Category Archives: Writing

World Building: Making The Outer Planes Better

Posted on by Henry

500px-Outer_planes

Once again, I find myself investigating the cosmological background of the setting I’ve most recently created.  I was reading through the Dungeon Master’s Guide again, reading the section on planes near the beginning, and I’m in that usual place: somewhere between excited and miffed.  Fortunately, it’s easy enough to change the things that haven’t excited me.

I’m comfortable, for the most part, with the material the DMG offers on things like the Astral and Ethereal planes.  I’m more okay with the DMG’s ideas for the Shadowfell, the Feywild, and the various elemental planes.  I’m not very happy about their ideas for the Outer Planes.  I have some rewriting to do; let me tell you why.

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Last Days of Loneliness: Crucial Exposition

Posted on by Henry

I’ve solved some of my problems in Last Days of Loneliness, I think.  If you read my earlier posts about how things were terrible and how I couldn’t figure out why Amanda knows to kill the eggs with fire, rest assured, I’ve stumbled across an excellent workaround.

I had very similar conversations with Ben and my brother Nate about how to solve my narrator’s knowledge problem, in which they basically said that I should make someone else in the town or cult tell her to use fire to kill the eggs.  I, of course, resisted their advice at first.  I’d had similar thoughts many times previously, and always dismissed them because I thought it made no sense for someone to break the cult’s taboos and try to warn Amanda.  But after talking with both Nate and Ben, who both made it sound so plausible, and then reading some of George Buckenham’s rules for making games on Rock Paper Shotgun, I decided what the hell; I’d go ahead and do as Buckenham suggested.  So I tried the stupid/simple solution.  And I liked it.

Go figure.

What follows is the scene that I thought wouldn’t work, but did.  It comes some time after a scene in which Amanda goes to the police station and overhears an interesting conversation, and long before her ultimate recognition of the information that she is given in this scene.  Enjoy.

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Flash Fiction: Blood in the Desert

Posted on by Henry

moon

This week’s dose of flash fiction comes inspired by Chuck Wendig, as per usual.  This time around, I was supposed to start a story with one of the sentences submitted last week as my prompt.  I chose the edited version of a sentence submitted by The Story Hive.  After realizing that I had to rewrite what I’d initially created, I used this week’s project to experiment with timing in narration.  I also tried to continue with a character that you’ve seen before.  You’ll probably still enjoy it. Continue reading →

Flash Fiction? It Wasn’t Me

Posted on by Henry

il_570xN.195917181I totally would have worn this in high school

I spent more words introducing this than writing it.  Bizarre, but useful since I have so much other work I really ought to be doing.  Anyway.  Chuck Wendig’s challenge this week is to write the opening sentence to something, nothing more.  Here goes:

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from being a teenager, it’s that plausible deniability is everything.

What I Usually Write, or, Responsibilities to One’s Audience

Posted on by Henry

Annex - Rathbone, Basil (Adventures of Robin Hood, The)_02

More or less what I grew up with.

I love adventure fiction.  It’s makes up a large portion of what I write, probably because it’s what I grew up reading in books and creating in role-playing games.  When I don’t write adventures, I still generally use the climactic structure to resolve the primary tensions of the piece.  Unless I feel like experimenting, I don’t usually do the “unfinished story” thing and leave such tension unresolved.  But you probably already know this, so why the hell am I telling you?

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Flash Fiction: Worth a thousand words

Posted on by Henry

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Another week, another piece of flash fiction.  This time, Chuck Wendig has prompted us with a photo, as seen above.  My response is below.  Enjoy.

***

You know how they say that a picture is worth a thousand words?  Well.  I thought that the painting of a fairy king on my manager’s wall meant that he was nerdy, liked fantasy, and that we might get along, seeing as how I think fairies are pretty cool and have been kind of a mythology fanboy for a long time.  I should have paid more attention. Continue reading →

Flash Fiction: Definitely NSFW

Posted on by Henry

clean-reader1

This week, in honor of Clean Reader, Chuck Wendig decided to challenge us to create something “filthy.”  I’m not sure that I succeeded, but I’m less prudish than some, so who knows.  I wasn’t really interested in just making something filthy by using lots of swears though, so I switched things up and added an additional challenge for myself: I tried to write content that Clean Reader’s creators would find objectionable while using very few words that their program would know to “clean.”  The result is probably best described as erotica.  You have been warned.  Also, if you like NSFW cartoons, I mention the Rock Cocks and they are a semi-real thing that you can look up.  Enjoy!

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Litany Against Car?

Posted on by Henry

Crosswalk

This was brought on by an incidental conversation that touched on becoming a Boston pedestrian, and was too “funny” not to share with you.  You may be familiar with the original Litany Against Fear, from Dune.  But have you heard the Litany of Hit and Runs?

I must not cede right-of-way.  Cars are the me-killer.  Cars are the little-death that brings total obliteration.  I will face the car.  I will permit it to pass over me and through me.  And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.  Where the car has gone there will be nothing.  Only I will remain.

And, of course, here’s the original:

I must not fear.  Fear is the mind-killer.  Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.  I will face my fear.  I will permit it to pass over me and through me.  And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.  Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.  Only I will remain.

Flash Fiction: Almost A Cantina

Posted on by Henry

western-saloon

You know the drill.  Chuck Wendig made a challenge, I wrote some flash fiction.  This time, I had to tell a story in 100 words.  Have fun.

***

Benny and Peter sit across from each other in the saloon’s corner booth, surrounded by empty bottles.  Benny gesticulates wildly with a gun, making a point, yelling at Peter.  Peter eases his pistol out of its holster, keeping it under the table.

“Imbecile!”  Benny shouts, “That’s not how it was at all!”  He slams his gun down on the table for emphasis.

There’s a sudden ear-splitting crack and the pistol leaps in Peter’s hand.  Benny slumps over the table, moaning as he bleeds.

Peter glares at the injured man.  Smoke rolls from his gun.

“Idiot.  Han definitely shot first.”

***

An alternative cover photo:

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Flash Fiction: Cosmo Katie

Posted on by Henry

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This week’s flash fiction challenge from Chuck Wendig involves a random cocktail generator and 1000 words of pure imagination.  I got the Cosmo Katie, and took it to a dark place.  I mean, space is pretty dark most of the time, right?  Enjoy.

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