Young Writers Society

Can we get this sticky'd in the fantasy section? would be nice like Zeige said to let every who thinks of fantesy writting to have a look at some ideas that have already been exhausted.

would be a good refrence aswell for anyone to check there ideas against.

dan x

This is bad...

I got at least 7.

Ummmmmmmmmm

Should I even survive any more?

Roxy

Wait, none of the above apply for what I have in Oracle's Possession, that is good, right?

*burries head in shame*

65, 50, and 3 got me. I'm especially morose about the stew one. Sage and Shafter are never going to let me hear the end of it!!! Oh well, after I fix the stew, I'll have only two. And no one seemed particuarlly upset about Karoon throwing fireballs! It's what he does! *dies*

I shouldnt worry gyrfalcon - the exam has its faults. Maybe YWS should ammend the exam?

and add rules of Fantasy so we can have the Commandments of Writing Fantasy or something...

This should be made Sticky, lol =)

quote:
and add rules of Fantasy so we can have the Commandments of Writing Fantasy or something...

I agree... Though what would it mean for me?..

Yes I agree!

I quoted you, Phorcys ^_^

-elein

I know, I was trying to be funny by agreeing with myself...I failed

Er.......I got three, is that bad? Only the 'is you book the first in a planned trilogy' (what's wrong with trilogies?), the one about having an unclear prologue (what's wrong with prologues?), and the one about the hay baler. I mean, who knows when that was invented, and what does it have to do with writing fantasy?

I think Christopher Paolini should have read this test before writing Eragon. Hehe.

The thing about hay bales is to do with the fact many writers describe farmland as "dotted with hay bales" when in fact hay bales have only existed since mechanical farming started. So they wouldn't be in a medieval-fantasy type land.

Phorcys wrote:I know, I was trying to be funny by agreeing with myself...I failed

Don't worry - your avatar makes up for any bombed jokes you may make ^_^.

Uhm... Yeah...

quote:
The thing about hay bales is to do with the fact many writers describe farmland as "dotted with hay bales" when in fact hay bales have only existed since mechanical farming started. So they wouldn't be in a medieval-fantasy type land.

0_o -Really? Good thing I never did get around describings farms... I think I also need to contemplate on the stew part...

1. Does nothing happen in the first fifty pages?

Haha... haven't written the first fifty yet, but OMG. I hope it's interesting!

2. Is your main character a young farmhand with mysterious parentage?

Hehe... young, yes, but not really mysterious. She's in high school trying to survive, and then the other character, who does have a mysterious parentage, takes her on a ride.

3. Is your main character the heir to the throne but doesn't know it?

Nope! I don't think she really changes anything in the new society she's introduced to.

4. Is your story about a young character who comes of age, gains great power, and defeats the supreme badguy?

Actually, there's no bad guys anymore. There WAS a bad guy when I thought of this story several years ago and she did defeat it, but the story was so stupid that... yeah.

5. Is your story about a quest for a magical artifact that will save the world?

Nope. It's actually centered on a small town. Woot. And no artifacts, really...

6. How about one that will destroy it?

Nope!

7. Does your story revolve around an ancient prophecy about "The One" who will save the world and everybody and all the forces of good?

THERE ARE NO FORCES OF GOOD OR EVIL!

*shakes head*

8. Does your novel contain a character whose sole purpose is to show up at random plot points and dispense information?

Hahaha... it used to, but that character has grown beautifully in the course of daydreaming.

9. Does your novel contain a character that is really a god in disguise?

Maybe? Symbolism dictates that Christian be associated with Christ. But I don't really think of him as that way, nor does he have godlike powers or anything.

10. Is the evil supreme badguy secretly the father of your main character?

No bad guys!

11. Is the king of your world a kindly king duped by an evil magician?

No! There is a king, but he is in the background. He's pretty smart too... not about to get tossed around.

12. Does "a forgetful wizard" describe any of the characters in your novel?

Nope. No wizards, I think. There are witches, in the pagan sort of sense though.

13. How about "a powerful but slow and kind-hearted warrior"?

All the warriors have to be QUICK. And their main occupations are not warriors... they have lives besides that too.

