I wasn't worried about the rules of having too many subplots or characters, narrative hooks, climaxes, or (as I had taken creative writing classes in my later college years) crafting the most luxurious Denouement to sum the story.
I just wrote my heart content. Everyday. From getting out of school up until dinnertime and then from dinnertime until it was time to go to sleep, squeezing in some quick needs for hygiene, self-maintenance, and whatever schoolwork needed to be done. Why? I think it was because I loved creating life and bonds. I was interested in what motivated people and foreign in understanding, so from there a whole story had potential to unravel. Discovering journeys, conflict, emotion, heroism -- all the fights of what makes a life of life. And the love of resurrecting creatures that only rummaged captive deep in my dreams.
I'm such I was also inspired by my brother. He was deeply involved with the Dungeons and Dragons role playing games before they had gone digital, of course. I never played but would constantly steal his "Monstrous Compendium" and his "Dungeon Master's Handbook" (and his dice) to TRY to understand what he was doing. There lies a whole other story for why I dove head first into making this layout for my own game.
My writing started through a stroll through the bookstore, possibly with my brother, I'm sure. I discovered a series called Dragonlance that just about possessed me into a blissful state of fantastical time consumption where all things surrounding me were obsolete. I was in prepubescent love and tapped my inner geek.
I plowed through this series as if it was going out of print. I was so smitten, I even went so far as to intentionally, but nonchalantly, show off the cover of the book that I was reading in a family photo. It was "Dark Heart". So vivid. And, yes, I sound like a complete geek, but I'm reminiscing so its okay. I live in reminiscing. I'm sure it will be the death of me.
This is where I became a teen writer. And this is where my writing surged into full force until I was about 22 or so. And then I ventured into other creative areas. An array of artsy-fartsy. Yes...
I completed 315 pages to a book I called "Desire for Evil". I don't want to reveal all because it is will forever be unpublished and still so close to me, and honestly because it was so long ago I can't really remember it too well.
Basically, the main character, a young impoverished orphan without a defined class and wayward, is forced into a journey to search for his younger brother after his brother is kidnapped by minion's of evil goddess Takhisis without reason. On this journey, the character finds his identity, learns the secrets to why his brother was taken, and what he must do to rescue him.
After I completed it, I researched what I was reading. Drangonlance was set along the Ravenloft and Forgotten Realms series, all published by the same company. A company called TSR, Inc. I decided to send out my work without premeditated worry of rejection that festers inside me now, and in the following days continued onto the sequel.
Over 250 pages and about 8 months into the sequel later, I received a letter of response. I was shocked. I honestly didn't believe they would reply, but they did. And to this day, I am humbled by it because it give me a sense of great accomplishment.
The novel "Desire for Evil" never did take off. I was too young too understand what
'copyright' really meant. I remembered the word 'solicited' and became curious. And soon I learned another word. I didn't take it to heart, because I knew I was really young and novice.
"Desire for Evil" was my own primary set of characters and places within an already existent world and it was all me representing me, as usual. And the story was too intertwined into the world to go back and edit everything-- now especially because of what I've learned over the years on technique and structure. I was so young that even the language would be amateur.
So I scratched both book and half book, and continued onto the next. Which I called "Braid of the Gemini". The length crept to about 150 pages, when my hard drive failed and I lost near to everything.
The only remains I have to date is 60 pages to an abandoned book, my first, that I titled "Thunderstar", one hard copy of "Desire for Evil", and a book follwing the rest called "Braid of the Gemini" which is garbled with onslaughts of symbols and numbers leading each line of text. The entire sequel, which name's failing to come to mind at the moment, was lost forever along with other writings.
Better than nothing. But... god that was painful. I remember when my Uncle told my that he couldn't recover all of my work, that I had to sit on my stoop and cry for a good 20 minutes before I could find some composure to stand up and move on.
I forever made sure I did my best to back up my artwork -- EVERYWHERE.
(Please see other post and read carefully) ;)
"Desire for Evil" is part now part of my history. Maybe I achieved my small successes long ago, and can sit back now and reminisce and settle with personal feat.
TSR was nice enough to also send along their guidelines and offered options that I never realized were possible. As someone explained later on, they said ALL work to be considered for publication needs to be through an agent: what I always thought was more "solicited" than not, but that's not entirely true.
I've coming to realize that a lot companies shun agencies. At least as advertised. Even in CG.
When my drive failed, I continued onward from this and from fantasy in a way, but never from writing. I started another project which stops at 246 as of the year 2005. That novel I don't say much of, because I still feel faith that I will one day return to complete it. Maybe.
But if not, I hope it dies with me.
One day, I would love to return to writing, but for now, it's the fundamentals of my present focus-- finding a job to keep my resume fresh and keeping on my forever long trek to become a pro Zbrusher.
If you want to read some of my work some time, let me know! I'd love that. My website has my contact information and will soon also have excerpts of some of my writing.
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