Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Another Idea

Ok. So someone had suggested another idea to me for the Group Story.
When you send your chapter, you can send a brief bio/about me about yourself and a picture if you would like. We will post this with your chapter as a kind of About the Author thing.


If you aren't comfortable sharing information about yourself, it is completely fine. Just thought this would be a nice idea to add because it was mentioned to me.


Note: Maddy and Kay have switched places for the Pirate Story...Maddy will do the second chapter, and Kay will do the fifth.
 --Somiya

Monday, July 21, 2014

Cursed Girl Story: Chapter One

       We are doing this story with some friends on a Google+ Community. A bunch of us are randomly writing chapters. As you read this story, keep in mind that we need help with a title and suggestions are most welcome!

Chapter One


    

By Keona Polhamus


      “Ill luck shall follow her. If she remains in one place for more than a week, it shall be struck with famine. The ones she loves will die.”

Her mother burst into tears. She should have known that this would happen! The son of a witch should not have been the one she fell in love with; yet she did. Now, their daughter was cursed and he didn’t care a penny. 
There was no hope for her daughter.

********************************************************************


     “Mother, why must we always be travelling?” I ask. I don’t know why we are always on the move. I have never lived somewhere for more than a week.
Never.
Ever.
In my life.
“Starr,” my mother says quietly, in the voice she uses when she’s about to say something that she doesn’t want to say, “there is something I should’ve told you a long time ago.”
“What?” I ask expectantly.
“The day that you were a year old, your grandmother came to me.”
“Father’s mother?” I ask.
My mother nods. 
I have never met her before. Apparently she hates me.
“She was, well, a witch.” My mother continues.
That’s a shocker.
“Nine years and a month ago, she said to me that I would pay for taking her son from her. The thing was…. I didn’t. Your father was a careless man who only loved his mother. He never cared for you, or for me.
“On your second birthday, she returned. She cast a, ah…. curse, upon you. She said that anyplace you stayed in for more than a week would be struck with famine. You would always have bad luck. Anyone you loved would die.” My mother is crying now.
I can’t process it for a minute. I’m cursed?! And she waited almost eight years to tell me?! I don’t know what to say.
“And you believed her?” I ask.
“Not at first,” my mother says, “but after a month, everyone in our town was starving, and when we left, the crops where plentiful.”
I take a deep breath, soaking it all in.
“Wow,” is all I can manage.
********************************************************************
The curse always hangs over me. Always sits in the back of my mind. Years pass. It is agony moving constantly, knowing that I always will. 
It is my sixteenth birthday.
I am amazed when my mother tells me that we are going to a restaurant for the occasion.
Not an inn.
Not a tavern.
A restaurant! 
I put on a dress, my nicest, and I brush my long hair as well as I can.
I look in the mirror and see a girl with long, wavy, golden hair. Sky blue eyes. Very, very fair skin.
But the girl I see does not look cursed.
Far from it.
But she is. 
Well, people aren’t always what they seem.
Mother and I have wonderful dinner, and we still have five days here in this city.
When we go to an inn, the only room left only has one bed! So we decide that we might as well share it. It will be much more comfortable than the time we both had to sleep on a cement floor.
Lying in bed, I wrap my arms around my mother and, very quietly, say words I have never said to anyone before, “Mother, I love you so much.”
Suddenly, I realize what I have just done.
My mother gasps. I begin to sob, “I take it back!” I scream, “Mother! I take it back! Mother!”
But I know it’s useless. My mother seems to shrink in my arms. She grows very pale.
That’s when I really lose it.
      Before I know it, I’m shaking her. I’m screaming mindlessly.
I hit my head hard on the bedpost, but I hardly notice.
Men are rushing into the room, trying to pull her away from me, but I won’t let them.
“Starr!” my mother says with her dying breath, “Find Moirah Dune. She can break the….the curse.”
I nod frantically, hysterically.
“Starr,” she whispers, “I love you.”
I realize that she is dying, no matter what I say or do, so I say it back, “Mother, oh, mother! I love you too! So much! I love you too!”
But she doesn’t hear me.
Suddenly, the hysteria is gone, and I realize I am blacking out. 
I must’ve hit my head really hard.
I only have two fleeting thought before I lapse into unconsciousness. 
Find Moirah Dune.
I love you too, Mother.

