Darkest Forest A restless night and gloomy morning later, Rienna found herself standing in front of a tall dark tree and its equally creepy brethren. She thought back to her encounter with the witch and what Måren had said about how she practiced necromancy. She imagined how Trusten must prefer capturing children due to their youthfulness. She swallowed hard as she peered into the darkness. The caravan had disappeared into the woods not half an hour earlier. And while there d

Hammering a stake into the cliff's edge, you clip your harness to a new rope. Shuffling towards the edge, you sit down on the edge as the snow around you slides off the edge and falls. You lower yourself onto the cliff wall and begin sliding down the rope. As you get to your partner's harness, you see that it looks like it was attacked; a large slash cuts the side of the harness in half. There's a trail of red leading to a cave, as you go to take a closer look, I realize it i

Wanted They gathered food and supplies from nearby shops, then prepared to travel back to Trilliah. Rienna figured she'd let Mæri know about the caves and ask her for directions back to Vieryen. They traveled along the lake again and reached Mæri’s house just a couple hours before dusk. Despite having hiked all day, Rienna was feeling much better and could tell her magic was about halfway replenished. Xio in one hand, Rienna raised an arm and knocked on the door. A moment lat

Chapter 31: Storm on the Water As Rienna built her boat, her mind slipped in and out of consciousness. Sometimes, she would look up at the crystal sky and see Xio peering down at her. Sometimes, she was in the middle of binding pieces together when she blacked out and would see a fuzzy image of crystal panes all around her. Her boat was made of fallen wood and giant leaves. She wasn't very sure that it would work, but hopefully, in the dream world, it would be okay. With Aya'

In the last article, we talked about worldbuilding. Now that you have built your world, you have to figure out what you want to tell with it. What do you want to talk about, comment on, criticize, or make your reader think about? The plot is what lets you tell the story you want to tell. It is the events of your world and the ultimate effect on it. Your plot should be divided into points, events, or actions that move it subtly. An example of a plot point is your characters ne

Part I Opening your eyes as a blue glow illuminates the inside of your tent, a shrill noise like tearing paper, the door flies open, and the hair on your neck stands as the frigid air fills the tent. The warm glow of the morning sun contrasts with the snow-covered ground. Glancing around the tent, you notice that your partner has already left. Stepping out of the tent, you feel yourself sinking into the powered snow from the night before. Donning your goggles, the world shift

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Phillip K. Dick, but from the perspective of the sheep I wish my coat were real. Not the pretty-looking cotton stuff that stays looking good in the smoky-gray of a San Francisco morning post World War Terminus, not the factory-lathed fibers that were made to never catch dust, but real wool. Warm and comforting, sometimes stinky and tangled, but real. I want to feel the warmth and chill of normal weather patterns, eat grass and clover tha

This is the first piece in what is hopefully a series of articles, in which over the course of the year I am going to try and teach you how to take your creative writing to the next level. This article will go over the foundation of your story, the world, and the people in it.  World building is the stone that builds the bridge. If done properly you can take your story to critical acclaim solely on your world and how it engrosses people into your vision. If done improperly yo

Chapter 28: An Island Rienna gasped as the memories stopped flooding through her mind. She had seen the anger of a younger Jenni, from before she was Sovereign. She had seen herself as she traveled. She remembered all of the events they showed her as they knew them. She knew what they wanted to do. And she couldn’t help but doubt their decision. She looked around at them. "Are you sure?" she asked with wonder. "Even after what happened last time?" You are worthy, they said. T

Changes Hello! I’m continuing my creative writing story, but I’m making a few changes in the process of how I share it. I will now be...

Nothing is worse than being woken up. Sometimes, it’s through an alarm that wasn’t annoying when you chose it, but somehow became the...

Mæri led them into a small room with a table and a set of chairs in a corner near a bookcase. The wooden floor creaked under their...

Rienna fidgeted in the new leather clothes she was wearing. She hadn't worn leather before, and it was a little odd. It felt kind of cold...

Rildie did not knock or announce her presence when she arrived at the house Rienna was in. She just walked right through the entrance and...

“Hello, Rienna,” a voice said from in front of Rienna. She jerked her head up to see who was talking. Just in front of the entrance to...

The dragon spread its wings wide and let out an ear-piercing screech. Rienna froze, clutching Xio tightly. It's smaller than I thought a...

“There it is.” Rildie’s voice seemed to echo in the large silence. “Where’s what?” Rienna asked, looking around. They had been following...

Rienna yelped as she hit the ground. She stood up and saw a small figure with a black hooded cape jump out of the caravan after her. She...

Two roots thrust themselves out of Earth’s minerals and beached themselves naked under a three-year-old plum tree. The two roots did not...

“Ugh!” Rienna yelled. For the past fifteen minutes, she had been attempting to break the crystal and exploit the crack made the previous...