Short story + NaNoWriMo

 

“Honestly, Simon.  Sometimes I wonder whether the fairies switched you out at birth.  How else could we have such a perfect child?”

            Simon beamed up at their parents, all guileless blue eyes and soft golden curls.

            “You’ve got it wrong, Bet,” said their father.  “He’s the one the fairies tried to make away with but failed.”

            “Of course, dear—they’d never let him go if they’d had him.  Ha, ha!”

            “Ha, ha!”

            Jim clutched his fork and kept his head down.  He had tried, in the first few days after their mother had come home from the hospital with Simon, to privately ask his parents whether the boy wasn’t maturing too quickly.  But the more he pressed his point, the more his parents either patted him on the head or became angry and started accusing him of being a jealous ingrate. 

            In their calmest moments, the moments they were most like themselves, they explained, “We don’t love you any less or Simon any more because he’s our natural-born son.  We’ve never regretted letting you make your home with us, and we never will.”

            Jim believed them: they were that sort of people.  Loving, overly generous, and fair.  Under normal circumstances, circumstances in which they stayed in their right minds—

            He clutched his spoon and kept his eyes down.

            “Aren’t you going to try some, Brother?” Simon asked charmingly—Simon, who had been born a month before.  Simon, who had just served them the four-course meal he’d made himself.  Jim had been wondering when he’d make his move.

            “My stomach’s upset,” Jim said.  “Maybe later.”

            “Don’t be offended, Simon dear,” their mother said; “he’s never been a big eater.”

            “I understand,” Simon said, tears pricking his eyes.

            “Really, Jim, I’d think you could try some!” said their father.

            “Please,” said Jim, “may I go lie down?  I’m not well.”  He got up, deathly pale—but he’d always been pale; iron deficiency, the doctor said—and made his way to his low-ceiling attic bedroom.  He lay down on his bed and waited, certain Simon would come.

            He was right.  Simon came to his room just before midnight, perhaps thinking to wake him, and began poking around Jim’s belongings—the gifts lavished upon him by the people who let him call them Dad and Mom.  His family.

            “I wasn’t sure before,” Simon said—so perhaps he did know Jim was awake.  Adult flatness had replaced the sweetness of his voice.  “It isn’t unusual for human children to be jealous of us.  But you really can see through my glamour.  Can’t you.”

            “Earthworms and dirt water,” Jim said, sitting up.  “How dare you feed them that, how dare you treat them like that when they’ve taken you in and giving you their love!  Don’t your kind have laws about guests and hosts?”

            “There’s no virtue in their caring for me,” Simon said comfortably; “I didn’t give them a choice.  Besides, they think I’m their spawn.  They think I’m perfect.  I don’t notice them calling you that.”

            “Because I choose to honor the integrity of their minds!”

            “Because you aren’t good enough.”

            “They invited me into their home,” Jim shot back.  “You kidnapped their child and put yourself in his place.  What have you done with the real Simon?”

            Simon shrugged, picking up a picture of their parents.  There were no pictures with Jim—he didn’t photograph well—but the room was full of candid shots of friends and family.  “How should I know?” he asked.

            Fury flashed Jim’s vision red, and he flew across the room.  He caught Simon’s neck, fingernails drawing blood.  “Let’s try again,” he snarled.  “This is MY family, and I will rip out your throat and drink your blood before I let you abuse them.”

            Simon struggled and squeaked, but Jim’s grip was like iron.

            “Where.  Is.  The real.  Simon.”

            “I don’t know!” the boy gasped.  “I wasn’t in charge of that!”

            “Then you will help me find him.”

            “I won’t.”

            “You will,” Jim said, slowing down his words and forcing Simon to look deep into his eyes.  “You will help me find Simon and restore him to my family.  And then you will leave us alone until and unless I call for you.”

            “Yes,” Simon whispered, face slack, “master.”

 

----

 

What on Earth was that nonsense?  Let me explain . . .

 I’m doing NaNoWriMo this year.  For those of you who don’t know, November is NationalNovelWritingMonth.  Basically, writers around the world write 50,000 words in a month.  Doing NaNoWriMo “properly” means writing this as a new novel.  I have done it this way, but I’ve also used it for rewrites. 

 I mean, I’m an 11-time participant.  I’ve done it a lot of ways.  If you’d like to be my buddy on the site, I’m eversearchingtraveler.

