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Fictional Authors » Recent Topics http://fictionalauthors.com/ Fictional Authors » Recent Topics en Thu, 09 Sep 2010 03:11:33 +0000 Dale on "March Meeting?" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/march-meeting-1#post-152 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:46:29 +0000 Dale 152@http://fictionalauthors.com/ Greetings, Was there discussion of when / where the March meeting will be held? And was there any sort of activity to prepare for it? Thanks, Dale Dale on "Meetings / Dates / Times" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/meetings-dates-times#post-148 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:48:15 +0000 Dale 148@http://fictionalauthors.com/ I did not want to further clutter the February meeting thread with plans for March and maybe beyond. There was discussion of third Saturdays 2-4, in general. There was mention that Paul, Ali and maybe Jim would miss a third Saturday meeting in March (3/20) unless we rescheduled it for a different Saturday. A question was asked "Are Saturdays good?" and Jen indicated she works every other Saturday. Discuss! Paul on "February 20th @ The Crooked Tree" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/february-the-crooked-tree#post-141 Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:14:19 +0000 Paul 141@http://fictionalauthors.com/ We pulled a story starter from Lou Willett Stanek's book "Story Starters" as a writing exercise to do, that we'll share and discuss next time we meet. <blockquote>He had given your character a key but insisted that she call before coming over. One night she was in his neighbourhood and, on a whim, she stopped by. </blockquote> Feel free to switch genders around, and aim for something of short-story length (max of a couple of thousand words I'd say). Alison on "January 16th @ Crooked Tree!" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/january-16th-crooked-tree#post-132 Tue, 29 Dec 2009 07:07:02 +0000 Alison 132@http://fictionalauthors.com/ Let's kick off our 2010 at the Crooked Tree, 2pm till 4pm. There's a great exercise in Stephen King's "On Writing" p170-173, he gives a premise, a required scene, and a starting point, you have to write 5-6 pages WITHOUT PLOTTING FIRST. I think that would be a cool exercise to work through. So, who's coming? What are you working on? Did you write "The End" on your 2009 NaNo yet? InjunJoe on "Post Nano 2009" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/post-nano-2009#post-130 Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:40:13 +0000 InjunJoe 130@http://fictionalauthors.com/ So what's going on? Who's planning? When is Paul updating this site? Are we meeting at the Crooked Tree? When are we meeting? Will Denise join us? Will any of the new folks from this year be coming? Who is the badass looking chick holding the shovel on Facebook? Will my freaking condo sell? Tune in again for answers to these and far more important questions at an unspecified time after I hit enter on this post. tptigger on "Ah hah" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/ah-hah#post-105 Wed, 09 Sep 2009 06:20:40 +0000 tptigger 105@http://fictionalauthors.com/ So, 'tis September. Do we want to start up meeting again? Dale on "July? Or not 'till fall?" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/july-or-not-till-fall#post-87 Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:03:49 +0000 Dale 87@http://fictionalauthors.com/ I am very questionable for this Sunday. I suspect nobody showed last month? Sorry I was unable to make it. If we skip July, and maybe August, due to summer conflicts, I really hope we can start again in September, to get energy ramped up for Nano. I don't have anyone's email address and would like to touch base with any and all of the regulars to this group. Please ping me at my yahoo, which is dale_weese. Thanks! Alison on "June meeting?" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/june-meeting#post-82 Fri, 22 May 2009 14:36:32 +0000 Alison 82@http://fictionalauthors.com/ June 14th would be the second Sunday. I'm aiming to have my second story completed by then. Any thoughts about a location? Paul and I have picked the last couple. Alison on "May Meeting" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/may-meeting#post-73 Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:38:01 +0000 Alison 73@http://fictionalauthors.com/ May 17th, 1pm if you want to come eat, 2pm to hang out. Bring pages! We want to read. Trailhead Brewing 921 S. Riverside Dr. St. Charles, MO 63302 <a href="http://www.trailheadbrewing.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.trailheadbrewing.com/</a> Alison on "Good book for mystery writing?" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/good-book-for-mystery-writing#post-77 Sat, 02 May 2009 14:57:44 +0000 Alison 77@http://fictionalauthors.com/ Anyone got any suggestions for books about writing mysteries and/or suspense stories? Alison on "April Meeting" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/april-meeting#post-60 Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:10:39 +0000 Alison 60@http://fictionalauthors.com/ April 19th, 2pm (April 12th is Easter Sunday, and Paul's busy) Crooked Tree Coffee House 559 First Capitol Drive St. Charles, MO 63301 Bring printed copies of your stories! BTW, check out Pride and Prejudice and Zombies <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Zombies-Classic-Ultraviolent/dp/1594743347" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Zombies-Classic-Ultraviolent/dp/1594743347</a> Reviews say it is about 85% Austen and 15% zombie. Just released. Paul on "A drabble" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/a-drabble#post-68 Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:43:35 +0000 Paul 68@http://fictionalauthors.com/ A drabble is a story told in one hundred words PRECISELY, no more and no less, not counting its title. <a href="http://www.meades.org/drabble.html">http://www.meades.org/drabble.html</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drabble">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drabble</a> Its a wonderful challenge to write one. That said, the story might oscillate around 97-104 words for a while until you get the edits just so. Alison on "This is our shared world. Go!" