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Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

Monday:  

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters-- all examples of the trend towards reimagining classic literature with a monstrous or fantastical element.  

Choose a modern day story and add a twist.  It can be anything- even a story that already has a fantasy or sci-fi setting.

Give us the title, and a brief description.

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

@Kiel_Farren , @Will11 , @TheNewIAP , @Ogre11 , @Kwism1127 , @ecoLyte , @Beagle , @Ford , @betaband , @Claw2k11 , @SonicTurboTurtle , @DerpBacon , @Romulus , @galobtter , @Swiftstryker , @BenCrucifix , @31TeV , @MadHattersDaughter , @At_Your_Throat , @Tim36D , @Jibble , @NightBirdBlue , @3173v3 , @Vampwolfie , @Spacecats , @Shinobi , @Morgan_R , @TacocaT , @Chris113022 , @jamescoker1226  , @bilbo , @CastleLover , @igulat  , @Raven47 , @Ronhil12 , @FeanorOnForge , @SpartacustheGreat , @cdrive 1 , @Delta44 ,  @Beardon87 , @ShadowHills , @Malkalack , @Aman , @Tanstaafl , @Killa_Robot , @Shadowulf , @Goody2Shoes , @nmelssx , @Wolfmist , @TheBossWriter , @Bloodsrain , @ISentinelPenguinI, @zaguiza14, @GMB13carat

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

Oh dear. I posted in the wrong spot. I moved the content of this Post. Feel free to delete.

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago
The Old Man and the Sea Hag

After twelve weeks of not making a single catch, an elderly fisherman’s luck goes from bad to worse when he captures a mermaid only to find out that it is a hideous creature bent on his destruction.

(Sorry I'm late and about where I replied, but I didn't want to jumble the thread.  Also, I didn't get either of your tags.  I think it's due to the   that follows them.)

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

The Hunger Games

?

In The Hunger Games, Thresh is killed by Cato after the feast but this time Cato kills Peeta so Katniss and Thresh work together to hunt Cato down.

?

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

Of Zombies and Men

(Spoilers ahead for people who somehow haven't read the original yet. I'll blank out the names of characters)

Basically a rip off of Of Mice and Men, except that after Lennie kills Curley's Wife she comes back as a Zombie, and so begins the zombie apocalypse. It ends the same way as the actual book, with George shooting undead Lennie.

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago
Harry Potter:
When Voldemort sends a killing curse at Harry, the horcrux takes over his body and so it's really Voldemort in control of Harry's body.

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

Good Will Hunting the Damned

When a lowly college janitor named Will shows his potential in recognizing evil spirits, he finds himself the interest of an esteemed vampire hunter. After a run-in with the law, the janitor begins working with the monster hunter in lieu of jail time. In the midst of banishing Hellspawn, however, some of Will's own demons rise to the surface.

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago
Hobbits: The Reckoning

This is the story of Bilbo Baggins and his adventures, but set in present-day with technology and without magic.

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

Another World

On a celebration one hundred years after the Germans, Soviets, Italians, and Japanese have won WWII, young Jacques Vladimir discovers a black room. However, he is forbidden to go there again when a rude, but merciful guard spots him. As an idea flickers  in his head, Jacques decides to still continue to go there. But one day, while in the room, he discovers a portal. Though black, dark, and mysterious, Jacques, dares himself to continue on in the portal. But once there, he discovers another world, much different than the one he had been in.

 

 

 

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

The Great Gatsby. 

Nick Carraway has recently moved to New York. Though his circle of acquaintances is bland, at best, his new neighbour manages to throw the most amazing parties. A bit too amazing. And that's not the only thing that's weird about Mister Gatsby. How did he manage to acquire his fortune? Why does he stand outside at night, with his arms outstretched seemingly reaching for nothing. How can his house seemingly clean itself after every party? As the weird and fantastical seem to revolve around Jay Gatsby, Nick starts to suspect a somewhat more magical explanation. 

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

Here you go:

To Kill a Watchman on Christmas:

Atticus Finch is a man with a long, unexplained past. Lawyer. Sharpshooter. Ninja master. Where did these skills even come from? Who is the man we know as Atticus Finch? How did he become known as the best shot in all of Maycomb County?

It all started roughly in the 40s/50s as grouchy 72 year old racist Mr. Finch is confronted by 4 ghosts on Christmas Eve. First, the warning from his dead son Jem. Atticus hardly hears what Jem is trying to tell him, as finds this confrontation particularly offensive and curses fate for showing this damnable apparition to him. Then he is confronted by the ghost of Christmas Future, a silent entity in a spooky black shroud. Not only is there a black president in the future; but once a year there's a parade for flamboyant homesexuals. Plus, it shows he's dying of a collection of old man diseases at 90 and he can't even move.

