good, it's just the public is so shallow they can't swallow her realistic writing style. One un uneventful day though, one of the characters from her first novel comes back and hunts her...literally. Day Five, Day Nine, Day Twenty, Day Twenty-Three, Day Twenty-Nine

Relic (working title really)-In the future, it is a requirement for every single person to collect something. Whether it be a brand of toy, cars, baseball cards, or even gum wrappers. Nothing is considered trash, and everything is considered a treasure. This may seem an odd costume, but there is a reason behind this odd tradition. Much culture and information was lost when the computer system failed, and the only way the information was conserved was through the use of people who remember. Quite a number of these people, were collectors. Collectors studied in depth what they collected, they understood the history behind it, preserving that piece of history. Day Ten, Day Twenty-Five, Day Twenty-Seven. (I would have added more challenges if I had actually written the story)

The Story Doctor-Nobody really knows who the story doctor is, all they know is that sometimes stories break, characters do something they aren't supposed to do, or something happens incorrectly, and somehow the story doctor knows to fix it.

I didn't actually come up with any challenges for this one, after writing down the idea, I already knew I couldn't fit it into a short story.

Day Twenty-Nine~Write a Conversation

Sam: So...
Bill: So what?
Sam: I wasn't sure how else to start.
Bill: Start what, exactly?
Sam: This conversation.
Bill: Oh.
(Pause)
Sam: So...
Bill: Not that again.
Sam: Then do a better job carrying you end of the conversation.
Bill: There was never a conversation to begin with. All you said was "so."
Sam: Listen, we need to say something interesting enough to write about.
Bill: Why?
Sam: Our friend is doing this thirty day challenge thing on her blog and was stuck for day twenty-nine. So she asked that I would go talk to you and say something interesting enough to put on her blog.
Bill: Sorry to be such a disappointment, but I am uninteresting by nature.
Sam: I'm sure if we talk long enough we'll get something. Look over there. She's scribbling like mad in that note book of hers.
Bill: Do I care?
Sam: No, but I do.
Bill:This conversation should have ended at, "so."
Sam: Please, just a little while longer.
Bill: Fine. Say something that is witty and will carry us into an interesting conversation.
Sam: Uuuuuuuu...
Bill: Fascinating
Sam: Oh, she's putting her notebook away. Guess we got too tiresome.
Bill: How disappointing.
Sam: Is she crying?
Bill: Yes, or laughing, but crying is more likely.
Sam: I wonder what she'll use for that blog post now.
Bill: Who knows.

Day Twenty-Eight~Write a Movie Review

We are certainly drawing near to the end! I was supposed to finish last weak, that had been the plan. Then life got busy, and I got lazy. Not a good combination. After the 30 day challenge is done, I will try to post about randomness from my life more. I'm sure you all care greatly.

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In an adaptation of the traditional fairytale, Rapunzel, Disney's "Tangled," gets everyone tied up in knots. A princess who has magical hair which can heal is stolen form birth, and locked away in a tall tower in the middle of the woods by the evil witch, Mother Gothel. Repunzle, not knowing who she really is, spends the next eighteen under the care of Mother Gothel. Every year on her birth day, glowing lights would appear in the sky. This, more than anything else, puts a feeling of longing for the outside world.

Flynn Rider, the most handsome and daring-not to mention most wanted-thief in the kingdom. One day, while running away from several guards after stealing the crown of the lost princess, Flynn stumbled upon the same tower Rapunzel has been imprisoned in. When he scaled the tower wall, he planed on hiding there. Rapunzel, on the other hand, had other ideas. Rapunzel convinces Flynn to take her to the glowing lights after taking his crown hostage. The due set out on an amazing adventure, soon finding themselves "tangled" in a dangerous and exciting plot.

After several "okay" movies from the Disney animation studios, Tangled was a breath of fresh air. Disney animation studios had its hay day in the 90's, but ever since then they haven't made anything that I would consider a "classic. True, Pixar was dealing out at least one really good movie a year, and while I thoroughly enjoy them, they simply weren't what I would call quintessential Disney. The last movie from Disney animation studios that I really enjoyed was The Emperor's New Groove from 2000. And even that didn't have the quintessential Disney feeling for me. The last movie that did that was Mulan in 1998.

But Tangled, man Tangled brought it all back. The beautiful animation, the heart felt story, the subtle comedy that can appeal to children and adults alike, the singing, (I LOVE the singing,) it was all there. Tangled did what The Princess and the Frog tried to do. Bring back the Disney fairy tales. While I am somewhat sad to see the 2D animation fade out, I am glad Disney has proven it can still capture that fairytale like feeling it did with the movies from the 90's, but with this new age of animation.

Day Twenty-Seven~Write a Character Sketch

Luke was his name. Medium built, height, and looks. He wasn't ugly, but he wasn't exactly what would be considered handsome. What almost might have been an endearing, boyish face was ruined by a large roman nose and slits for eyes. He wore his dark blond hair in an inch long crop.

