Short Story Anthology Project

I think this is a fantastic idea. If I wrote fantasy, I'd totally offer to contribute. But, alas . . .

ahh... but see this is why the project needs you, because you don't write fantasy, you write romance and no fantasy can be complete without a taste of romance. I'm not thinking of a high fantasy thing anyway...

I agree w/Nate. No backing out on us now, Leshia! If we actually launch this thing, it can only benefit from different perspectives. I think it's safe to say that you would write something completely different than Nathan or myself, and that can only add to the vitality of the whole.

But you see, I'm dying to write a SCREENPLAY with you guys...I'm thinking raunchy college-age movie, in the tone of ROAD TRIP. Think of all the fodder you have for this!!

Either way, Michael Miller is on board for both/either. He'll be a nice addition.

Ah, the infamous screenplay conversation... I'm pretty sure we've had this conversation more times than I can count, but it always boils down to being a great idea... the hard part will be maintaining our unique humor and floating in under the nc-17 rating, I mean how many times can someone say "donkey spunk gargling cum bucket" without being censored? Regardless, this is another topic... so I will start it...

back on topic... I started coming up with a story idea, and I know my character for my first short story. BUt before I get into the character sketch and stuff I guess I need to lay down some ground rules for the project.

1. You are obligated. Hah! I've got you now.

2. The setting for these stories is something we all need to agree upon in advance so that there can be some descriptive continuity. If there are no objections I would like to use one of the cities within the game world I wrote. I am kind of at a loss as to whether to make the stories low fantasy or a mix, but I am leaning towards a mix.

3. You MAY use someone else's character in your story (in fact it is encouraged) without permission with some restrictions. You MAY NOT kill or so fundamentally change another's character so as to make it unrecognizable without the other writer's permission. Incorporating someone else's character into your story creates a sense of connectivity and consequence within the setting. Cameos that are not 'gratuitous' can be cool too.

4. While the setting should be a living entity, please refrain from fundamentally altering the setting and thus making other stories obsolete.

Yeah so that's all I have for now, if anybody has any suggestions, well, you know where to write them...

Character Sketches

Ol' Scratch used to be Kartehane, a noteworthy adventurer, before he got down on his luck, made some bad decisions and was summarily forgotten. Now he's nothing more than a bouncer in the Wayward Lass, a dirt floor tavern with cheap beer and bad liquor. He's in his early sixties now and at least superficially just wants to live out his last years in disremembered quiet. A deeper part of him yearns for the glory days of his youth and abhors the ignominy of his latter years. Mostly he lives life day by day and tries not to think to hard on the complexities of life. He's a bear of a man and despite his age he is still physically intimidating.

Characters I'm using and still working on...

The Wayward Lass is owned and ran by an obese man named One-Eyed Earl. Earl is very much a man in the know and by god if he doesn't know he'll make it up. He serves cheap beer and liquor "that's good for stripping tar".

The Rake is one of, if not, the city's greatest assassins. Nobody knows his face and he keeps many buffers between himself and someone who hires him. People know he is of smaller stature and he often employs strange methods to get a job done. He always wears a peculiar leather mask in order to hide his identity.

The other characters I'm using are either insignificant or will be killed off in my story, at least that's my opinion for right now...

Sooo... is anybody else even considering helping out with this?

Hey, Nathan. Sorry about the lack of response. I've been swamped...still am, but at least the holiday lets me breathe for a minute.

Aside from time constraints, I think the concern on my part (and you pretty much know this already) is a voice issue. There's a certain voice that's appropriate to fantasy and for this collection to appeal to a group of readers, you'd need a somewhat consistent voice that I don't know if I can pull off. Bart and Brian probably could---if Brian wrote (which he doesn't as far as I'm aware, but that doesn't mean we can't try to talk him into it). But, as you know, writing is a lot of work, so that could be where the interest ends...

It's a good idea...you just need the man power, so to speak.

Actually, to me, the true beauty of the project would lie in the inconsistency of voice. If everybody tells thier tales the same way then really there isn't much point in an anthology, you could just get one author's book. The great thing about fantasy is that evrything is there, action, romance, humanity, whatever you want your story to really be about. And the reason I wanted to do this was to get all the voices that are so different to tell stories in the same time and place but with vastly different styles, much like the real world is. We all have different voices/perspectives/styles but we live in the same place. I wouldn't want you to write with an appirition of my voice, I want to see a piece by you that contrasts so sharply with something by Bart or Chris or me, whoever. I just think of all the different ways we would all describe the same character or place and think that you would end up with an incredibly rich product.