 Anyway, this year I’m writing not a novel but a series of short stories.  I’m also counting total words written, not final words written.  So for example, this morning I wrote a short story in my notebook and they typed it up, rewriting and editing.  The handwritten version was 600 words; the typed version 700, so my total count was 1300. 

 The reason I’m writing short stories is I felt my brain getting clogged up and I was having trouble writing.  I needed to clear it out.  I work with prompts, but I have trouble finding prompts until they’re assigned to me.  So I am using a system.  It goes like this: my prompt for each story is the first two or three books by different authors that I own in each letter of the alphabet.  Like this:

 

A: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison.  (from which I took “hitchhiker” and “goblin”)

 B: (I skipped this one, actually.  I’m rarely allowed to skip one and only one.  I wrote an unrelated 6,000-word story that I'm rather excited about)

 C: Keeper of Dreams by Orson Scott Card, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (omnibus) by Lewis Carroll, and The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman (“dream keeper” “Lewis” “five languages”)

 D: Boy by Road Dahl, The Secret Country by Pamela Dean, and Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney (“dahl/doll,” “Dean,” “Witch.”  I messed up here; Tigerheart by Peter David was misfiled).

 E: The Knight’s Castle by Edgar Eager and The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison, The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards (“knight/castle,” “worm = dragon”; "eager",  "Edwards").

 F: The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer, Darkhenge by Catherine Fisher (“troll,” “henge,” dark tone)

 G: The Changeling War by Peter Garrison (a penname of Craig Shaw Gardner) and Prisoner of Vampires by Nancy Gardner (“changeling,” “prisoner,” “vampire”).

 

That’s the one I just wrote.  Some turn out better, some worse; some longer and some shorter, but never under 500 words.  Tomorrow is Those Who Hunt the Night by Barbara Hambly + Scottish Myth’s and Legends by Judy Hamilton.

Night Fell

 Night fell.

He'd been falling since at least 5:27pm, and supposed he couldn't fall much further without being completely in the dark, since this hole had neither stars nor fireflies and had yet to invent electricity.  He therefore sighingly inflated his i into an o and fell onto the hole rather than into it.

Night oofed as he scrabbled along the glassy surface.  He gained his footing just as one of the screeching things that had been chasing him screeched past.  It flailed but, failing to correct its preposition in time, thudded to the bottom of the lightless hole, never to be seen again.

The thing's comrades screeched above, and Night caught enough of their language to know more were coming, things with wings and talons and beaks and eyes that cast light enough to see by.

Powered or Overpowered?

So, as those who’ve been following this blog know, I’ve been engaging with a lot of Japanese media lately, and especially anime and light novels (with a bit of manga thrown in).  As in, I’ve read over 100 Japanese novels in the past six months.  This is relevant because in the particular subgenre I read, I’ve noticed a trend.  It goes like this:

1. Protagonist is weak (or pretending to be weak)

2. Protagonist gets strong (or is revealed as strong)

3. Protagonist easily overcomes all struggles with his power and story is boring.

This usually happens after it's clear the author's original ideas have been used up, and now they just want to keep writing to make money / they can keep getting praise for how awesome their protagonist is.

(On which note, check out my post on Telling Your Reader Your Character Is Epic.)

But see, the thing is . . . super powerful does not equal overpowered.

Diana Wynne Jones’s Chrestomanci is literally not only the most powerful enchanter in the world but possibly in the multiverse, and he isn’t overpowered.  Why?  Because he can lose.  He can be outsmarted or teamed up on or caught off guard.  He doesn’t instantly know the answers to mysteries.  Other magic users may use magic with which he is unfamiliar or for which he is unprepared.  The stakes are real.  Regardless of power level, a character is overpowered when their power negates the stakes.  If the stakes are real, the character is not overpowered.

I’ll make three examples here of characters that look overpowered but aren’t.

1. Character seems super powerful but actually isn’t.  Glenn from Akashic Records of The Bastard Magic Instructor is introduced as a third-rate magician.  At first, I expected he’d be revealed to be super-powerful as a magic user, but NOPE.  What he has are such a good understanding of magic theory and so much cleverness that he can somewhat compensate for his lack of magical power.  But only somewhat.  He’s definitely the weakest person in most fights, and he can lose.

