Jan. 1, 2020 - What exactly are we doing?

Alright, so this post is going to stay at the top of this blog until 2020.  That should give everyone enough time to be familiar with what we're doing. 

On this blog, we are working on a story together, such as a chapter book, only blogosphere-version. I (PoeticMaiden) will post the first chapter, and everyone else will write successive chapters to continue the story.  Each person gets a character they get to write about, and their job is to weave each character's personal tale into the story. 

Interested?  For more on how this works, please read the Rules, and if you wish to join in, just send me a PM!  I'll give you the password to this blog, and then you can come and post a brief author bio to let us know who you are, and then you can begin work on the story!   

Update 5/19/09: Oh my goodness!  It has been nearly six months since I last got on here!  I must admit that for that time, I completely forgot about this blog - enough to forget the password!  But luckily, I rediscovered the password, and now we can keep going with this!  I know I was really strict and made some things miserable for everyone, so now I want to relax things a bit.  How does that sound? 

Have fun, and I hope you enjoy your stay!

~Lady Alynnette

Jan. 1, 2009 - Chapter 1 ~ PoeticMaiden

Lady Cassandra rose from her writing desk and opened the window, letting the light stream in from the warm mid-morning sun and the scent of climbing roses blow in with the breeze.  She leaned her head out and closed her eyes, basking in the warmth of the just-cool-enough air that came to touch her face.  It was a relief to be able to escape from the heat of summer for a few moments. 

                Keeping the window open to freshen the room, she walked back to her desk, where the letter from her father lay unopened.  She had been saving it all morning for after her work was done, so that she would have something to enjoy before she went to lunch.  Ever since her father, Lord Jarim, had gone off to one of his other castles in the north and left Cassandra to manage affairs in Southaway castle, Cassandra had been faithful to write him every day, but since he was so busy with politics he didn’t have time to write back very often.  His letters were a rare treat, and she always waited until she had the time to read them slowly, savoring every detail. 

                Arranging the last stack of papers on her desk so that everything was in order, Cassandra delicately picked up the little gold-embossed envelope and cut it open with the tiny dagger she kept in her pocket.  But instead of the pages of fine, elegant script she had expected, all she found was a little, hastily-scribbled note:

                                Dearest Cassandra,

Trouble has come upon me, and I have reason to believe that this realm will soon be attacked.  Please, stay where you are, and do not try to write to me anymore.  I am in grave danger here, and I do not wish any information to fall into the hands of our enemies.  I repeat: stay where you are, and do not try to contact me. 

~ Your Father

                Cassandra stared at the note and slowly let it fall to the floor.  Her father, under attack!  This could not be happening!  Her father was one of the most courteous and agreeable of all the lords of the nearby realms: surely he had given no one a reason to attack him!  Who would do such a thing? 

                There was a small knock on the door that interrupted her troubled thoughts.  She rose to open it, and found Rolf, the castle steward, standing outside. 

                “My lady,” he said, bowing and then raising his head to look into her eyes.  “I was wondering if you have read the letter from your father yet.” 

                “I have,” Cassandra replied. 

                “Did he say anything of importance?” 

                Cassandra wondered how much she should tell Rolf.  If her father was in danger, it was best that as few people as possible should know about it.  But then again.... 

                “Yes,” she answered.  “He did mention a few things.... things of great importance.” 

                Rolf raised his eyebrows.  “What things, my lady?” 

                “He....” Cassandra hesitated.  “He says he has fallen into trouble, and that it’s too dangerous for me to write to him anymore.  He also says that I must stay here for safety.” 

                Rolf looked horrified.  “Under attack!” he breathed.  “Should we prepare for a siege, my lady?” 

                Cassandra shook her head.  “I don’t think that is necessary,” she said.  “But I do need you to order me a horse.  And send up a few of the maids to help with packing.” 

                Rolf’s eyes widened.  “But surely, Lady Cassandra, you wouldn’t think of disobeying your father’s orders?  He told you to stay here!” 

                “I know,” she said.  “If I know my father, that means that he’s fallen into too much trouble to get out of on his own.  I must go to him and help him, and I must go alone.  And immediately.” 

                “But - ”

                “Now!” Cassandra stepped over to the wall and rung the bell.  “I need you to be on my side, Rolf!  I have to do this!” 

                “I am on your side, Cassandra, and that’s why I think this isn’t safe!  A young lady, riding alone...”

                “I won’t be alone,” Cassandra said.  “I’m taking Francis with me.  He should be able to fend off any trouble I get into.” 

                “Cassandra!  But Sir Francis has only just been knighted – he’s still not much more than a boy with a sword!”

                “I’ll hear no more of it!” Cassandra said impatiently, tossing her hair back behind her shoulder.  “I happen to like Sir Francis!  I think he is much more trustworthy than you seem to think he is!  I will be perfectly fine, and I will most certainly live long enough to come back and tell you that you were wrong!” 

