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Alright! It is TIME! Let's DO THIS! Oh, wait, you have no idea what I'm talking about. Last year, I came up with a cool idea for a book. and I decided to write it. And never got started. But then I decided to really apply myself and actually write it. Aaaaaand I never got past the prologue. But now, on my third attempt, I finished the prologue, and the first two chapters, and I'm still going strong. So I decided to share it with the amazing and supportive Shard community. I'm very bad at writing, so I'd appreciate feedback. I hope that you enjoy my crummy novel skills! Chapters will hopefully be posted on Thursdays. My goal is to write two chapters a week, but I might only post one due to revision and stuff. We're starting out with the (very bad) prologue, so tune in this Thursday to see the (revised) chapters One and Two. So yes! Welcome to... Heroes of Home Peak By NerdyAarakocra That blurb on the back of the book that explains stuff Prologue Chapter One Canil Chapter Two El'nar Chapter Three Canil Chapter Four El'nar What will happen to El'nar? Will Canil's plotline actually start? What about the magic system? Find out next time in NERDY WRITES BAD FANTASY! *Outro music*

Hell, everyone! MasterGhandalf here with my second-ever NaNo project (I sat out last year due to various real-life issues; in 2017, I posted the first volume of my ongoing space opera/Arthurian re imagining Realm of the Stars). This year, I'm doing a project I'd been toying with for a while in my long-time favorite genre, high fantasy. This one is deliberately supposed to be evocative of "classic" fantasy, but with a twist - where a lot of high fantasy takes it's inspiration from Lord of the Rings, this one is inspired by "The New Shadow", a sequel to LotR that Tolkien wrote about a chapter of late in life and then abandoned. Basically, the idea is that the "dark lord" figure rose again and was defeated for good about a century ago, but his legacy and a few of his minions are still out there, while the "good guy" kingdom has started to crack around the edges, with noble ideals giving way to ruthless ambition. Just because the dark lord is dead doesn't mean evil is gone for good. And of course, when human evil and supernatural evil meet, bad things are in store. And it's deliberately designed to have a lot of the fantasy tropes I personally love - intrigue! Adventure! Epic quests! Cool magic! Dark elves (long a guilty pleasure of mine)! If that sounds cool to you, strap in. Feed back, as ever, is appreciated.

This is a new writing project of mine, a high fantasy story entire separate from my "Realm of the Stars" space opera series. I also plan to have an update for that ready to go within the week, and intend to alternate chapters of both for a while!

I've been a member on this site for roughly 24 hours now... and I felt almost floored by how shockingly welcoming and friendly you guys could be here. When I asked for help about writer's block and procrastination, I received very thoughtful and empathetic advice. Part of the reason, I think, for my difficulty in following through on my projects is how unpracticed I am at balancing tone... and maybe, just maybe, it's keeping my ideas so close to the chest out of a paranoid fear someone might steal said ideas from me that has... really stunted my ability to write them in the first place. That said, someone pointed out rather astutely that no novel is ever the same as it started out in the rough sketches. A legit point! And again, it's nice to meet wonderfully nice people around here. So, bearing that in mind... With some of the good new friends and acquaintences I've made here in the last day, could I share the rough outlines I have for my current project(s)? Off the top of my head, they're each my attempts to write... New Weird fiction in the vein of Michael Moorcock, H.P. Lovecraft and China Mieville. Urban Fantasy/Dark Fantasy following in the vein of Brandon Sanderson and Jim Butcher. A melancholic, bittersweet, Studio Ghibli/Shadow of the Colossus/Watership Down/The Last Unicorn-inspired tale about the fading twilight of wonders this fantasy world will never see again... (cheery, I know) A seemingly standard high fantasy yarn... except it's written in the style of a Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western. It's a fusion of the genres, blended, certain tropes married together til death do they part. Is it safe to share?