YCM Freelance Club

[Chaotic Angel]

BUMP.

[Jake the Sage]

Well I don't think anyone else is going to comment on your topic and without being able to change the topic we really can't post.

[Chaotic Angel]

Sure. Next topic: Creative Writing. If anyone's good with that, they can go ahead and discuss their work.

[mitchermitcher]

Well, might as well bring up a random prompt.

 

A magician apprentice falls in love with the princess. How would you develop a story based on that concept alone? I wanted to write a simple one-volume story following this, but I dunno how to develop it beyond that.

[Chaotic Angel]

Well, you could add more elements to it, like add a bit of fighting or elements of school life as well. In the end, it's your call how you create the story.

[mitchermitcher]

That's the thing, I'm curious to see how others would develop that on. Cuz I'm stuck and whatever ideas I put it I decide to pull it out later. Since I'm writing this for my own amusement, the quality doesn't matter that much in retrospect, but it still bothers me.

 

[spoiler=rant]One of my ideas was that the princess was plotting a rebellion against the monarchy for reasons, and MC gets caught up into that shit and all, but then I can't be arsed to write a good political story. Another one was that the next time MC meets the princess(Since it was love at first sight), he notices she wasn't the same person anymore, and finds out she's been possessed by a ghost or a goddess, who was stuck inside her body against her will due to something the princess did, and then have the two try to return the princess back to normal, but then I just felt it wasn't the kind of story I wanted to write so I threw out that idea too. All I'm insistent on is the idea of a lowly magician falling in love at first sight with a princess, and a magical, almost fairy-tale-like setting, but now I just can't get past that.[/spoiler]

[Jake the Sage]

Well, might as well bring up a random prompt.

 

A magician apprentice falls in love with the princess. How would you develop a story based on that concept alone? I wanted to write a simple one-volume story following this, but I dunno how to develop it beyond that.

 

Well first of all, age. What is the age of the two will determine what the "love" between them is; after all being in love as an adult is much more different than love as a teenager or even a kid. Secondly how would the kingdom react to someone, assuming here, who has no nobility being in love with the princess of the kingdom? Would they react harshly?

 

Basically ask yourself a bunch of questions and answer them to the best of your ability.

Who?

What?

When?

Where?

Why?

How?

 

All of those need to be asked and answered.

[Chaotic Angel]

It's simple to put up an idea, as I tried writing once or twice. Just never got the dedication to keep going. The hardest thing to do is put it into action. It's like putting up a role play, basically. So, having said that, ask yourself those five questions and then off you go, I guess.

[mitchermitcher]

Well first of all, age. What is the age of the two will determine what the "love" between them is; after all being in love as an adult is much more different than love as a teenager or even a kid. Secondly how would the kingdom react to someone, assuming here, who has no nobility being in love with the princess of the kingdom? Would they react harshly?

 

Basically ask yourself a bunch of questions and answer them to the best of your ability.

Who?

What?

When?

Where?

Why?

How?

 

All of those need to be asked and answered.

Actually, I've never even considered the age factor. Good thing you brought that up, it's a valid point I never thought about. That part about how the kingdom would react, again that's also something I've never thought about. Might even be the prompt I need actually. Thank you, both of you, I think I have an idea of what to do now.

 

I was skeptical I'd get anything good out of asking, but I'm glad to be proven wrong.

[Chaotic Angel]

Good to hear. Good luck on your project then.

Anymore problems we perhaps should tackle?

[Jake the Sage]

Anymore problems we perhaps should tackle?

 

Well outside of technical mumbo-jumbo I was thinking about how religion should play a part in "Legends of Orai". Everyone has to believe in something, even if you chose not to believe in anything, it's still a belief, so I got to thinking . . .

 

What number of religious ideals could there be in Orai?

[Chaotic Angel]

I don't know much about religion, but you could start off with two default religions we currently follow, like Christianity or Buddism, etc. for example. Then we can think of our own religion from there, what do you think?

[Merci]

Personally, I prefer to keep religion out of fantasy worlds since it just makes the roleplaying experience somewhat uncomfortable.