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/this-is-our-shared-world-go#post-59 Sun, 08 Mar 2009 15:42:59 +0000 Alison 59@http://fictionalauthors.com/ I promised I would write this up when I got home, and I can read almost all of what I wrote... The shared world we're going to write stories for is as follows: In the year 2212, Aliens invade Earth. They want the sea water, for nefarious reasons of their own. We don't know exactly what they want it for or why, it really doesn't matter except we have it and they want it. There is no name for their species, so call them something like the Others, or the Outsiders. In preparation for their overt invasion, they've been sending people to Earth to take key positions in society and herd us towards being more susceptible to being conquered. People like the Speaker of the House of Representatives (to shove through alien-friendly policies), the President of McDonalds (to make us too unhealthy to fight back), the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (to make sure the military isn't good enough to fight back), the Federal Reserve chairman (to engineer economic collapse), and others. Think people who keep their jobs when the government change hands, have a lot of influence, and little accountability. In 2212, there is a Resistance movement. They have adapted a mechanism for troop and ship transport to use as a time machine to send groups of 50 back in time to undo the domestication of the human race and equip us to fight back. Unfortunately the mechanism isn't perfect, it wasn't designed for this, and when it sends people back in time, you get unexpected results. The "classes" expected to arrive in set times and places, and all together, but they are spread out both physically and in time. It was suggested that a group could arrive all on the same line of latitude, but spaced out around the globe. They have to find each other. Some of them brought back advanced equipment and gadgets, some of them brought just the clothes they were wearing. They have some cultural and language training, but would be considered eccentric by the natives while they are trying to figure out how to blend in. Some of them try and get famous in the hope that others in their class will see them on TV or the internet and make contact, so they can get on with what they were sent back to fix. The goal of the Resistance is to guide our science, and undo the Alien influence. Some of the goals of the Aliens are: * Get people to ignore climate change, so that they can come and say "hey, we can fix that for you" when they invade and appear friendly and helpful while turning us into slaves. * Get people to stop taking care of themselves physically so we are in no condition to fight back. * Fight intellectualism and empty universities, or fill them with courses that do no good to anyone. * Train people not to think for themselves, but to accept the solutions they are given. * Train people to rely on a central World government to make all the decisions and care for them. (If any of you have a beef with the UN, this is your plot line) * Encourage the use of addictive stimulants (caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, theobromine aka chocolate) to aid in controlling the population * Some conspiracy theory surrounding use of Teflon, something about saran wrap causing autism. * Zone for housing right next to overhead power lines (I have something in mind about magnetic fields and mind control, plus the potential link to leukaemia). How to identify the Aliens: * Their blood is different. The only definitive test is to steal some of their blood (because they will have stuff under their skin with real human blood prepared in case they have to do a blood test, similar to the way people try and fake a pee test). * They are excessively sensitive to mold. Dale says this would cause problems with cheese, coffee, peanuts, and a variety of other foods, a list would be great. * They only need 4 hours sleep in a 24 hour cycle. Perhaps they are used to a 28 or 32 hour day and have odd sleep patterns. NB, Margaret Thatcher only took a few hours sleep a night... Get writing! I would love to see stories next time we meet. I have an idea about a guy working on the nuclear fission project I mentioned. tptigger on "March meeting?" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/march-meeting#post-52 Sun, 22 Feb 2009 11:13:40 +0000 tptigger 52@http://fictionalauthors.com/ So we're about two weeks out from March 8, which was the last agreed upon meeting date. Have we picked a location yet? Alison on "February stories" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/february-stories#post-51 Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:58:14 +0000 Alison 51@http://fictionalauthors.com/ This is the thread for posting your February stories from the "person, place, problem, prop" cards. tptigger on "February Meeting" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/february-meeting#post-45 Mon, 19 Jan 2009 07:50:14 +0000 tptigger 45@http://fictionalauthors.com/ Oh, oops, I was supposed to post this yesterday, wasn't I? I'm sadly not very knowledgeable about downtown Kirkwood ('less you guys want to meet in the library), so we'll go with Jim's suggestion: Kaldi's at 120 South Kirkwood Road (there's a parking lot near there and others relatively close on Argon (on the left) and Jefferson--also along those streets). So the meeting is to be at 2 PM on Sunday, February 8. (Hopefully it won't be as cold and we can do a Ben & Jerry's run. Mmm... sorbet. :) Alison on "Pineapples and steampunk" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/pineapples-and-steampunk#post-39 Sun, 11 Jan 2009 19:31:01 +0000 Alison 39@http://fictionalauthors.com/ Someone want to summarise the vague world premise we came up with? Someone who's not tranked out on Nyquil? Paul on "January 2009 - first get together of the year!" