Reapers of the Shadow
The Spark: What Are You Writing?
Oct 1 - Oct 9
This week is about turning "I have an idea" into something resembling a story.
The Elevator Pitch
Describe your story in 50 words or fewer: Runaway sacrifice finds refuge in the company of troublemaking kids and an old horse-trading couple, living in peace until a fire took away many. He and a survivor of the kids, now both older teenagers, embark on a journey to uncover the lies they were told about their world.
Describe your story in one sentence: Runaway sacrifice collects secretive companions each with their own objectives, but all with the same destination.
Three Things
Three Things I Know:
"I want this story to make the reader feel _cathartic_." I'm not sure about the specific ending yet but I do hope that there can be some sort of relief. There will for sure be tragedy in the process, but I hope towards the end a type of balance is restored, much like the party's later-discovered goal of cleansing excess "Shadow" and restoring balance to their world.
CHALLENGE. Steal This Prompt
Pick one (or two bc I feel like) of these 10 elements and incorporate it somehow into your concept:
- A locked door
- An unwanted inheritance
- A lie told at dinner: I interpret this half-literally. More like a lie told in average households, a lie deemed necessary by adults without considering the perspective of their children. A common occurrence that leads to many of the misfortunes in this story.
- Something buried beneath a tree
- An embarrassing lie
- A secret: The whole story is built on secrets. The runaway sacrifice Laurel did not know what his festive dance entailed; "Axe" hid his real name and background, resulting in the burning of the village he loved so much; The nature of The Shadow is largely unknown other than the basic concept that it is a malign force that should not exist. Many more secrets exist among the companions and in the larger world. Maybe all will be revealed, maybe some will stay veiled in mystery.
- Something very very pink
- A monster
- A sport game
- A story within a story
Oct 1 - Oct 9
This week is about turning "I have an idea" into something resembling a story.
The Elevator Pitch
Describe your story in 50 words or fewer: Runaway sacrifice finds refuge in the company of troublemaking kids and an old horse-trading couple, living in peace until a fire took away many. He and a survivor of the kids, now both older teenagers, embark on a journey to uncover the lies they were told about their world.
Describe your story in one sentence: Runaway sacrifice collects secretive companions each with their own objectives, but all with the same destination.
Three Things
Three Things I Know:
- extensive travel descriptions (mostly on the road with occasional stops) after the fire in chapter two
- multiple/alternating POV (switch each chapter)
- quite a dark fantasy
- length of the overall story
- all the members of the main companion cast (I have two of the mcs for sure, a couple others in drafts)
- ending
"I want this story to make the reader feel _cathartic_." I'm not sure about the specific ending yet but I do hope that there can be some sort of relief. There will for sure be tragedy in the process, but I hope towards the end a type of balance is restored, much like the party's later-discovered goal of cleansing excess "Shadow" and restoring balance to their world.
CHALLENGE. Steal This Prompt
Pick one (or two bc I feel like) of these 10 elements and incorporate it somehow into your concept:
- A locked door
- An unwanted inheritance
- A lie told at dinner: I interpret this half-literally. More like a lie told in average households, a lie deemed necessary by adults without considering the perspective of their children. A common occurrence that leads to many of the misfortunes in this story.
- Something buried beneath a tree
- An embarrassing lie
- A secret: The whole story is built on secrets. The runaway sacrifice Laurel did not know what his festive dance entailed; "Axe" hid his real name and background, resulting in the burning of the village he loved so much; The nature of The Shadow is largely unknown other than the basic concept that it is a malign force that should not exist. Many more secrets exist among the companions and in the larger world. Maybe all will be revealed, maybe some will stay veiled in mystery.
- Something very very pink
- A monster
- A sport game
- A story within a story