Chain Story - Bathtubs and Broomsticks

[StillStunned]

To be fair, "they were sucking the life out of me" or, conversely, "I just wanted them to be happy but they never appreciated everything I did for them" are probably big complaints in most failed relationships.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

I'm reading too many AITAs because this sounds eerily familiar.

Just like Fabrice Fabrice, with the name so nice you gotta say it ... again.

"So I was s'posed to meet Jerome down at the Sizzler, but he din't show! And I got so maaad, I went out to the parking lot and slashed up all the tires. Now you tell me, was I wrong?"

"Umm, yes."

"Whaaaa!!! Don't judge me, judge Judy!"

 

[AlinaX]

I've just added the first part of my chapter in Google Docs. It's about 2k words.

I like it. Some comments added. Feel free to tell me to shut up.

 

[StillStunned]

Some good points.

One question about the "supernatural". I thought we'd discussed the idea of the castle returning to its original state as Elizabeth begins to take over Mircalla? Or was that just my own imagination running wild? I'd be happy to do it all as being in Mircalla's mind. Some tragic madness would make her very vivid. Perhaps in response to Adamir's obsession with Elizabeth?

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Some good points.

One question about the "supernatural". I thought we'd discussed the idea of the castle returning to its original state as Elizabeth begins to take over Mircalla? Or was that just my own imagination running wild? I'd be happy to do it all as being in Mircalla's mind. Some tragic madness would make her very vivid. Perhaps in response to Adamir's obsession with Elizabeth?

or perhaps one has difficulty telling if the castle truly is morphing or if it's just the set dec department.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

. . . or as the sets are decorated, the adjoining parts of the castle appear to or do become restored. Schrödinger's Ca(s)t(le), perhaps; alive and dead at the same time . . .

 

[Tio_Narratore]

Just an aside . . . Could Vampires be considered Schrödinger's Bats?

 

[AlinaX]

I like the idea of Mircalla getting lost in the past, but maybe…

In preparing for this role, Mircalla has been reading about the Countess, and watching documentaries on YouTube, and perhaps that is why the Castle seems so familiar to her. She has been learning the script too, trying to capture the essence of Bathory, and for Bathory, and thus for Mircalla, Cachtice is home. To see it in ruins, despite clumsy attempts at reconstruction, is almost an insult…

So it’s not that we can’t suggest the supernatural is at work, I just think it should remain a little ambiguous, at least in the beginning.

 

[AlinaX]

Just an aside . . . Could Vampires be considered Schrödinger's Bats?

I love it.

 

[StillStunned]

Good approach. I'll drop some early hints that she's perhaps not as stable as she could be - too much time in the ephemeral world of glamour, perhaps.

 

[AlinaX]

If there is blood in the soil of Slovakia, so too there is a thread of darkness in the blood of one particular family. Like a bat it flies from daughter to daughter, down through the centuries.

Today the curse can be found in the blood of a Hungarian maid, one entirely ignorant of the illustrious names that preceded her, but innocence and beauty are no protection against the coiling hunger she has inherited.

If sometimes she awakens in the morning in a sweat of feverish terror, these moments are swiftly forgotten, in the way the memory of a scream is forgotten beneath a lover's soft kiss.

I've used this as the basis for the third part of the Prologue. See what you think.

 

[AlinaX]

Schrödinger's Bat
Bathory Babes
Twice Bitten
?
Or are we all happy with Lights, Camera, Blood…?

 

[Erozetta]

Schrödinger's Bat
Bathory Babes
Twice Bitten
?
Or are we all happy with Lights, Camera, Blood…?

I'm good with Lights, Camera, Blood.

I'm notoriously bad at titling things. There's a reason I use song titles. (Ones that suit the story, but still) lol.

 

[AlinaX]

We only have 35 characters to play with, and "Lights, Camera, Blood Ch. 0X -" is very restrictive if we want to add a number and chapter title. Not that a chapter title is necessary.

It would be nice to start publishing, so I have some questions:
Is Ch. 01 ready to go?
Do we want the prologue (as is or with changes)?
If yes, then separately or within Ch. 01?

I don't know if chain stories link in any way through the site, but I think it would be good to at least link to a curated list with all the chapters.

 

[Erozetta]

We only have 35 characters to play with, and "Lights, Camera, Blood Ch. 0X -" is very restrictive if we want to add a number and chapter title. Not that a chapter title is necessary.

It would be nice to start publishing, so I have some questions:
Is Ch. 01 ready to go?
Do we want the prologue (as is or with changes)?
If yes, then separately or within Ch. 01?

I don't know if chain stories link in any way through the site, but I think it would be good to at least link to a curated list with all the chapters.

I think the prologue would be a good inclusion to set the tone and I liked it as is. Within chapter 1 would probably be best, in my opinion.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

I'll do a final edit on Chapter 1 tonight. I have to review your prologue carefully, and I don't want it included in my chapter. I'm finding the Google doc problematical for editing, given all the comments, highlights, and markings. I think I'll recopy it to a WordPerfect file where I can see what's actually there. I guess we'll have to look into the mechanics of chain publishing here on Lit.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

I've finished editing my chapter, and I've re-read Alina's prologue. I'd suggest making it chapter one, perhaps entitled "Three Women." (It does introduce the three women, and they're the only characters actually in it. Mine could follow with the title it has. I did leave mine open for subsequent authors to develop Lucy and Mina into their own chapter's flow. If you would like me to write more for them after their take-off for Slovakia, I will.

 

[AlinaX]

Well, I've submitted the Prologue, so fingers crossed.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

Well, I've submitted the Prologue, so fingers crossed.

we await with 'bated breath!

 

[AlinaX]

Tomorrow

 

[Omenainen]

So how does the publishing work? Do we publish in normal categories? Can one even pick the chain story category when publishing?

 

[AlinaX]

I've put it into the chain category, but I really don't see the point in everyone doing so. Maybe Erotic Horror is a good place.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Don't they have to be in Chain? Isn't that the point?

 

[AlinaX]

I don't know. As long as we give the readers a way to find the chapters, does it matter?

 

[Tio_Narratore]

If we're writing a story that's all of a piece, I don't think we should have the readers travelling around the site to find the chapters. It is a chain story, and we should publish it that way.