@TERMINALLYILL PRESENTS...
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Well my friends, I am still alive and well, despite the fact that I have not posted on the @terminallyill account for quite some time. Selflessness is the best excuse that I have for not getting material pushed through on here, as I have been incredibly busy building the @greetersguild, @breakthecycle and @fundthefuture projects, as well as my real life job which takes a great deal of my time renovating homes. With so much growth and prosperity coming into the guild, I have had my hands full, needless to say. Thankfully, I have finally found some time to breathe and put some much needed focus into a possible career that I am considering going after, writing. Since using the Steemit platform, I have become rather fond of writing and the work that it entails, to be completely honest. After some months of honing my skills and getting properly accustomed to Steemit, things have taken a positive change once again in my life. After years of soul searching I have finally found something driving me from within that I could even make a living doing. I finally have that fire lighting in my soul and a deep passion burning inside of me again!
With that said, I think its time to go ahead and unveil the fruit of my passions and labors. This publication is a portion of a fictional piece that I have been writing for the past few weeks that is the first book in a multi novel series. This is the first portion of the prologue for my novel "From The Dust", an intense post apocalyptic thriller based in a world gone to waste, beginning only two decades from our current timeline. This prologue is intended to set a detailed scene and paint a vivid picture for my readers, preparing them for the incredible story to follow. Please, for those curating, take it easy on me, as this is the first time I have written a fictional piece aside from storytelling for Dungeons and Dragons. Though I have never written a book (or many stories), I am confident in my progress with this piece and hope that all of you find the material enjoyable and well done. I can only hope the response to this is good, so I can pursue writing and finally have the opportunity to do something I truly love to do for a living.
FROM THE DUST - PROLOGUE - PART ONE
A chill whips through the stagnant morning air, almost as if to welcome the Winter seasons of old, pushing through a battered thicket of struggling Oak trees. Curled, burnt leaves push through the roughly shaped branches, dancing effortlessly in the cool breeze. Still flying high upon a heavily abused flagpole is a torn and tattered nylon American flag, partially shrouded by the small grove of trees. Just beyond this slight treeline lies the remains of the very last medical building left standing in the once magnificent city of Easton. At one point the city was the crowned jewel of the state of Delmarva. Now, as with most everything else, the effects of famine, panic and war have destroyed anything of substance from the ruined municipality.
Just hours beforehand, Dempsey Memorial Hospital was the final standing ground and last ray of hope for what was left of the local Army National Guard. This seven story building went from being their saving grace to becoming a bullet riddled slab of formed concrete accompanied by varying piles of crumbled block and rubble. Across the dilapidated landscape, the lifeless bodies of the fallen lay almost as if they were thrown about by angry gods. Mixed with the light breeze, the scent of gunpowder and decay sweep through the area, telling the story of the standoff that transpired here.
As the sun slowly rises in the East, a brilliant light stabs through the battered trees, glaring effortlessly from the thousands of scattered shell casings. This spectacle of light creates an almost unsettling sense of beauty as it casts upon the grim display of the apparent slaughter. The only signs of life within the entire city block are a murder of crows pecking upon the flesh of the deceased and the circling of grotesque, deformed vultures preparing for the feast to come. Welcome to the once wonderful trading capital of Delmarva, now crippled mercilessly by animalistic instinct. Today, this same animalistic instinct is what has been the driving force behind humanity, or what is left of humanity, as we know it.
The world once was something of absolute allure and splendor, a sight to truly behold, depending on the perception of the eyes surveying it. Roughly a decade prior to the present day, humanity turned a new leaf and began dedicating to the advancement of our people as a whole. The pursuit of knowledge and solidarity brought forth an era of time that mankind had finally realized was long overdue. Modern marvels were plentiful, technological advancements blessed the four corners God's ultimate creation and humanity was making steady progress towards creating something only envisioned in fairy tales. The arrival of true peace and prosperity in the years following had finally created a sense of ease within the world. Things had finally fallen into place.
In the year 2038 the world stood still and powerless at the hands of an incredible natural phenomena never seen before. In the month of June the planet was pummeled by a series of intense solar flares, which were always thought to be an idea conjured up by doomsday theorists on television. In the beginning, the flares were small, spread over the course of a few days, hitting periodically and providing an extravagant light show comparable to Aurora Borealis. The world embraced the natural event, as there were no significant signs of hindrance resulting from it's occurrence. Crowds gathered across the globe to photograph and record the natural events. Local and global news crews covered this rare spectacle day in and day out, turning it into a media fueled publishing dream. From the very beginning, all had seemed to be well with the initial series of solar flares. As we have been shown numerous times throughout history however, what seems to be good and wholesome, can turn out to be quite the opposite.