Pirate Theme: List

Chapter 1: Somiya and Keona
Chapter 2: Maddy L.
Chapter 3: Hope Covey
Chapter 4: Karalyn
Chapter 5: Kay C.
Chapter 6: Aislinn
Chapter 7: Chloe
Chapter 8: Lydia S.
Chapter 9: Winter
Chapter 10: Keona
Chapter 11: Kaylan
Chapter 12: Jenny
Chapter 13: Katie
Chapter 14: Grace Sharpe
Chapter 15: Somiya
Chapter 16: Abbey Lewis
Chapter 17: Sarah C.


Pirate Theme: Chapter One



Maelstrom
By: Somiya Brown and Keona Polhamus

       
      Esmeralda Velazquez gazed out of the grime filled window, of the top floor of her parents’ inn. She looked out   expectantly, but all she could see were the shacks and shops of her dirty street. Since the inn was taller than the other homes, she was privileged with a better view than most of if not all of the people in her town. She turned her attention to the long dock of the ship port, which was quickly coming to life in the light of the rising sun. Most of the men in this small English settlement in Jamaica were fishermen or merchants or shopkeepers of some trade. And already, before the sun's light, they could be seen moving about the long docks. The pale calm sea was streaked with the pale pinks and oranges of the early morning sky, and a wispy mist was swirling from around the docks. Then, there it was. The sun, big and glowing and red. Like a magnificent fireball, it cast its red and orange light across the sky and sea, creating a fire-like effect. Yes, it was beautiful, but to the sailors it was a bad omen. There was an old saying among fishermen that went something like this," Red night, sailors delight; red morning, sailors warning." A red morning would be a major setback. It meant a storm was coming; and it was never wrong. She would have to warn him, but she doubted her would listen. Any foolish man, who would regard this as a superstition, would find himself at the bottom of the ocean.  Few if not any of the fishermen in their small sloops, would try to brave the upcoming storm; today would be a day for checking the nets, or buying new merchandise, or visiting one of the many inns in the town. Today would be a busy day for her parents.... Speaking of her parents, Esmeralda could already smell the fresh aroma of the breakfast her mother had started, her mother would probably be calling her down soon to help serve the boarders. He better arrive soon.




         She decided to look out the window just for a minute longer, and then she would help her mother. Much to her dismay, the street was still empty.... No! Wait! Yes, there he was just rounding the corner now. Caspian Smith. He had a weird name for a British subject, but it suited him. Long-ish dark brown hair, light caramel skin, and mysterious silvery blue eyes to match his quiet, mysterious demeanorHe is late again, she mused with a smile. She opened the window and waved, he gave her one of his rare small smiles and ducked his head inside the door of the inn. Before leaving, she quickly ran to her cracked looking glass. She ran her fingers quickly through her long mass of curly dark hair. She was pleased with her appearance. She inherited her dark hair and small figure from her mother's Spanish side. Her greenish-hazel eyes and light skin were from her father's British side. Some people looked down on "mixed" people, but she was proud of her family heritage. She gathered up the skirt of her brown dress, and flew down the stairs, wishing for the freedom of trousers. She peaked through the kitchen, and slowly tip-toed by in her bare feet, hoping her mother wouldn't notice. "Esmeralda?" she turned around," Ah, there you are, I need your help, the inn is full." Esmeralda tried to smile," Two minutes, please, ma’ma?" Her mother raised an eyebrow, then looked into the dining room, and saw Caspian casually leaning against the door frame. "Ah,' she said while smiling, then she walked over and handed Esmeralda a plate of hot cakes," Go see him."

       "Thank you!" she said while grabbing Caspian's hand and tugging him outside. Her mother shook her head and smiled, then went back to work. Caspian sat on the steps stuffing his face with the hot cakes, while Esmeralda tried to warn him of the upcoming storm. "You can't go out there today, see the sky!" she urged.
He shook his head and began to laugh softly," You can't stop me; it’s my first day on the job. Esmeralda, you know I need the money." She shook her head; Esmeralda knew this to be true, for Caspian's parents were merchants who had been killed by a pirate attack. Caspian didn't like to talk about, but the only thing he ever told her was," Esmeralda, if you ever see a ship called the Maelstrom, get out of here as fast as you can." The very name gave her shivers. "There is going to be a storm," she urged. He stood up and grabbed her shoulders lightly," I promise you, I will be fine, it is not like I don't know the sea." She had to agree with him on that one. "Fine,” she said while punching his shoulder," But you have to let me walk you down to the merchant docks."