14. How about "a wise, mystical sage who refuses to give away plot details for his own personal, mysterious reasons"?

Gag me. There are characters who hide things from other characters, but it's because of their characters, not because of any stupid plotting device.

15. Do the female characters in your novel spend a lot of time worrying about how they look, especially when the male main character is around?

Yes and no. Pearl hates the way she lives in this place since there are no real baths or anything. She worries most about her appearance when there are GIRLS around though, since she expects the girls to be more judgmental.

16. Do any of your female characters exist solely to be captured and rescued?

Ew! No! Even Pearl, who does get captured and rescued, in a sense, doesn't soley exist for that purpose. *shudders*

17. Do any of your female characters exist solely to embody feminist ideals?

Soley? Haha... no. Not even Pearl, who comes slightly close to this, does that. She's not solely built for anything.

18. Would "a clumsy cooking wench more comfortable with a frying pan than a sword" aptly describe any of your female characters?

Well... they're better with frying pans than swords, but only because swords are very expensive and only the nobility have them. And swords are usually only for ceremonial purposes. They're not really useful for anything in a peaceful setting, if you think about it.

19. Would "a fearless warrioress more comfortable with a sword than a frying pan" aptly describe any of your female characters?

See above.

20. Is any character in your novel best described as "a dour dwarf"?

Tristram... except he's not a dwarf and he has reasons for being dour. So no.

21. How about "a half-elf torn between his human and elven heritage"?

Um... does half human, half unicorn count?

22. Did you make the elves and the dwarves great friends, just to be different?

No elves, no dwarves.

23. Does everybody under four feet tall exist solely for comic relief?

Well... considering that would be the children, sure. But! Then that would also include the dogs and the falcons, so no. Actually, the dogs are quite unfunny at times...

24. Do you think that the only two uses for ships are fishing and piracy?

It's set inland. No ships.

25. Do you not know when the hay baler was invented?

Hahaha... not really. It's in my things to research though!

26. Did you draw a map for your novel which includes places named things like "The Blasted Lands" or "The Forest of Fear" or "The Desert of Desolation" or absolutely anything "of Doom"?

I... can't... draw. Combine that with the fact that I can't really read maps, you got a pretty useless writer!

27. Does your novel contain a prologue that is impossible to understand until you've read the entire book, if even then?

No prologue.

28. Is this the first book in a planned trilogy?

No.

29. How about a quintet or a decalogue?

ONE BOOK.

30. Is your novel thicker than a New York City phone book?

...good question. We'll see!

31. Did absolutely nothing happen in the previous book you wrote, yet you figure you're still many sequels away from finishing your "story"?

*sighs* No.

32. Are you writing prequels to your as-yet-unfinished series of books?

No.

33. Is your name Robert Jordan and you lied like a dog to get this far?

Um... who's Robert Jordan?

34. Is your novel based on the adventures of your role-playing group?

Hahaha... my ideas would freak out most rp groups.

35. Does your novel contain characters transported from the real world to a fantasy realm?

YES! BWHAHAHAHAHHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Or, alternatively, from the real world transported to another real world.

36. Do any of your main characters have apostrophes or dashes in their names?

Nope! I would avoid those names...

37. Do any of your main characters have names longer than three syllables?

I don't think so. I try to keep it short.

38. Do you see nothing wrong with having two characters from the same small isolated village being named "Tim Umber" and "Belthusalanthalus al'Grinsok"?

OMG. Who could do such a stupid thing???

39. Does your novel contain orcs, elves, dwarves, or halflings?

Nope.

40. How about "orken" or "dwerrows"?

WTF? No.

41. Do you have a race prefixed by "half-"?

Nope.

42. At any point in your novel, do the main characters take a shortcut through ancient dwarven mines?

Nope.

43. Do you write your battle scenes by playing them out in your favorite RPG?

Um... no.

44. Have you done up game statistics for all of your main characters in your favorite RPG?

I don't get this.

45. Are you writing a work-for-hire for Wizards of the Coast?

Oh! Whatsitscalled. No.

46. Do inns in your book exist solely so your main characters can have brawls?

Um... haven't they heard of anything called "sleeping?" The inns are combination of hotels, churches, and whorehouses actually, hehe.

