This upsets me for two reasons. The first is that I feeling oogey. Groggy, light headed, difficulty focusing and gave stomach-churning things travelling through my bloodstream. Or maybe just up and down my nervous system. I hope to be better in time to post the story Saturday; however, my body has so chastised me for making a promise (to have the story up today) that I make no promises at this time.
As such, the story has been delayed again. However, I don't wish to leave you completely without a story, so I leave you with this: the Assemble-A-Story!
Choose a section from each category. This will build your story from beginning to end. And yes, writing this is a lot easier for me than writing a story. There is some assembly required; some pieces fit together better with other pieces. Just keep in mind, it’s supposed to be a short story, so I tried to leave out too many twists, turns, and surprises in the plots.
I would love to hear what stories you write with this. .
GENRE
(1) Fantasy. In this story, the hero has a very minor magical talent. Choose one.
a) They can create a small ball of light in their hands while they are concentrating. When their ally is around, the ball can grow brighter. This will help shine light in a few situations, but draws the attention of the bad guy. If they suffer any major emotional blows, they discover that their ability has failed them.
b) They can see truth. When someone is telling the truth, they glow softly with a white light. When someone is lying, wisps of darkness trail like smoke from them. When someone uncertain of what they are saying, the air shimmers like heat around them. The hero must concentrate to use this ability: if the hero speaks, they must refocus for it to work again.
c) They can sense how far away their ally is. They can also sense the allies emotions, if they concentrate or the emotion is strong. This bond comes from a long alliance and occasional encounters from magic in the past.
(2) Horror - or romance? The Hero and their ally are not only as normal as they can be, given their descriptions, but are flawed and slightly selfish. The hero and their ally will grow together by the end of the story, however, and realise how much they care about each other’s well-being. (They may even come to love each other - but I will leave those details to you.)
(3) Modern Buddy-Cop. The hero and their ally have come together under circumstances beyond their control. their personalities conflict with each other right off, but they come to respect each other’s style by the end of the story.
(4) Monty Python. Throw in a few extra lines of dialogue, perhaps a twisted reference to popular culture or philosophy. Replace the ending with the phrase “Now for something completely different,” and a semi-animated dance number. Now you have a choice: is this a monty Python sketch (which should take place largely in a single room) or a Monty Python movie (in which case, there is an extra musical number thrown in, and choose two allies. One of the allies is completely annoying and irrelevant to the plot. The hero will happily kick them out of the party by the end, and we will be left wondering their fate.) Is this a perfect translation of Monty Python? Heck no, but that’s the point.
(5) Supernatural Sci Fi. Best set in the modern world or the near future. There will be hints of spirits, and the hero will have just the barest touch of psychic ability. The Ally has one of the following:
a) A cybernetic eye, capable of detecting different types of energy.
b) A cybernetic limb, capable of amazing feats of strength and dexterity.
c) A scanner attached to their front arm which boosts their inherent psychic powers, allowing them to detect danger early. This will cause them some confusion when they first meet the villain; the danger will rapidly flash on and off. When they first meet the villain’s sidekick or second character, it will flash and then short-circuit. This may cause the ally to scream and pass out.
a) A cybernetic eye, capable of detecting different types of energy.
b) A cybernetic limb, capable of amazing feats of strength and dexterity.
c) A scanner attached to their front arm which boosts their inherent psychic powers, allowing them to detect danger early. This will cause them some confusion when they first meet the villain; the danger will rapidly flash on and off. When they first meet the villain’s sidekick or second character, it will flash and then short-circuit. This may cause the ally to scream and pass out.
SETTING / STORY OPENING
(1) A metropolis of tall buildings and many, many…many people. It is winter, with light amounts of snow just setting on the city. The story opens in the evening, in a nearly empty cafe/bar/tavern. It serves terrible food and drink, but the hero likes it because this place is never busy.
(2) A small, dusty town that is old before its time. It is the middle of summer. This story opens in the dead of night, when an unexpected meteor streaks across the sky. The ally insists to the hero that it is a falling star, and that they investigate. The hero agrees, and they meet the villain or their lackey on the way.
(3) A medieval castle. (May require the reworking of some heroes.) Choose one of the following.
a) It was abandoned a few years or centuries ago, after it was sieged by forces that sought to destroy the kingdom. The hero has taken up residence with a few others.
b) The invaders were repelled at the last minute, but there were too few people to man the castle. The invaders succeeded, and left the castle in ruins.
c) There was a mystical force which defended the castle, but it was so strong it took out attackers and defenders alike. You can further choose the source of the force: (i) the attackers, (ii) the defenders, or (iii) the castle itself.) The story starts shortly before dawn, in that dark moment before the light begins to creep over the horizon.
(4) A ship in the middle of the ocean. The hero begins realising that the crew is smaller than they originally thought, and gets smaller as the story progresses. They manage to confront the captain, who fills them in on what is going on, as far as he can tell.
MAIN CHARACTER / HERO
(1) A lovable old man with limited physical abilities but great wisdom from a long life. [Hero name: Jed]
(2) A tough as nails street cop/guard/archer with good aim, who developed her strength of character from having to care for her young siblings through her teenage years and early twenties. She still worries about them, though they are all grown.. [Hero Name: Jess.]
(3) A boxer/knight/street tough who has always taken good care of his physical body. He's good in a fight, but has taken a few blows to the head and can be described (though not to his face) as "un-smart". [Hero Name: Jack]
(4) The geek girl from high school/training, who never quite fit in. She is now an engineer /wizard and, though she's as awkward socially as she's ever been, she's awkward all the way to the bank. (Hero Name: Jenna)
(5) A teenager from the ‘wrong’ side of the city. Has a temper that's easily set off, but hates to hurt people. Knows a few sneaky tricks, such as how to deal with locks and maybe pick a pocket without getting noticed, but doesn't like interacting with others. [Hero Name: Jamie. That's right, a gender neutral name. You choose: male or female.]
