Sword and Sorcery

I must say, I like that first plot idea. If you can round it out into a more detailed plot idea, I am sure it could turn out well.

I normally do swords-and-sorcery-type plots, in my own way, but this year is very heavy towards summoning, so I do not know if it really deserves a mention here.

And to that end, there will be donuts.

I actually love the second one :). Pirates + magic should happen more often.

My first novel was sword & sorcery, and I've been revising it over the last couple months. But this year's NaNo is heading in a different direction.

Sorcery and swords are not the heaviest plot elements in my story but are components. I'm doing a mash-up (of sorts) of the fairy tale Snow White (magic/sorcery, a huntsman, dark forest; the dwarves are iffy -- I don't know if I'm inviting them to this party) and the story of Romeo and Juliet (ya know, there's that famous sword fight between Romeo and Tybalt). And there'll be pirates (more swords). 'Cause for some reason that's how we Nashvillians roll. ;o)

I actually tend to avoid this sort of thing. It's not much my style.

That being said, I'm totally digging your second idea.

2006: The Red Raven (Pure Fantasy) - 6k
2007: Kismet Knot (Fantasy/Adventure) - 30k
2008: The Scarlet Twins (Fantasy/Parody) - 10k
2009: To Paint a Butterfly (Short Stories) - See Wordcount

Hmmm? Ahh, here we are...

*Sets down his lawn chair* I officially set up camp here, then.

Seems like this post has been down for a year or two...or three, so am I to assume this lot is vacant? If so, this shall be my spot of settling for the fun little bit we call NaNoWriMo.

Keeping in line with the previous topic at the top, or at least to some degree...I shall answer the question!

Lex's story is about the reactions and growth of a being from a different Novel he is writing. Near the end of of that one, the poor lass gets her world literally shattered and re-worked in such a way, the formerly emotionless being has emotions FORCED into her. Obviously, this is a bit freaky for the mellenia-old being, and her ability to cope with this, as well as religious unrest, and other funky things of the era come into question by the beings that oversee her existance. She is diposed, and has to choose a place in the world she oversaw the balance of until that point to live. Since she has no idea what her favorite place would be, or where she wants to go, She chooses the mind of the person who broke her....

From the beginning of forever, To the end of eternity;
We desire that which be taken, And forget that which be given;
To consider all is to remember nothing, To feel nothing is to observe all;
I have experienced all within nothing, And you will perceiv

I hadn't thought of sub-genre-ing my planned story until I stumbled into this forum. But I guess it is pretty much S&S. After several successful Nanos that are a series of contemporary, real world chic-adventures, I've decided to leave those characters at home and take some old friends for a spin.

Like many, I defined my fantasy world when I was in junior high. I wrote several stories set there, and one novel-length, unfinished work. In college I used it for D&D. But I haven't been there much in the many years since. So this year I'm going to take a crack at actually writing the epic history that I have notes about dating back -- ahem -- a lot of years. It's a romance, and an adventure, with tension between magic users and non, and some chilly villians. There may turn out to be unintentional Christian parallels, although it may come off more like parody.

My big concern is that the fundamental story is my teenage invention. It may just be too juvenile for me to enjoy writing as an adult. Making it fresh, interesting, and not totally derivitave will be my personal challenge.

____________________________________________________
Life is short, but November is shorter.

Well that sounds familiar: This year, just as last year, I started by attempting Douglas Adams/Tom Holt-esque light humourous fiction. Last year, I failed horribly. This year, 2 hours and 1300 words in, I scrapped it as I realised that I'd far rather be writing about the characters I create for D&D and finally give them a world to live in where they can be the heroes without relying on those pesky dice rolls.

It feels right, and it's fun!

runtime

2008 Soul Trader [13k]
2009 Motley's Crew

I am writing a S&S novel, and I'd love to have a writing buddy to provide some criticism back and forth, if anyone is willing. My rough concept is based off of the fantasy of George R. R. Martin, with noble houses and the character's individual traits playing a huge role in the storytelling. I'm a first time NaNo'er here, and I'm somewhat intimidated by this all, so any kind of constructive criticism would be wonderful!

Let me know if you want to get in touch to be writing buddies.

Good! I was beginning to think that perhaps I had classified my novel as the wrong genre until this thread. *whew, sigh of relief*

My novel is a first-person POV of a storyteller with a love for folklore that ends up teaching a group of young fighters all he knows about mythical creatures. He then will end up having to go with the group to chronicle the events as the group sets out to destroy the mythical creatures. It is set in a time period of low technology: crossbows, daggers, and swords (of course).

I would be glad to take on anyone as a writing buddy. Best of luck to all of you!