2. Character is super powerful, but the antagonist is his equal or slight superior.  Light from Death Note is possibly the smartest guy in the world, an expert at charm and trickery and deduction; furthermore, he has a supernatural power.  His antagonist, L, however . . . is barely his intellectual inferior, and has many more years of experience plus funding and support from the world’s police and a secret network.  This makes them equals or even gives L the edge.

3. Character is, in fact, the most powerful—but this doesn’t solve his problems.  My favorite example of this, because it’s so ridiculously extreme, is The Misfit of Demon King Academy: History's Strongest Demon King Reincarnates and Goes to School with His Descendants. Anos Voldigord, demon king of old, reincarnates with all his memories and powers two thousand years later.  Everyone else seems to have forgotten powerful magic, whereas he is so powerful he can literally kill someone with the sound of his heartbeat (and then immediately revive them if he so wishes).  In any contest of strength, he instantly wins.  But see, the stakes revolve not around who is the strongest, but around whether he can convince people of who he is and solve a 2000-year-old mystery.  (Note: I’ve only read the first 2-2/3 novels; the rest haven’t been translated yet.)  So although ridiculously powerful, he isn't overpowered, because his power doesn't negate the stakes.

So, yeah, I’ve been having fun thinking about that. :)

The King Must Die

Another k-pop mix story.  Because I can . . .

The King Must Die – Part 1

Many years in the future (Intro), is what seems to be a city (City Lights) of tremendous wealthy and happiness (Beautiful), but which is in truth a rotten canker of injustice (District 9) run by the organization known as Magnolia (Magnolia).

Like everyone else, Purple Max tries to stay anonymous and out of trouble (Keep Your Head Down).  But then, one day his wife is taken from him by the organization (Palace).  Fearing for what might be happening to her (From Way Up There) he begs the authorities to release her (Baby Come Back Home)—and when they refuse, for them to kill him (Shoot Me).

One of his old friends drags him away (Calm Down), but his heart and mind are shattered (No More Dream).  He finally acknowledges what a hell he’s living in (Hellevator), and that he needs to take a stand himself (Can’t Avoid My Destiny) if he wants things to change (Make a Change).

Now fully against Magnolia (Bad Guy), Max turns to the infamous Dr. Bebe for help (Dr. Bebe), and together they plot for Max to break into the palace to assassinate Magnolia’s leaders (The King Must Die).

 

The King Must Die – Part 1

After training to become the perfect killer (Savage), Max infiltrates the palace (Ready or Not) to set things right (Reboot).  At first, he succeeds (Sweet Chaos), but he is brought up short by the sight of his wife (1004 (Angel)).  He barely recognizes her (Beautiful Stranger).  When he goes to rescue her (Electric Kiss), she attacks and nearly kills him (K.O.) and he has to kill her to survive (K.O.). 

Wondering in horror how many other members of Magnolia are brainwashed good guys (Guilty), Max fights on (Fighter).  Mindful of his wife, he offers each enemy a chance to become his ally (Callin’), swearing to save them all (Superhero).  With the many new skills he’s trained (Abracadabra), he kills every member of Magnolia who won’t surrender (Drop) and sets up the survivors for a new and better government (Victory Song).  He becomes the new ruler, bringing the country into an era of peace and justice (Catch Me).

PART 1

1.         Intro – VIXX
2.         City Lights – TVXQ!
3.         Beautiful – Monsta X
4.         District 9 – Stray Kids
5.         Magnolia – TOO
6.         Keep Your Head Down – TVXQ!
7.         Palace – D-CRUNCH
8.         From Way Up There – Leo
9.         Baby Come Back Home – Target
10.       Shoot Me – Day6
11.       Calm Down –  Monsta X
12.       No More Dream – BTS
13.       Hellevator – Stray Kids
14.       Can’t Avoid My Destiny – Ken
15.       Make a Change – TVXQ!
16.       Bad Guy – TOO
17.       Dr. Bebe – Pentagon
18.       The King Must Die – Purple Rain

PART 2
 
1.          Savage – A.C.E.
2.          Ready or Not – Monsta X
3.          Reboot – TVXQ!
4.          Sweet Chaos – Day6
5.          1004 (Angel) – B.A.P.
6.          Beautiful Stranger – TVXQ (Max Solo)
7.          Electric Kiss – EXO
8.          K.O. – SF9
9.          Guilty – TVXQ!
10.       Fighter – Monsta X
11.       Callin’ – A.C.E.
12.       Superhero – VIXX
13.       Abracadabra – TOO
14.       Drop – U-Know
15.       Victory Song – Stray Kids
16.       Catch Me – TVXQ!