The universe once again proved to us all just how quickly things can unravel, more or less in the blink of an eye. We were quickly reminded, as a people, that we are not in control of our future, despite our finest of attempts and hardest of labor. Six days into the picturesque light show, things took a severe turn for the worse. What was considered a graceful and elegant dance of the angelic, in the splitting of a second, turned into the roaring spite of the wretched. On June 22nd, at 3:44 PM Eastern Standard Time, the planet was rocked by a series of "super" solar flares that easily penetrated the natural defenses of planet Earth, bringing every location on the planet to its knees in absolute terror and awe. Man, woman and child alike observed this grand event, as it was possibly one of the most beautiful and incredible things to have beheld with their eyes, even during peak daylight hours. When this series of super flares breached our planet's atmosphere, an astounding array of colors fell to the land, as if spilled from God's palette. Many froze and gazed at the phenomena in complete admiration as it rained down on the planet. However, nothing could prepare them for the panic and havoc that would quickly ensue afterwards.
PART TWO OF THE PROLOGUE IS COMING SOON! FOLLOW ME @TERMINALLYILL TO SEE IT WHEN IT RELEASES!
I like the story line so far and look forward to seeing more of this.
As the person who I know writes the most stories on steemit I'm tagging @viking-ventures in case she can give any tips.
Thank you @thedarkhorse, it means alot to have your support and to have you reach out to others who may help me sharpen my skills. So far the feedback has led me to make a few changes that have increased the overall readability of the book. I will be making those changes in an edit tomorrow as I have been combing through what I have written so far and doing some improvising. Hopefully @viking-ventures has some tips or feedback for me :)
Thanks again brother! It honestly means alot to me!!!
Just an fyi someone else told me this to use on my posts and it makes them look better:
<div class="text-justify">Your post</div>This justifies your entire post and that keeps the end of the lines at the same place. The only thing you need to watch is write that code on a line then return down leaving a full line between it and the start of your post and a full line after your post before the closing tag. Otherwise sometimes it won't display correctly.
Awesome, thank you @thedarkhorse, I really appreciate the help my friend!
Anytime! Glad to be able to help you out as you have been spending so much time helping others.
That is very much appreciated!
A very nice story set-up. One small request, Centering of text works pretty good with poetry or a couple of short lines. My own personal preference from reading would be for a story of this length not be centered text. I do a lot of reading, and find the centered text stories to be difficult to read easily.
@bashadow, thank you for the feedback. I am actually going to go ahead and do that5 now. Force of habit has me centering it LOL. Shame on me ;) Thank you for the feed and for taking the time to read it!
Now, I am fairly new with designing and layouts on blogs, so would the title and such still be acceptable as centered? Or should it be switched as well @bashadow?
The majority of the writers I read, do center the title, and author line. I am not sure what the real etiquette is, but it looks best with the title centered. Are you familiar with @thewritersblock? It is a group run by @rhondak to help aspiring writers on steemit. They have resources to help edit, and grammar and consistency check writing. I don't do a lot of writing, but I do do a lot of reading, and the writers seem to be happy with the help they get.
@bashadow, I am familiar with @thewritersblock and @rhondak. I will definitely take that into consideration, however, we bumped heads over a miscommunication and so forth over the initial name of the last initiative @greetersguild created which is now by the name of @thewritersguild. None the less, I have appreciation for what they offer and what they do, so will consider possibly reaching out to them.
Thank you for the heads up and for the feedback. I went ahead and corrected that. You were 100% right and I am honest grateful for you reaching out to me to let me know!
Always going to be head bumping, doesn't need to be more than that. Lots of things I do not agree with/about from people, but still will recommend them if they seem like a fit or would be a good tool for someone. I like to read, I do not need to see 100% eye to eye with the writer of the story, I like music, I do not need to see eye to eye with them on their politics. It's either a good story or song, and who cares if the person is an asshole in life, they entertained me a few minutes. I know some people would say but your supporting an asshole, my response who cares, we are all assholes to an extent at one or more times in our life. Before people condemn others for supporting an asshole, ask if they can name 3 serial killers, who's really supporting assholes.
Okay, got off track there I think, yep, sometimes we just need to say, okay, and move on.
