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Annabeth + Applejaxc
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Applejaxc
(last edited Mar 03, 2015 05:10PM)
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Mar 03, 2015 05:09PM
Do you want the authors to exist in the real world? IE, present-day, with modern technology and nothing fake until their stories come alive?
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no we can have the characters meet maybe like you said at a convention or award ceremony.
Well, I've only had the last 10 minutes to brainstorm a character. I was thinking mine would be a former war correspondent who retired to be a cheap SciFi writer. He had a short stint as a horror writer and romance novelist under a pen name, but was awful at both (super cheesy, no good plot, etc). A lot of people in the professional world think he's a hack and a lot of his former fans thinks he's a sellout because his writing has gone considerable downhill since he started writing fiction.In short, he wrote some stuff about Iraq/Afghanistan/whatever that was good enough to launch his career, but since then he kind of sucks.
Do we want their fictional characters to come to life in the real world, or do we want the main characters to enter a fictional world (like Inkheart)?
how about they are in their fictional world so we can do whatever we decide with it.
That's probably the easier choice. Do you have a character in mind?
not yet. am i playing a man or woman?
That's your choice. I'm playing a man.
I'll play a woman. Should we make characters?
I don't do a formal write up with pictures and whatnot before hand. I prefer to reveal a character over the story.
December 13th, 2016, a Saturday. Theodore Ackabecker found himself behind a table at the dark corner of a writer's convention in Nampa, Idaho. The sheer density of college students living in or near the city and the freedom attached to winter break afforded the event a considerable turnout of the young and old. Diagonal Theodore's booth, an aspiring young author was basking the praise of vulnerable teenagers, well moved by whatever sap love story she'd written. He rolled his eyes in disgust, then in jealousy as they fell on the stack of signed copies of Starbomb: From Darkness, his most recent "accomplishment." His producer, seeing Theodore's expression, shrugged. "Maybe the sci-fi crowd just isn't here yet." But plenty of trekkies and Jedis and ewoks had passed without so much at pausing. His career was in the dumpster and they both knew it.
Aria Blackwood was sitting behind her booth in the authors convention in a state a plane ride away from hers and there were many people at her desk out of the seemingly endless college students. She had recently published a romance novel, which she thought was very good, and apparently her audience agreed. She turned around to her best friend and editor who was just as excited for her that her first novel had been such a success. Across the moving traffic, she saw a booth with no one there except for the author and the producer. She gave them a small smile trying to be polite.
Theodore hadn't been all failure; occasional the odd space-creature cosplayer would stop to talk or buy merchandise. "It's not quite how it used to be, is it?" the producer asked. Theodore shook his head. "No, it isn't." He reached into his coat and drew a silver flask. "It isn't even noon yet!" he was told; "Then I'm all the better for the head start, aren't I?"
After a couple of hours, Aria was exhausted from talking and signing her books. For a split second she regretted having such a popular book but then took it back since she was glad that she had been a success.
It was scheduled as a two-day event, with some after parties rolling through a third day before regional awards were announced in another city at the end of the month. A few hours in, and Theodore already felt like he'd overstayed his welcome."Maybe they aren't glaring at you; the lights in here are pretty strong. What if it's just harmless squinting?"
"The last three people asked me why I ripped off Han Solo for my protagonist, one thought I actually was George Lucas for whatever reason, and I think the author of The Brownstones called me a sell-out twice today. I'm fairly confident I have plenty of reason to assume the several shady sideways glances are at least spiteful and the rather hamfisted glaring is intentional."
Theodore and his manager bickered back and forth until, finally, a throng of people who at least smiled like fans stopped. None of them carried a copy from the Starbomb Saga, Theodore was quick to note, but one did have the printed cover of the only thing he'd ever turned a profit on: There and Back Again.
Theodore winced; his manager gave the crowd a smile and exercised his flair for showmanship. Theodore started taking questions from everyone but the undergraduate standing directly in front of him.
