Portfolio
Who’s the most terrible writer of them all? Me of course!
It feels strange to make a portfolio of my writing. In truth, it’s just a chance for me to procrastinate from the more important things in life and, well, to give me that extra ravishing page! I am also horrible pretentious in, well, everything online. I’m somewhat more rational in my physical entity. 
So I want to be a writer. Live with it. I have put a few pages with assorted pieces, so enjoy (aha…) and let me know what you think. See my different pieces below, but just extracts.
Well, I’m also into poetry a little, and in fact I would find it a great achievement to improve. I used to think it was a bit of a shot in the dark but slowly, I am understanding the strings of a poem. I’m lacking that greatness, but at the moment I’m only working for myself, eh?
Here are some of my current and hopeful works.
(Novella in progress) Little Redbreast - A Robin, referred to by me as Robin, lives alone in winter, and as spring comes, finds that the world is still moving without him. Hunger straps him down, and his imagination is his only friend. He dreams about a friend called Redbreast, and it develops from there. Robin never meets Redbreast, but what he dreams about ends up being reality. He fears the day and night; he asks why light is good when it kills the dark, and vice versa. Makes more sense in context.
(Idea – will be written after Little Redbreast) The Bronze Mountain – A schizophrenic man, locked in a mental hospital, has only eight months to live. His human side (Ralph) wants to ascend to all the pinnacles he has dreamed of, and his alternate side (Sino) takes a more literal approach; Ralph escapes and wakes up on a skyscraper. He never leaves, just sleeps in exhaustion and every time he wakes, he finds a message left by who he thinks is Sino, something to change his life on and then a flashback to what he has done; he begins the novel with just a paper-clip that he grabbed from a receptionist’s table when he escaped, and he ends with a skyscraper, having swapped it a lot of times. He has, essentially, stood on his pinnacle. Symbollically, of course. He gives it back to the receptionist when they get him back.
(On hold – idea being reworked) Eterne - A man sells his brother when their father is murdered. The boy grows up and learns about it, and every day, he brings his brother closer to the edge. He becomes a beggar in the streets of the City, and, instead of bartering right into society, they begin their own and break away. It becomes dystopian, in which the murderer is right.
(Maybe in the future) Milkman - ‘Twas my projected NaNoWriMo for 2008. It was once an animation, but I wonder… a children’s fantasy series? I failed at it. But, 4500 words? The rewrite; 1800 words in a day? Meh. Not sure.
The Bronze mountain sounds interesting. Characters with mental problems are always fun, but should always be researched, even if it just means some cursory work for a synopsis. To the best of my knowledge schizophrenia does not specifically involve the manifestation of multiple personalities. They may perceive many different personalities, but they are over in the form of voices and hallucinations. Ralph/Sino sounds more like he suffers from Dissociative identity disorder (better known as multiple personality disorder). Even then you have to take in to consideration the full symptoms of the condition; a key thing being there tend to be upwards of 13-15 distinct personalities of varying presence following diagnose. You might have a bit more lee way with the number of personalities if you the start the story with his admission to the hospital. Anyways, just something to chew on there.
Hmm, thanks for that! Good point. I could, in essence, just make it a fantasy in which I invent my own curse, or something, but I reckon that’s cheating somewhat.
It could even just be two different people. I liked the idea of a mental disorder, and in particular two personalities, because I can be both serious and insane with only two eyes. But anyway, thanks for the input!
(I actually only just added that in yesterday!)
lol That actually sounds interesting. Maybe something along lines of an urban fantasy (I’m a sucker for those, Jim Butcher is one of my greatest guilty pleasures) set in a Victorian/antebellum era asylum. Fantastical interpretations of mental illness (which also have preceding interpretations in folklore/religion) could allow for some for some creativity while also asking the question “what if it were demons and such that caused mental illness?” for instance. The Victorian setting could allow for some good atmosphere , while at the same time allowing for the introduction of reformist movements in the face of some really horrible practices that were going on in asylums at that time.
Crap o,o I think I’m gonna have to try my hand at that O.o;;
Oh I entirely agree. That’s why I said they’re so much fun. Having a multitude of personalities could still make things interesting though. Introducing a newly discovered personality at some point could bring up the suspense and complexity of the story when needed,and make Ralph and even Sino (which could be interesting considering how influential/authoritative his character seems to be compared to Ralph whom I picture as all bedraggled and bewildered).
Haha, thanks for the input. =] I always seem to enjoy characters with a clinically insane mind for reasons no other than my own lack of rationality. Also, crazy people are just amazing. Write anything and say it’s not MEANT to make sense. Heh.
I like the Victorian setting. I didn’t want to go too modern, where there are countless cures and everyone’s looked after, surrounded by a bazillion scientific names for obvious reasons. But I think yeah, demons and such would be fun to play with.
The story keeps changing! But I still want a dying mental patient to lead the role.
Heh. The way I look at it is that anyone that get’s even a little bit serious about writing is bound to develop some of issues eventually. Why not have fun with mental problems while you still can? XD
“Write anything and say it’s not MEANT to make sense. Heh.”
Now that is cheating ;D
Yup, it’s pretty much the perfect setting imo, you can go all the way into the present for messed up treatment of mental illness/disability, but I personally find it more interesting when taken to EXTREMES. Just don’t get all cliche and bring up Bedlam. The relative lack of real understanding of mental illness allows for some more interesting situations as well.
That’s the beauty of the creative process. ;D
It sure is.
I think the best part is that you don’t have to worry about real places and events, because they are a little insane so they don’t really care.
Oh, and I thought of a pretty cool opening line:
“Wake up, Mister Lam. You’re dead.”
… or not? xD
You seem to know a lot about writing! Do you do any yourself?
Not much. I just mess around. Took a creative fiction writing class a couple semesters ago had a blast and have been scribbling when I find the time. Haven’t had much time for fiction lately; trying to finish a history degree has pretty much precluded me from reading much less writing any >.<
Eh. Sounds a bit cliche; no offense. I personally would lean towards some kind of dark humor for the beginning. Something to snag the reader and drag them down with you into the more serious parts of the story.
Did with a story about a guy who grew up wanting to be a serial killer. Crack a couple jokes here and there and then BAM! He kills someone with a crowbar and starts getting a little introspective about his desire to be come a serial killer.