      He agreed, and the two best friends made there way to the docks. By the time they arrived the sun was fully risen. They made their way to the large merchant ship Cleopatra docked there. "Um...Hello, sir," said Caspian," Are you Captain Nicholson?" "Yes, that would be me lad...Are you ready to set out, they say there is going to be a storm, but that won't stop me." "Yes, sir,” said Caspian," that won't stop me either."
"Good!” said the Captain with a smile," You can start by loading these crates into the ship."

     The Captain walked away, and Caspian walked back to Esmeralda. He gave her a quick hug.
"Bye," he said," Expect me back in a week!"
She knew she couldn't convince him not to leave so she went along with it," Ok." she said," Don't run into any pirates."
"I won't," he said. And with that he walked up the gangplank. Esmeralda quickly made her way back to their inn to help her mother. She slid into the kitchen just in time to do the dishes. "He's gone?" her mother asked.
"Yes, he'll be back in a week," she replied.






       Meanwhile, Caspian had been sailing on the Caribbean for three days. There had been the large storm, but they had braved it with ease. The merchant ship had already visited so many places, he had seen so much. He couldn't wait to go back and tell Esmeralda. He looked out gazing on the horizon, and saw a small speck in the distance.
"Captain!" he called," There is another merchant ship on the horizon!"
The captain came up beside him, his face grave," Aye, that is no merchant ship, lad."
Caspian looked at the captain," You mean...."
"Pirates!" said the Captain," Raise the sails, we have to get out of its canon range."
Caspian watched as the galleon got closer and closer, and then he recognized the man at the helm. Captain Malcolm Skulken.
This was not just any pirate ship. It was the Maelstrom.

     The week had passed so slowly for Esmeralda, and she ran to the merchant docks. She sat with her feet dangling in the water, waiting for the Cleopatra to arrive. She waited all afternoon, but it never came...
Finally, a merchant ship docked, a man came off pale and weak. Soon a crowd had gathered around him, the captain of that merchant ship had found him half drowned on a plank in the water. "He said that he came from the Cleopatra." Esmeralda went pale and ran up to the man. "What happened?" she pleaded. He looked up at her with his glassy eyes and uttered one word before he died. "Maelstrom."

                                    


Reference Guide

     Here is the main reason Epic Stories was started! There are a lot of rules in place to ensure that things run smoothly because there are so many people involved. So please bear with us. Knowing the rules with ensure that you follow them. So please read this entire post.

Starting
    When we are planning to start a new group story the theme and the first chapter will be released. The first chapter will typically be written by us (Keona and Somiya). Once the first chapter is released, everyone will have a chance to sign up. You can do that by emailing us at k.s.epicstories@gmail.com. After that you will need to subscribe to Epic Stories. If you don't know how to do that, let us know, and we will do it for you. We will usually give about two weeks for signup. At the end of this time we will compile a list of who is doing which chapters. That list will be posted and whoever has chapter 2 may begin immediately.

Writing Your Part
      In writing your chapter there are requirements as well as some things you need to know.
Things you should know....

  1. Depending on how many participants we have, you may or may not be assigned to do a second chapter. If you are assigned to do two chapters so is everyone else. But if we only want another two or three chapters there will be a competition to decide who will do those. (More about competitions later.)
  2. You can draw pictures for your or other peoples' chapters. Just ask whoever wrote the chapter first.
There is not much else except for the rules. As we said before, there are A LOT of those.

