Roar of the Crowd possibilities

[PaulMc]

If anyone needs inspiration or ideas, this article ironically enough was posted over at the Conan/REH forums. Thought I would share.

http://www.cracked.com/article/180_6...e-modern-world



-- Paul McNamee

My Blog

[darkbow]

Thanks for the reminder. There's some interesting stuff there. Think I StumbleUponed that Cracked article a few days ago. Already got my sport picked out, and it's not on that list, nor Jason's list (but he's been informed and hasn't said nay).

The Kobalos Trilogy
City of Rogues, available for the Kindle and at Smashwords
Road to Wrath, available for the Kindle and at Smashwords
Dark King of the North, available for the Kindle and at Smashwords

Non-fiction
An Amateur Beer Snob's Guide to Beer, for the Kindle and at Smashwords


Short stories
"Forlorn" at Deadman's Tome, "Beneath a Persian Sun" upcoming in Carnivah House's "Infinity Swords" anthology, "Zombie Tears" at Dark Fire, "Devil and Devil Damned" at Flashes in the Dark, "The Death of Lester Williams" in the anthology Deadlines, "Deep in the Land of the Ice and Snow" in "The Return of the Sword" anthology, "The Way the Sunlight Lies Upon Her Hair" at Every Day Fiction

For more, check out my blog at www.tyjohnston.blogspot.com</A></A>

[Lyn]

I'm working on an interesting (at least to me) story - a young Olmec woman (1000 BC Mesoamerica), flees her village, is enslaved, taken to the tribute city of Tenochtitlan and forced to play in the life and death ballgame known as ulama (even though the site mentioned above refers to it as pitz, which I think is Mayan and therefore later). Can't decide if it will be comic or tragic, but I'm guessing my protag will let me know as we progress. lol

Lyn from ResAliens Zine, Blog, & Reviews
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[David J. West]

Thanks for the links Paul-good stuff.

Looks like I'm using the same sport as Lyn.

When a man dies it should be for something . . . not of something
http://www.david-j-west.blogspot.com

[Bill Ward]

While we are talking about 'Crowd' (some good stuff there, Paul), does anyone else feel like we'd all really benefit by communicating with each other the topics we plan to tackle for this one?

For example, now that I know Lyn *and* David are working on a mesoamerican ballgame story, I'm not going to spend time doing the same (and I had considered it). I'd much rather hit something that isn't going to duplicate someone else's work. I realize there are no guarantees that anyone's work will be accepted, but as it stands there aren't any guarantees that the best five stories for the antho won't all be on the same sport, either -- and I think that would pose a major problem for Jason and a waste of effort for some good writers out there.

I'm not surprised that 'Crowd' hasn't had a rush of subs, as it's sort of a hard thing to peg down (not many trunk stories for this one laying around I'm sure). I'd think usually something like this would be mostly or partially filled with solicited subs, so as to avoid duplication of effort and create a nice variety.

I'd feel differently, I suppose, if an idea for something had just leapt into my head or I was already an expert on an ancient game, but for a story like this I'm going to have to start with a topic first, do research, and only then come up with some sort of workable idea. I'm guessing a lot of us are the same?

For those of us that want to submit or have already submitted, let's share some info on this thread. I think we'll see a better end result if we do.

For fantasy, science fiction, and horror news, books reviews, opinion, and short fiction, check out: BillWardWriter.com</font>

[David J. West]

Thats half the reason I said something, I'll probably tweak mine just a little because there are several different names for the meso-games, and I am sure that beyond that Lyn and I will have divergent stories.


But I wouldn't mind hearing what other sports people are working on, this was a theme I had to think about for a solid week before I could figure out how I wanted to tackle it.


I thought about a Roman/Byzantine type Gladitorial tale but thought that might be the one most people jumped on. Bill, didn't you mention you might do one or had one in another thread?





