11 March 2009

Embracing Whose What of SEFEVWI

Okay, VWI participants (or those who might be participating), now's the time to come forward and share a bit about your What (or work in progress, aka WIP) and, if you'd like, yourself.

Since I've heard that you should never ask others to do what you are unwilling to do yourself, I'll go first.

Oh, and if you missed it, don't forget to read yesterday's post on What's What with the VWI.

(A.N. I came up with the concept for this WIP, with the help of my amazing co-plotter, yesterday. I haven't written a word and haven't worked out all, or most, of the details yet.)

Name: Sam

WIP Working Title: AFTERLIFE OF THE UNDEAD

Synopsis: Eighteen-year-old Alice is one of the Undead--clones whose originals have "returned from the dead" (aka awakened from their comas, been found after they've gone missing, returned from war after being listed KIA, or in Alice's original's case, been reunited with her parents after surviving two years of captivity). 

With her identity repo'd, Alice is taken in by Mr. Xavier (Mr. X to her), a man working for the company that manages the cloning process and the few Undead in existence. Given that she really has no other interests or identity, Alice decides to follow in her adoptive father's footsteps and become a Handler--one who manages the Disenfranchised Clones, as they are officially known. 

Her first assignment: Heathcliff Heathcliff, an Undead whose reported threat level is Alpha, which basically means that he wouldn't hurt a puppy. But, when (plot elements needed) start happening, Alice worries the company's shrinks may have miscalculated, that Heathcliff may be the greatest threat the company's ever seen.

Problems/Areas In Need of Elaboration and Further Thought:
  • The setting: Near-future? Alternate universe? Contained to Earth (or Earth-like world)? Inter-galactic?
  • The company's name
  • What is happening at the company/to the company? What causes Alice to suspect Heathcliff is behind those things?
Etc.: [Insert whatever other information you feel like sharing, pertinent or not, here]

7 comments:

Kat said...

Very interesting plot!

Samantha Elliott said...

Thanks! *blush*

Unknown said...

New! Exciting! ><
Is Heathcliff Heathcliff a wink to Bronte's Wuthering Heights? So awesome...

Samantha Elliott said...

The Undead--excuse me, the Disenfranchised Clones--get to choose new names to go with their replacement identities. Heathcliff has a rather morbid and sardonic sense of humor/self.

But, if you stay tuned, you'll get to see that for yourself, I'm sure. ;)

Oh, and don't forget to post your own What, if you're joining us on Saturday!

Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm Kage, and this is my blog, sucka!

*assuredly will be dead by the morning, making this whole thing moot*

Ok, so, my WIP...

Actually, I'm just the slightest bit easy to distract when it comes to my writing. What I mean to say is, I have a few WIPs that are in the works, and I can't really decide which one to work on, on Saturday. That, and I can't really see myself doing one thing and one thing only...

So? I guess that means, for the sake of my indecisiveness, I'm gonna post a little bit about everything. Hope that's ok... >.>...

American Magic:
Magic didn't travel to the New World with the pilgrims or the vikings or the indians; it was already here, waiting patiently, hungry for power and a legend of its own.

So, yeah... That's the intro to my monster story... It started out as an HP fan-fic that explored what the magical society was like in the U.S., compared to England's, but it became... Much more, to say the least. Although I guess there's nothing very "least" about four years, 9 chapters, 286 pages, and 50,000 words... But, yeah... It's complicated...

What needs help: I'm one of those "no planning necessary" (aka LAZY) writers that doesn't really have any idea where anything I'm writing is headed, so I really don't know what I'll end up asking about... I am, however, currently considering a total rewrite of the story with the protagonist as 14, rather than her current 12. Which will be big for me, since I'm also lazy-writer in that I never, ever do major revisions... So, yeah.

No Heroes in War (possible title? I usually refer to it as "Jalin", which is the name of the main character, because the whole point of starting the story was because I wanted to name someone Jalin...): Jalin is an optimist. He prefers to see the world with a silver lining, even if he has to paint it on, himself. So, when he comes home on an early R&R from his latest desert deployment to find his fiance enthusiastically making out with her neighbor on their front porch, he grabs the most accessible pail of silver paint he can find, and gets wasted with his best friends at the local bar. Doing his best to stumble to the nearest hotel, later that night, Jalin encounters a mysterious man of shadows, who is killed an instant later by a woman of light. The shadow man's blood all over him, Jalin is now being pursued by the man's "Family" as the accused killer. With the questionable help of Mr. Brown, his ex-fiance and her lover, and his two best friends, all of whom are much more than Jalin had been led to believe, Jalin must survive the insane, zombie-controlling Grey Kid, the (plot element needed, to include two more main bad guys), and the scheming, sadistic Lady of Light, and the rest of the twisted Family.

Things that need help: So, besides wanting something with the main character named Jalin, I also wanted to write a horror story, to see if I could. But, my mind has trouble coming up with truly frightening scenarios... Also, I wanted to see if I could write an optimist, which is the exact opposite of my personality, so I have a difficult time telling if I'm writing Jalin's attitude realistically... Also, I need two more bad guys, and the middle of my plot (already have a vague idea of the end).

Prayer for Dawn: Solomon (last name needed), Sol to his friends, is your average guy: he likes women, and beer, and women who drink beer, and anything (and everything) that follows. But, in his dreams, he discovers himself living out bits and pieces of the strange, dark life of a girl named Dawn. Which seriously fucks with his sex life. Dawn never bothered him when he was awake, never made her presence known beyond the edge of waking, until Sol's employer hires him to track down a missing child, a young girl whom according to his employer, is an unwitting danger to herself and those around her, and looks exactly like Dawn did when he first began dreaming about her over 30 years ago.

What needs help: Sol's last name. I have no idea. Also, the liason guy that gives him his orders, I'm just calling him Thomas, for now, but I'm not very fond of the name... Plot-wise, I really have no idea where this story is going. I -think- it's going to be a vampire story. I -think-. But, I'm really, very in the dark, here. Very. Also, I'm thinking, more and more, about changing the title to "Dreaming of Dawn" or something to that extent... >.>...

And, now, I -really- need to go to sleep, if I wanna be even slightly productive at work, tomorrow... Hey, Sam, mind killing me before I wake up so I can sleep in a bit? Thanks. ^_^

Samantha Elliott said...

Sorry I didn't kill you, but this way I'll have at least one poor soul at VWI this Saturday!

Seems like you've got your work cut out for you. Lots going on...which could be perfect, considering you'll have 12 hours to fill!

I'll think on some suggestions for your problems. Though, my brain has been fried by work today.

Tara Maya said...

I've recently finished the WIP of the first book in a series. My goal for March, however unrealistic, is to finish Book 2.

Working Title: The Singing Bow

Blurb: Dindi counts her blessings.

At least she's allowed to serve the magic dancers as a serving maiden.

At least she has seven more years to live before she's killed because she can't solve a Faery riddle.

At least she loved a man and imagined, for a while, he loved her back before he abandoned her.

Then the man she once loved returns to announce a contest for the best magical dancer in the world to become his bride. Entering the contest may hold the key to solving the riddle. But can she bear to face the man who broke her heart?