giraffe

Doug, It's like Siddartha went nuts. Gave me a good chuckle, tho I'm sure some people feel like that.

ladyhwin

Okay.... somehow I don' think this makes any sense. It didn't turn out like I wanted and is still 256 words. I'm writing a second part to it, but here's the first.


The fire had begun to burn, advertising its presence to all in the wood, rousing the elves from their homes. Strangers and passers-by stopped to watch the flickering flames that danced on the trees, creating shadows and dark pockets as well luminous areas,
It was in one of those deepest shadows that an elf crouched, a newcomer to the forest, his knowledge little, yet his curiosity great. He knelt there, his form still, his eyes darting to and fro, his mind taking in the confusing circles of dancers, the merry songs of musicians and singers as well as the beautiful, unnatural palette of blazing colors.
On the far side of the lighted area, Katharine stood quietly, sipping river water and watching the dance. Her hair glinted gold, its color accentuated by the fire’s light. On her shoulder stood a prim, medium-sized fairy.
Katharine frowned as she caught sight of the nebulous form in the shadows. Turning, she whispered and the fairy flew off, scattering fairy dust as she went.
Katharine watched, amused, as Lilac buzzed round in the shadow, leaving a trail of sparklies, calmly promenading about.
The stranger stood sharply as the fairy fluttered up to him, chattering nervously. Patiently, he answered her questions.
Katharine chuckled softly as Lilac chirped about the newcomer’s chivalry and manners.
“That’s not exactly relevant,” she chided gently. “What did he say?”
“Not much...” the fairy pouted. “He needs a place to sleep.”
“Why didn’t you say so!”
“He’s no elf.”
“Then...” Katharine was bewildered. “How did he get here?”

Doug

ladyhwin: Even with my sleepiness it got me intrigued. Looking forward to the second part.

bhughes

#80 Doug, another great worst case scenario of a persons grief.
Thomas smiled at his explosive expression of pain but may not be able to "
return to the scene of the crime" from prison. He will get his three
square meals and a place to sleep but never again under a leafy oak tree.

bhughes

Here is a short one from me. (in this "palette" was the hardest word to fit in.)

As some people may not advertise a good deed, seeming nebulous to them as an act of chivalry, others might boast and find it confusing as to not accent their bit of heroism. With each palette relevant, both will promenade in their own medium with a luminous halo over head.

bhughes

#82 Ladyhwin, I could visualize this story as I read it. The fairy dust and all
I love it... looking forward to reading the rest of it. PS. might be mad if
with the conclusion could have been edited down to 250 wrds.

bhughes

#85 Mine, go ahead and critique.

Doug

Short (50 words), to the point, all words included and thoughtfully written. Well done!

ThinkDraw

Sorry to interrupt, don't know if everyone has seen it, but the next challenge can be set up on a brand new site:

http://www.thinkwrites.com

See here for why we think it makes more sense:

http://www.thinkdraw.com/forumPosts.php?topicId=966

Thanks, ThinkDraw

giraffe

bhugs, You maake a good point in few words. Someone said everything is relevant to the observer. 3 strangers at a bus stop see a man runnung naked down the street. One thinks "That's disgusting. Call the police" One thinks "I hope he's wearing sun screen." One thinks "nice bod". And they're all correct.

I like the Thinkwrites idea. Thanks, Thinkdraw.

bhughes

Thank you Giraffe

bhughes

Thank you Doug for the nice comment.

ladyhwin

Alright... finally, here's the second part to The Newcomer, as I have nicknamed it. 248 words, bhughes!



Two nights later, Katharine saw movement in the shadows. Determined to speak personally with whoever-it-was this time, she called Lilac and made her way through the circles of elves to where this stranger crouched.
The newcomer rose slowly to his feet, his dark, nebulous eyes fixed firmly on the elven queen who was approaching him.
Katharine, still confused, bent her head in acknowledgement and spoke the customary greeting, then was pleasantly surprised when he replied, not only with the correct, chivalrous words he said, but with his lilting, luminous voice and gentle accent, which both indicated clearly that he came from a far-off country.
Katharine, her curiosity heightened, asked cautiously, “Forgive the irrelevance of my questions, but what is your name and why have you come here?”
(Lilac was by now definitely tired of formalities and fluttered off towards where the other fairies were promenading, deliberately shaking off a thick clump of purple fairy dust, which advertised her vain presence.)
His eyes flickered sharply, displaying a palette of colors, rich blues, violets and greens. “My name is Venice. I am from a long-gone country of mortals. Having been blessed with long life, I have followed the legends and tales here.”
“I know nothing of such legends or tales,” Katharine said, frowning.
“They roam as freely as birds and sing the praises of the Queen and the Storyteller. Have you not heard?”
“No,” Katharine smiled warmly. “But meanwhile, come. The Storyteller is here tonight. Join our circles for awhile.”

giraffe

Good follow - up, ladyhwin. It draws one in even more.

Doug

Oh ladies and lords of ThinkWrite it seems that Rachel and her gang have come up with our own little website that they would like us to move our beloved ThinkWrite to. In one part of my brain I say hoorah, but you know the ever pessimstic, evil self is just wondering if we are just taking up too much space on their server and they are trying to give us the boot. I thought maybe we could have a discussion on whether anyone or everyone for that matter would like to make the change. Thinkdraw has done some wonderful things in the past for the "drawers" in the group and maybe this is their way of trying to even the playing field. On the other hand....

midnightpoet

There are new tools and toys at our disposal on the new site. I definitely think that when the torch is passed, the new TB should start TW LI on the new site...but that's just my 2 cents.

On the other hand, yeah, it does feel like we're getting evicted...but, let's not look a gift horse in the mouth.

Dragon

I don't feel so much like it's an eviction as much as Rachel and the TD crew seeing an opportunity to make a site that would probably already have a good base of people to join and them giving us a much more flexible option for our story writing. I love the way you can comment directly on a particular story there, that way when I get behind on checking in I can comment right away on the ones I like rather than having to say "Oh btw back 25 posts ago someone did a great story..."
I think I'm going to enjoy the new site thoroughly but I wouldn't be sad at all if some writing still kept happening over here as well.

giraffe

I think we should give it a try. The TD forums have many challenges for drawing going on simultaneoulsy. Since we only have one for writing, we get into many debates and sometimes downright animosity over anotherronism's rules.

This way if someone wants to start a thread on "My favorite concert / band" or "My drug of choice" (truth or fiction) Keep it around 200 words. It could free us up for more exploration.

Dragon

Good point giraffe, I was thinking that the site offers a nice range of options so folks who don't like the constriction of a strict word count will have lots of things to contribute to while the folks who love the strict rules will be able to make their challenges too.

giraffe

Dragon, I think it's important to keep the current one going too. We've made it through 50 sessions. This is like the grandfather of ThinkWrite. Hopefully we'll spawn lots of creative kids.

I wonder if bhughes is going to pass the torch?