Archive | September 2014

(Not Actually Demifiction) of Inner Circle – Whoops

Sep23

So, [personal profile] thnidu prompted me with a lovely prompt to my request for Inner Circle demifiction prompts.

And then I went and forgot I was writing demifiction, and wrote fic around a poster. So um. Semi-demi-fic?

Names by Sky & @Inventrix

“Attention.” The New Indapala guard stood up on the plinth behind the well, using the bellowing voice for which he’d likely been hired. Around the square, two others guards were posting notices. Dermonnil slipped behind the guards, holding tight to Grental’s hand. “Hsst,” rhi warned. “Don’t cause trouble.”

Grental, who at fourteen actively resented being a little brother, tugged at Dermonnil’s grip but didn’t pull away. “I’m not stupid, you know.”

“I know. But this – this is important.” And the Guard was not known for being all that patient with outer-circle whelps.

The guard cleared his throat again, but Dermonnil was already reading the notice.

Now Hiring

(the notice read)
The City Offices of New Indapala are now hiring sturdy, quick workers of all Circles
(“…Wait. All circles? Why do they have a notice out here, then?”

“Sst, Grental, let me read.”)

For a new, professional, squad of emergency responders. Members will be considered Aside the Ladder, able to travel into any Circle for job purposes.

Job is considered highly dangerous, as it involves fighting fires, dealing with Flow-spurts, and aiding the injured and unwell.

“…For more information, speak to any Guard, or come to the City offices for your Circle. Thank you.”

“Der, you’re not really gonna… Der…?”

Dermonnil was already heading towards the nearest Guard.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/814474.html. You can comment here or there.

Hallowe’en’s Past, a ficlet

Sep23

To [personal profile] finch‘s prompt. No setting, AFAIK.

“Dana…” Kelly stopped in the doorway of their apartment and looked Dana up and down. “You know, Hallowe’en’s been over for a week. You can stop dressing up.”

“This isn’t… this isn’t really a costume.” Dana plucked at the shirt and tie. “I mean, I, ah. I cut my hair for Hallowe’en, but if I’d really just been dressing up, I could’ve just put it under the hat, right?”

“Well, I figured you were sick of fighting with it, and it was a good excuse, if you didn’t want to be fighting with Aaron instead of fighting with your hair. Right?” Kelly bit her lip. “But this is – well, I mean, it’s cross-dressing, isn’t it? I know Aaron’s a jerk…”

“He is.” Dana leaned against the wall, sticking out a complete lack of chest under her silk button-down. But this isn’t about him. This is – this is just about me.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/814267.html. You can comment here or there.

Seeking Roommate, a ficlet of Stranded World

Sep23

Written to [personal profile] alexseanchai‘s prompt to my mini-prompt-call on Gender-Funkiness & also serving as an Iconflash for this icon!

“…and this is Add. She? He?” Bishop turned to the person standing next to him, seemingly oblivious to Summer’s embarrassed cringe. You couldn’t just… could you?

Add, who had black eyeliner, black hair, a black lace shirt, and black combat pants, looked thoughtful about the matter, hand on chin. “It’s a full moon, isn’t it?” Add glanced out the window at the sun. “Let’s go with they.”

“Right. They’re looking for a place to stay for the year, and, well, since we’re looking for another roommate or two…”

Summer studied Add. Add, in turn, studied Summer. They had perfect eyebrows, black lipstick, and a sardonic smile that said goth to Summer. “The pronouns aren’t going to be an issue, are they?”

Summer raised her own eyebrows right back. “Pronouns? Bishop hasn’t told you anything at all about us, has he? No. The pronouns aren’t going to be a problem.” She borrowed a smile from Basil, the “you poor dear” one. “We’re theater people, come on. We read Shakespeare.”

“Summm…” Bishop sighed. Summer cringed inwardly. She hadn’t meant to get her hackles up, but it was showing, wasn’t it? She peeked at Add.

Add was… grinning. Well, that was probably good. They really needed to fill that room. “I like her.”

Summer relaxed.