Atticus is disgusted by this future and shoos the ghost away, but then he hears booming laughter coming from the kitchen. It turns out, the Jolly Green Giant is there, and he's been assigned the job of Christmas Present this year. JGG laughs and makes merry with Atticus for a while, before he stops in a sudden, drunken mood swing and starts telling Atticus about how un-merry Christmas would be. Ranting about injustices and the poor souls who lost everything and everyone on the coming Christmas day. Atticus is very upset by these stories, and begs for the JGG to bring him to these people so that he could help them... They arrive in the south side of Maycomb, and Atticus is shown the hardships of discrimination and troubles of several innocent African Americans, the ones described in the produce mascot's stories.

This infuriates the old man, and he chastizes the Jolly Green Giant for his trickery. But before he can finish, the man dressed in green beans had disappeared completely. Behind him was the Ghost of Christmas Past, who presented him with many visions. He saw himself as a young man, meeting Tom Robinson all over again. Re-living his life in the communities of Maycomb and fighting as hard as he could for what he knew was right. Then he found himself at some sort of long table, with faces he recognized. He was a member of the jury. He realized, with horror, that this was the group he had fallen in with. Racists, prejudiced, ignorant people. He watched as slowly, more began to open their hearts up to Tom... But it wasn't enough. The jury could not be swayed by the minds of a few.

Atticus felt sickened as he realized the kind of racist crap he had been spewing for the past few years and realized there was only one thing he could do to atone for it. While they were in the middle of the time vortex between visions, he grabbed the ghost of Christmas Past by the neck and steered him over... Into the past... There was a flash of light, and when Atticus woke up he was 20 years old, in the middle of a meadow, and being fast approached by brightly robed men with swords. He went too  darn far back in time.

He was saved at the last second by men in black, who swept him away and fought off the swordsmen with their bare hands. They were a rebel clan of freakin' ninjas, who had allied with the humble peasants of Fuedal Japan to fight the corrupt and evil samurai lords of the late Khan Dynasty. Now, Atticus wasn't an expert on Asian history, but he was pretty sure Genghis Khan never got into Japan. But he learned soon enough that, due to a time paradox, he was now in the year 2085, and Japan, China, Mongolia, and pretty much everywhere in the northern hemisphere was a massive magical Wuxia land ruled by a cyborg Genghis Khan and his army of Wizard Lords with magic swords.

With his newly learned martial arts prowess, he fought his way across the empire with his merry band of rebels. With his fine handwriting skills, he sent a telegram to Robo Lincoln, King of Brazil, to help aid them in the coming battles. With his dry wit and sympathetic sensibilities, he convince Cyber-Khan not to be such an oppressive jerk. Peace and unity were brought to the northern and southern empires of New Earth, and Cyber-Khan and Robo Lincoln agreed to help Atticus Finch back to his old time. There was a bright light as Cyber Khan hit him with the timespace wormhole launcher, and when he woke up yet again, he was still 20 years old, in Law School.

Over the course of the years that followed, an oddly familiar story unfolded as Atticus Finch struggled to warm the hearts of a bunch of racist jerks, including a strange, melancholy old man that he felt like he knew, but could have sworn he'd never seen before. That was when the community dog came into town, bit someone, and turned them into a zombie. The finest Ninja Master in Maycomb County was quick to help Sheriff Tate exterminate the zombies and wall off the county, but Atticus still had a job to do.

The litigation was hard fought and dramatic, but Atticus eventually eased everyone to the conclusion that the state of Alabama was facing a freaking zombocalypse, and that, in the end, does race really matter between two people who are both just human beings?

Then zombies burst through the courtroom window and disembowel Bob Ewell for purely symbolic purposes, symbolizing the fact that Bob's a real pill and racism is bad... Then Heck Tate has to deal with the small horde outside for less symbolic purposes, and the rest of the story pretty much revolves around the town being holed up in the courthouse trying to survive until a post-apocalyptic, Mad-Max version of WWII happens and the Great Depression ends.

In the next book, "Go Set a Mockingbird inside of a Jack-O'-Lantern": 

Somewhere in the year 1950, when Scout comes back to Maycomb County with medicine and a year's supply of jury-rigged, Post-Apocalypse weapons. She realizes that zombies are actual people, with remnants of their old selves in their animalistic psyches, which can be perfectly restored with a special medicine given to her by a mad scientist.

