I'm looking for a "sent to live in the stone age" story. The most specific thing I remember is the hero saves a little girl who he adopts and later trains a small elephant to pull her around in a cart. Ring any bells?
MH
I'm looking for a "sent to live in the stone age" story. The most specific thing I remember is the hero saves a little girl who he adopts and later trains a small elephant to pull her around in a cart. Ring any bells?
MH
John and Argent by cmsix. And it was a baby mammoth.
https://storiesonline.net/a/cmsix
https://storiesonline.net/s/57996/john-and-argent
And it was a baby mammoth.
Which is a prehistoric pachyderm with a trunk and tusks, in other words an elephant. :)
Which is a prehistoric pachyderm with a trunk and tusks, in other words an elephant.
Better a pachyderm than a prehistoric crocodile (which he featured as a plot element in another story).
gee I wonder if anyone knows this story?
I think it's safe to say that cmsix made his mark on the readership of SOL, for all his incomplete tales.
Cmsix, oyster50, and lazlo were the first authors to pull me into the sol world. Looking back its a pretty interesting mix of story types.
Cmsix, oyster50, and lazlo
Three of my favorite authors.
Cmsix was my inspiration to write 'The Loser'. Unfortunately, my story seems to be following his 'inactive' lead as well. Still waiting for my muse to wake up (or go back to sleep as the case may be. 'The Loser' came to me in dreams) and give me something to put into 'print'.
Unfortunately, my story seems to be following his 'inactive' lead as well. Still waiting for my muse to wake up (or go back to sleep as the case may be. 'The Loser' came to me in dreams) and give me something to put into 'print'.
As I always say, I've found that when I have writer's block, it's typically the story's characters trying to tell me something. The characters all stand up and refuse to continue the story, because you're likely asking them to behave out of character. If you can identify the specific problem (the key element), the put the story aside while you do something else, and often you'll resolve the issue in a week, and your muse will be back with a vengeance. However, if you can't identify the problem the characters have with the story, you might be dithering for years, in which case you give up and start an entirely new story. (How's that for sweeping generalizations?)
That's also why I obsess about how readers respond to my stories, trying to identify unknown issues I never realized I and others have with any given story. I like analyzing things to death, rather than putting them behind me and moving on.
If you can identify the specific problem (the key element), the put the story aside while you do something else,...
I identified the problem that something almost completely different was trying to take over my story! (Another groups was transferring people to the same dimension/universe without my original 'aliens' knowledge and it was throwing things into a heck of a mess). I set it aside for now and worked on a couple of other ideas, one of which I wrote 3 chapters yesterday! I refuse to submit it until it is done so it doesn't get set aside as well. The third, well, it's kinda simmering as well because of one of the discussions in the forums offering a negative view on using flashbacks.
In that type situation, just pick a point of change. Such as the end of one season and the start of the next one. A natural break point. Continue the story later from that point as another story in a series, even if the series was unplanned.
edited to add: Sure in your example you will have some cliff hangers, but that is better than an incomplete flag.
Continue the story later from that point as another story in a series, even if the series was unplanned.
Or you can do what i did with one story, I backed it up to a suitable break point, and ended it there. I also let the readers know there may be a sequel later, when i can get the final half finished.
I backed it up to a suitable break point,
I don't think I can do that. The last good breaking point was a ways back - like where he first arrived on the new world. I have him catching up to one of the other MCs soon and will probably make it my break point.
In that type situation, just pick a point of change. Such as the end of one season and the start of the next one. A natural break point.
Thanks Doc. I have such a point on the horizon and intend to do just that.
Flashbacks are usually ok, at least when clearly identifiable as such. What irks me is multiple flashbacks, a flash within a flash, or mixing flashbacks with flash forwards until I can't tell when the character is, any more.
Flashbacks are usually ok, at least when clearly identifiable as such.
I enjoy those told by someone besides the MC. Usually those tales tend to embarrass the MC as well or tell things they would never personally tell about themselves.
edited to add: That is usually done by one or more characters telling the story to other characters in the story. A form of gossip maybe.