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/january-2009-first-get-together-of-the-year#post-6 Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:00:05 +0000 Paul 6@http://fictionalauthors.com/ I am assuming that people will still be recovering from New Years on the first Sunday of the month, which has been our customary time to meet for the last year. So I propose that we get together to kick things off on Sunday, January 11th at 2:00pm. Location is open for suggestions but you can get a good idea of previous meeting locations from the <a href="http://fictionalauthors.com/topic.php?id=2">Monthly Meetings in 2008</a> posting. admin on "Your first topic" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/your-first-topic#post-1 Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:45:02 +0000 admin 1@http://fictionalauthors.com/ First Post! w00t. laureninstlouis on "Neverending story of my own..." http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/neverending-story-of-my-own#post-28 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 23:36:57 +0000 laureninstlouis 28@http://fictionalauthors.com/ My NaNo project. STILL WRITING. 67,500+ words. Not done. Very tired of the story, and pretty sure no one will ever want to read it. Paul on "Neverending/Round Robin/Ongoing Story" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/neverendinground-robinongoing-story#post-27 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 22:19:14 +0000 Paul 27@http://fictionalauthors.com/ Rules are simple: <ol> <li>post the next segment of the story</li> <li>shoot for at least a paragraph or two</li> <li>Have fun</li> </ol> <hr /> Michaela felt like her lungs were going to burst but she had to keep going, they were depending on her. She sucked air through a protesting throat that felt like it had been days waiting for the cool touch of water, but she knew it had only been minutes. There! She spotted movement alongside her, between trees, as she ran. Were they ahead or behind? She couldn't tell. She wanted nothing more than to give in to the ache in her chest and burning in her legs but she knew she couldn't. She had to keep running. She run. She jumped over tree roots and almost stumbled as she came down on more of an incline than she had expected. Sounds behind her. The rhythm of running feet. No, not so soon. She had counted on putting more distance between her pursuers than this. She pressed on. Picked up the pace. Outside of the woods a small group of relative strangers waited behind tape that flapped in the strong morning breeze. They all craned their necks, some pressing cameras to their faces, as they eagerly waited. There was a collective intake of breath as the first of the runners broke from the tree cover. Sweat plastered the teenager's ginger hair to her forehead. Her arms and legs pumped as she ate the distance in practiced runner's strides. A battered piece of paper declared her to be number "73". Only heartbeats behind her followed two more girls, numbers "18" and "44" respectively in second and third place. "Come on Michaela, you can do it!" her mother yelled from the sideline. <hr /> Paul on "Interesting writing resources" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/interesting-writing-resources#post-26 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:56:34 +0000 Paul 26@http://fictionalauthors.com/ I ran across the site <a href="http://www.1000000monkeys.com/">One Million Monkeys Typing</a> about a year ago. Its a strange collaborative experiment. Someone "plants" the seed of an idea and others post snippets that branch off or continue a given idea. In the words of the site itself <blockquote>This site attempts not only to harness the literary power of one million "monkeys" typing but also to generate some truly wonderful texts and social networks. It is part Exquisite Corpse, part Choose Your Own Adventure, and it works by having multiple authors work on the same stories with each adding their own segments. Each segment (or snippet) will have the opportunity for 3 offshoots — those that are ranked highly will gain offshoots of their own, and those that are ranked poorly will wither and die. </blockquote> It looks like fun. Anyone else know of some good resources online, or comments about others folks have posted? Alison on "The shared world" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/the-shared-world#post-4 Sun, 07 Dec 2008 13:10:18 +0000 Alison 4@http://fictionalauthors.com/ What kind of world do you want to spend a year writing about? We had a "fantasy meets present day" scenario last year. Please don't try and make me write chick lit, that's all I ask... Paul on "Monthly Meetings in 2008" http://fictionalauthors.com/topic/monthly-meetings-in-2008#post-3 Sat, 06 Dec 2008 21:50:40 +0000 Paul 3@http://fictionalauthors.com/ To give an idea of where we have met before: <ul><li> Sunday September 7th 2008 - Hunan Star on Manchester</li><li> Sunday August 2nd 2008 - "Pi" on the Loop</li><li> Sunday, July 6th 2008 - Picasso's in St. Charles <a href="http://www.picassoscoffeehouse.com/">http://www.picassoscoffeehouse.com/</a></li><li> Sunday, June 8th 2008 - InjunJoe's TeePee, top-secret Nano Safehouse,</li><li> Sunday, May 11th 2008 Cairdeas Coffeehouse, <a href="http://cairdeascoffee.com/">http://cairdeascoffee.com/</a></li><li> Sunday, Apr 6th 2008 - Kaldi's Coffeehouse, Chesterfield</li><li> Sunday, Mar 2nd 2008 - St Louis Bread Company at Kennerly and Tesson Ferry</li><li> Sunday, Feb 10th 2008 - The Crooked Tree Coffee House at <a href="http://www.crookedtreecoffee.com/666136.html">http://www.crookedtreecoffee.com/666136.html</a></li><li> Sunday, Jan 6th 2008 - St. Louis Bread Co. on Central, in Clayton</li></ul>