[Jan 2018] - Rebirth/Renewal - Discussion Thread

[xiagan]

Rebirth/Renewal


by Gavin Mackey

What better time to write about renewal and rebirth at the threshold of the new year? Where spring is still far away but the days are slowly getting longer already. Where many people formulate their hopes and wishes for the new year, plan to renew themselves with resolutions and try to leave the faults of their old selves behind.

This is a broad theme and it doesn't have to deal with people or the new year. After all, what can't be renewed? What doesn't have the right to rebirth themselves time and again?

Rules:

1. This must be prose or poetry.
2. The overarching theme must be renewal or rebirth of something or someone.
3. Prose must be 500-1500 words long.
4. Poetry must be 100-750 words long.
5. One story per person or writing team (not per account).
6. You will be disqualified if you exceed the limits, full stop. That's why they're called limits.
7. Your entry can't be published somewhere else before.
8. This is a writing contest, not a "I have written something like this ten years ago" contest. So if you happen to have a story that fits one of the themes, I'd like it to have a mayor overhaul/edit. Work for it.
9. Please add your story's word count and, if you have, your twitter handle.
10. Please put your story in [ spoiler ] tags to make the thread easier to handle. You can find them above the smileys under the B.
Bonus rule: We consider voting in a contest you're taking part in a given. Others take time and effort to read the stories - you should do the same. A small community like ours lives from reciprocity and this contest needs stories as much as votes. 

If you want so submit your story anonymously you can do so by sending it in a personal message to @xiagan.

Entry will close Jan 31th/Feb 1st, 2018 and voting will begin somewhere around the same time too.

All members are eligible to join. If you are not a member you can join here. Sign up is free and all are welcome!

The winner will have their piece displayed on the main Fantasy Faction website sometime in the next months.
Submitting a story counts as published. The author retains all rights to their work.

Please post your entry here.

Note: This thread is only for questions or discussing this month's writing contest. Good luck!

[MattWillis]

Good topic! Looking forward to this. Though kind of wishing I could do the phoenix thing and set fire to my current life in order to get a new one. Ah well. HNY to all

[Nora]

Yes, indeed, it's a good theme. I have weekends again now, and apparently things slow down to a crawl at work in january, so should have plenty of time to write.

[Bradley Darewood]

The phoenix is alright, I think you should have used a different image to kick off...

Spoiler for Hiden:

Dr. Who fanfic month!!!!

[Lady Ty]

Bradley’s suggestion made me laugh, but @ xiagan that is a terrific phoenix pic you found.  Fawkes would be pleased.

[The Gem Cutter]

I like the challenge of these lofty topics, like the Redemption one, but man is it difficult to arrive at a situation that literally requires backstory in 1500 words! You can't have redemption or renewal without the negativity that comes before.
**begs for 500 more words**

[ScarletBea]

**begs for 500 more words**

Nope.
 

[ScarletBea]

**begs for 500 more words**

Nope.
 

Ok, on a nicer note, I'd say that you've been doing fine with the previous themes, at least as far as I'm concerned, so you'll do fine here too
I don't think you actually need a backstory, couldn't it start from the rebirth moment? Then everything looks and feels new? It could be a literal rebirth, we're talking SFF after all, hehe

[The Gem Cutter]

I'm sure it will be fine. I didn't want to miss the chance to use any excuse, err, I mean objective justification, for additional space.

[NightWrite]

I don't think you actually need a backstory, couldn't it start from the rebirth moment? Then everything looks and feels new? It could be a literal rebirth, we're talking SFF after all, hehe

I feel like that's just begging for people to drag out the amnesia cliche. But perhaps the amnesia cliche could get its own rebirth.

"Don't you wanna know who you were?"

"Nope. I was probably boring."

[Nora]

Wouldn't a story starting from the rebirth with amnesia be boring??
Basically just a story... that has an off the page rebirth? I'd not vote for that.
Though I don't mind the idea of the story being about someone changing their lives from the point of their rebirth, if it's well made.

[Lady Ty]

Whispers “Doesn’t have to be people.....”

[Nora]

Whispers “Doesn’t have to be people.....”

Does a homunculus count as people?

[Lady Ty]

It was only a whisper. A good story will be a good story whatever, I’m slightly jaded about humans in general lately, so biased. Just stirring the pot. And it’s b****y hot again, no sleep. 

Added to tell @Nora - I should complain, it was 39C/102F here today but Melbourne  Penrith was 50C/122F   Also some roads are melting. But of course no climate change.
You are in a far better place.

Sorry mods I know this is wrong thread but I will stop now.

[JMack]

@Lady Ty: It’s -17 degrees Celsius outside my window right now. Sleet to freezing rain tomorrow afternoon. Yee hah!

Meanwhile, I haven’t latched onto an idea for this story yet. Last month, I played around with a particular approach but couldn’t get it to energize. Suddenly, on a drive home at night from my mom’s 80th birthday celebration, the sentence: “it was Christmas Eve, so of course we took off our clothes and made love under the stars” popped into my head. And that was that.

Yikes. I’m a pantser (no pun intended).

Waiting for this month’s sentence.........