When a man dies it should be for something . . . not of something
http://www.david-j-west.blogspot.com

[Lyn]

Good idea, Bill. I know some folks are very proprietary when it comes to their story idea, but I figure there are only 5 or 7 to 23 (or whatever the heck the number is nowadays) basic plots in existence, and all manners of story ideas have been attempted (some wise guy said there's nothing new under the sun, right?). So I threw mine out there. So what if someone 'steals' an idea - I've stolen all of mine! The difference is in the writing, voice, details, etc. And, yep, no guarantee Jason will like what I write anyway, lol

I know Jason says in his guidelines that he's open to more than one story in an era/game if it involves the crowd, but will only take one story from each era/game if it's an individual battle. So no worries, David, I figure there is so much to be left to the imagination that it would be highly unlikely we have something similar going. Best wishes on it, though! Like you it took me awhile to figure out just what Jason wants, and my crowd element isn't that strong at this point...hmm.

And thanks, Paul, for the link. Anyone else have story settings or ideas they are mulling over?

Lyn from ResAliens Zine, Blog, & Reviews
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[Bill Ward]

We don't need to share plots, Lyn; I think saying what sport we are working on is the main thing.

Jason will take more than one story per idea, but I'm thinking of the overall shape of the antho. If he's having trouble getting the subs he needs right now than it isn't like he's spoiled for choice. Imagine a situation where he has five good mesoamerican stories to choose from, and only one good Roman one, and he has to use all those pieces to fill the antho. It'll come out a bit strange. Or, say he only picks two of those five good mesoamerican ones because of this, and three writers who could have addressed an area the antho lacks are now wasted -- and stuck with stories they'll more than likely have a hard time placing elsewhere.

David, I was originally going to do something with Byzantine chariot racing, but I don't think I'm going to any longer. Currently, I'm up in the air as to what I'm doing -- ideally I'd like to try to fill a real need that no one else is addressing.

For fantasy, science fiction, and horror news, books reviews, opinion, and short fiction, check out: BillWardWriter.com</font>

[darkbow]

Since we're actually getting into the sports ...

I decided upon chogan, the ancient Persian precursor to modern polo, originally used as a training tool for cavalry. Lots of guys with clubs on horseback, but instead of a ball they usually had a dead animal of one kind or another. Often a deadly game.

Had to think and research a month or longer to come up with that one. I wanted something that fit Jason's guidelines but wasn't already listed. Thought my chances might be better to stand out from the pack that way for potential readers.

A duel or gladiatorial combat story would have been pretty easy to come up with, but I figured Jason might get a slew of those.

I've been reading and re-reading quite a bit of REH lately, so I'm going for a harder-than-usual (for me) S&S feel to this one. The game itself will have a big and important role to play, but there'll be more going on plotwise.

The Kobalos Trilogy
City of Rogues, available for the Kindle and at Smashwords
Road to Wrath, available for the Kindle and at Smashwords
Dark King of the North, available for the Kindle and at Smashwords

Non-fiction
An Amateur Beer Snob's Guide to Beer, for the Kindle and at Smashwords


Short stories
"Forlorn" at Deadman's Tome, "Beneath a Persian Sun" upcoming in Carnivah House's "Infinity Swords" anthology, "Zombie Tears" at Dark Fire, "Devil and Devil Damned" at Flashes in the Dark, "The Death of Lester Williams" in the anthology Deadlines, "Deep in the Land of the Ice and Snow" in "The Return of the Sword" anthology, "The Way the Sunlight Lies Upon Her Hair" at Every Day Fiction

For more, check out my blog at www.tyjohnston.blogspot.com</A></A>

[von Darkmoor]

I'm going to keep abreast of your conversation here, but stay out of it for the most part. On occasion I'll toss some info in, such as this:

Games that I have not received submissions for yet as of 11/30/09:

Mongolian horse polo ~ Assyrian, Egyptian, Byzantine chariot races ~ Greek pankration ~ mock land battles ~ Medieval melees ~ Iroquois tewaarathon ~ Zulu donga ~ Indian silambam ~ Renaissance duels ~ Medieval jousts

Cover art images I have not received submissions for yet as of 11/30/09:

lacrosse ~ sacrifice ~ horse polo

Cultures I'm interested in seeing and have not yet as of 11/30/09:

African continent ~ North American ~ Norse ~ Russian ~ Egyptian

~~~~~~~~~~
Jason M. Waltz
Publisher, Rogue Blades Entertainment (RBE)

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~~~~~~~~~~

Books Published:
Return of the Sword
Rage of the Behemoth

~~~~~~~~~~
Ever waltz with the Devil? Or devil with a Waltz?
von Darkmoor's thoughts