![]() Author has written 1 story for How to Train Your Dragon. Update 23/8/19 (8/23/19): Update 3.0! It's been over a month of silence from me and I can only apologize. No, Seeker is not abandoned lol. All I can say is that work is becoming more and more and more draining as time goes on. I'll joke and kid about it, but the reality is that it has reached the point where I am too drained from life to do anything concerning fanfiction, which regrettably includes reading. No worries though, I'm not gone! Seeker is officially on hiautus, but I'm hoping that it wont be for much longer. Nothing I can do about it at the time, unless I were to quit my job (which I obviously can't do, yet anyway lmao. Maybe if I win the lottery). On the plus side, my position is the most secure one at my location at this point in time! Stressful as all get out though. I'm going to try and steamroll through this next chapter just so I can post it and not leave you all hanging, but I refuse to upload something that doesn't reach my terms of quality. Hopefully, if all goes well, I will be uploading this Sunday. But, it's hard to write at the moment. -Aelan Greetings and Salutations! As I am getting ready to start posting stories once again, I felt I should add a little more information about myself. Name: I have many names of all kinds, but for the time being you can simply call me Aelan or The Guide. Age: I have seen many moons and will undoubtedly see many more, over twice the amount I have currently seen so far. Job: I work as a Parts Consultant for a car dealership, particularly Buick and GMC, though it encompasses all of GM. Favorites: My favorite color is grey, followed by purple. Favorite food is anything with meat, particularly steak (I am a self proclaimed carnivore). Favorite song is, at the moment, Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons. Favorite animal... well, currently and irrefutably existing or having existed on Earth would be the wolf, though my favorite animal including fantasy would be the dragon. Favorite Quote: "Count your hits, not your misses." -DS Brewer, July, 2015 Hobbies: I enjoy a number of things, such as talking, shooting, hunting, driving, American Football, trap, music, reading, writing and sketching. Here I will also add I enjoy any and all adventures, which has landed me in the hospital and ER many times. People don't like hiking with me in the mountains because I'll oftentimes take us off the trodden path where we will typically find wolf tracks or bear scat. "Where's your sense of adventure?" is what I'll usually tell them when they start to complain. About me: I come from a less than modest background, as my biological mother was a gypsy and my biological father a trucker. As such, I have a large amount of life experience under my belt and I've been to many different places, though after I was adopted years ago I more or less settled down in Minnesota, USA. Of course I took up travelling again shortly after I graduated. I settled down again back in Minnesota mid last year, and will be here for some time for all intents and purposes. If you talk to me, you will probably find out sooner or later but I also served time in the US armed forces as a grunt, which contributes quite a bit to my character. Don't ask about my time, I will tell some stories and anecdotes in my chapters, but for the most part I do not talk about it. Do not pry, it is a quick way to get me to stop talking to you. I was adopted years ago when I was 13, though I only spent 2 and a half years or so in the Foster Care system. Before that, a lot of drama and bs encompassed my life. This isn't a sore subject so if you have questions concerning Foster Care, Adoption or anything I experienced prior to adoption, feel 100% free to ask. Fun Facts: I am what you could call a genetic masterpiece, as I am colorblind, near sighted and partially deaf. I include these elements somewhat in my stories, so it will be a common trend. One of my normal fantasies in life is to one day wake up with perfect vision and hearing, and able to see the full color spectrum. I have an unfortunate habit of being correct a lot, which drives people nuts. Don't be fooled, I'm not really that intelligent, I just don't talk about something unless I know exactly what I'm talking about. Choosing my battles, in a way. I wrote many speeches in my day, and have been known to possess a bit of a silver tongue. In other words, I talk good. As such, I include elements of this in my writing. My one true and absolute weakness, besides lead or steel, is adorableness. I know, who would expect and Infantryman to have such a weakness but dear gods does it get to me. My ultimate kryptonite, as it were. And while I'm good at remaing detatched in judgement, it is very hard to do when adorableness is in play. My goddaughter knows this already and uses it as no one else does or can. Many a times I've been tricked into watching something distinctly unmanly because of that. Stories in Progress "Seeker" "Seeker" is my first story I'm writing in a long time. Inspired by stories such as "Brothers of Night" by toothlessgolfer and "A Gift of Wings" by Deadly-Bagel (Two phenominal works that I can't recommend enough, though AGoW is still in the works), it will be based mostly from the perspective of a dragon. Unlike those stories, as I feel my writing would not do that genre justice, Hiccup does not turn into a dragon though it is considered a transformation fic. I love the idea of a human becoming an entirely different and completely sentient and intelligent species, as well as all of the challenges that come with it. I will start with weekly updates, but if I get backed up due to life I will change that to biweekly. "Seeker" is a story of adventure, travel, danger, loss, blood, and yes, love. It will follow the canon events of the first two movies, as well as some of the series RTTE. After that... well, there's a lot more story planned than just that so I would hazard a guess and say a lot. Extras: Though I doubt many will, I do ask any writers that feel down on themselves or discouraged, and happen along my profile, read what follows, and my apologies for my long windedness. I am, and always will be, a storyteller, and long windedness is something we frequently suffer from. Many moons ago, I used to be a writer on fanfiction, but over the past years I've drifted away, focusing more on life than on story, which is something I deeply regret, no matter how necessary. That said, the