HERO'S ALLY
(1) A wacky but lovable rotund gnome. (Maybe they just look like a gnome.)
(2) A wise-cracking elf who objects to the insinuations that [he/she] a vegetarian. (Maybe they just act like an elf.)
(3) A young woman with a hunchback and sharp eyes.
(4) A young man with a peg-leg and sword fighting skills.
(5) A highly intelligent person who insists that [he/she] is not funny. Not one little bit.
CALL TO ADVENTURE
(1) The story opens with the hero in a verbal conflict with their ally. If they had been working together more closely, they would have noticed the first signs that the villain would attack. While they are taking time apart from each other, they independently discover the villain's plot. Because of their fight, they will have difficulty working together the rest of the story. By the end, they will have a heart-wrenching moment where they both apologize for every hurtful thing.
(2) The ally is temporarily stunned after goons sent by the villain (or running from the villain) attack them. The hero vows to avenge their friend. The ally awakens shortly after, and runs after the hero. Before the hero confronts the villain for the final time, the ally confesses that they are related to the villain. They ask the hero for mercy, but leave the fate in the hero’s hand.
An alternate version of this choice is to have the hero confess to the ally that they were once in love with the villain, but swears that they will not let that stop them from foiling the villain’s plan
(3) The hero is on a quest. You have two choices.
a) The hero is assigned the task of defeating the villain by their employer, or by a client. The ally and the hero meet when they accept the assignment, under protest, of course. Should they succeed, a merry bushel of money and the promise of yet more gainful employment awaits.
b) The hero has actually been pursuing the villain for some time, on a mission of justice set off by the death of their parents. The story opens with them explaining their new lead to their good friend and ally. The ally expresses doubt about the truth of the lead, but will not let their friend go off on this mission alone.
VILLAIN, CONFLICT, AND ENDING
(1) A rich and eccentric man determined to control the known world, no matter the cost. He has a team of power followers: loyal fighters, intelligent wizards/engineers, and a smart strategist (named Karr) as an adviser. This man, let’s call him Levinson, knows when to listen to his closest advisers and when to ignore them.
Sad Heroic Ending: Karr is taken out by a heroically self-sacrificing Good Guy Ally, throwing Levinson off balance and allowing the good guy to win.
Bitter Action Ending: Karr is taken out by the ally, who is then destroyed by the wizards/engineers. The hero fights and defeats the fighters and is facing Levinson when the engineers show up and deal a deadly blow to the hero. The hero manages to take out the engineers/wizards, but is hurt badly. He/she manages to just barely defeat Levinson, taking his life, but must sacrifice himself/herself to do so.
(2) A group of ghosts, left behind after a terrible battle, determined that anyone living on their land must join them as servants in the afterlife. They will take the life of the Good Guy Ally in the moment that forces the good guy to accept the reality of the situation. These ghosts have no names, but the hero and their ally get the impression that they start with an “L” or a “K”.
Super Happy Ending: The good-guy defeats the ghosts by destroying their link to this world; this undoes their murder of the ally.
Bittersweet ending: The good guy sacrifices himself or herself to bring the ally back and send the ghosts back to the underworld.
Horror Ending: The good guy also loses their life in the battle against the ghosts. They seem to have caused the ghosts to lay dormant, but clues dropped in the story tell us that they are likely to rise again.
(3) A woman who hears voices. She is always a step ahead of the heros, and a near-perfect shot with the ranged weapon appropriate to the setting. The thing that keeps the hero alive is that she prefers to scare them off, though the voices in her head are telling her just to scare them away. The hero discovers the body of this woman’s brother (Let’s call the woman Leandra, and her brother Kendal.) Now you have two choices.
Action Ending: Kendal was killed by Leandra in a way that shows that Leandra is truly crazy. In this case, the hero is led on a heart-pounding chase. The hero is free. There is a moment of fear as you wonder whether the ally has escaped. On their way out, the ally is shot; however, they are alive and likely to recover at the end of the story.
Supernatural Ending: It becomes apparent that the voice is a supernatural creature that killed Kendal. The hero will lead Leandra to the truth, and confront her with it. The voices will be driven out, and Leandra will become a close friend (and possible romantic interest?) for the hero. This will bother the ally to a humorous degree.
THEME
(1) Love conquers all. The story focuses on the loneliness of the hero. The ally has been trying to draw the hero out of their shell, and may in fact be in love with them. (I will let you decide on this one, based on your choices above.) The hero and the ally will realize their love for each other by the end of the story, even if it ends in tragedy or one of them winds up with another love interest.
(2) Trust your friends. Sometimes, learning to work with others is the most difficult thing to do. If you don’t learn this lesson, you or others may pay the price. If you do learn this lesson, you can pull out of it.
(3) Life is hard, but you have to keep moving on. This phrase will be said either by the ally to the hero (perhaps as the ally lays dying), or by the hero to the villain; which depends largely on the choice of villain and ending. Where it is not clear, you may decide
(4) Always look on the bright side of life. If it doesn’t have one, light a fire and run like it’s out to get you. This could alternately be stated, "If life hands you lemons, make lemon grenades."
(5) There is no hope, anywhere. You have to pull hope from the cold, dead hands of victory after it has fallen forever. Hope cannot defeat evil or darkness; but it can keep you fighting until you defeat it your own self.
Bonus options: Chose a theme and invert it. The hero is the bad guy, and the villain is the good guy. The ally is the hero, and the hero is the ally. There are two competing heroes; each might be living the story as though from a different genre. The hero faces two, or even all three, villains in the same story, which fits best with multiple heroes.
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