She replicates Zomb-X, and goes home to argue with her dad, her aunt, and her uncle about their venomous zombie racism. But their arguments are put to a stop when Calpurnia's great grandson, an endearing, tamed infected named Zeebo, is accused of murdering several of the townsfolk. Atticus begrudgingly agrees to defend Zeebo in court to keep the NAAZP off his back, and Scout investigates by enlisting the help of a charming cannibal named Anthony Hopkins to find the real culprit and put an end to her father's ignorance. But the killer turns out to be the vengeful ghost of Bob Ewell, who is mostly intangible and refuses to let the sheriff take him into the courthouse for the trial he deserves.

Will Scout stop the killer and sort out her family problems before Zeebo gets wrongfully jailed? Can Atticus Finch keep the townsfolk from lynching Zeebo? Will Atticus Finch keep the townsfolk from lynching Zeebo? Will Anthony Hopkins go crazy and start eating people again? Why are you asking me? It's not even a real book, get over it!

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

Ant's Hymn 

In a society where thought is not individual, one man dares to think differently. After a virus wipes out most of the earth's population, the remaining few find themselves subject to a hive mind where one leader dictates the the thoughts and actions of all. But that was long ago. A select few start to find the link weakened, but only one dares to consider leaving. Can he hide his intentions from the others? Or will he doom himself and be reintegrated into the hive mind? 

(from Anthem)

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

Tuesday:

Ever hear the joke about how wizards and dragons must play "Buildings & Businessmen?" XD 

Same as yesterday, but reversed: take a fantasy or sci-fi story and make it mundane.

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

Game of Seats. 

When the president of the Westerosi Union unexpectedly dies, the Seven Nations are thrown into chaos. Read along as the most powerful political parties on the continent fight over land rights, environmental precautions, and common currency regulations. Follow the armies of bureaucrats as they make and break treaties, in an attempt to re-negotiate sovereign territorial boundary definitions. Find out what happens behind the closed doors of embassies, as members from both domestic and foreign parties negotiate the intimate details of political relations. For in the end, only a system of votes based on the population of the respective nations and the political fractions in the Union's parliament, as well as a regulated rotation of the Union's presidency, determines who will sit on the Iron Presidential Chair. 

Bonus: 

Chancellor Lannister bangs his fists angrily on the table. 'Listen to me, Prime Minister Stark. Even though you are the acting president until the next term's elections, that does not mean you can dictate the whole economic policy. Might I remind you that we, in the Westerlands, are the Union's largest financier, and control the largest gold mines. If we wanted, we could cause a new financial crisis.'

Prime Minister Stark looks unimpressed. Calmly, he bends forwards in his swivelling chair, and speaks: 'Is that a threat, Lannister? Not even you would be so foolish, or have you forgotten our, and your. debts to the Central Iron Bank? Besides, we haven't even decided to re-adopt the gold standard yet. As I told you before, we will discuss this with the Small Committee shortly. Now, get out of my office, before I bring your state-funded terrorism in the Riverlands back to the media's attention.'

Barely managing to keep his face in check, Lannister turns around and walks away. But right before he reaches the door, something snaps inside him. Turning around, his nostrils flaring, eyes wide open, he replies: 'You'll not get rid of me so easily, Stark. Don't act all high and mighty in front of me. I know you're funding, or shall I say bribing, the capital's secret police. I know you're trying to unfold some nefarious power plot. Mark my words, I will get you thrown in jail for conspiracy against the Union.'

Before Stark gets a chance to reply, Lannister leaves his office angrily, slamming the office's glass doors behind him. Stark leans forwards, idly playing with his Newton's Cradle as he contemplates the gravity of the situation. It appears a new cabinet crisis might just be about to erupt.

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

The bonus is for writing a little bit of it. XD 

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago
Michael Vey: prisoner of juvenile hall-

Michael Vey was a troubled child. He was delusional, and an all round dangerous teen. He would usually tamper with electronics, take them apart, put them back together again. But once in a while he would create a makeshift tazer and terrorize his friends and family. Because of his antics his mother moved them constantly. At his most recent school, a few bullies tried to mess with him, so Michael decided to whip out his newest DIY tazer and discharge a few volts on their pathetic behinds. He scared them away while nearly killing them. A patrolling policeman saw Michael in the act and arrested him. Michael gathered a few of his inmates and tried to escape juvenile hall. They failed miserably.

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

Lonely

 

 

Though not a video game or anything, it's if WWII changed, sorta. So it's this kid in a weird world of fascism who discovers the world we are in today.

 

Jacques Vladimir, a young boy, feels betrayed by his family and neighbourhood, runs away to the local gymnasium. His only friend-Thomas was his only friend. And the Nazi's had killed him, had good memories there. He finds him there, only in a new world this time.

