Storytelling Discussion

[Artemisia]

Welcome to my little teaching practicum- the Nature of Storytelling. Here is the rundown of what is going on. I will be posting six little discussion prompts and a writing prompt for each. I need three people to write all six prompts; however, more would be lovely. If you do not wish to join in to write, I would certainly love to have discussions.

Because this is an assignment for my degree, I need everyone who understands that I will have to submit some of your work to my advisor.

All together, I want to keep the writing prompts short- no more than a page, but no less than half a page, if that’s alright.

And I did post about this in the suggestions thread several times.

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Humans are stories. We create them, weave them from a variety of different forms, and tell them to each other. Stories are idealized creations. Unfortunately, far too many people think of them as being real. They get into their heads and change how the see the world and ultimately create a situation.

Because of this, the storyteller must always be aware of where they are coming from, and what their perspective is when it comes to what they write. It can be difficult for a writer to understand that their viewpoint is woven into their writing. As has been discussed in several locations, many writers write from a specific viewpoint.

Diversity and representation in stories is one of those complex discussions that occurs among academes and activists. What I am talking about is mostly about the cultural background which influences our writing. Many writers may not even be overly aware of the fact that the swim in a particular view point while others obviously are. Thus, I want to discuss the ideas of diversity in writing.

As a writing prompt, this one is kind of simple and one that I love:

Please imagine in your mind- a snap decision literally- a couple walking down the street together while holding hands. Describe their surroundings and their thoughts/actions.

[Dirty n Evil]

Artie - I'll take part, it'll be good for me to go through writing exercises like this again. Haven't done them in years... but if I might make a suggestion? Rather than offer a measurement that might change from person to person such a "page size", suggest a word count. Most document programs have that built in these days, and they're easier to abide by.

[Artemisia]

Thank you D&E

Then I would probably be best in suggesting between 300 and 500 words. I know that can seem like a lot, but it isn't from my experience.

['J']

i'm up for this, time permitting. and yeah, for short assignments, a word-count with margins for error is a little more manageable than page-count.

[Retiarius]

Prompt 1: Moonlit Walk

The twin moons, Eishimzhes and Aldythzhes, cast silver and golden light over the Brass Tower in the city of Anchaüs. The bronze statues of the fantastical fountains of the Great Square—dolphins, unicorns, centaurs, mermaids and other creatures mundane and legendary—sprayed water in artful patterns that glittered in the two-toned moonlight and filled the warm summer night with a fresh scent. Beneath the old holly trees that ringed the tower walked two frit, hand-in-hand.

Being frit, they resembled large weasels, around four feet tall when walking upright as these two did now. The taller one had thick tan fur and a cream undercoat. His deep red eyes glittered over a pink-nosed snout. Nee’chocha, his companion, had gray fur with a white undercoat and black eyes, which looked fearfully about.

“Are you sure this is safe, R’khs’greech?” she whispered. “The guards don’t like our kind to be out after dark.”

“The guards are no trouble,” he assured her.

“How can you be certain? There are rumors that the wars in the north are spreading to Luchren. The Lord Mayor has doubled the watch.”

“The war reached Stryhazen.” He referred to the massive fortress and ancestral home of the Duke of Luchren near the city of Yrs to the west. “It got cut short there. My boss sent the One Sunners packing.”

“Your boss—”

“Halt!” shouted a human voice. The frit turned to see two brass-helmed guards loom out of the shadows near the Brass Tower.

“So, frit out after curfew, is it?” growled the short one. “The tin mines are short their labor quota this week; you two will be a welcome addition to the roster.”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” grinned R’khs’greech.

The short guard leaned close. “What’s your name, vermin?”

“R’khs’greech. What’s yours?”

The guard unlimbered his truncheon. “Well, Er-kiss-greech, you’re lucky the gruel they serve at the mines is thin, because you’re about to lose your teeth.” Nee’chocha squealed and hid her face in her forepaws as the guard raised his club.

The tall guard grabbed the short one’s weapon. “R’khs’greech. The Kurnzho-kol’s factotum?”

“The same,” grinned the frit.

The tall guard blanched. “Let these go.”

“Are you crazy?”

“This frit was here a fortnight ago with several dozen ducal knights and a machine that spoke, a servant of Eishim. He is a close friend of the god’s high priest, who is now being entertained by the Lord Mayor. The same high priest that called down the wrath of Eishim on Vulzhugar. The one that personally destroyed five priests of the One True Sun and over a score of their knights at Kchusel last spring. It’s worth your head if you harm even one hair on his. Let—them—go.”

Fear and rage fought on the short guard’s face. He lowered his truncheon, turned and stomped away. The tall one gave the frit a respectful nod and followed.

R’khs’greech, still grinning, turned to Nee’chocha.

“Told you.”

[Word count: 500]

[Weertangel]

Nice one! altrough with a rather grim undertone(the wars), it has its charm

[Artemisia]

I have to admit that I giggled at the end. That was a wonderful piece, and thank you.

Now to add in some more. . .

I love the interactions, though I have to admit to having some issues with a lack of facial expressions; however, that could just be your style. I did find that I could imagine and see in my mind everything that was going on.

[Retiarius]

Well, part of it is word limitation. One has to decide what gets described and what has to be left to the reader's imagination. For example, I spent very few words (one hyphenated word, to be exact) describing the guards’ uniforms.

[Artemisia]

I still loved it, and thank you for the explanation. It seems like such a wonderful and complex world that you've created.

[Retiarius]

Well, to be fair, I borrowed the setting and one of the characters from the second book I've been stalled on writing for some time. But while the story itself won't fit, I have decided to add a character I introduced in the prompt to the book. It will need a bit of rewriting, mostly added text.

[Weertangel]

Still, its very nicely written, could't help remembering some scenes in certain tv shows or manga that also had something similar and also knew how to put it out just right

[Retiarius]

Well, thanks, although I don't follow manga and have watched very little TV over the past few years, so any similarities are entirely coincidental.

OK, I did my prompt. Time for the others to cough up.

[Dirty n Evil]

I have already written three efforts... and I'm too friggin' verbose. Even "cutting it short", I get near the end and find my word count in the 700 range. However, I'm going to give it another try when I get home tonight. I just find it challenging not including a backstory of why they're here, how they got to this place, what the complications are. I would not do as a mystery writer. ;)

[mikbuster]

Just post one of the longer ones. I've been dealing with issues, but I'll try to post something this weekend.

[Retiarius]

It's a prompt, not a story. It doesn't have to be complete unto itself.