He had one of those personalities which were likable, but not companionable. He had too many acquaintances to count, but not many friends. He was friendly, energetic if even keel, and a good talker. He was very clever, and could enter any conversations sounding like he knew what he was talking about, but lacked the long term patients and deep intelligence that made for someone who did know what they were talking about. It was like this for him with almost everything though. He did not have much an interest in anything. He had no talents or particular hobbies. He was lazy and undisciplined. Whether he lacked interest in anything because he was lazy, or he was lazy because he had no passion to drive him is hard to say.

He did not have a large selection of clothing, but what he had was always nice. By looking confident and in control, through the use of a well-put-together wardrobe, he could make others believe his life was more than a disorganized mess. It was a lovely charade, and had nearly everyone convinced he had a productive and efficient life.

He always sense a lack inside himself though, and sought after the next new thrill or must have product or exciting place. That is, as long as it did not take too much work. Nothing ever did the trick though. He stumbled through life, basically friendly and happy, but he lacked real depth of character and contentment, which is a more sturdy form of joy.

His name was Luke.

Day Twenty-Six~Write a Poem

Little girl in bed at night,

Feels scared, feels fright.

Mother by her bed she stands,

Gives to little girl her hand.

Mother kissed her, bending low,

Began to sing so soft and slow.

If you just take my hand,

I'll take you 'cross the land.

Up so high,

Like birds in the sky.

We'll dance on the clouds,

Spin round and round.

Then laugh so hard we cry.

So even if you're all along,

And very far away from home.

I promise that you'll be fine,

Only remember this lullaby.

Little girl has grown up fast.

Her bad dream days are in the past.

She's going away to college now.

Mother hugs her, kisses her brow.

Mother tells girl of a promise to keep.

Wither awake or wither asleep.

You are going far from home,

And if you ever feel alone,

You know that you'll be fine.

Please just remember the lullaby.

Little girl continued her life,

Fought through the pain and the strife.

Sometimes the only reason she got by,

Was because she remember the lullaby.

Little girl married, kids of her own,

Goes to see Mother at the old folks home.

Holding doll she thinks little girl,

Mother sit wrapped in a blanket curled.

Little girl gets down on her knees.

Tears in her eyes, she begins to sing.

If you just take my hand,

I'll take you 'cross the land,

Up so high,

Like birds in the sky.

We'll dance on the clouds,

Spin round and round.

Then laugh so hard we cry.

So even if you're all alone,

And all your memories had flown,

I promise that you'll be fine,

If you only remember the lullaby.

Day Twenty-Five~Write a Descriptive Paragraph

This is my second descriptive paragraph for this challenge, and I thought I would do it a bit differently this time. Instead of describing something that is tangible and real, I would describe something I made up. I think it just as important for authors (especially fantasy authors like myself) to be able to describe from their imagination as well as what is around them.

That said, what I have for you today is a little odd. When I sat down to write today's challenge, a strange machine came to mind. I decided I needed to follow my creative urge, (that is what I call random ideas that pop into my head,) and write what came to me. Keep that in mind, because it is a little strange, and really random, plus it does not make any since unless you know about the Steam Punk world I have been creating. Yes, this machine goes with a world I've created. I know there are probably better things I could do with my life than make up worlds, but hey, all the most popular fantasy authors spend hours perfecting imaginary worlds.

Oh, and it is really long, so I won't be too offended if you stop reading half way through.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The old machine started up with a screech of metal to metal. The old, rusted parts did not take kindly to being woken up. Red flakes fell from the machine like a cold, blood-colored snow.

The machine basically looked like a large metal box form the back, about five feet tall, three feet wide, and two feet deep. It was made of huge sheets of metal held together by large bolts. The sides and the front were a different story. About two feet up the box, the front jutted out, offering something that resembled a desk. On the desk was a raised key board, titled at a slight angel. The character of the round, metal keys had faded away from either rust or being pressed hundreds of times by several people. Above the desk, the rest of the front was covered by a large screen.

The screen was divided into three panels. The one in he middle was about a foot and a half long. The two on either side shared the other foot and a half equally.

Also on the desk was a small box bolted to the desk top. A hanged lid topped it, that when lifted, revealed a grimy pane of glass. Underneath the glass was a camera which faced upward.

A second camera hung off the desk. Its large bulb had shattered, and a thick copper coated wire traveled from its side and back to the machine.

The side of the machine had their own stories. Back had a thin opening where a conveyable belt stuck out. When something was placed on the conveyable belt, it would disappear into the box, and come out the other end. One side differed in the fact that it had a drawer which took up the whole side. Old paper rested in the drawer, yellow and falling apart with age. The other side instead ha d a small table attacked by hinges. Right now, it hung down, barely noticeable, but when pulled up had support legs which clicked into slots on the box. The table had a three inch tall edge.