 

 

 

Bonus: 

I quickly ran across the field. People were saluting to me but I ignored them. Many people would call me rebellious and rude and they would also threaten to tie me to the Statue of the Axis.

 

They once did and it had hurt. My fingers had been blistered and bloody. What was so special about a statue depicting Hitler and the other Axis leaders?

 

"At eleven, you are too young to know why," was what they told me. I wanted to destroy that statue so badly, but I had seen what had happened to Thomas-my cousin who attempted to do so. I was forced to see him being shot to death.

 

After that, I had ran away. Thomas was my best friend; the only person who understood me. No one could ever replace him.

Brother, bad memories.My sisters Jane, Jillian, and expected me to drive her to the store, "because I was the only boy." Yet they were older than me. Everything was so unfair.

I soon reached the gymnasium. This was the place where Thomas and I had played futbol. I searched around the place, maybe there could be something fun here. Looking around I found a black room.

"Kid, out this place. I'll forgive you one more time," a guard quickly interrupted my thoughts. He was one of those people who had killed Thomas. I just wanted to go there so badly. Then an idea flickered in my head. I'll wait it out, I thought to myself.

Soon, the guard was gone. I looked at it. It was dark. I felt something squishy and weird as my entire body felt ducked into a place.

"Jacques, you've come," a voice said. It was Thomas-or at least it sounded like it.

"So the Axis aren't in this place of the world? Stalin, Mussolini, or Hitler statues?" I questioned him.

"What do you mean? It was the Allies who had won the war"

The voice turned on the lights, it really was Thomas. Except for the fact that I was in a world that the Allies controlled. Or did they? At least there was gonna be adventure, and tons of it! 

I was still in the gymnasium. A girl was shooting hoops. "So girls are allowed to go outside now?" I asked. Thomas, who seemed confused told me "it's 2045, of course girls are allowed to! Are you crazy or something?" 

I shrugged my shoulders. Where was I? 

 

 

 

 

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Interstate

With the advent of superhighways, catching a ride can take creativity to a whole new level.  Learn from veterans of the road what to expect on your journey.  And don't forget your towel...

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

Wednesday: 

So: Daredevil fights crime even though he's blind; Professor X is in a wheelchair; and Jamie Lannister only has one hand.

Invent a hero or villain, any genre, with a significant disability.  Bonus points: give them a nemesis with a different disability.

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

Let me introduce you to Jeff. Jeff is a super hero from Carcin City, a haven for the lawless. Carcin City is built upon the illegal, and the illicit, the subversive, and the outright perverse. Crime rules the city. It has no government, no mayor, no police force to protect those unable to protect themselves. And there are plenty. Gangs rule the city, lawless thugs, only answering to the one with the largest wealth, or the greatest potential to accumulate it. Each gang rules its own territory, maintained by a shaky peace that shatters the moment one of them smells blood. The victims, the unmentioned casualties, are the commoners that try to make a living inside a living hell. 

How does Jeff come into play? Well, Jeff is trying to rid the city of the gangs. You see, Jeff is practically unkillable, as nothing can penetrate his skin. Furthermore, he has the power to fly. This means that he can sneak up on anyone, and dispatch them without getting hurt. Sounds good, right? Well, you see, while Jeff is doing a decent job of cleaning up the city, recently he has also been known as Meteor Man by Carcin's population. You see, Jeff suffers from narcolepsy. This means that he might suddenly fall asleep at any given moment. Usually it's not that dangerous, unless you're an invulnerable super hero with the power to fly. Then, once you fall asleep during flight, you might not be hurt, but once you crash into the ground with a quite significant speed, some of the bystanders might be a little bit injured, to say the least.

Bonus: 

Recently, a villain has popped up in Carcin City, an unknown man that goes by the name of 'The Puppeteer'. Not much is known about him, and only the higher ranking gang thugs know that he seeks to gain absolute control over the city. It is suspected that he tries to use the gangs to accomplish this. He has a genius mind, though has no moral compass, but does not appear to hold any super powers, as far as known. Jeff actually encountered him once, while taking down a gang boss. the Puppeteer was there, skulking in the shadows, but managed to escape. Well, I say skulking, but he is quite difficult to miss. You see, the Puppeteer has a weakness of some kind, he is allergic to almost everything. So while Jeff was roughing up a gang boss, the Puppeteer sat in the corner, sneezing his lungs out from all of the dust that was flying around. Only when Jeff was finished, and was looking for the sneezing person, he saw him rounding a corner and running away, not realising who he just let go. In the future, this might prove fatal to Jeff, as the Puppeteer is now aware of his existance...