"Mr. Ackabecker, is it true Chewbacca was your inspiration for the Carpet Monster in Carla's Carpet Monster Caper?" As it was something he had written under the penname T. Alswell, and actually had been quite proud of at completion, he sat up in his chair to answer a definite no. "While Starwars has certainly permeated many facets of Western popular culture, my inspiration was actually the great dane my mother once-"
"Then why does it say on.... page 123, fourth paragraph, '...it was not unlike the greatly-haired companion of the last great bounty hunter'?"
"That was an allusion to one of Alswell's other titles-"
"So you referenced yourself?"
"I... yes, I suppose so."
"Well. That's a bit... pretentious, isn't it?"
Theodore deflated; he closed his eyes and rubbed his face, then took another swig. "Maybe it is. Any other questions?"
The undergrad, resolute, raised his hand, but Theodore again chose someone else as part of the crowd broke off. "Ah, yes. I have a question about the ending of Starbomb: Into Darkness. When they fly into the black hole? Isn't that... like... the exact ending of Star Trek: Into Darkness?"
"Science fiction has always had a fascination with black holes, hasn't it? It's a subject I wanted to explore. It's entirely coincidental that movie released the year before S-Bid did."
"So, yes, then." More of the crowd left, leaving only Ackabecker, his Producer, and the student holding his first novel. Most of the panelists, by then, had left for early dinners before the evening events.
Aria had been sitting at her table when she heard many people begin to ask the author across and diagonally many questions about how original his books were. They kept cutting off the poor guy and were accusing him of being presumptuous and a copier of many other popular works like Star Trek. This wasn't far because basically all sci fi novels have the same ideas and conflicts in them. She kept watching and after a little bit they all left.
(Sorry, I've been watching my little brother all afternoon. Do you want to try to match the length of my last post, or do you want to keep it short?)In what articles and editorials that called out Theodore Ackabecker as the most blatant plagiarism of the generation, the only saving grace any included was There and Back Again. Some called him selfish for not trying to repeat the heart-warming genius; some called him a war-glorifying monster who stole the stories of service members greater than he would ever hope to be. Theodore's own opinion was that the book should be left in his past and when his advertising deals were over he was cashing out of the industry altogether.
"Mr. Ackabecker, this book is an inspiration." The man put the book on the table; when he did, it pulled his sleeve up just long enough to reveal a spade tattoo on the man's wrist. (Scratch that I called him an undergrad earlier) Theodore sat back; Bernie (his Producer) saw the subtle lip movement that betrayed recognition and raised an arm to escort the fan away, but the man shook his head. "I'm not mad at you, don't worry."
There and Back Again was a novelization of the experiences of service members since 1991. His portrayal of the Special Forces community came across as insultingly dramatized and there had been past incidents of PTSD victims threatening him. "I just wanted to say that in Starbomb, I can see how your interviews inspired a lot of your characters."
"I... yeah, yeah." Theodore was taken aback; no one had seen the connection between real heroes and his fictional ones. "Like, the commander of the Tsung-Ki-Shek, he's the Ranger motto incarnate. It's too bad you can't lead the way right to him, huh?"
"Yeah well, that's the risk writing fiction, isn't it? We never get to meet our heroes." (boom, foreshadowing)
Theodore signed the man's book but it hardly improved his mood. He kept a smile until the man was out of sight but sunk once more, arms across his table. "Maybe you should mingle with the other writers?" Bernie suggested. "Penguin (his publishing company) doesn't send writers to Idaho to pout for three days."
((I was wondering if we could possibly have them be like 5 lines unless there has to be description))Aria turned to her friend Clara and said, "I am going to take a break and walk around. I have been sitting for too long and need to stretch and find some food." She said up and fixed her dress before getting out from behind her table and slowly walking around at the other authors books. There was such a large variety of genres and publishers that she felt surprised that so many had liked her book when they had so many choices. She continued walking until she found an area that had some food where she had some and sat down. Aria started to eat slowly staring at nothing in particular.
(Are you uncomfortable with any longer than that?)Theodore eventually pushed himself out of his seat. "But they do pay for me to eat, don't they?"
"You were very particular about that in your contract."
"Damn right."
