Foldedmaze

Chapter 4 of the Chain of Prey is now up! It took a few days extra to write, but it's twice as long as the other chapters, so there's your trade-off. :)
          	
          	https://www.wattpad.com/878395700-the-chain-of-prey-4-misgiving

Foldedmaze

Rewrote the book summary:
          
          
          Sesil Prospor’s life of favor is upended in a single afternoon. Traveler, courtier, war-strategist, he has risen high in the service of the governor. Now it’s falling apart. He’s being sent far from the capital, still reeling from an attempt on his life. Supposedly it’s for his safety. He knows better. He doesn’t trust his new servant. And he suspects ambush at his destination, too.
          
          What he doesn’t expect is the nightmare unfolding in a remote border colony, beyond the reach of anything his life has prepared him for.

Foldedmaze

@Matadorian Ooh, I think I must incorporate some of those ideas. Thank you, meddler!
            
            Til now, Sesil Prospor lived a life of favor. Traveler, courtier, war-strategist, he had risen quickly in the service of the imperial governor. But an attempt on his life upends everything. When he's sent far from the capital on a new mission, Sesil is told it's for his own safety. But Sesil knows better. And it doesn't help that he's been saddled with a servant who he doesn't trust.
            
            Yet even Sesil cannot foresee the nightmare awaiting him in a remote border colony-- a horror unlike any threat he has faced on the battlefield.
• Reply

Matadorian

@Foldedmaze Nice!
            
            I'm a hopeless meddler...Here is the result of my meddling. Not a suggestion, just told again differently for your comparison. I find that interesting narrative alchemies emerge from this process.
            
            Sesil Prospor lived a life of favor. Traveler, courtier, war-strategist, he had risen quickly in the service of the Imperial governor. But an attempt on his life upends everything. Now he's being sent far from the capital on a new mission, ostensibly for his own safety. But Sesil knows better.
            
            Yet even Sesil cannot foresee the silent nightmare spreading in the remote border colony that awaits him. A nightmare that somehow bears his own name.
            
            I made up the last part but that would be a neat place for a mind-bending must-read twist. Fun!
• Reply

Foldedmaze

this message may be offensive 
Tweaked a few things in chapters 2 and 3, because Sesil's horse demanded to have a name and larger role than animated vehicle. As much I have avoided horses (both fictional and flesh) after holding one in my arms for the final moments of its life last spring . . . well, come to think of it, it was a year ago almost to the day. Fuck. On this dark anniversary, I give you a fictional horse. Writing it felt surprisingly good but also has resulted in pacing, sniffling, and an inner debate whether I want to put an imaginary horse through a horror story, or put myself through writing whatever comes up with that. As it currently stands, all the horses are supposed to get dropped off before the main characters reach their destination. That may change because this beast is stubborn about being involved after that. I've already swerved well off the story outline, so why not a little more? My psyche clearly has picked out a sword for my year-old gordian knot and it feels like time.
          
          The Chain of Prey is not a horse story, by the way. Damn it.
          
          In gladder news, I just had the pleasure of finishing @giveitameaning 's spectacular book, Nightfire. That one is a stay-up-all-nighter, especially if you like scary magic and nightmares made flesh. I can also recommend it for intricate world-building, backstabbing politics, and characters every shade of good and evil who I came to care about like dear friends. It's a few chapters from completion and there are more books planned to follow it.
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/161987098-nightfire-the-whispering-wall-1

Foldedmaze

In other news, I'm going to need at least a day to recuperate from the Big Writing Push. I'd love to refill my creative well by reading things that want to be read. Ping me if you've got something you want my eyes on. Also there may be some binge-watching of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which I never tried until now because I feared the campiness. It turns out that I like. I like very much. And quarantine is the perfect time to appreciate werewolves who voluntarily self-isolate.

Foldedmaze

Chapter 3 is up, after I turned the bad inertia into good inertia. Despite being the most difficult scene to write thus far, it's also my favorite (now that it's done.) (That is an important qualification.) After naming chapter one "Command" and two "Camouflage," was I tempted to name this chapter another c-initial word? Yes I was. Did I give in? Find out here: https://www.wattpad.com/871441835-the-chain-of-prey-3-accomplice

MagdaThenAndNow

Hey, just wanted to say thank you for leaving such wonderful comments on my short story. I see that you’re following @Matadorian; I can’t recommend his story enough! It’s beautiful and unique and a great adventure.

MagdaThenAndNow

@Matadorian That seems wise. I think we've all had enough JarJar to last us multiple lifetimes. I loved the beginning of your fresh take on Episode 1. I look forward to reading the rest! :)
• Reply

Matadorian

@MagdaThenAndNow I was thinking of having a clumsy gungan blunder by at some point, and the Jedi dodge out of the way and look annoyed, but then carry on. But that seems kind of vindictive. I'd rather treat it more as a rewrite of the Lucas script, and that means Jar Jar gets axed completely.
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MagdaThenAndNow

@Matadorian Omg, that sounds awesome! :D Yousa gonna makea JarJar the main character, right? Haha just kidding please don't hate me.
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Foldedmaze

Let's talk Empaths. Whether male or female, in most fiction they embody conventional "feminine" qualities: emotional, sensitive, vulnerable, and other-focused, insofar as they orient on what others think and feel, rather than being driven by their own feelings.
          
          One of my goals in reimagining empaths is to break gender lines. My empaths are powerful, uncanny, and hard to read. You do not mess with them. While they might have more masculine or feminine characteristics as individuals, their supernatural talents fall outside of gender identity.