Mine is about a young woman who lives in one the decidedly more rural areas of her kingdom, which is known for magecraft, who dreams about leaving behind her simple life and going on great adventures. Unfortunately she gets what she asks for but isn't given a choice in the matter thanks to a Geas placed on her by a dying Magus to deliver an artifact to the Capital. Thankfully I've figured out the overarching plotline to justify Ereith's story, which is the main focus, and the antagonist!

NaNoWriMo '09- Daydreamer

653/50000 as of Nov. 3rd

It's interesting... I have a world very much like this myself. Huge, epic backstory and a world that I've DMed several games in throughout the past. I must say, I've been in the spot you're in right now several times (attempting to write and rewrite this story so that it actually works as a coherent narrative instead of being a bunch of ret-ret-retconned bits) and I have had no luck to date. Good luck to you! I really hope you can do it, because it may bring me hope for mine yet!

I wrote a swords-and-sorcery themed Nano last year. It was very much not your traditional dragons and babes kind of story, but I studied works like Robert E. Howard and Karl Edward Wagner very closely to match their tone. I'm quite proud of how it came out, actually. Good luck to you guys this year... I'm writing YA Fantasy myself, although it has a bit of a swords-and-sorcery undercurrent!

2005 - Avatar (winner!) [Genre: Fantasy]
2006 - Curse of the Black Circle [Genre: Fantasy]
2007 - Divine Intervention (winner!) [Genre: Urban Fantasy]
2008 - Elegy (winner!) [Genre: Swords & Sorcery]
2009 - Warden's Blade [Genre: YA Fantasy]

MR-H, I would love to be a writing buddy with you. I actually just finished Clash of Kings and I absolutely love George R. R. Martin's style. And I would be more than willing to give you any help I can!

Rapscallion's Hammer is a story about a struggle for power. Shadowalker is amassing an army and trying to gain control of certain artifacts/locations that eminate power. In order to stop him, an immortal has taken up the Path of the Ten Powers, seeking out the items of long since gone gods. These items are said to give Shadowalker more power. She seeks them to destroy them, however one particular prize, one called Rapscallion's Hammer--or the Hammer of Chaos--cannot fall into his hands. If it does Shadowalker will have the power to turn chaos over the world, destroying their hope at stopping him from gaining absolute power. This story is a quest for Rapscallion's Hammer.

NaNo '07 Winner: Divica Prequel: Blood Forsaken. Buy it here.
NaNo '08 Winner: Divica 1: Hunt for the Blood
NaNo'09: Divica 2: Rapscallion's Hammer

Star Davies, I like the sound of your story. It rings true.

I'm using NaNo mostly as an excuse to start serious work on my novel. I probably won't reach 50,000 words, let alone finish, but that's all right. I guess technically it falls into this subgenre, though I'm really trying my best to avoid cliches. For one thing, there are only two relevant swords, and that only because they serve to tie together two estranged branches of an old family.

I'm still working out the plot, but what I know is this: most of the story takes place in and around a country I'm thinking about calling Waylan (though I've seen that name used before, so I'd like to come up with something else). "Waylan" has historically been at war with a neighboring country (which I don't even have a glimmer of a name for), due to Waylan having much richer resources and better trade routes. Oliver (no surname yet) lately became the King when his father and older brother were killed in an attempted invasion, which Oliver was able to foil due to being positioned with a faction of the army. He's not a great king, unfortunately, so things have worked out in the other country's favor after all. After several years, they invade again, and this time they succeed. Oliver is either killed or imprisoned, and his young daughter escapes as an exile.

The daughter is protected by Noah Twayblade, her bodyguard. He comes from the mountains separating Waylan from the other country, but no one is holding that against him: Loyalty is one of his watchwords. He has a dream of being a knight, which is a rather old-fashioned ideal, but one that endears him to the young princess. Together, they work toward forming a rebellion to kick out the invaders and retake Waylan.

Behind all of this, there are two Powers at work; their roles are meant to be unclear, though, so figuring out exactly what they're up to at any given time is a challenge. ^_^; And there is a third Power involved whose business is a complete secret, though I happen to know exactly what that one is about. I can say that the names they're given are Alaric, Leofric, and Genmaricen, though chances are they won't be using those names when they appear.

Other relevant characters include Jennifer Robinson, who is a friend of Oliver's before the invasion, but who is forced away for reasons of her own; Evarel Starshade, an old friend of hers; and Leigh Twayblade, a thain to Oliver, and Noah's very distant cousin.

