I’d like to list the basic ideas for the works I plan as short stories. Most of them will be written in Russian, but outlining in easier in English, so that’s how it is.
1. [Rus] Проволока (Wire)
I don’t really know what to say about this one, I’ve had this title for 3 years already (since 2008) and haven’t written a single line. I just wanted to write a dark dystopian story with this kind of title. It should be something really depressing and filled with despair, but I don’t have a single idea for the plot, so I may give it up in the end.
2. [Rus] …смеётся (…laughs)
It’s a fairy-tale of some sort, well, at least it’s supposed to have that kind of setting. It’s a simple story with a prince searching for his princess. When the prince was still a child, he learnt from a prophecy that he’d recognize his destined one by her laughter. So he sets out on a journey, but ends up finding her in an unexpected place xD So it’s supposed to be a silly romantic story, but recently I feel like I want to add smth else, because the idea as it is now seems boring. I mean, I came up with it in 2005 when I was 17 and really into fairy tales, and I just wanted to make a bunch of them xD
3. [Rus] Untitled short story-1
This one is also a fairy tale, also has been with me for some 6-7 years, so I no longer know if I want to write it at all, but, somehow, writing it feels better than giving up xD It’s a story about a cursed queen (yeah, I’d like some kind of a mature woman, not just your average teenage princess), and, what else can I say about it? Hmm, it’s supposed to have a dark, somewhat gothic atmosphere. And the whole thing about lifting the curse with the power of love – I want to present it in an unexpected light. And I want black roses with poisonous thorns and stuff like that. And femdom, though you aren’t supposed to stuff such things into fairy-tales, so I guess it should be something purely on psychological level.
4. [Rus] Только раз в году (Only once a year)
Frankly speaking, the idea for this one seems really weak to me, so I don’t know if I should write it at all. It deals with a mysterious shop that only opens once a year on a random day, and there’s no way to know for sure when. But it’s said that they sell some magical things or smth (it’s also a very old idea, so I myself don’t remember all details I wanted to put in it). So it’s supposed to be a cute heartwarming story about a little boy who’s looking for a birthday present for his mother, and you can pretty much guess the rest, and that’s why I think the idea is weak. One more thing, I don’t know what kind of idea I want to put behind this setting. So this story will be written only if I come up with something amazing. Also, I’m not very good with heartwarming stuff, so I’m afraid the result may seem cheap.
5. [Eng] Virus in our town
This is a relatively new story, just some 2 years old as of now. Back then one of my friends said to me, ‘Hey, why don’t you write a story about vampires?’ and I said, ‘Sure thing’ but obviously I didn’t know what and how to write this stuff. I mean, because of all that hype over Twilight, vampires now lack originality like never before. Besides, it’s really hard to come up with smth genuinely new and original, since there are zillions of vampire stories out there. Nevertheless, I decided that I should try writing smth involving vampires. It was supposed to be a bilingual story about a certain town where one day three beasts appear. I planned to write that storyline part in Russian, and insert bits from a certain fictional book called ‘The Everything’ written in English. But I encountered two main problems – I couldn’t come up with good characters and I couldn’t come up with a solid story for the town part. Though I managed to write 3 insertions:
You, who entwines Dusk, shall take the Blood.
You, who embraces Midnight, shall take the Flesh.
You, who envelops Dawn, shall take the Soul.
Thus the Three of You shall atone for your Sin.
(The Everything, book MMDLVI, chapter 133)When She became the supreme goddess, the world was at its zenith. Adored by everyone, She ruled for innumerable millennia, unchanging and unwavering, yet fragile and beautiful. She was the Law, She was the Power, the ultimate irreproachable symbol of everything ever existing. Her title was ‘the Everything’.
(The Everything, book MLXXXIII, chapter 569)When the darkness lifted, the three of them realized what they had done. They could never return to their peaceful existence among other beings of light. And She said, they would rot endlessly, until the Decay itself would lose its meaning. And so they wandered across the Eternity, accompanied by unbearable pain, deprived of names and forbidden to seek salvation. Her words were absolute.
(The Everything, book MMCCCXXIII, chapter 282)
I kind of get a vague feeling how this story should be, and I want to write it fully in English, since I want to make it really dark, obscure and still poetic (even though my lack of vocabulary and numerous grammar crimes do worry me). Though the idea lacks conflict, if you know what I mean. Anyway, I’m determined to finish it one day. Oh, and one more thing – I want to start it with the phrase “Come a little bit closer”, because at a certain point in the past I really liked the song ‘Copycat’ by Lacrimosa, and I just can’t get this idea out of my head anymore.
6. [Rus] Бесконечное лето (Endless summer)
This is my newest short story I’m currently working on; so far I have about 3 pages written, but I don’t really know how many more I want to write – I’d prefer if this story wrote itself. It’s a romantic story with a touch of supernatural, or maybe a supernatural story with a touch of romance. Anyway, it has a very peculiar kind of love xD It’s a story about a little boy who spends his summer holidays in the countryside with his grandparents. One day he meets a mysterious girl, and even though they don’t get along at first she catches his attention. It’s also a first-person narration. I know how I want to end this story, and I really like the way I started it, and I’ve thought up an unexpected plot twist, but I want to take my time and write a good middle part. I also have some difficulties with logic (well, in fact it’s my main problem), and I don’t want my story to have inconsistencies, so I really should think over the plotline.
It does have a connection with my poem of the same name (Endless Summer).
That’s all for now, I guess. I discarded some ideas while I was sorting out this stuff – I just absolutely don’t want to write some stories. Well, I can’t guarantee I’ll write everything I’ve mentioned above, or that they’ll be any good. I can come up with a really powerful image that will have an impact, but I’m not good with sequences of events – I don’t know (yet) how to make this stuff interesting.