Outside the convention hall a number of overpriced, mall food-type kiosks operated. Theodore decided on Taco Bell while Bernie eloped with a classier taste. When Theodore made it back inside, he found his table folded, being marched away. "H-hey! I've still got... stuff to... no I don't. I've got a Taco Supreme and somewhere better to be." He didn't bother trying to stop the convention workers that were removing his booth; he didn't even question why anyone would be that rude. He simply plopped himself down with indignation (coincidentally adjacent to Aria) and opened his bag with a huff.
(maybe)Aria would unconsciously take bites of her chinese food while she was sitting there. She then decided to take out the book that she had with her and she started to read while she ate. A few moments later she looked up when she saw a man sit down on the seat in front of her. She saw him take out his food from Taco Bell and start to eat it. Aria kept eating her chinese food and went back to staring out into space not knowing if she should start a conversation since the man seemed to be a little angry. After a few minutes of arguing internally she said, "Hey, I'm Aria Blackwood."
Theodore replied with the angry crunching of the crunchwrap's nacho-chip layer, and then the slurp of his oversized Dr. Pepper. "Theodore. Charmed." He took another overlarge bite, clearly not one for table manners.
She nodded surprise by his manners, or lack of manners. Aria turned back to her book and kept reading. The next time that she looked up she recognized him as being the author across from her. Maybe his lack of manners showed through therefore making him have less fans or readers. Aria didn't say this knowing that the message would not be well received, especially if he could barely say hello to someone.
Out of curiosity, Theodore tried to read the title of the woman's book (is it in her lap or in front of her?). "Looked like you got quite the turnout."
(in front of her)She looked up surprised when Theodore began to talk to her. Aria heard him talk about her turnout and said, "Yes, I did. I hadn't expected that many to come for my first and only book." She smiled at him at the mention of her success because she was still so happy about it herself.
"Well. Hope you can keep it up." Being a one-hit wonder sucks. He had almost finished eating and was at least halfway through his drink.
"Sorry for your turnout but you'll get them next time right?" she asked trying to be hopeful and get him to cheer up some since he seemed to be very disappointed about his turnout.
He shrugged in response. "Not all of us can be young, female... Romance is your genre, right? Guessing by your book and lack of a wedding ring." (I assume she does not have one)
"Yeah," she said surprised that he had figured that out. She paused trying to figure what to say next. Then she asked, "Your book was science fiction right?"
"One of them, yes. But... I've dabbled." Theodore might have hated the industry, but that didn't stop him from being vain.
"Thats good. What is your favorite genre?" she asked him curious since she was thinking about branching out from romance on her next book.
"To write. I was thinking about writing more books and I couldn't chose what genre to do so I was going to ask some other authors what their favorite was," she said to him.
"Write where your heart is. Write what you love. Hope your publisher doesn't rope you into pumping a book out every two years."
She couldn't tell if he was joking or not but she smiled and said, "Well I best be going back to my table. I'll see you around Theodore."
(I'm not sure how you want to jump into the fictional part of this. I can either go over-the-top or, ?)
(I don't know either. Why not just have them meet them casually and say that they seem familiar?)
(What do you mean? Avoiding pronouns would be awesome. I was thinking that Theo/your character are embroiled in the plot of Starbomb, where the Xian-Ki-Shek and Tsung-Ki-Shek are battling for control of the universe. The Tsung-Ki-Shek are the badguys and want to kill Theo)
(sorry. I was just thinking that Theo and Aria happen to meet the characters from their books when they are all of a sudden in the real world and Theo and Aria say that the characters are familiar not knowing that they are from their books. but your idea is probably better since i don't know where my idea was going.)
(Do you want this to be exciting, actiony, et cetera, or? I didn't know if mine would be too action)
(sure then the rp might last longer)
Theodore watched her leave, then finished his meal. He studied his cup for a moment, wondering if he'd get in trouble for trying to refill it, and was about to find out when Bernie joined him again. "What happened to our booth?"Theodore shrugged. "It got packed up, I guess."
"'Packed up?' Do they know who you are? You have-"
Theodore shrugged again. "Can't we hang out at the hotel for a bit, then call Penguin and say we did all the events?"