There are non-human sentient races in the world, including elves, vampires, and unicorns, but I don't know whether or not they'll have much part to play in this story. There are also dragons, but they're not much bigger than house cats and more feline than reptilian in attitude. They're more trainable than cats, though--very intelligent and useful pets for those who can afford them. All of these magical races are the result of various Powers That Be tinkering with the fabric of reality because they can. The Powers are sort of a race in their own right. They exist in a reality parallel to ours, a pure energy version. They can take on physical form when they want to, though it's a tricky process--much easier to get born into human form than to create a body from scratch. Similarly, it is possible for mortals to shed their physical bodies and become Powers, although it's quite difficult and most often leads to insanity. At least one of the major Powers doesn't want anyone to succeed at this, which makes it even worse for those attempting it. Especially if one of them is another Power who has been trapped in a mortal birth-death-rebirth cycle and wants to get back to normal at any cost.

That's what I know. It looks like quite a bit, but the devil is in the details, so to speak. Place names are killing me. {= P I'm trying to go with an old Germanic naming scheme for the majority, sometimes Latinized a bit, sometimes not. It just depends on what sounds good.

I guess my story falls into this sub-genre. It has wizards, kings, queens, knights, evil lords, bad ass bad guys, a necromancer, and ancient bloodlines. But the MCs are all from modern day Virginia, so it's kind of a cross between urban and this one. And I'm playing with the idea of putting some sorcery related time-travel in there. Unfortunately, most of the elements are really cliche! I write comic books, not novels, and this story would likely be told better as a comic book. ^-^
So the MC paints a portrait of a girl who talks back to him through the painting. Then later, through some very intense and convenient events, they get transported into the world of the painting, where they have to save the king, who's the last of his pure bloodline, and keep him from being used in some ritual that will gain a manipulative wizard immense power and immortality (although the wizard has been at this plan for 1000 years, so I'm not sure how much he needs immortality). Not very epic, but good enough for 50K.

This is my first year writing! Lend me your strength, veterans!

-'09 : From Here We Move Forward

I'm writing a Sword and Fantasy novel, in this my first NaNoWriMo ever. So not only am i a newbie to NaNoWriMo (though i bought the book years ago) but this is also my first 'chat' on line.

My story is from an outline i wrote 5 year ago and haven't looked at since. The weird thing is, it wasn't what i had planned to write (I was planning on a mystery). Now the outline is very rough, just a few scene ideas, not even any solid characters. But i guess its been percolating in my subconscious all this time.

So what's my story about? There's this King (basically a good guy) but grief over the death of his son plus a desire to see justice done leads him into a war against a High Wizard's Council. He goes from being a Just King/war to a Righteous King/War and is corrupted by an evil Sorcerer. His wife finally looses faith with her husband when the King sacrifices one of their two daughters only weeks from her wedding. The sacrifice allows the King's armies to win a decisive battle - but the Queen realizes the War must end and her husband has gone over the edge. But she swore an oath never to harm him - being a Witch she is bound by it. First she must save her last child from the madness. Then she discovers that only Dragon's Fire can end the King and The War. Like he's going to stand still for that...

So then begins a cat and mouse game of Champions, Wizards, Sorcerers, Witches and Politics of Kingdoms. The Book (hopefully it will be a book, LOL, when I'm done - I have this fear that I'll just run out of steam (story) soon) is called 'Blade of the Black Queen' and will be part of a trilogy. The Queen's goal - Bring an end to The War, the King's is to win at all cost.

I've always enjoyed the complicated plots, great characters and strong female and male roles in Fantasy - okay, in some fantasy.

Good luck with your plots, they both sound like they'd make great novels.

Lyra, the daughter of a village weaver befriends the princess, who is to be married to the Count, the King's trusted friend. She uncovers a conspiracy to kidnap the princess and conquer the realm, started by a neighboring king. Lyra, the princess, the King's nephew, and his squire escape and travel through the lands searching for the keys to Tam Loec, a long lost accumulation of magical weapons and talismans. They must prevent Tam Loec from being taken by the evil king.

Note; the girls are the heroines of the story. They can fight with sword and staff, and shoot longbow. The boys just follow along and provide backup. And moments of lunkheadedness.

I've got a desert warrior that becomes the Heart of a city, then its outlaw queen, and finally its doom...

Runs Through Faerie Rings

I love sword-and-sorcery epics, even though I still make fun of them. As an affectionate parody, I'm kind of doing an upside-down sword and sorcery tale. It's about the common guys who make sword-swinging tales possible.

Some time I'd like to write a straight-up adventure, but the pace of NaNo and my inner editor's attitude just won't cooperate.

I had a soul ... but NaNoWriMo eated it. :(
Breeder of Plot Wolverines
Inventor of NaNo Dare Bonus Points and Multiple Bonus Points

Well, my MC has a sword that can possess her body and give her memories from its former wielders.
And the main bad guy is a power-crazed sorceress who thinks she can out-stubborn a 1000+ year old chunk of metal.
My money's on the sword, myself.

So, yeah, I'm gonna class this one as Sword and Sorcery.
There's even a dragon. She's a gardener.