What Lies In A Moment · 5:54pm Aug 21st, 2016
A little over a week ago, I got an idea. It's nothing much, just a little something I'm considering starting for the heck of it. For now, I'm just calling it "Moments".
As I've been reading some especially strong stories lately (take a look at the recent Round Robin to get an idea of what I mean), I've come to recognize some things. Any reviewer who himself writes regularly probably gets this feeling. It's a sense that you're reading a story that does a certain something better than you ever did, and want to do something about it. That something, of course, is finding that author and locking them in your trunk tofinding a way to improve yourself in that field. In my case, the thing I feel like I'm missing is a sense of 'scene.'
It's one thing to say 'the room was majestic.' It's another to craft a picture of the room with the paintbrush of eloquence. Ah, but if one goes too far, it become purple prose or, worse, drags on into needless details. With these issues rearing their ugly heads, only practice and some proper critique can help. My stories are, I feel, far too bland in the narrative and overly dependent upon dialogue. And when I do work to create a proper 'scene,' I find it's not something I can maintain continuously.
Based upon my desire to improve in this field, I've decided starting a collection of shorts: "Moments". The concept is simple: write a series of stories that are for nothing but improving my ability to write a scene. The stories have no purpose in and of themselves; there's no overarching thread, no intended beginning or end, no lessons learned. It could be that minute when Applejack is picking which tree to buck first, or that instant of lingering pleasure Twilight feels right before starting a new book. Little things. Things that we all take for granted.
There would be a few rules. First: No dialogue, or at least a very minimal amount of it. 95%-100% of each 'moment' needs to be narrative, because the entire point of the collection is to learn to build an interesting scene without that crutch.
Second: Each story would be around 1,000 words. I'm actually gunning for exactly 1,000, but I may fudge that a little. This is to help develop scene pacing.
Third: Simple tasks and events are preferred. Everyday stuff. The point of this entire enterprise is to make the mundane interesting.
Fourth: No pre-planning. When one of these moments is written, it will happen without any consideration towards where it's going. This isn't about creating great stories, it's about creating a great scene. It's also about learning to do this with little forethought, and that means writing off the cuff.
Fifth: While general editing is permitted for proofing and word choice, there will be no total re-writes.
And there you have it. My idea for a little something to help with self-training. I've already written my first one and aim to post it later today. But why should I limit this to just me?
I'm letting this be a collaborative effort. Do you feel like your settings and scenes need improvement? Then by all means, try this for yourself. You could, of course, post it on your own account, but those who want to practice or perhaps demonstrate can contribute to this story. Write your own 'moment' and, as long as it adheres to the rules listed above, I'd be willing to add it as a new chapter – full credit granted, of course.
Consider this an open invitation. Anyone who wants to join me in this little experiment is more than welcome.
No Heroes: Beyond the Everfree: Saturday, August 27
Stats
Total Word Count: 1,820,000 over 36 stories
Average Words Written Per Week (2016): 7,765
Follower Rank: 250th (+2)
Overall Ratings Average: 94.35% (+.02%)
Highest-Rated Story (Not Counting Stories at 100%): Of Angels @ 278/3 or 98.93%
Story with the Most Votes: Tyrant @ 2242/67 (Year+)
Story with the Fewest Votes: Paul's Peculiarly Puny Practice Pieces @ 20/1
Longest Story: Order of Shadows @ 283,000 words
Well shit. This is exactly what I could use o get back into the game. I could pound something out.
I can't help but think this is Casca's doing, by way of writing Scald
If inspiration strikes, I'll definitely throw a scene in the pile. I have a ton of in-progress writing that I could stand to take a break from.
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Good to know some people are interested! I'm waiting for a response from a certain artist whose art I'd like to use for the cover. Hopefully they'll notice my query and respond soonish.
Time is simply a series of moments, tied together.
However...
Certain written moments stick with you, particularly ones that you have written and fallen in love with. I had a bunch of them in Monster, not quite so many in Letters, and a various number of on and off ones in the Tutor series. Some of the best times when writing is to rip a reader's beating heart out of their chest and grind it into the dirt under your heel. Um. Figuratively.
Celestia flew off into the darkness to kill her sister.
“It’s okay,” whispered Apple Bloom. “You’re safe here.”
Beet Salad held onto his brother and wept.
“There is no Princess Luna! There is only Nightmare Moon!”