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

So I don't normally take part in these due to my time constraints but I do enjoy seeing them and had half an hour free soooo...

Ray Angelo Was your typical kid, wanting to be a super hero. Then he grew up, went to school and got a job. His life wasn't boring, he wasn't and orphan and he wasn't a Genius but he was pretty smart and a very hard worker. He worked in a field which could only be described as a mix of advanced technology and humanitarian work. He designed and built prosthetics and control systems for wounded veterans coming home from wars.

The Company he worked for was one of the world leaders in the field with a large part of their funding coming from defense contracts with the US government. On the surface this was touted as the US "looking after it's own", Their way of ensuring veterans could have normal lives even if badly injured. They took care of everything from design, construction and even attachment of prosthetics near the warzones so that the Vets could return home with the prosthetics already in place. Ray never guessed the real reasons.

He was working on one of their most advanced models of leg prosthetics in a forward base of operations in the Middle East when he saw what he shouldn't have. He was supposed to simply be working on the nerve interface for a new prototype system for soldiers who had lost both legs when he realized that the design he was working on had been greatly modified in secret, adding advanced alloys, extra processing power, quadrupling the density of the artificial muscle to name but a few. He dug around on the computers and one of the files showed that instead of helping the injured, most of the work was really aimed at improvements and 'power armor' type attachments to make soldiers more effective in battle. He sadly went right to his superior with the information. His superior was of course fully complicit and Ray found himself thrown into a large hydraulic press used in the manufacturing process. He tried pulling himself clear but was too late.

Ray survived the 'accident' when nearby medics and soldiers came running at his screams but he lost both legs and part of his pelvis, leaving his prospects for life very limited. It took him two weeks to wake up following all the surgery but he knew that it was a miracle he survived at all. He also had the memory of hearing his old boss making a phone call to someone right before the press started up, he wouldn't be surviving the flight home.

That night he dosed himself up on morphine and wheeled himself back into his lab. The prosthetics he had been working on were legs that attached directly into the nervous system in the base of the spine, this meant that they were braced and supported all the way around the waist and abdomen. He set up the system, laboriously dragged himself into the chair and set the controls to "Fully Automatic".

The system had never been tested on humans (That Ray knew) but miraculously it worked and the prosthetics fused to his spine giving him limited control over the legs. He escaped the facility that night (No-one expected a guy with no legs to run away) and eventually made his own way back to the US. Over the months he perfected the software and trained until he could control the legs perfectly and found that due to the secret side of the research, his legs were several time stronger that would be possible for a human. Jumping over vans, falls from two story buildings and kicking in steel doors would be no issue for him now. Their size and shape meant that if he wore baggy clothing he could easily pass for a normal person.

The other thing he worked on was trying to find out who was behind everything. He realized it more by luck than by hacking skills when he saw one of the benefactors of his projects had been a former general who was retired to desk duty following an IED explosion which had taken one arm from him along with his one eye, leaving him horribly scarred. Ray immediately put 2 and 2 together to realize that this man was the one pulling the strings. On the cameras and in interviews he always wore a standard limited type prosthetic himself, breaking it would be like snapping a matchstick for Ray's state of the art legs.

He had rather naively tried to break into the generals mansion alone in order to confront him and bring him to justice. He had been practicing on street thugs with great success, they all ran or were knocked out immediately due to his terrifying speed and leg strength. The general was a combatant though and the research had been continuing. Ray found himself facing a man with a fully prosthetic arm that was every bit as strong as his legs, if not stronger. His eye had already been replaced with a strange camera too. 

Ray lost the fight badly and barely escaped with his life, however all the commotion did bring the police and the General found himself unable to properly explain his extreme body modifications. He was 'Retired' from his post and seemed to vanish, however he really simply moved into a secret department with Homeland Security to continue his work. Now with the added vendetta of killing the strange masked attacker 'Augment' (So named for his obvious enhancements) once and for all.

Ray meanwhile kept working on improving his own legs and began a life fighting crime in the back streets to build up his combat skills for when he next met 'The General', Using the nickname 'The General' had given him during their fight as his cover.

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

Rain may be deaf, but she, as a criminal mastermind, she still rains the heroes with evil. Rain's real name is actually Raina.

Rain was often called a psychopath as a child. She was quite lonely and was used to play killers with her figurines. Rain was often told to come inside inside. No one believed her to be deaf as she wasn't before. The anger inside her turned her into one of the most wanted people ever.

Rain uses her disability as a way to get to the Hatchet. The hatchet was a place which could only be seen. Using her disability as a way to avoid distraction noises, Rain is no doubt one of the best villains in her league. Except she has troubles defeating Cay

Favourite Quote: I may not hear them, but I see them as a distraction.