                Rolf opened his mouth, and then closed it reluctantly.  When the maid appeared a minute later, he calmly told her that he needed two horses saddled, and that someone must go fetch Sir Francis.  When the maid had gone, he turned back to Cassandra.

                “I hope you are right,” he said defiantly.  “For your sake, and your father’s.  But I’m going to say now that I don’t like any of this.  When you fall into trouble, remember that I warned you this would happen.” 

                He bowed stiffly, and then turned and walked away.  Cassandra stared after him, sad that she had made him angry, but nevertheless determined to carry out her plan. 

Dec. 31, 2008 - Rules

These are the rules, which I hereby lay down, which I expect you all to follow.  If you do not follow them, then you will be haunted by 120,000 ghosts for the rest of your life. 

*glares at mischief-makers*  

Actually, I’ll just kick you out.  I reserve the right to kick out anyone who does not follow the rules. 

Enough of that – here are the rules themselves:

1. Everyone is going to be nice to everyone else.  No name-calling, profanity, vulgarity, impropriety, insulting of characters, insulting of written works, insulting of persons, or anything nasty is allowed.  If you disobey this rule, you will be banned from this blog. 

2. You must ask me before you log in or contribute to the story.  I don’t care if someone who’s already a part of this blog invites you and gives you the password – you must check with me first.  If you disobey this rule, I will delete whatever you post and I will change the password without telling you what it is.  To contact me, send a PM to my regular username, PoeticMaiden.  

3. The story itself is not to include anything inappropriate.  All of the stuff I mentioned in the first rule?  It doesn’t belong in the story either.  In case I’m not clear, I mean profanity, vulgarity, too much gore, or anything sexual.  Kissing is allowed, as long as it is not excessive. 

4. Each chapter must be less than 1500 words long, and one person cannot write two chapters in a row.  The reason for this should be obvious: we don’t want any one author taking over the story.  The one exception to this rule is when two authors work together on a chapter.   

5. Do not include material in the story that is copyrighted to another author.  However, if you want one of your previously created characters to appear in the story, you can do that.  You just can’t sue us later.

6. Do not post anything besides the story without first contacting me. 

7. I reserve the right to make changes to these rules at any time.  I will notify members of changes before I put them into effect.  Only I, Poetic Maiden, have the right to change these rules. 

Ok, so that was probably really boring and harsh-sounding, but it needed to be done.  Now, about how this story thing is going to work: 

1. As I said before, we are going to work on a fantasy story together!  I will post the first chapter, in which I will give some idea of where the general plot is going, and then after that everyone else can start working on it together. 

2. Each author is in control of one main character (or a side character, if you wish).  You may include side characters in your writings, but you can’t write from their point of view.  If a new member comes, likes an existing side character, and wants to write from that character’s point of view, then that is ok.  Also, if your main character gets killed, you can switch to another main character.  No taking over another person’s main character. 

3. In this story, good wins and evil loses.  Sorry, villain-lovers, but that’s just the way it is.  If you choose to write a villain, you can’t make him win in the end.  However, we still need people to write villains!  If no one volunteers, I will write him/her myself. 

4. Since it can take a while to write a chapter, and since we don’t want two people working on conflicting chapters at the same time, please put in a request when you want to write a chapter so that no one takes your spot.  You can do this by commenting on the most recent chapter and saying that you want to write the next chapter.  If two people request to write a chapter at the same time, the reservation will default to the person who has written the fewest chapters. 

5. Two or more people can work together on a chapter, if they wish.  I would actually prefer this to happen, especially in a situation where two main characters interact.  That way, one author won’t do something with another person’s character without their permission. 

6. Since you can’t have many authors and a decent plot in the same story without actually talking, I will try to set up a cbox so that we can talk about the plot and what we are going to write next. 

7. To make sure everyone stays caught up with the story, please add your email address to the mailing list.  Whenever you post something, please check the little button that says ‘send to mailing list’ below the post. 

8. Remember, everything said and done on this blog must be honoring to God.  Reflect this by writing as best as you can, and have fun! 

There you have it!  If you have any questions, please leave me a comment or send me a PM!  I expect to post the first chapter within a week!

Signed,

Dec. 29, 2008 - Yes, we are very sneaky....

Hello.

You probably want an explanation of the title.  The answer: I am very sneaky, and sneaky people always talk to themselves.  Like Gollum, right? 

Anyhow, welcome to this blog.  I know it's not very impressive right now, but it will soon house a fun and exciting project called the collaboration story.  Don't know what that is?  Well, you will soon find out. 

I am calling all young authors to come to this blog and to help me write a story.  We may not know each other very well, but I know that for those of us who love to write, we will find a way to make this spectacular.  Will you join with me? 

Oh, and by way of introduction, my name is Tennyson.  No, not the Tennyson.  He's dead, unfortunately.  But some people on HSB call me that.  Others call me PoeticMaiden.  But I think very soon you will come to know me as Lady Alynnette.  We shall see. 

I believe I shall be posting again very soon with a set of rules, and the beginning to this fabulous adventure. 

Blessings,

Lady Alynnette