47. Do you think you know how feudalism worked but really don't?

I'm researching it. I'm also bringing in several elements of capitalism inside, but altogether, it is a feudal structure. So the king is at top, the lords are the branches, and peasants are at the bottom. And the king calls on his vassals for people to crusade against the unicorns.

48. Do your characters spend an inordinate amount of time journeying from place to place?

...yes and no. If it's far away, it takes longer. But I won't make it lengthy in the story. That would be boring.

49. Could one of your main characters tell the other characters something that would really help them in their quest but refuses to do so just so it won't break the plot?

Um... no. Ew. And I hate quest fantasies.

50. Do any of the magic users in your novel cast spells easily identifiable as "fireball" or "lightning bolt"?

Nope! No real magic, actually.

51. Do you ever use the term "mana" in your novel?

What's that?

52. Do you ever use the term "plate mail" in your novel?

No... I don't think it's invented yet.

53. Heaven help you, do you ever use the term "hit points" in your novel?

OMG. NO.

54. Do you not realize how much gold actually weighs?

One gold brick would be too much for one human to carry with his hands. It's very very very heavy. Gold's not an issue in this story, fortunately!

55. Do you think horses can gallop all day long without rest?

Um... if they die soon after yeah.

56. Does anybody in your novel fight for two hours straight in full plate armor, then ride a horse for four hours, then delicately make love to a willing barmaid all in the same day?

Hahaha... no. I don't even think that's possible.

57. Does your main character have a magic axe, hammer, spear, or other weapon that returns to him when he throws it?

A weapon that returns to him when he throws it? Perhaps a falcon?

58. Does anybody in your novel ever stab anybody with a scimitar?

Um... no. Stabbings not as good as spearing anyway. And you don't kill humans... you kill unicorns. Duh.

59. Does anybody in your novel stab anybody straight through plate armor?

No plate armor.

60. Do you think swords weigh ten pounds or more? [info]

They can. They're not light things, in any case. Fortunately, I don't have to worry about that!

61. Does your hero fall in love with an unattainable woman, whom he later attains?

Um... Shea? Maybe? Possibly? But she's not unattainable... just really pschologically sort of damaged. He has to calm her down.

62. Does a large portion of the humor in your novel consist of puns?

No. Practical jokes I think, actually. Or sarcasm!

63. Is your hero able to withstand multiple blows from the fantasy equivalent of a ten pound sledge but is still threatened by a small woman with a dagger?

Nope!

64. Do you really think it frequently takes more than one arrow in the chest to kill a man?

It can, but one can be just fine too, depending what organ it hits. And the arrow point.

65. Do you not realize it takes hours to make a good stew, making it a poor choice for an "on the road" meal?

Hahaha... I didn't realize it at first, but after getting a medieval cookbook, I have seen the light! I'm using cheese and jerky and possibly unleaven bread. Possibly. But yeah. That's why you do research!

66. Do you have nomadic barbarians living on the tundra and consuming barrels and barrels of mead?

How is that even possible?

67. Do you think that "mead" is just a fancy name for "beer"?

Ugh... I never thought about it. I would have to look it up.

68. Does your story involve a number of different races, each of which has exactly one country, one ruler, and one religion?

Um... two races: humans and unicorns. And there's two religions, though those are starting to combine into one. And it's feudalism so yeah. Multiple leaders and stuff.

69. Is the best organized and most numerous group of people in your world the thieves' guild?

Why the hell would thieves have a guild?

70. Does your main villain punish insignificant mistakes with death?

No bad guy!

71. Is your story about a crack team of warriors that take along a bard who is useless in a fight, though he plays a mean lute?

Nope! But Pearl says she can sing and then Shea asks her to sing something to him. XD

72. Is "common" the official language of your world?

Ugh... English. They have different sounds to them though. Pearl "speaks too fast" and they pronouce sounds that are strange to her (prouncing the L in "could"), but they can understand each other somewhat.

73. Is the countryside in your novel littered with tombs and gravesites filled with ancient magical loot that nobody thought to steal centuries before?

Nope! That would be ridiculous, actually.

74. Is your book basically a rip-off of The Lord of the Rings?

I don't think so.

75. Read that question again and answer truthfully.

Nah, still don't think so.

I don't know what's more amazing/sad: that Snoink went through every single of those points and answered them, or that I actually just read through her entire post.