I have penned a thing. A thing in which the character sits in her living room and thinks. I'm still not sure if it passes the mundane/everyday test
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I think every writer has those. My interest here, however, is in capturing more 'real' moments. The ones that don't stand out from everything else. It is the goal of making those everyday moments shine brighter that gives my concept a purpose.
But I definitely get where you're coming from.
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I bet it will. You could always set it in GDocs and share it with me via PM!
...I wonder how long I should wait for a response from the artist before using the cover art without one? Hmm...
So you mean somewhat like CiG's 'Cities' only as 'Moments' Hm. I can see that.
In all of the universe, there were only seventeen perfect places. One of these was on the second floor of the Ponyville Golden Oak library, at just around mid-morning when the sun would shine down through the branches in a mottled mix of warmth and cool shade, giving the little niche in the library's bark the perfect place for a unicorn to wedge herself into and read. The light breeze from the south would be just enough to stay cool while not enough to flip pages ahead of their appointed time, while the sun-warmed bark ensured a degree of comfort not even the most expensive bed in Canterlot could hope to match. There was even a convenient flat spot nearby, shaded to stay cool and just within reach of a reader in order to keep a glass of lemonade sweet and chilled through the entire book.
Twilight had not discovered the spot by accident. When she moved in, and after the inconvenient bother of an angry divine goddess of eternal night had been taken care of, she had gone over the entire tree, from leaf to root, in search for a reading position which would compare against being nestled up to the Princess of the Sun on a leisurely afternoon. At first, she had refused to admit the suitability of the spot, but after several days of testing, her heart had warmed as much as her soft purple coat under the shaded sunshine of her new reading spot. Over the years, she still longed for the warmth of Princess Celestia's presence, but substituted for it when Spike had likewise discovered her spot, and would spend just as many hours as she did, curled up against her sun-warmed belly with a stack of comic books and a bowl of gemstones. She had dreamed of someday growing old in that spot, with the nuzzling of a little foal or two, and the occasional warm presence of a wise stallion at her side, with similar reading preferences, of course. But now....
"Twi?" Applejack gently bumped her friend on the shoulder as they stood in the sun-dappled entrance to her crystal castle. "You feeling alright, sugarcube?"
"Yes." Princess Twilight Sparkle wiped away a tear and sniffed. "Just thinking." She took a deep breath before resuming her path alongside Applejack, with each of them carrying a large box of books from the Canterlot library (on indefinite loan) She remained quiet while they walked through the empty hallways of the castle and into the library, where they put the boxes next to several others which had been delivered over the last few days and which Twilight had not yet gotten put away.
"Applejack?" she said suddenly as they were starting to walk back out to get the next load of books. "I'd like to do a survey of the castle this afternoon to look for..." She hesitated, chewing her bottom lip before Applejack chuckled and shook her head.
"Lookin' for another readin' spot, I presume. Weren't no day when I'd go over to your library when you weren't curled up on that balcony." She smiled and shook her head again. "Ah'd be honored, Twi."
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A bit more purposeful than intended, but still a lot closer to what I have in mind. Assuming it could be stretched to reach that 1,000-word mark, this would make for a good addition.
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I was already drafting one, actually
Hi,
I'm new. And not I.T. savy, so still working out the mechanics of the site.
I understand the requirement for submission is 1,000 words. I have some poetry which may/may not fit the criteria. The peice is less than a thousand words, but can be expanded into prose to meet the requiement.
For the sake of simplicity could I take the liberty of PM you? I assume there is no cut off for submission as yet.
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This isn't a contest, it's a drive for self-improvement. In other words, there is no cut off for submission.
Poetry, huh? Not what I expected, but I won't reject it. By all means, PM me.
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All right! I finally have a solid concept! I wanted something truly mundane that I could make interesting, so it took me awhile. I'm on my way to work right now so it might be done tonight or maybe tomorrow. Also, I don't think that I could hit the thousand word mark, more like 500. But I'll see.
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Well, we shall see. It may prove so great I have to include it.
What? Not 1,000?
But really, I'm just glad I'm not the only one interested in this.
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FYI, I intend to release the story tomorrow, so if you wanna get in as part of the opening act you'll need to get your Moments to me soonish. You can still PM me your material afterwards of course, but I figured I'd mention it in case you guys want to be in there at publishing time.
And before you ask, no, I don't have a specific time. It'll generally be 'whenever I'm ready.'