 

 

Bonus

Cay, Rains nemesis, was once one of the worst criminals on the island and an ally to Rain. Like Rain, Cay had a disability-he was blind.

Cay, as a young boy, found himself in lots of trouble. From putting the school on fire to assassinating a teacher, all with Rain, was what Cay was known for. Bruce, a close friend of Cay was killed by him. Cay soon realized what he had done. Cay attempted to jump off a skyscraper but was given hope by a boy, who was killed by Rain the next day. From then on, Cay and Rain became bitter enemies.

Thanks to a terrible history, Rain uses it against him, citing him as a villain. 

Favourite Quote: What you do now counts, not what you did before.

 

 

 

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

Jitai was born with a condition closely related to SCID, Severe Combined Immunodeficiency.  As a result, his immune system is so weak that he's not able to safely leave his home or even breathe unfiltered air. With the support of his wealthy father, a natural aptitude for inventing, and a strong desire to become a participant in society, Jitai worked on a special suit that would protect him from the world around him while still allowing him to exist in it.

As the project was underway, Jitai found himself inspired by comic book and manga characters that were able to overcome differences between themselves and others by acts of heroism. He began to play around with enhancement of natural abilities from the suit, rather than only simple protection.

Shortly after completing the suit and during its initial test-phases, he witnessed a next-door neighbor collapse in the street and he ran outside to help, only to end up blocking a speeding car, stopping it in its tracks before it could run over his neighbor. The car, being driven by some escaped convicts who were rendered unconscious, was then recovered by police. But with no conscious witnesses, Jitai's first day of heroism ended with his anonymity intact.

Bonus: Layla was born with a condition known as proportionate dwarfism. Her younger sister, Sarisa, was born with autism. They, like Jitai, were also born into a wealthy family--but they were kept willfully hidden away from high society due to their family's embarrassment over their disabilities. This was further compounded by the fact that their father mysteriously disappeared after Sarisa's diagnosis, an event that their mother made no secret about blaming them for.

The unjust treatment from their own relatives combined with the general cruelty of society toward other people of their conditions slowly embittered Layla toward humanity and she felt powerless to change her circumstances. Then one day, she discovered that genetics had given her something else: telekinesis, fueled by strong emotion. Seeing her sister abused by her mother, Layla unintentionally snapped the woman's neck. Shortly thereafter, her sister also discovered that she shared that power. Feeling control over their lives for the first time, Layla encouraged her little sister that now was the time for change. Thus began a long campaign--first for revenge, then for world conquest.

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago
Wendell Jones - vigilante, was once a respected reporter on the criminal element that plagued Inner City.  With every investigation, he withdrew a little more from a rapidly deteriorating society until he could no longer bring himself to even open his front door.  After his home was ransacked, his family brutally beaten, and him incapable of protecting them, he decided to take the law into his own hands and make the world a better place - one criminal at a time.  Now, the severe agoraphobic travels the dark streets and alleyways in the tinted-windowed van that he now calls home.  Though he can’t bring himself to step outside, he tracks the lawbreakers and, using resources from his former vocation and their own moral deficiencies, pits them against one another to usher in a new era.

Bonus:   Jimmy “Fingers” Walton, lock-picking extraordinaire, is one of Wendells recent targets.  After the jewel thief barely survived an encounter with a street thug (but not without a significant brain injury) stumbled across the vigilantes not-so-ethical means, he has vowed revenge on this self-proclaimed guardian of the streets.  Now plagued with having to perform elaborate "rituals" to fight off his newly acquired, trauma-induced OCD, works to undermine everything that Jones is trying to accomplish.

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

(late and bonus)

Rebecca fiddled with her half-mask. It was a hot day and it had begun to grow humid between her skin and the porcelain. She turned back to the book, and sipped her tea. As she sat at the table outside the cafe, strangers passed by on the busy street. Such was life in Paris. 

"Mommy," she heard a little boy say, "Why does that lady's face look so strange."

"Darling, its not nice to point." His mother responded. Rebecca was not offended. She was often the subject of inquiry and attention had become more of a nusiance than anything else. 

As the evening grew and daytime dwindled, she gathered her possessions, straightened her skirt, and elegantly walked back to her home. Once in her own familiar corridors she pulled away the mask with a sigh of relief and massaged the old, scarred tissue beneath it. The mask drew less attention in public than the old burn wounds that had closed an eye and an ear forever.

"Uncle?" she called as she wandered further into her home.

"In here darling," he called from the study. She walked into the room where her uncle sat in a large lounge chair, flipping through a book. 

"Hello, Uncle, how was your day?"