“I like her a lot.“

“Not too much, please,” Bishop teased.

Summer had to agree: “the bed’s full enough already.”

Summer & Bishop, along with their girlfriend Melinda, are characters in Stranded World. Their relationship started with this story. Basil is Summer’s theatre friend, who shows up quite frequently.

I am on a quest to write a flash to every one of the icons djinni has drawn for me.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/813828.html. You can comment here or there.

Commissions and other Support for the Thorne-Author

Sep22

(see what I did there?)

Commissions are always available at the low, low rate of 2¢/word, with a minimum commission of $4/200 words.
$20 commissions and higher will be discounted to $5/300 words or 5/3¢ a word. Just because I always wanted to charge in fractions.
For commissions over $35/2100 words, all words over that limit will be charged at a penny a word.

To commission a story, a piece of demifiction, or any other work of creative writing (even poems, I can do poems), sent me an email at thornealder/gmail, leave a comment on this post, or sent me a PM on Dreamwidth or Livejournal.

I reserve the right to turn down any commission, but will complete any commission I accept.

I take payments by Paypal (also thornealder/gmail), by paying-for-my-Dreamwidth-time, or other methods by negotiation.

I will begin work on your piece as soon as I receive payment. Commissioned works will be posted on my blog, here, when completed.

Don’t want a commission, but want to say “thanks?”

Cool! I always appreciate tips, and they help to unlock extras – more posts on the serials, for instance.

There’s Paypal, of course, but there’s also Patreon: subscribe at any level from $1 to $50/month and open up incentive levels to get even more fiction!

And in conclusion, this is a conclusion.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/84941.html. You can comment here or there.

Mini-Call-for-Prompts: Gender-Funkyness

Sep22

Now looking for a few prompts for microfic on Gender-Funkiness, this month’s Patreon theme.

I will write at least 100 words to at least one prompt from each prompter, sometime between now and Nano.

Prompts can be something from one of my settings, something setting-neutral, or something from another ‘verse.

(I find it amusing that, during Gender Funky Theme Month, I just binge-read all of El Goonish Shive. And now I have a strong urge to write more gender-funky stuff).

(Or gender-switch stuff. Or general gender oddities).

Let’s have fun with this!

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/813671.html. You can comment here or there.

One Hundred Eight Roses

Sep22

Last night, I asked on twitter for 100-word-fiction prompts. This one is from @AlphaRaposa).

Eight p.m. on a Tuesday was not when Semele expected a knock on her door, but she opened it anyway. “Jarah, I thought we agreed…. What?”

“One hundred eight white roses, delivery for Semele cy’Sakamoto.” She could barely see the Store’s delivery-ogre over the piles of roses, but he sounded like he was laughing at her. “From Jarah cy’Pelletier, surprise, surprise.”

“Jarah sent me a hundred roses?” Semele glanced at the calendar. “Can’t even pretend it’s an anniversary.”

“One hundred and eight.” Definitely laughing. “Do you accept?”

“What am I going to do with…?”

“Do. You. Accept?”

“…yes?”

“Heh. Congratulations.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/813521.html. You can comment here or there.

A beginning of a basic overview of starting a webserial

Sep19

I am in the process of starting two new webserials – Angry Aetherist (Edally Academy) and Jumping Rings (Inner Circle) – and thought the steps I go through might be useful for someone else.

This is by no means comprehensive, but it’s a base list to start from.

  1. Have a serial idea, title, and a buffer. At least a month’s worth of material to post is a good rule of thumb.
    1. No, really, have a buffer.
    2. Know when and how often you’ll post and stick to it. Once a week regularly is better than “three times a week” that turns into “when I can make it.”
    3. It helps to google the title – something I wish I’d done with Inner Circle – to see if it’s already in use.