The machine sat, metal parts squealing, rust flaking off. It could only be seen by the dim light which filtered through the crack between the boards. The musty smell of old dust and rooting wood filled the cramped space.

Little by little, the machine stopped its screeching and turned to gentle and rhythmic clicking and whirring.

Day Twenty-Three~Write a Story Outline

I wasn't sure if I should come up with an original outline or not. In the end I decided on not. This challenge was all about writing down ideas in a cohesive format. If I came up with an original story for my outline, I would want to use that story for day thirty. Well, actually, this is a lame excuse. I mostly just don't want to come up with two stories. I will be using my story, The Duel.

~*~*~*~*~*~

In a dark clearing, Marcel and Eustace arrive. Marcel asks Eustace if he wants to proceed. Cadmus arrives. Has a scrape on his cheek. Marcel tries to talk Eustace out of dueling. Eustace takes the box of dueling pistols from Marcel by force. Eustace takes the pistols to Cadmus. While they both load their pistols, Cadmus tries to persuade Eustace to shoot Marcel. Eustace doesn't. Eustace and Cadmus stand back to back and begin stepping away from each other. Cadmus is counting to ten. Eustace turns around and shoots Cadmus at eight even though he was supposed to wait till ten. Eustace goes over to Cadmus and takes the un-shot pistol from his hand. Marcel is disgusted with Eustace and Marcel tries to convince Eustace to repent what he did. Eustace does not, feels he did nothing wrong. Marcel and Eustace get into a fight. Marcel scrapes Eustace's let cheek, Eustace shoots Marcel, killing him.

Latter than night when Eustace gets home, he decides to read a book. He lights a candle next to his reading chair which is next to a window. He leaves the room to get the book. Comes back. He thinks he sees Cadmus in his chair. Cadmus is actually looking though the window. When Eustace gets close to the window he sees Cadmus is not there, but that is it his own reflections.

~*~*~*~*~*~

This is more detailed than I would do in real life. Much more so. Short stories are, well...short. I don't really need a written outline to keep track of the plot. It is only for my novels I write down plots. And when I do write outlines, they are not as detailed as what you saw above. In reality, if I had written a plot outline for "The Duel", it would probably would have looked more like this;

Eustace and Cadmus duel. Eustace cheats, then kills Marcel. Later when Eustace goes home, he thinks he sees Cadmus's face in a window but it is his own reflection.

Day Twenty -Two~Post About a Favorite Author

Yea, two days in a row, and I remembered put the picture up. I don't you how anyone else feels about it, but I rather like it, so I am rather happy.

One of my all time favorite authors is Cornelia Funke. Every book she has ever written I absolutely love. A German author who writes fantasy, Cornelia has done worlds for the genre she writes in. Her books have caught the attention of millions. Fantasy is typically only read by kids and weirds adults, but Mrs. Funke has drawn hundreds of adult into fantasy with her fascination stories.

While several say, though she is a wonderful writer, her endings are too realistic for fantasy. In that, they do not end on a perfectly happy, fairytale ending. Rather they end bitter sweet. This does nothing but attract me more to them. I dislike sad endings and perfectly happy endings are not my favorite either, but I love a good bitter sweet ending.

Day Twenty-One~Write an Album Review

I really need to stop this. It is going to take me the rest of the spring and all of the summer if I keep forgetting to post the challenges. I have them all done except for the last one, Day Thirty, and I am halfway through that one. I keep thinking to myself, it won't take very long to do it, so I'll just do it later. Grrr.

And yes, before you all start yelling at me, it is an album of Christmas music. I was going through my CD's for today's challenge until I hit one I wanted to write about. I got to this album and thought, "Oh great, I'll do this one, I love this one." Unfortunately, it did not occur to me that being a Christmas album, it would be a little weird to post the review in the middle of the spring. I think part of the problem is there are a lot of songs on the album that do not necessary relate to Christmas, so I still have quite a number of the songs on my MP3 player. What is done is done though, and cannot be undone. I guess it could be redone with an album that was not Christmas themed. But alas, I did not feel like it.

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"The Christmas Box" album by Paul Cardell is a collection songs he composed to go along with Richard Paul Even's book by the same title. The album reflects the quiet and poignant nature of the book. Holding onto that soft and bitter-sweet feeling.

The songs on this album are all distinctly Paul Cardell. With rhythmic and moving pieces, yet offering engaging melodies and sound. Six out of the seventeen songs are some of the most loved Christmas carols arranged by Paul Cardell to reflect his style. The rest o the songs are his original compositions. This album presents a nice alternative to most Christmas music. Not having any words to it, it is easier to reflect on the emotions of the melodies.

All in all, this album features simple yet moving pieces that will have you loose yourself to a more peaceful "Christmas spirit" but is still great to listen to year round.