 

'Course, plenty of others tend to have things like that, though they're more pagan in nature. If not, then it'd probably be a variation of Christianity with 'God' swapped with a more physical figure, one which has a name. Like Aslan~

 

...So, creative Writing, huh? Well, as I mentioned a little while back, I'm working on a novel called "Diamond of Black".

 

[spoiler=Synopsis]

 

THIS LIFE IS HELL

She tried to die. She really did.

 

But now she's in a hospital with periodic pain, paralyzed limbs, and the scorn of the staff, all the while haunted by all the things from her old life.

There is only one way to escape this. A dream, a magical world called Einados. One which she could very well end up ruling.

She has to make a choice; either to stay in reality and continue her life as a neuropathically-crippled post-suicide attempt victim of abuse, or to die and reside in that other world forever.

The answer should be obvious, but...

 

Why did she have to meet him?

 

Why did she have to meet the one guy who could make her change her mind?

[/spoiler]

 

 

[spoiler=Info (taken from a thread I made not too long ago)]

 

 

 

At school, my class each had to do a 'personal project' which they would then present to the rest of high school in a sort of class expo. I decided that this was a good opportunity to make a novel and after three months of procrastination, the idea somehow came to me in the form of a story I ended up calling Diamond of Black. 
 
The expo was yesterday, and while I had to rush the story a lot to finish and print it in time, summarizing several chapters (like, two hundred pages worth) in the space of a few pages, and it lacked any editing whatsoever, the comments on it were really positive~ A lot seemed to like the story and concept, and some even asked for the price xD
 
The story's based partially on my own personal experience, partially on the experience of friends I've had, and partially on other stuff. I put down the genre as 'Supernatural Teenage Drama/Romance', and for those who are curious, this is the cover I made and used:

[spoiler=The Plot]
The plot revolves around a girl called Angelica Mallory (Angie for short). At the beginning, she attempts to suicide by throwing herself off a building, but fails and ends up breaking her right arm and both her legs. At the hospital, as she endures the consequences brought about by her attempt and the visits from her past, she meets a guy called Calan and begins to learn the values of life.
 
However, at the same time, in her dreams, she starts to go to an alternate dimension called Einados, a paradise kingdom where all kinds of cultures are mixed up, where magic and miracles are made possible, where 'death' and 'suffering' do not exist, and where each resident is a reflection of their true selves. Here she encounters different kinds of people, most notably a guy by the name of Nero who she finds drawn towards, and who always seems supportive of her. She also discovers that she is a princess candidate alongside an odd hipster girl named Kara (which is an anomaly, since candidates are meant to be reincarnations), and they start to learn how to use magic. For her, it's like paradise.
 
Her constant visits to Einados begin to show, making her draw more and more distant from reality.

But, there is a horrible and twisted nature to the Kingdom of Einados and its people. It has flaws, but do they outweigh the flaws of reality?

 

Eventually, she has to make a choice:

To either stay in this world and continue her life as a neuropathically-crippled post-suicide attempt victim of abuse,
Or to die and reside in the other world forever.

[/spoiler]

 

 

[spoiler=Sample from the first page]

Not so calmly, I find myself staring at the ground far below. The pavement, though I walk it every day, now looks harsh and unforgiving. Just the way I want it to be.

Cars, motorcycles, vehicles like that pass by every now and then, seeming so insignificant from up here, and none notice the random girl standing on the rooftop of an apartment complex. For all they know, I'm probably just another one of those crazy teens. Maybe I am.

I hear rough, heavy breathing, slowly getting faster. It dawns on me that it's probably my own, but it doesn't sound like the breath of a human being. My feet move, but then they flinch back on a reflex. Again.

How long have I been standing here?

I'm terrified. I'm absolutely terrified, but I know that I can't let myself think about it too much. A part of me doesn't want to do this, telling me that this is wrong, and that I should just go back to my room and forget any of this ever happened.

But then my mind flashes back to my life, and it all becomes clear:
DEATH CAN'T POSSIBLY BE WORSE

Roused by this thought, I push my legs forth against their will——and with a burst of energy, everything that is 'Angelica Mallory' plummets.

