No Joke! New Fiction and Updates!

New story! I wrote a 400 word flash fiction for a writers challenge on Reddit called Method One, Standard that I posted up on Aethereal Engines over the weekend. The challenge was to write a fantasy story of four hundred words or less in which luck or randomness as a major theme, component, or idea.

I got inspired and immediately wrote an entry in one sitting. In doing so I retrieved my six-sided dice and, after lighting a candle beside a picture of Gary Gygax, weaved the rolls into the plot. The version I have posted up on Aethereal Engines is the same as the one currently entered in the contest and reactions to it have been very positive. If you check it out I hope you like it. There are a lot of really good submissions this month for the challenge, but maybe I’ll win this one!

In other news, I finished the second chapter of Oo-De-Lally on Sunday night, which tallied almost three thousand words. This was in spite of a very busy weekend that included recharging my creative batteries with some tabletop roleplay, taking in a ballet performance of Le Corsaire, and then the surprise critiquing of a couple writing pieces for a friend.

I’m really happy with how this chapter worked out, now I just need to wait for my alpha readers to have a look-see and review their feedback. Here is a sample for the two opening paragraphs as they exist currently in the draft:

The folksy singing of Roger Miller awakened John with a snort. His smartphone vibrated on the bedside table and was halfway through the first round of oo-de-lallies before he tossed the comforter off his head with a groan. He attempted a roll to the bedside, but succeeded only in flipping himself facedown on the mattress. With his muzzle sinking down into the memory foam, he didn’t budge while his phone continued to play its ringtone.

At last, the music stopped and the bedroom was quiet again. John’s eyes drifted shut, but the recording of Mr. Miller began playing again. Amid guitar cords and singing about Robin Hood, forests and oo-de-lallies, John’s eyes pulled wide. The black fur on his neck bristled between the pillows, and with a growl he lurched a heavy hand towards the phone. His palm slammed the top of the bedside table, causing the phone, lamp and television remote upon it to jump.

(John’s not a morning person.)

I think that my other work in progress, Out to Pasture, is almost ready to be released. However, I’m holding back on posting it until I get feedback from a few beta readers, which should hopefully happen over this weekend. Editing is a wonderful thing, and I feel that the work that I have invested into Out to Pasture will take it from being a good story into being a great one!

Alright, now back to the Cave of Creation™ to keep crafting more fiction! Before I go however, I will say that I would like to post more essays up on Aethereal Engineer, like I did here and here… I’ve just been focused on my fiction and not really motivated by a new idea for one as of late. Any readers out there with a question about writing or my writing in particular looking for an essay length answer? Let me know!