So, I've just started writing a novel. Whether I'll finish it or not is a big question, but this is because I've been writing a large scale Katawa Shoujo fanfic that's already novel length and isn't past the 3/4 mark yet, so I figured since I know now that I can write halfway decent quality fiction at such length, I can definitely do it with an original idea that's been in my mind for a long time. I've written the prologue, which is in the spoiler box and which I encourage constructive criticism of (note this is the very first draft of the very first part of the story).
Anyhow, this thread isn't just to talk about my idea (which is under wraps for the moment, save that it's a sort of urban fantasy set in the very near future and deals with something called the Ninth Circle War...). I want to hear from you guys! We have a lot of budding writers on these forums. I know that because of the number of fanfics people have written and mentioned here, the old (sadly now defunct) Short Story Thread (that I might just try and revive at some point), and other threads talking about people's writing skills. As such, I want to see what you guys can come up with. Have you had an idea for a novel, a comic, a game, a story of any kind, that you want to share? Maybe you've already written something and want some feedback, or want to share extracts and snippets of your work? Or possibly you just want to hear the awesome ideas other people have come up with. Either way, this is the place to post them
.
PROLOGUE
They say that history is written by the victors. I don?t know who ?they? are, really, but it's pretty clear from the saying that history and truth don?t always go hand in hand. The victors in this case weren?t the sort of people you?d expect to tell the truth about things, especially when it paints them in such a poor light. As for me, I survived, but I wouldn?t call myself a winner. I don?t know any winners from then. Survivors, sure, I know plenty of those. I know those who weren?t as lucky, who didn?t make it through unscathed. I lost too many people in the war. Friends, family; the people I loved, some who linger on and others who disappeared long ago. We were all changed by the conflict, those of us who were so intimately involved.
I shouldn?t really call it a world war, as it didn?t start as such, and by the end it encompassed more than just one world. The Ninth Circle War ended almost five years ago to the day and yet we still feel its effects, altering everything and forcing governments and regimes around the world to tighten their grip on the remnants of civilisation. In a way, I suppose that?s why I decided to write this. History is subjective, but the truth is universal. It needs to be told.
If I?m right in the timing of this, the first edition will be sold all across Europe on the fifth anniversary of the Great Purge. No pre-release copies have been made, no publisher has seen the results of our work. My allies and I have done everything ourselves, and by the time anybody sees what we?ve written we?ll be halfway to a safehouse in Australia, free of any reprisal and with years of training to fall back on should we be found. Many governments will tremble, some may even fall, but the truth is vital and needs to be heard. Let Whitehall find us, if they dare try, and they?ll see just how powerful the voice of the few can be.
I?ll admit, we weren?t perfect. Both sides had their share of blood to wallow in, and my friends and I all bathed our hands more than once. I still recall the screams of the Square Mile when the war began. I have visions of New York before I pressed the button and wiped out an icon of the modern age. We did everything we could to save lives and it wasn?t enough. We worked with the enemy, invited them into our midst, to destroy a greater evil, and it still wasn?t enough. Nightmares still haunt me of our confrontation on Millennium Bridge, how arrogant I was then in both word and deed. I still feel my finger on the trigger as I risked everything for one foolish chance to prove a point. Yet none of it compares to the aftermath, to how the world became when we finally achieved all we had set out to accomplish.
There will be no praise for us. There?ll be no parades in the street nor obelisks in parks in our honour. For ourselves there?ll be nothing but a scattering of tiny mounds, the last resting place of those who struggled for peace only to see the results twisted into a mockery of democracy. I realise my words may not ring as fair. After all, by our actions thousands were killed, yet I would argue that we spared them a worse fate at the hands of more brutal masters. Yet maybe with these words we can finally bring about the change we wanted all along.
Extract from ?The Ninth Circle War ? A Verbal History of the End of Days.?
They say that history is written by the victors. I don?t know who ?they? are, really, but it's pretty clear from the saying that history and truth don?t always go hand in hand. The victors in this case weren?t the sort of people you?d expect to tell the truth about things, especially when it paints them in such a poor light. As for me, I survived, but I wouldn?t call myself a winner. I don?t know any winners from then. Survivors, sure, I know plenty of those. I know those who weren?t as lucky, who didn?t make it through unscathed. I lost too many people in the war. Friends, family; the people I loved, some who linger on and others who disappeared long ago. We were all changed by the conflict, those of us who were so intimately involved.
I shouldn?t really call it a world war, as it didn?t start as such, and by the end it encompassed more than just one world. The Ninth Circle War ended almost five years ago to the day and yet we still feel its effects, altering everything and forcing governments and regimes around the world to tighten their grip on the remnants of civilisation. In a way, I suppose that?s why I decided to write this. History is subjective, but the truth is universal. It needs to be told.
If I?m right in the timing of this, the first edition will be sold all across Europe on the fifth anniversary of the Great Purge. No pre-release copies have been made, no publisher has seen the results of our work. My allies and I have done everything ourselves, and by the time anybody sees what we?ve written we?ll be halfway to a safehouse in Australia, free of any reprisal and with years of training to fall back on should we be found. Many governments will tremble, some may even fall, but the truth is vital and needs to be heard. Let Whitehall find us, if they dare try, and they?ll see just how powerful the voice of the few can be.
I?ll admit, we weren?t perfect. Both sides had their share of blood to wallow in, and my friends and I all bathed our hands more than once. I still recall the screams of the Square Mile when the war began. I have visions of New York before I pressed the button and wiped out an icon of the modern age. We did everything we could to save lives and it wasn?t enough. We worked with the enemy, invited them into our midst, to destroy a greater evil, and it still wasn?t enough. Nightmares still haunt me of our confrontation on Millennium Bridge, how arrogant I was then in both word and deed. I still feel my finger on the trigger as I risked everything for one foolish chance to prove a point. Yet none of it compares to the aftermath, to how the world became when we finally achieved all we had set out to accomplish.
There will be no praise for us. There?ll be no parades in the street nor obelisks in parks in our honour. For ourselves there?ll be nothing but a scattering of tiny mounds, the last resting place of those who struggled for peace only to see the results twisted into a mockery of democracy. I realise my words may not ring as fair. After all, by our actions thousands were killed, yet I would argue that we spared them a worse fate at the hands of more brutal masters. Yet maybe with these words we can finally bring about the change we wanted all along.
Extract from ?The Ninth Circle War ? A Verbal History of the End of Days.?
Anyhow, this thread isn't just to talk about my idea (which is under wraps for the moment, save that it's a sort of urban fantasy set in the very near future and deals with something called the Ninth Circle War...). I want to hear from you guys! We have a lot of budding writers on these forums. I know that because of the number of fanfics people have written and mentioned here, the old (sadly now defunct) Short Story Thread (that I might just try and revive at some point), and other threads talking about people's writing skills. As such, I want to see what you guys can come up with. Have you had an idea for a novel, a comic, a game, a story of any kind, that you want to share? Maybe you've already written something and want some feedback, or want to share extracts and snippets of your work? Or possibly you just want to hear the awesome ideas other people have come up with. Either way, this is the place to post them
.
