What are you Writing now?

**Frownland** · 02-27-2017, 11:31 PM

I've started an ambitious story. A lot of it is going to be flashback of the characters' lives, but this is going to be the glue of the overarching story.

It's about two centuries old alchemists who make a potion that allows them to be young again. They move into a trailer park for retirees before making the potion again, when one of them decides that he wants to die naturally and skips it. He then repeatedly withers and grows close to death until he gets instinctually fearful of death and saves himself and sinks lower and lower in depression while the other one still wants to live and is trying to persuade him otherwise. The one who wants to die finds the willpower to do so, but once he's close to his death rattle, the other alchemist has fears of being alone and sad and saves his friend against his will, rejuvenating him with the potion. This causes the newly rejuvenated, suicidal alchemist to get angry and lose it. Since I only have this outlined, it's a little murky at this spot but I think he's going to get outrageously violent and kill a few people before getting taken out by the police.

After all that, the remaining alchemist gets overwhelmed with guilt and decides he can't live with it, but knows he can't sustain the willpower that the other alchemist did. So he brews a rejuvenating potion with a twist to turn himself into an ant so that he can't remember how to make the potion and he can experience the death his friend wanted.

Trollheart · 02-28-2017, 10:01 AM

I was right with you (sort of) up to here:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

So he brews a rejuvenating potion with a twist to turn himself into an ant so that he can't remember how to make the potion and he can experience the death his friend wanted.

??

**Frownland** · 02-28-2017, 10:09 AM

Or a bug of some sorts. He doesn't want to be mentally functioning and Kafka references are hot these days. I wanted it to be an extreme and bizarre reaction.

Trollheart · 02-28-2017, 10:15 AM

If he doesn't want to be mentally functioning why not just turn him into a politician?

innerspaceboy · 02-28-2017, 10:41 AM

Just put together an index of classic and milestone literature sitting on my shelf that I've been too preoccupied with collecting to actually sit down and READ. The list began in a conversation with a fellow MB-er about books, and when another user likened my recent member pic to something out of Terry Pratchett's writings, I knew I needed to put together a plan of attack to start actually reading what I have.

If you're at all a bibliophile, there are some really fun items in this list.

Chiomara · 02-28-2017, 11:04 AM

^ Such an immaculate and impressive list! One can never have too many lists.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

I've started an ambitious story. A lot of it is going to be flashback of the characters' lives, but this is going to be the glue of the overarching story.

It's about two centuries old alchemists who make a potion that allows them to be young again. They move into a trailer park for retirees before making the potion again, when one of them decides that he wants to die naturally and skips it. He then repeatedly withers and grows close to death until he gets instinctually fearful of death and saves himself and sinks lower and lower in depression while the other one still wants to live and is trying to persuade him otherwise. The one who wants to die finds the willpower to do so, but once he's close to his death rattle, the other alchemist has fears of being alone and sad and saves his friend against his will, rejuvenating him with the potion. This causes the newly rejuvenated, suicidal alchemist to get angry and lose it. Since I only have this outlined, it's a little murky at this spot but I think he's going to get outrageously violent and kill a few people before getting taken out by the police.

After all that, the remaining alchemist gets overwhelmed with guilt and decides he can't live with it, but knows he can't sustain the willpower that the other alchemist did. So he brews a rejuvenating potion with a twist to turn himself into an ant so that he can't remember how to make the potion and he can experience the death his friend wanted.

I love this.

grindy · 02-28-2017, 11:18 AM

The longest thing I've ever written was one and a half pages long. I write to express some very specific idea or concept and I cut everything that seems like filler to me. My stuff is usually just about a dozen lines long and I write about 3-4 poems/texts a year. **** all you graphomaniacs. Jk, I even envy you a bit.

Trollheart · 02-28-2017, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grindy

The longest thing I've ever written was one and a half pages long. I write to express some very specific idea or concept and I cut everything that seems like filler to me. My stuff is usually just about a dozen lines long and I write about 3-4 poems/texts a year. **** all you graphomaniacs. Jk, I even envy you a bit.

Not like your music, eh?

grindy · 02-28-2017, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Not like your music, eh?

I know I often say otherwise, but: I am not Frownland.
My songs are usually around 3 minutes long and I make 2-3 each year.

innerspaceboy · 02-28-2017, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grindy

The longest thing I've ever written was one and a half pages long. I write to express some very specific idea or concept and I cut everything that seems like filler to me. My stuff is usually just about a dozen lines long and I write about 3-4 poems/texts a year. **** all you graphomaniacs. Jk, I even envy you a bit.

Thank you so very much for the word, 'graphomaniac.' It is a magnificent term and it describes my fervent writing style beautifully.

Still, I could never hold a candle to Trollheart. Sir - I'm doing my best to work my way through your suggested readings and am stunned by the voluminous scale of your journals, (and equally by the nuanced knowledge you command on each of the thread's subjects)!

So many wonderful writers in this community!

02-27-2017, 11:31 PM	#131 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,548	I've started an ambitious story. A lot of it is going to be flashback of the characters' lives, but this is going to be the glue of the overarching story. It's about two centuries old alchemists who make a potion that allows them to be young again. They move into a trailer park for retirees before making the potion again, when one of them decides that he wants to die naturally and skips it. He then repeatedly withers and grows close to death until he gets instinctually fearful of death and saves himself and sinks lower and lower in depression while the other one still wants to live and is trying to persuade him otherwise. The one who wants to die finds the willpower to do so, but once he's close to his death rattle, the other alchemist has fears of being alone and sad and saves his friend against his will, rejuvenating him with the potion. This causes the newly rejuvenated, suicidal alchemist to get angry and lose it. Since I only have this outlined, it's a little murky at this spot but I think he's going to get outrageously violent and kill a few people before getting taken out by the police. After all that, the remaining alchemist gets overwhelmed with guilt and decides he can't live with it, but knows he can't sustain the willpower that the other alchemist did. So he brews a rejuvenating potion with a twist to turn himself into an ant so that he can't remember how to make the potion and he can experience the death his friend wanted. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

02-28-2017, 10:09 AM	#133 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,548	Or a bug of some sorts. He doesn't want to be mentally functioning and Kafka references are hot these days. I wanted it to be an extreme and bizarre reaction. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

02-28-2017, 10:15 AM	#134 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	If he doesn't want to be mentally functioning why not just turn him into a politician? __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

02-28-2017, 11:18 AM	#137 (permalink)
grindy . Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: . Posts: 7,201	The longest thing I've ever written was one and a half pages long. I write to express some very specific idea or concept and I cut everything that seems like filler to me. My stuff is usually just about a dozen lines long and I write about 3-4 poems/texts a year. ** all you graphomaniacs. Jk, I even envy you a bit. __________________ A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.**