  2. If you can, have a dedicated site with an easy-to-remember/type URl.
      Things that help to have on the site:

    1. Links to your other fiction
    2. A table of contents or
    3. Readily visible link to your starting page & easy navigation buttons

  3. You have a site up? Good! Start posting your story. Make sure your posting schedule is visible on the site and stick to it.
  4. Once you have 3-4 installments up, start promoting yourself:
    1. http://webfictionguide.com/
    2. http://muses-success.info/
    3. http://www.epiguide.com/forums/local_links.php
    4. [community profile] crowdfunding and crowdfunding
    5. http://www.projectwonderful.com/ (although ads are a subject all in themself)
    6. Twitter – esp. the #weblit hashtag. Promote each installment, but be careful not to overspam people.
    7. Link to your serial from other sites – your writing blog, if you have one, other serials you’ve written… you get the idea.

  5. Continue to post on your posting schedule.
  6. If you’ve linked to your serial at sites like Web Fiction Guide, it doesn’t hurt to ask your readers for a review; the reviews put your story on the front page, which drives traffic.
  7. Speaking of readers: Engage, but don’t fight. Chat in the comments but don’t yell at people.

I know I’m missing steps, but this is a beginning, at least.

Can you think of anything obvious I’ve missed?

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/813232.html. You can comment here or there.

The Week In Alder

Sep19

The Highlights

Edally Academy has its own website!
Coming Soon! “What Follows,” an anthology of the End Times – coming out next Friday!

Some Stories
The Haircut – Patreon theme story
Insult Atop Injury – Reiassan, for Thimbleful Thursday
Icon Flash: Order – a tiny story of Stranded World

Help!
Edally Web Page: I Still need your help!

My Serials
Edally Academy Chapter 10: May Our Failures be Small, Educational, and Overlooked by our Enemies
Interlude: From the Stables to the Home
Interlude: A New Look at History

Other People
Fallen From Grace, written to my prompt by K Orion Fray

(It was a short week, as I focused on getting the Edally & Inner Circle web pages going)

Some Stories:

Fae Apoc in all its permutations
Whilst at Doomsday – Luke visiting Doomsday Academy
IconFlash: Trees (Ce’Rilla)
One-Off
Under the Sea, a Selkie story for the Giraffe Call
Reiassan
Semi-Formal Timeline of Reiassan, finally
Aunt Family
Family Secrets and Cat Secrets – after Cats & Grannies. and Cat’s in the Attic.
Space Accountant
Bunking Arrangements, a story of Space Accountant for Ladies’Bingo

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/812918.html. You can comment here or there.

Insult atop Injury

Sep18

Thimbleful Thursday is a new microfic prompt site (mine!). This week’s prompt was “Add Insult to Injury” and the word limit was 300 (270-300).

This piece is 303 words, and comes after Other Soldiers, Other Fates.

Reiassan has a landing page here.

“And there we go.” The chains between his shackles locked securely to the back of the goat’s saddle. “Ready to travel.”

Hiron had, he supposed, been in worse situations. He had been a thief before he was a soldier, after all, and a beggar before he was a thief – in far-South Bithrain, what was more, where beggars who did not have the excuse of an injury or a disfigurement were looked at as something lower than the shit the goats left in the gutters.

And yet there was something absolutely humiliating about being taken as a captive by a Calenni woman. Okay, the Calenni had won the war. Okay, long before that he’d gotten slashed in the calf and ended up in their stinking prisoners’ tent. Okay, long before that he’d found himself conscripted into the army, because the good lords weren’t wasting meals nor space on thieves when they could shove a sword in their hand and send them to the front lines.

All of that put nicks in what had once been a mighty pride. But now, now – still healing from the injury to his calf – Hiron found himself in the hands of a goat-faced Calleni woman.

“You’re pretty.” She patted his shoulder. “You’ll do just fine.”

Hiron found what was left of his heart sinking. He wasn’t being picked up as some sort of field-hand, was he? He had to have misunderstood. Her field-Bitrani was awful.

“I’m sorry.” He tried Calleni – nearly as bad as her Bitrani – in hopes that something would make sense. “I’m not-”

She grinned – like a goat, argh – and patted him again. “I know what you are. Mine, now.”

Hiron slumped against his chains. As if every blow he’d suffered wasn’t enough, he was being taken as a war-bride.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/812544.html. You can comment here or there.