pen is in motion once more, and on a project that will likely last a long time. Chances are that, if you're reading this, it is in response to a review that I occasionally leave on stories that particularly grab my attention. So if I review, take that as a compliment in of itself. From my time as a writer on this site, one thing that was the most hindering was self doubt. For anyone that knows me, that would come as a surprise, but it is nonetheless true. To those who are doubting their capabilites as a writer, I say don't. Count your hits, after all. Yes I understand that it is easier said than done, but it certainly can be done. It just requires a change of mindset, hence my comment to count your hits. What I mean by that is a lesson I learned long ago on a scorching hot range in the miserable Georgia heat. Count your hits, not your misses. If you focus only on the things you did wrong, then that's all that will be in your mind as you progress. Don't ignore your mistake, gods no, but don't let that be your focus. If you focus on missing, you're going to miss. But if you focus on the things that you did right, a number of wonderful things will happen. Namely, your confidence will skyrocket. That, in turn, will make you more productive in any aspect of life you do or take part in, be it sports, writing, work, etc. But note that there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Confidence is knowing and understanding what you are capable of. Arrogance is overestimating what you might be capable of. I for one, am frequently seen as arrogant, but I assure you that I am not. I know my limits very well, and I know exactly what I am capable of. I am confident in myself. (That said, I freely admit I have a large ego. It's a work in progress, never claimed to be perfect.) Allow me to Guide your Path, for much is known and little is revealed. What is known, can be told. What is revealed, can be learned. What is told is truth. What is learned is fact. Thus I Guide you. The choice is yours, to follow or not. Of this life for sure, perhaps beyond. Writing advice My advice for any and all story writing is simple enough, but simple does not mean unimportant. For starters, the number one thing I stress is making sure grammar and spelling are done correctly. No, I don't mean absolutely nitpick over the tiniest detail. We're only human, and we make mistakes. But, just as an example, compare the following: 'With a soft smile, the man reached out a hand to gently caress her chin. "You're as beautiful as ever, my love," he tells her, as tears begin to fill her eyes. Shaking her head, she pushed him away.' 'With a sfot smile the man reached out a a hand to genly cares her chin. "Your as butiful as ever my love," he tels her as teers begin to fill her eyes. Shacking her head, se pushed him away.' Now obviously this might be considered an extreme example, but you get the idea. Of the two, which one was the more frustrating read? I also advise against repetitive use of words such as 'that,' 'he said,' 'she said,' 'and,' and so on and so forth. There are so many more words out there after all. My next piece of advice is to show the reader, don't tell them. Don't describe a character and say "She was a strong, tall and brave woman." Instead, show it to the readers through actions and events in the story. Don't get discouraged in the middle of writing the story either. A lot of authors run out of steam somewhere around the middle of their story, though initially they might have started off strong and excited, and they know exactly how they want their story to end. This happens to almost everyone, so again, don't get discouraged. Essentially, you planned so much of the begininng and the end, that you didn't focus much if at all on how the two ends meet. Basically, you aren't making the story exciting enough for you. Add more events, deepen plot, go into background lore, take part in a battle, have your character suddenly suffer an injury, it doesn't matter what, just do something. You'll be amazed at how much of a difference it makes. Another note to make mention of, is on characters. Namely balancing them. To start with, it is important to create a character that you love and enjoy writing. However, if you want to do well, do not make them all powerful or all knowing. While these characters can be fun to write initially, it takes away from the story immensely if the character is infallible. People enjoy reading because it is an escape from reality, a break from the hubbub and stress that is life. To do that, they need to be able to understand and make connections between characters and themselves. It is impossible to do that with a "perfect" character. Give your character flaws, have them fail every now and again, give them something to grow in. That said, nothing is as irritating as a totally incompetent protagonist. Initially, yes, that's fine. But if they don't grow or change, it quickly becomes vexxing if not downright irritating to read about them. Having a character as such will drive many people away, regardless of how good the plot is. This is a generality, not an exact. Some people enjoy things others don't, which is fine and how it should be. What I've said will not apply to everyone. Some people enjoy OP characters, while others enjoy completely incompetent ones. Human nature is diversity, so that's perfectly understandable. Those are the basics for writing that I will advise. I could go more in depth, but I feel that I've covered enough for most beginning writers, even if it was only a few points. That all said, feel free to PM me if you want any more advice or just to chat. I'm a social butterfly, and supposedly wise beyond my years, so I won't mind. I do work frequently so I may not respond immediately, but I will never ignore someone. Conflict and Strife, Chaos and War. 'Of Conflict and Strife, there is much to be sure. Humanity is conflict, conflict is strife. Peaceful by desire, warring by nature. Wise is the one to see beyond desire, brave is the one to conquer nature. Know what you are, know who you are. Know your desires, know your fears. You yourself control your actions, you yourself control your fate. But foolish is the one to ignore their nature. Know your nature, observe it, learn from it. Those who know themselves can change themselves. Knowing yourself, however, comes only from within. One can Guide, but not Control.' -The Ramblings of an Unknown. |
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