"Very good my dear." She crossed to a small side table and held up an unopened paper bag with a eyebrows raised.

"And did you use the new medicine that the doctor prescribed?" He cast an exasperated look her way.

"Rebecca-"

"You're not going to get rid of the pain unless you take the doctor's advice. Let me see your hand." He hesitantly extended his left hand which was made entirely of porcelain just as her mask was. She released a clasp and pulled it away then pulled a chair beside him and opened the bag. She drew out an ointment that she massaged into the stump of his wrist.

"Uncle, I have a job," she said as she worked it in, "I can't always take care of you. You need to promise that you'll use your medicine."

"Well, God knows you don't need a job, you've got enough money as it is," she fixed him with a glare. He sighed, "Alright, alright. I promise."

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

Thursday:

Write a story in which each sentence begins with a consecutive letter of the alphabet.  First sentence starts with A, next with B, etc.

Bonus: None of the letters can be used on proper nouns. ie, no using a character named "Xavier" to get past the X sentence.

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

As the winter's sun slowly surfaces above the horizon, Mark looks out of his office window. Blue skies today, for the first time in a long while. Children are playing across the street from his building, enjoying the last days of their vacation. Dogs, running circles around their owners, are chasing each other in the park not far from here. 

Even though Mark has to work today, he can still appreciate the nice weather. For after all, it does make work easier if the sun is shining. Granted, he doesn't have that much work left to do today anyway. Having typed a few emails, drafted a view reports, and worked out the minutes from yesterday's meetings, he leans back and enjoys a nice cup of coffee.

In the corner of his eye, he can see Sharon from accounting. Jogging past Mark's office, she looks busy as usual. Knowing Sharon, however, Mark guesses that she wouldn't have it any other way. Last month, she was upset because she was told she couldn't put in 60-hour work weeks anymore. 

Making sure not to spill his coffee, Marks once more turns towards the window. Not much has changed in the past few minutes. Over some apartment buildings in the distance, he can see seagulls circling around, screeching frantically to each other. 'Probably fighting over some trash', Mark guesses. Quickly, one of them dives down, out of sight behind the apartment building. Racing after him, the rest of the birds follow. Suddenly, one of them emerges victoriously, holding something that looks like a fish in its beak. 

Tracing the birds' movements, Mark notices that clouds are once more moving in front of the sun. Under the thick cloud deck, the city once more looks grey and bleak. Vanished, the sun's warmth now quickly fades. Winter has returned in force, and Mark once more gets a weird feeling at the sight of it, something he can't really find words to describe. 'Xeno- something, probably', Mark mutters to himself, lost in thought. Yearning for Spring to finally come, Mark turns back towards his computer. Zealously, almost uncannily, fast, Sharon runs by once more.

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

(Going for the bonus, and my God, was it tempting to make this scene utter nonsense--but I picked a narrative and I stuck to it, and you'll find that every sentence begins with a real word, no names to substitute, and tells a... fairly coherent, if incredibly butchered version of the early events of one of my story games.)

"Avast, ye scurvy rat, go no further!" Brought back from his thoughts by the loud cry, the pirate captain of the Wandering Reaper glanced up in surprise as one of his crew chased a young boy around the deck. "Could my eyes be deceiving me...?"
"Damned if I don't doubt me own," said the first mate, raising his eyebrows. "Even so, it would seem a runt snuck aboard when we last went to port. Forgive me, cap'n, I should have made sure the cargo was checked thoroughly."
"Gods dammit, boy, be still," cried the crew member as the boy climbed up into the crow's nest, grabbing an abandoned blade to defend himself. "Hellspawn, there won't be naught left for the birds when I'm through with ya...!"
"I must say, he does remind me of someone..." the captain trailed off nostalgically, amused. "Just look at him scramblin', scrawny fella, but there's fire in them eyes--you can see it from here."
"Kill him already, you bumbling idiot," snorted the ship's cook as he watched the chase.
"Lord almighty, one of you might HELP me a little in ridding the ship of vermin, rather than laughin' your arses off at us!"
"Maybe, but then again, you also stole my last meat-pie, so maybe not," the cook grinned.
"Nay, Revy, don't kill him, bid him to come down. Obey him, boy, and we'll not harm ya--yet, anyway, we shall have a quiet talk. Peace, Revy, stop yer squawkin', the lad's earned a bit of respite if he can make yeh run around like a chicken with yer head cut off. Quite a performance you put on."
"Right, then," the captain spoke up again when the boy approached, scowling quietly at them all--he didn't trust them, smart kid. "Stowaways are usually keel-hauled or at least made to plunge their deaths from the plank, though I'm not beneath a merciful shot to the mug once in a while... but ye may as well explain yerself before we decide what to do with ye."
Taciturn, the boy remained silent for several seconds, but his brave visage did not falter, even when a gun was shoved in his face. "Understand, lad," Revy growled, "the cap'n asked you a question and you're treading dangerous waters 'ere."
"Very well," the boy spat, "I've escaped the confines of my home and I took shelter in the first vessel that could spirit me away--been on this crate for well over a month, I have."
"Well, my gods, I've never heard something so loony before, a boy hiding from an entire crew in the belly of their ship for a whole bleedin' month's worth..."
"Xenacious little lad, aren't ye? You are quite a clever lil rat, to have evaded us this long. Zabras and tankers, yer glare even looks like me own when I was yer age... well, perhaps we needn't toss you over the side just yet, eh?"

