Joining the early self-pimping club I, along with several other DWers (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
limiinal, thedogeater, amanda_sheree) as well as others on a writers forum, are aiming to write an anthology collection within two years to post-slash-sell as an ebook. Not so much for the money but because, a) we want to see our names in print, no matter the regard and we're not in it (this time) for the money, b) ebooks are easier sells than trying to pitch a group of unknowns with a collab collection, and c) our themes would be a hard sell on their own. Our themes, you ask; "unrequited love" and "tentacles".
No, really.
It's a challenge, which is always interesting, and won't be nearly as dirty as it sounds... mostly, I haven't seen all the other ideas yet. Maybe you'll get (un)lucky? It's also going to be more humor based, so not as much dark or H.P. Lovecraft stuff as you might think. More along the lives of W. Al Lovecraftovic
The working title of the collection right now is "Dangly Bits"; no, really. I'm thinking of pitching "Sucker Love" the next time there's a group thing.
Anyway, Venus.
Venus is going to be my entry into the pile, which you might already know if you scroll down my posts. I originally had no ideas until I remembered that picture, and I didn't remember it until I was half asleep at 3 in the morning, so I don't know what that says about my brain. But I'll be posting how it comes along (the same as several of the others here) so you can follow along if you wish. The title comes from three different angles; the planet, the gender association, and the fly trap. Right now, I'm just gonna give a quick going over of my inital idea.
Tentacle blob.
...too quick? Fine...
Basically, a teenager girl finds a little wriggling blob of ick along the shore near her home. She found it trying to follow a meteroite she saw falling, and instead got this little wriggling, slimy thing. It speaks to her, pleading for help, promising wonders and such if only the girl will help it grow back to what it once was. For some reason (plot!) she takes it home; maybe doesn't quiet believe it, but takes it home.
From there she keeps feeding it what it asks for; small stuff like fingernail clippings, cut hair, raw meat, slowly growing large in the old aquarium the girl keeps it in. The blob attempts to keep its promise, secreting slimes or some such that the girl is supposed to use to help her in whatever somewhat vapid problems she has. None work the way they're supposed to, so she wants the blob to try again and again to fix the last attempt.
Finally, when the thing is huge and near falling out of the glass box, it convinces her to make direct contact with it, something she's avoided until now because "ew, gross". She does, intially just to move it, but finds she can't remove her hand. It instead eats her, digesting the last raw material it needed to finish it's feeding/incubating process.
Some time later the blob breaks open, revealing a pale and perpetually wet looking female looking creature, who reveals in having eyes and limbs again.
And that's all I got so far. There's not to much more really, other than I need to figure out what "problems" the girl has that the blob could ideally help with, and what the creature does, or wants to do, after gaining a humanoid form. But that's about it, I don't see there being more than those two characters, maybe a bit of the parents but that's about it. I'm horrible at trying to estimate what my word count for any work will be, so I'm not going to try.
But I have an idea, a better one than I thought I'd have, so it's looks to be a fun time. I just have to remember that "humor" is one of the needed threads of the story, what I have could easily go dark very quickly. But again, that's the challenge.
limiinal, thedogeater, amanda_sheree) as well as others on a writers forum, are aiming to write an anthology collection within two years to post-slash-sell as an ebook. Not so much for the money but because, a) we want to see our names in print, no matter the regard and we're not in it (this time) for the money, b) ebooks are easier sells than trying to pitch a group of unknowns with a collab collection, and c) our themes would be a hard sell on their own. Our themes, you ask; "unrequited love" and "tentacles".No, really.
It's a challenge, which is always interesting, and won't be nearly as dirty as it sounds... mostly, I haven't seen all the other ideas yet. Maybe you'll get (un)lucky? It's also going to be more humor based, so not as much dark or H.P. Lovecraft stuff as you might think. More along the lives of W. Al Lovecraftovic
The working title of the collection right now is "Dangly Bits"; no, really. I'm thinking of pitching "Sucker Love" the next time there's a group thing.
Anyway, Venus.
Venus is going to be my entry into the pile, which you might already know if you scroll down my posts. I originally had no ideas until I remembered that picture, and I didn't remember it until I was half asleep at 3 in the morning, so I don't know what that says about my brain. But I'll be posting how it comes along (the same as several of the others here) so you can follow along if you wish. The title comes from three different angles; the planet, the gender association, and the fly trap. Right now, I'm just gonna give a quick going over of my inital idea.
Tentacle blob.
...too quick? Fine...
Basically, a teenager girl finds a little wriggling blob of ick along the shore near her home. She found it trying to follow a meteroite she saw falling, and instead got this little wriggling, slimy thing. It speaks to her, pleading for help, promising wonders and such if only the girl will help it grow back to what it once was. For some reason (plot!) she takes it home; maybe doesn't quiet believe it, but takes it home.
From there she keeps feeding it what it asks for; small stuff like fingernail clippings, cut hair, raw meat, slowly growing large in the old aquarium the girl keeps it in. The blob attempts to keep its promise, secreting slimes or some such that the girl is supposed to use to help her in whatever somewhat vapid problems she has. None work the way they're supposed to, so she wants the blob to try again and again to fix the last attempt.
Finally, when the thing is huge and near falling out of the glass box, it convinces her to make direct contact with it, something she's avoided until now because "ew, gross". She does, intially just to move it, but finds she can't remove her hand. It instead eats her, digesting the last raw material it needed to finish it's feeding/incubating process.
Some time later the blob breaks open, revealing a pale and perpetually wet looking female looking creature, who reveals in having eyes and limbs again.
And that's all I got so far. There's not to much more really, other than I need to figure out what "problems" the girl has that the blob could ideally help with, and what the creature does, or wants to do, after gaining a humanoid form. But that's about it, I don't see there being more than those two characters, maybe a bit of the parents but that's about it. I'm horrible at trying to estimate what my word count for any work will be, so I'm not going to try.
But I have an idea, a better one than I thought I'd have, so it's looks to be a fun time. I just have to remember that "humor" is one of the needed threads of the story, what I have could easily go dark very quickly. But again, that's the challenge.