"Won't your fans be disappointed?"
"Don't patronize me, Bernie." Theodore rose and disposed of his refuse. "You can at least walk the floor. Meet some new people. Mingle. Stop being a sourpuss?"
Aria walked back to her booth and saw that Clara was trying to control the growing crowd who had apparently been waiting for her. She sped up and then quickly got behind the table."Hey Clara. Has it been like this the whole time that I was gone?" She asked her friend while starting to sign the people's books.
"Yeah, right after you left a whole group came over and was wondering where you were. I told them that you would be back in a few minutes," Clara said.
"I came back as soon as I finished eating and talking to Theodore"
"Who is Theodore?" she asked back confused.
"Another author," Aria answered back quickly and then stopped talking to try to sign.
"Only one person the whole day has regarded me as something above a particularly annoying shade of kindergartener, and that's only because she's a hack writer herself!""'Hack?'" Bernie asked as Theodore made a grandiose gesture.
"Yes. A hack. She's a romance novelist, no doubt of the bottom-scraping caliber! Shirtless, long-haired European on a horse-romance with a paperthin dud of a female 'lead' formless so far as to allow any woman to assume the role. A novelization of the worst of what country-love songs have to offer, no doubt."
"...have you read anything she's written?"
"I..." Theodore blustered. "That's besides the point. It is always safe to assume. At least my stories are realistic."
"...like when you based the second act of Starbomb: Substation Sierra on Stephen Hawking's disproven black hole theory?"
"Smart-ass. We both know that wasn't disproven until months after."
"Still. What if her book is actually full of endearing, heart-felt caricatures of every-day people in a masterpiece blend of romantic subgenres?"
"She wouldn't be surrounded by teenage women."
After Aria had managed the crowd to disperse, she turned around to Clara."Theodore was the author on the other side of the hall. He had written a science fiction novel."
"I didn't see anyone there," Clara said.
"I know maybe it wasn't as successful as his other novels but I'm sure that it was still good."
"Do you even like sci-fi novels?"
"Not particularly," Aria said slowly, "but either way he seemed like a good author."
"I don't know why you have to be so sure of everyone you meet when you have know idea of who they are or what they wrote about," Clara said exasperated.
Theodore, Bernie at his heel, walked the convention floor. Then again. For the duration of the trip, Theodore made bitter comments about every genre and its authors."...and don't get me started on Harry Potter. It may have been written by a homeless woman, but its plot holes shouldn't be enjoyed by so goddamn many adults. It's an early teen read, sure, but it shouldn't be as tragically popular as it is. It's the least adventurous example of a genre defying undersell in the last decade. She could have written about so many fantasy elements. Instead she had ghosts and a flying horse. Bravo."
"Maybe an author doesn't have to push every corner to be good?"
"And that is where we diverge, Bernie." Theodore looked at his phone to check the time. There was a message from his mother but he ignored it. "The grab-ass shows are about to start. They'll close the convention floor in a few minutes. Can we please go back to the hotel?"
"You may. But I quite look forward to some of the exhibits."
In a building across the street movie trailers and seminars would be held until midnight.
(And something happens in the street so don't write past it please)
(okay)Aria had run out of books and at this point there was no more people to come and want their books signed. She turned around to Clara exhausted.
"Ready to pack up and get ready for the shows?"
"Yeah, we'll fold up the table and give it to them to put away," Clara sad.
Aria got up and felt her legs tingle as the blood rushed back to them since she had been sitting for so long. They folded up the table and put it against the wall. Then Aria and Clara started to walk to where the shows would start.
"Only a little bit longer until we go back to the hotel," Aria said looking forward to lying down.
(So, she's only written the one romance novel? Is there anything we can use from her book?)
(yeah, this was her first book that she has written. I haven't been able to think about what her book would be about yet.)
(Well for Theo, his first book was nonfiction, but since he's tried fantasy-horror in between the scifi Starbomb series, neither of which endeavors were particularly successful but full of monsters/characters to keep the story varied)
