And So It Begins...
Hello again, valiant writers and curious readers!
As you might recall from last week’s post, we kicked off Writer In Motion with a chilling and mysterious prompt. Writers boldly took up their quills and answered the call of the muses, creating some of the most imaginative tales we’ve ever seen.
It’s no easy task to challenge oneself to step off the beaten path and run straight into the wilds, but these writers did just that. We’re proud of them for putting themselves and their work out there!
Ready to discover where the prompt led them? Here’s a sneak peek of our writers’ unedited first draft, flaws and all. Visit our FORUM or the below links to read their stories, and to learn more about their creative brainstorming and drafting process.
Check back in with us next week to find out how their stories have evolved during the self-edit round.
Hello, one-derful week one! Here’s my messy draft, full of questions and notes to self and plenty of competing ideas 🙂 Drafting is my favorite part. https://writing.fanfarevt.com/writer-in-motion-2021-prompt-impression-first-draft/
Love this: “But, no matter how hard the rain poured, there was always something left of the stone. Pieces and sand rather than boulders, but pieces would do.”
“When Tim was young, his mom told him that all humans were made of stardust. And Tim would look in all his nooks and crannies, checking belly lint and earwax and boogers, trying to find evidence of sun particles, but all he could find were the lumpy, stinky, bulbous leavings of Earth-bound bodies.
Little did he know that stardust was powerful enough to turn a man immortal. Or that it could bring a civilization to its knees.”
https://mayadarjani.wordpress.com/2021/07/13/writer-in-motion-week-one-the-first-draft/
Love the word play throughout, Maya!
“ Antagonym, that was another term for that type of word he was thinking of, which brought to mind antagonist, like the way he and Karenna had been the last few months, duking and sparring and circling, waiting for the other to land the death punch. They cleaved to each other during the original crisis that led to the collapse of the space lanes, but the current spate of disasters were cleaving them apart. They were bound for Sol, but were chafing at being bound for life.”
“He comes at dusk, the shadow man.
He hovers in the corner of my vision, dissolving when I look straight at him, looming when I look away. Sometimes he is indistinct, smudged at his edges like smoke, only the suggestion of a man’s shape and a man’s height.“
https://erinfulmerwrites.wordpress.com/2021/07/14/wim-2021-first-draft/
Ooooo this gave me Haunting of Hill House vibes (the brother always knows there’s someone right behind him). Thought I would love it, and was not disappointed!! Can’t wait to see how it morphs during this process.
Hauntings are unrest. Eyes on your back. Hair rising and a wet breath on your neck.
You’re too thoughtful for a haunting.
https://www.keiralekseii.com/post/writer-in-motion-week-1
I also livestreamed writing this! https://youtu.be/9bDmh1w49tk
I *LOVE* the twists in this. And the dual POV. Really enjoyed this, Keir, I can’t wait to see how it develops.
“Sage clung to wood-paneled walls as if it could mute the tang of mother’s death.”
Historical Paranormal Horror
http://www.authormeganvandyke.com/2021/07/15/writer-in-motion-season-4-the-first-draft/
Another chilling one from you, Megan. I also love how you put your reflections on the draft at the end–the whole point is to see the process, and I really enjoyed getting that glimpse into yours.
“I am made of smoke and dreams and things you don’t want to see in the mirror. I am feared, but I am not the one to be scared of. I live in the country of shadow.”
https://www.adriabailton.com/musings/writer-in-motion-week-1-initial-draft
I really love that you shared your troubles with writing this piece–my first piece had to be pulled out of me tooth and nail, and I ended up loving it. But the point is sharing the process, and that we don’t love everything we write, right?
[…] if you want to see all the other fantastic writers who joined in and what they wrote, check out the Writer In Motion […]
“Always Ravlenna dreamed of fire.
A hot lick of flame and a cloud of suffocating smoke. Strong arms lifted her from the oppressive heat, and a melodious voice soothed her frightened cries. The only survivor that night, in a massive fire that claimed the lives of 221 scholars living in the university sector of upper Dai.“
—Read more: https://smroffey.com/wim-2021-week-1-unedited-draft/
Meliorism
“They say the best place to stumble upon the supernatural is at a crossroads, which is why one should always take extra precautions in case one happens upon such a place. The best time, they say–and by ‘they’, I mean mortals–to make one’s acquaintance with the other side, or indeed any kind of un-mortal kin, is on a Thursday, late at night.
They say so many things, mortals.”
https://writerinmotion.com/WIMForum/index.php?topic=393.msg1303#msg1303
““We have to talk,” Chelion said in its most take-me-seriously voice.
I intended only to dismissively glance up from my pinball game, but its appearance commanded a double take. I managed not to tilt the machine, but I lost my ball. “Not while you look like that,” I shuddered.”
“Against Humanity” – rough draft at: https://wtafiction.blogspot.com/2021/07/writer-in-motion-2021.html
I’m a little late… but here’s my week one post!
https://www.cheyannemonkman.com/post/writer-in-motion-zero-draft
It’s was not a great week. But here you go! https://erikafrose.me/2021/07/20/wim2021zerodraft/
It is the stars on my mind and her kind voice and the weight of her hand on my shoulder. That’s all I take with me as I go, fading into nothingness and smoke, leaving behind mere whispers of memory.
Sorry I’m late! Rough draft at https://josiesmithauthor.com/2021/07/14/writer-in-motion-week-1-the-first-draft/
Forgot to post here last week, so here’s my Week 1 Draft!! Really enjoyed diving into this one head first and seeing where it took me 🙂
https://northseawriter.wordpress.com/2021/07/16/writer-in-motion-2021-and-july-update/
I totally forgot to share a link to my first draft here!
https://stephwhitaker80.wixsite.com/swhitakerwrites/post/writer-in-motion-the-first-draft