And everything turns dark.

 

[/spoiler]
 
 
I figure that when I'm done, I'll first print several more copies, one to donate to the school library and the rest to distribute to close friends and stuff. Then, once I've moved back to England, I'll go find a publisher for the work and see if anyone's interested.
 
If any of you want to read the unedited, rushed version I showed during the expo thing yesterday, you can just ask and I'll send you the PDF file - it's about 120 pages. Or you could just wait another few years and see if it turns up in a nearby bookstore.
 

[/spoiler]

 

The names are still subject to change, and I'll probably be changing around much of the plot, but the main concept remains the same - a teenage girl fails to commit suicide, ends up in a hospital, and ultimately has to choose between reality and a twisted paradise.

 

My biggest struggle right now is trying to find a way to make Calan both realistic and likable. I'd rather not fall into the romance literature trap wherein a character inexplicably starts to fall in love with another. Essentially, he's a plot device who's there to help anchor Angie to the real world, but he also needs a reason to make the effort to reach out towards such a difficult girl. Especially since he's not involved with Einados and has no idea it even exists towards the climax.

[BANZAI!!!!]

Sure why not.

 

Username: Zai

No. of Stars: 4

Which Forum(s)/Subject(s) do you specialize in?: Roleplaying mostly. I love writing and designing worlds/characters/gameplay systems/etc. Though executing those concepts is something i'm not quite so good at, I'd like to think I do a good job of contributing to the projects that I'm a part of. I show up in Custom Cards and TCG on occasion, usually to review cards though i do sometimes post some of my own. I also tend to plug fossilized mecha anime from 20+years ago in anime & manga.

 

[Chaotic Angel]

Sure, accepted. I'll update the first post tomorrow.

[GundamSage]

So guys, I wanted to go through an RP idea with my fellow freelancers. An Elder Scrolls RP, based in a land known as Stelouten. It is on a completely different continent, complete with it's set of five gods:

1. Orion, God of the Stars.
2. Javelin, God of the Berserk.
3. Ellidious, Goddess of Will.
4. Nylero, Goddess of the Night.
5. Ulyn, God of Magic

[Spoiler= Some lore to wet the lips]

A new empire has risen in the west, known as the Qelar. They consisted of Redguards, Wood Elves, and Bretons. They entered Skyrim in peace, looking for the povert, the homeless, and the discriminiated in hopes of new citizens of the newly founded nation Stelouten. Ulfric and his Stormcloaks won the great war, and has since been torturing those of Imperial descent, as well as continuing to discriminate towards the elven people that reside in Skyrim's cities. The Qelar offer homes, jobs, and a new life to all who board their ships at noon exactly one month after their visit, regardless of race or religious beliefs. It sounds like a paradise for those who desired it. That wonderful day, all races known to man boarded those ships. Among those ships were the Dark Brotherhood and Thieves of the Guild, ready to plant the seeds of deception in the blossoming nation of Stelouten.[/spoiler]

 

I wanna expand on this, but let me know what you guys think.

[Jake the Sage]

Personally, I prefer to keep religion out of fantasy worlds since it just makes the roleplaying experience somewhat uncomfortable.

 

'Course, plenty of others tend to have things like that, though they're more pagan in nature. If not, then it'd probably be a variation of Christianity with 'God' swapped with a more physical figure, one which has a name. Like Aslan~

 

Well I was thinking of things like pantheons and what not. You could have a singular God idealism, but that would be rare since this is almost certainly set in a fantasy setting.

 

 

So guys, I wanted to go through an RP idea with my fellow freelancers. An Elder Scrolls RP, based in a land known as Stelouten. It is on a completely different continent, complete with it's set of five gods.

 

I don't know enough about the Elder Scrolls to have any important additions to this role play.

[Chaotic Angel]

Well, judging from what I see, there's nothing in particular I wanna add on either. In any case, good luck with your projects.

Anymore problems to tackle?

[Chaotic Angel]

BUMP.

Alright, it's a free topic next. Feel free to discuss anything you want until the next subject.