What is this odd shape that breaks on the horizon? · 2:19am Jul 11th, 2015
It's a new Lost City! Not by me this time, but by DuncanR, an author you might know for his prolific reviews, or one of my favorite stories, Erase and Rewind.
You might recall that Lost Cities was intended to be an experiment: can I write a complete story using just a location? No characters, dialogue, action, etc. It turns out I could, and DuncanR is next up at bat:
The Seal of Wax and Glass
by DuncanR
Past the Endless Ocean, deep within the Sea of Ghosts, there is an island shrouded in mist.
DuncanR asks in his associated blogpost if anyone else has taken on this 'Lost Cities' challenge. I know of at least one other -- Bradel, who wrote one for the recent Writeoff competition. Obviously I'm pleased as peaches by all these stories, so if you have one of your own, please let me know!
Cool.
I... actually have a thought for something of my own. Is Bradel's thing posted?
Someday, I'm going to give it a shot. I've had some *very* flattering people butter me up on the topic, and it's only fair that I apply some fire to see if I'm a cheeze sandwich or just toast.
If Jannah wasn't such a cliche "oh look cursed magical city" I would try it.
Also you reminded me of "The Second Coming" with that title! hah
That's a fascinating idea. I might do that.
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It's on the Writeoff site, but I don't think he's posted it on FImFiction yet.
Amit wrote A Description of a Fountain in Canterlot's Gardens. It slightly devolves into narration at some point, and it's under a thousand words, but it's the closest I know to the "complete story using just a location" goal on this site (except Lost Cities itself, of course).
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Amit's A Description of a Fountain was actually the inspiration for Lost Cities!
Just finished Bradel's take on a lost city of the Brezies it was pretty good.
Strictly speaking, my story kind of fails as a pure tribute... swing and a miss, I suppose. Titanium Dragon's review points out some legitimate problems. But I'm still very proud of it on its own terms, I learned a lot from the experience, and--most of all--it was a ton of fun to write.
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As I mentioned in my blog, this feels like the sort of writing exercise everyone should attempt. It's all about forcing yourself to exclude something from your writing, instead of improving or adding something... sort of like wearing a blindfold to improve your other senses.
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So this 'seventh city' is a... seal?
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S'cuse me.
Rushes off to read it
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S'cuse me.
Rushes off to read it
3229178 Don't think of it as a a blindfold. Think of it as a cinematographer mapping out a long shot, like the butterfly in Forest Gump. You want the camera to swing out across the starlit village without only a few bats flying around in the darkness before it swoops down to a simple dirt path, pounded dusty by the impact of hooves but now bare and dry with only a few small marks that lead up to a door that has been half-broken and torn from the hinges with a spray of splinters across the bare floor, even reaching to the bottom steps of a rickety staircase where small brown stains show in ones and twos, growing thicker and more damp as the stairs go up where a thin stream of clotted brown oozed from underneath a closed door...
Sound about right?
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Funny you should mention cinematography... the idea of a story comprised entirely of an establishing shot had occurred to me during the daydreaming phase.
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Yeah, I found it. Was good, hope to see it here on FimFiction soon... Also, definitely have an idea for something, if you continue to not mind inspired-works?
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Door is still open!
3229178 ha! excellent