 

Carnival of Lunacy

Ooh, I forgot to post the newest stories.  And I'm proud of this one, which uses some carnivalesque musical sounds.  Here we go!

Carnival of Lunacy – Part 1

Gene speeds into orbit above Pentagon, the resort asteroid (Asteroid).  Thinking he’s pretty hot stuff (Super Car), he hops out and demands to see the ringleader (Excuse Me), because he’s had a special invitation (Secret Letter).

The attendant leads Gene back to the ringleader (Guess Who)—Gene’s ex-girlfriend (It’s Hard to Face You).

Gene quickly rallies from his shock, and tries to charm her (I Think I), but she ignores this.  She’s brought him here for a very specific reason (Say Love): to discover what is really going on in the carnival, right under her nose (Jackpot).

Gene agrees (Mr. Secret), and explores, but things get very strange (Neverland).  Carnies begin to threaten him (Stone Heart), and they look unnatural, even creepy (Zombie).  Gene realizes in horror that he’s the only living person on the asteroid (Alive)—and that he’s been brought here to die (No Exit).

 

Carnival of Lunacy – Part 2

Trapped in this nightmare (Dystopia), Gene must escape (NalinA).  He mimics the carnies (Gesture) to sneak past them.  But his ex shows up (Stand Up).

The carnies converge, but he ducks through secret passageways so they can’t find him (Blind).  His only chance is to get back to his fancy spaceship (The Chance of Love).  If he can manage it before his ex kills him (Beautiful Killer).

Gene fights through the insane crowd (Nilili Mambo), only hiding when he’s collapsing with exhaustion (Tearful).  After a short rest, he risk running for it (Breath).  He escapes the zombies only to meet into his ex on the landing pad (Sahara).  She says she’ll zombify him (Rock Ur Body).

Gene distracts her (Chocolate), runs to his spaceship, and takes off.  He aims his ship at the asteroid and escapes in a pod to live another day (Today).  The ship, self-destruct initiated, plummets toward the asteroid (Ticky Tocky).

PART 1

1.             Asteroid – Pentagon

2.             Super Car – SuperM

3.             Excuse Me – B.A.P.

4.             Secret Letter – J-Min

5.             Guess Who – Taemin

6.             It’s Hard to Face You – Ravi

7.             I Think I – Super Junior

8.             Say Love – VIXX

9.             Jackpot – Block B

10.          Mr. Secret – Cross Gene

11.          Neverland – U-Kiss

12.          Stone Heart – Taemin

13.          Zombie – Ravi

14.          Alive – VIXX

15.          No Exit – Monsta X

 

PART 2

1.             Dystopia – B.A.P.

2.             NalinA – Block B

3.             Gesture – Leo

4.             Stand Up – J-Min

5.             Blind – History

6.             The Chance of Love – TVXQ!

7.             Beautiful Killer – VIXX

8.             Nilili Mambo – Block B

9.             Tearful – N

10.          Breath – Beast

11.          Sahara – Dreamcatcher

12.          Rock Ur Body -- VIXX

13.          Chocolate – Max

14.          Today – VIXX LR

15.          Ticky Tocky – Super Junior

 

 

Guess What Happened at Work Today?

Wires gouge deeply,

Connect us; imprison us

As we embrace them.

 

Freed from their power,

We wander—aimless, alone.

What else can there be?

 

Slaves seek out masters,

Extend their wrists for shackles,

Beg them for commands.

 

What’s this?  All rejoice!

Once more, the blue light doth reign!

Vanish, hopes and dreams.

Thinklings, Banking, Updates

So, it should surprise no one that Thinklings has undergone some changes over the last few months.  We've reorganized, and that's given us an opportunity to think about our priorities.  In short, we've temporarily paused taking new submissions so that we can focus on really boosting the books we have.

Since I'm in charge of things like acquisitions, copy-editing, legal documents, and finances (but not marketing), this means I can finish all my tasks for Thinklings in off-hours.  So what do I do during the day?

Finally, after years and years of wanting to, I got a job outside the home, one where I interact with Actual Human Beings in person.  Specifically, I decided to become a bank teller.  

And bank teller must tell tales of banking. :)