Oh, hello. I guess you've stumbled upon my special little profile page.
I don't really have much to say about myself. I probably won't be uploading that many stories, but like any writer, I love reviews, comments, and critiques. Critique particularly is greatly appreciated; it's always nice to know what specifically I can improve on. ...But I also like to know what I did well on too, so don't forget about that. :D
To all of you who read and/or review my stories, I am tremendously grateful! Thank you so much!
Generally, I spend a lot of time and effort on my writing (which, in plain words, means it takes me forever to write something) and seldom find it to my liking for very long. That's why probably most of the stories I submit, if not all, will be short stories. I tend to abandon longer ones because I get fed up with my writing as I continue. I know plenty of things that need improvement, but I can never actually see the improvement happening myself. That's why I feed off of feedback and reviews so much. Well, I guess, that and they make me feel good that someone's reading my stories and are spending the time to help me get better. :)
I have a bad habit of reading things and then following along with them without actually reviewing. I'm trying to correct that, but we'll see how it goes. I get lazy with reviews - I don't understand why.
I may review sometimes but very rarely and typically only if you ask. I'm not a very consistent reviewer for the most part, but I'll try my best. Also, I have a tendency to read stories with a critical eye, so don't be surprised if I sometimes get a little nit-picky. The length of my reviews and how well I catch things depend highly on my mood, and often I'm not up for writing long reviews (although sometimes I find it necessary to say that much). It also depends highly on the story I'm reading and how well it's written--but I guess that's a given.
I'm going to try this new thing now where I return reviews. It'll push me to review more. I'm sorry if I can't stick to this, though. ): I'm also trying to change the style in which I review--so bear with me if it seems a little amateur and simplistic right now; I'm sorry.
In any case, thank you for visiting my profile page, as bland as it is. Below are just some notes from me over my currently released stories; feel free to skip past them if you want. Please, take a look and poke around in my stories - or in my favorites sections. It'd really mean a lot to me.
See you around,
Rayne Boe
Updates (Works in Progress)
...To inform you that I haven't dropped off the face of the earth.
~Short Stories~
"A Magician's Secret" - This short story is currently pending in its writing. It's an idea that I randomly thought of one day and then rolled around in my head for a few days after. The plot centers around a magician and his assistant. Conveniently, the two are married and involve themselves in the magic trade together, but their relationship seems to have taken a blow as a consequence. Probability says that this story will be written, but only time will tell. I wouldn't expect this story's release any time soon.
~Novellas~
Grim Precursors - This story has currently captured a vast majority of my attention, mostly because it is my first non-short-story original fiction and the first non-short-story fiction I've attempted in a long while. I had kept myself restricted to short stories for the past year or so to hone my skills on brevity, style, diction, syntax, and writing control. I also feared that, like my previous attempts, I would give up on a longer story quickly after beginning it because I would get dissatisfied with my writing. Nevertheless, this story still stands and goes on. I have the plot lined up and the characters created; it seems well on its way.
My short story "Dragon Wings" is a side-story of Grim Precursors. While not necessarily a prequel, as Grim Precursors involves a much larger plot, "Dragon Wings" does lead into Grim Precursors well. I have written Grim Precursors to stand on its own, however, so it is not necessary to read "Dragon Wings" in order to understand Grim Precursors.
"Chapter Two: Repercussions" is projected to be uploaded on Monday, August 18, 2008. I want it to be a biweekly serial, so I will try my hardest to stick to that schedule.
Due to unexpected complications and a large homework load, "Chapter Two: Repercussions" will be postponed until Monday, September 8, 2008. I apologize for the inconvenience.
~Novels~
None. This section will most likely remain empty. Any novels I attempt may possibly just be secretly stored away to get published.
Personal Reflection/Self-Critique (Completed Works)
...So you know what to look out for.
~Short Stories - Earliest to Latest~
"Safe Grounds" - This was my first attempt at a short story and it was written rather quickly in relation to how slowly I used to write. Previously, I had trouble with finding a suitable plot for a short story, and so this particular story was highly an experimental one. The plot, as you will notice, is not explicitly stated, there is a rather mystical feel encompassing the whole story, and the tense and point of view it's written in is definitely abnormal.
That said, this story actually turned out fairly well. About a year after it was written, I reread it and found nothing uncomfortably wrong with it in diction, plot, or syntax. My minor gripe might be that the story reads a bit lighter than I had intended, which leads to several distinctly different interpretations of the overall story, but even then, I am still rather pleased with the outcome.
"Heritage" - This short story allowed me to explore some other areas I had been avoiding in prior works. Set inside a nobleman's mansion, the plot of the story revolves highly around dialogue rather than actions and observations. While I am quite familiar with the royalty scene (it used to be the only thing I wrote), my previous stories never focused so much on conversation and there tended to be more silence than discussion. "Heritage," thus, was a whole new concept I needed to explore. I also worked on expanding my abilities to describe scenes (since there were so few of those) and use of vocabulary.
When it first came out, I remember being relatively happy with the way the story had been written. I have reread it, however, and have decided that it really is rather poorly done. While the first chapter flows well enough, the second chapter becomes jerky and maybe even a bit forced. I think it may have been a combination of the necessity for the main characters to use a more formal language, the extreme relationships between the parties, and the fact that there were three involved in the conversation rather than just two (which was done in chapter one) that caused the writing to become difficult and therefore not very well-executed. From "Heritage," I have learned that I need to work on being able to make dialogue more natural, regardless of formality, and to incorporate that dialogue fluidly into the actions and descriptions within the story.
It was also verbose; that's the word I was looking for. I need to work on brevity, but I've always known that.
"Dragon Wings"- This short story fell more in line with the fantasy genre I'm accustomed to than my other original stories up until this point and therefore made it somewhat easier for me to write. The challenge I gave myself with this one, however, was to work on description, which included vocabulary, diction, and syntax. Judging from the reviews I received, I reached my goal wonderfully. Reading back on it, I am satisfied with its writing.
There has been one moderately large problem with it, though, that I've come to realize. While the reason for the turning point/climax in Dragon Wings seems understandable and perceptible to me, it does not seem to be picked up by my readers and is often completely misinterpreted (there are intentionally multiple interpretations for her actions, but one should stand out above the others), which means that somewhere that justification seems to have gotten lost. I have discussed this problem repeatedly with others, and we seem to have come to a consensus that there could have been very little done to change the story to make that justification clearer. There is a clash between the narration and stressing that one purpose.
Despite this problem, I am still incredibly happy with it. Inspiration from "Dragon Wings," along with having already constructed a considerable amount of the world and characters that was not mentioned in the story, fueled the production of Grim Precursors, which magnifies the plot to a much larger degree.
~Novellas - Earliest to Latest~
None. Hopefully, Grim Precursors will land itself here eventually. :)
~Novels - Earliest to Latest~
None. This section will most likely remain empty. Any novels I attempt may possibly just be secretly stored away to get published.
FictionPress.com - let the words flow