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

Bonus included:

Asteroids were all over the place.

Boulders were what they looked like.

Cans clattered all over the place.

Dogs howled, it seemed unusual. 

Elephants stomped all over the place, they could be people.

Frogs croaked.

Hot it felt to me.

Ice cream could do.

Juice perhaps?

Kids were all over the place.

Laughter was all they could think of.

Mice squeaked.

Nests were crunching under their feet.

Octopuses they seemed, eight of them.

Prepared I was.

Quills I attacked them with.

Rakes too.

Snaked may have hissed but I attacked them too.

Trucks came outside, maybe I was rescued.

Umbrella like clouds were in the sky.

Very weird.

With the code at the door, had to try to open it.

XYZ did not work.

YZX the same. ZXY worked, I was free.

 

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago
(Including bonus)

A child goes to the zoo.  But, let us not get ahead of ourselves.  Can you imagine the excitement that has been building?  Do you remember what your first trip there was like?  Even before daylight he was raring to go.

For nearly the entire trip, he pounded questions at his parents.  Getting gas for the car seemed to take forever.  How excruciatingly slow the minutes seemed to pass.  Inevitably, they returned to the freeway.  Just sixty miles more and they would be there.

"Keep your shirt on, kiddo, the animals aren't going anywhere," father said.

Looking at the scenery hadn't even been considered.  Many miles of boring stuff passed by.  Nothing could be more boring than this, could it?  Over there were houses where others were just beginning their day.

"Perhaps a game might make the trip seem shorter," mother suggested.  Quickly spotting objects for "I spy" seemed to help a little.  Rattling off one guess after the other until the correct one was chosen.

Slowly, the miles had passed.  They were now pulling into the parking area.  Until they found a good parking spot, Dad kept circling.  Very decisively he darted into the perfect space.

With exuberance, the child bolted from the car.  Xylophonic melodies wafted from somewhere inside.

"You're finally here," Mom grinned.

Zestfully, he bounded for the gate.

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

Friday: Something fun? 

Write the first line of a mystery that makes me want to read the rest of the book.

Bonus:  write the last line, too. 

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

First line: As I ducked behind a stone monument to avoid heavy gunfire, with the scepter of Gwydion in one hand and what was left of my real body in the other, I paused to ponder just how I got myself into this mess in the first place.

Bonus: With the mystery of the velvet shroud solved, the scepter destroyed, and the leaders of the world back in their rightful places, I figured it was time to finally retire ... and then my phone rang.

(The End?)

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

The moon was at its peak when Charlotte stumbled out of a New York City alleyway, covered in blood that was not her own. 

Bonus: 

So many nights she had nightmares of the man who had tormented her, but now, behind the thick bars of the prison window, he didn't look so scary after all.

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago
He sat perplexed at the extent that the shadows danced, more so than should have been possible by the flickering flame of the lamplight.

Bonus:  He found comfort in the pallid, lifeless faces glaring back at him as he closed his eyes, finally able to sleep.

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

"Give me justice you - you," but it was too late since her head was cut off.

 

Bonus: I never knew I had committed treason by questioning authorities, but it was, so they quickly took me under the guillotine, the last words I heard were "I did it" but it didn't matter because the guillotine was dropped, at least I had my mission completed.

Writing Exercises: Week 2

8 years ago

"Hello. Jack Scullivan, right?" The strange woman took a drag from her cigarette and propped her feet on my desk displacing the human head she had supposedly placed there, "I hear your a pretty good detective, and I'm here because you really need my help."

Dames, amirite?

(Bonus)

John Scullivan, He found when others gave up the search

It nice headstone; total bullshit, but nice. 

"Thought I could help you. I really did. Looks like even my help wasn't enough." Alice threw her cigarette butt at the edge of the newly dug grave and ground it into the dirt.

"Rest in peace you son of a bitch."