Rules

  1. Try to keep your chapter about 500 to 1000 words. But it is fine if it is a bit longer. 
  2. Keep it clean. No swearing. No sensuality. Etc.
  3. No sappy romance. Keep it realistic. Like we said before, married people kissing is fine. A hug or kiss on the cheek/hand is acceptable. Please nothing more than that.
  4. If you do draw a picture of one of the chapters, please keep it clean and modest.
  5. Don't write if you can't. If you don't have any inspiration for your chapter, please tell us. We will just switch you with someone else, and you can write another chapter. 
  6. Try to end your chapters in cliff hangers. It makes it much more exciting to read, and for the next person to add to! 
  7. Don't take all the fun for your self. For example, Cinderella and the Prince don't get married in chapter two. We are not saying not to have fun with it. Just remember that this story is supposed to be EPIC. To make it that way it has to be put together well.
  8. Be realistic. Yes, anything can happen in a story, but don't go over the top unless we are doing a random comedy. In that case, you may completely ignore this rule!
  9. Take your time--but not TOO MUCH time. We suggest that you give yourself a time limit of one week, maybe two. Honestly, writing one chapter of a book isn't that hard.
  10. GRAMMAR! I (Keona) am a grammar maniac.I promise you will be hard pressed to find a grammatical error in my chapters. You can save me work of editing your chapter by doing it yourself. 
  11. Remember that we will edit your chapter before posting it. Nothing too big. Just a word or two here or a fragment or two there. Mostly just grammar. Don't be hurt if something in your story is changed.
  12. Stick to the theme. For example: If the story is about pirates and the boy is about to rescue the girl you cannot decide to randomly change it to ninjas and completely drop the story about the boy and girl. 
  13. No planning. You may not discuss with anyone else what you plan to do to the story. It is more fun this way and more fair so that it isn't one person dictating the whole story. We (Keona and Somiya) won't even be discussing how we want the story to go.
  14. Do whatever you want. Well...Ok, not quite. Following all the previous rules. Make sure you have fun:) Don't do something because you think that is what some one else wants you to do. Use your imagination!


Finishing Up
    When everyone is done their chapters we will have a contest for the last chapter, or we may decide that the story just isn't ready to end yet. In that case, we will need at least three people to write a second chapter to get the story ready to close. There will be a contest to decide who those people will be.

Contest
   WE will choose an extremely random picture and post it. What you have to do is write a short story about that photo.
Rules

  1.  Minimum 300 words. Maximum 750 words. 
  2. Keep it clean.
  3. It must be about the picture.
If one of these rules is broken your chapter will be eliminated.  The three or so winners will write a second chapter each to help close the story.

Last Chapter
    Everyone gets a chance. Everyone will write their own version of the last chapter, and we will choose five or so. Everyone gets to vote on those five and the majority wins. Sometimes the rules about the last chapter may change depending on how many people participate.

Title
    Basically, in this contest just enter what you think our story should be called. Same thing as the last chapter contest, except this time we will choose ten or so titles, and then vote on process of elimination. Last one standing wins!


This post is basically a "Reference Guide". The rules will not be posted again. Please refer back to this post if you have any questions about rules or contests. Have fun!






Posting Your Own Stories

    This probably isn't going to be the biggest thing on Epic Stories, but it is going to be big. If you have written a book or short story that you want to share with other people you can send it to us.
    Depending on how many stories we have going at a time we will or will not approve your story. If we do we will put up one chapter every week or two.
     There are some requirements for stories that we post:

  1. They must be your own. The story that you put up may NOT be copy written. It must be a story that you have written on your own.
  2. No swearing. We want to keep Epic Stories morally clean. If you send us a story with swearing, we will either omit the swearing or turn down your story.
  3. No sensuality. Parts will be removed or rewritten if deemed inappropriate. Married couples kissing is fine, just try not to go farther than that. Awkward......
  4. You MUST send us the full story. Because we have to know that you aren't just going to leave it off at  a dead end.
  5. Once you have said 'ok' there is no taking it back. Your story will be posted. So make sure it that it is really what you want.
  6. Romance is fine to a certain extent. Just don't go over the top...
  7. Your story must be split into chapters. Try to keep them between five hundred and one thousand words. This just makes it easier for us to post and for people to read.
  8. You can comment on other peoples stories. Please, just be polite. TO some people writing may not come naturally. Let's just try to be encouraging:)
  Keep in mind that you may have to wait a few weeks before your story is approved. Because we have to read the whole thing first. Once your story is approved you may have to wait before we actually post it, depending on how many stories are currently being posted.


Introduction

        Welcome to Epic Stories blog! As you may have gathered, this is where epic stories are made and/or shared. This post is mostly just a reference page that we are referring to as "The Guidebook'. Please read this before you start entering contests and posting your stories-- it will probably save you lots of trouble. You can also contact us at any time at k.s.epicstories@gmail.com.
The following posts are a part of the Guidebook, and are meant to help you as you enter stories and participate in competitions.