BAHAHAHA I completely understand what you mean there :D I just got a hell of a laugh out of that.
I know what you are saying though. There are plenty of people on here that I do not really like or get along with that I still support based on their contributions to the community and such. I like to see positive things happen, whether the person behind them is a douche or not really means nothing as long as their work has some good to it.
Like you, I enjoy reading and curating material on here. I am going to be hosting a huge contest when I reach 1000 followers, which will be this week no doubt. I will need curators if you are up for it? Also, the @greetersguild has been releasing curation requests (curation spotlight) and other publications on their blog. We could always use some quality curators to swing through. Especially on the end of curating newbie content that we spotlight. Let me know if any of this interests you my friend.
I have a pretty full plate right now, but I still drop by every now and then to see what's happening, I got way to stretched out a couple of months ago, so I have throttled back and trying to not get back in the fast lane, at least for a couple of months.
I judge a book by the 1st couple of pages . If it doesn't grab an interest in me I put it down . You gave me two pages and I'm interested . I have a lot of question that I would like to know the answer to . great start will see how the rest go with character development and story .
Thank you my brother @wolfhart! It is always a peak part of my time on here to have feedback and comments from you, as you are one of the most honest and sincere people I have met on the Steemit platform. I honestly appreciate you taking the time to read my work, as well as giving me honest feedback on it! I guarantee you that this book will be amazing, from front to back, as the story plot I have thus far is incredible. The 2nd portion will be released in just a few days, I hope that you enjoy it as well my friend!!!
Just for my own personal curiosity and such, what questions do you have? It could possibly help me with the writing of the book to know what the reader is thinking after taking in everything. I appreciate any help you can lend me bro!
@terminallyill
if I got it right we went from a battlefield to a place back into a disaster . we are looking back into the past .
who is looking back and when
the timeline from the battle to the present . but that can be clearer as the next chapter comes out
you cant read a little bit and have question answered . thats why you keep reading . its like a snapshot in time you don't get the picture until more is revealed . So i need more .
I would not make large correction until it is done then its the rewrite that sells . keep going 👍
You got it right brother and I am happy that it makes you want to continue to go further on. I can assure you that the remainder of the prologue paints an even more vivid picture and will lead you to want to open the book and start chapter one. Thank you for taking the time to answer those questions for me bro!
@terminallyill
@wolfhart, what is fast reply?
@terminallyill gone a week and look at the changes
click on the demo link to install
https://steemit.com/steemit/@lynncoyle1/fast-reply-a-new-and-efficient-way-to-comment
This is very good @terminallyill! You have a lot of talent in many different areas! I think you should definitely pursue this! :)
Thank you @davemccoy! I have to say this, you will be in the thank you portion of the novel and listed as one of the people that I have written this piece for, as if not for you and the aid you had given me early on, I would not be even have written this. That is honest and believe me when I say, you have been one of the most positive influences in my life!
It is an honor to have your seal of approval and support on here my brother. Thank you again for not only supporting me and my work, but for helping me build and obtain the tools I need in order to succeed. You are an amazing person Dave!
wow! congratulation for your first "published book" I thought your passion is to build up the community via discord and various initiatives.
Know I knew you are a great writer too with such an elaborated story. Unfortunately, I have no patience to read a long story but I reckon you have a good introduction and conclusion.
You have done so much for the community and I should do my part to show my love ( upvote ) too
Cheers
Thank you brother @digitalmind, I appreciate your support! Though it is not published yet, I have an opportunity to get it published once I complete it. I am still in the process of putting it together and writing it as well as a couple others. None the less, it is still a passion of mine. Thank you again for your love and support on my project!
I did nothing much to support except morally.
But I will look forward to your publishing though
Cheers
@thedarkhorse beat me to it. @viking-ventures would be a great source. I know of another source that could be helpful. He's on FB tho...I am trying to convince him to come here his name is Brandon Ellis if you want to check him out.
I agree with @wolfhart If I don't get grabbed in the first couple of pages. I wonder. I am one of those that will push on to see if things get better. You definitely don't have to worry about that. I had some of the same questions, but since this is just starting out, I was going to see where you went. I know from some of the stories I had to write for a writing class I took (oh eons ago) you go back and re-read so many times you'll notice the little whos and such.
You're off to a great start. My only worry is ...4 groups, your real job and now this...I already don't think you sleep. Just don't forget to have a life in there too :D
@tryskele, I am definitely up for meeting anyone who could help me out in any possible ways. I am always up for sharpening my skills and learning a thing or two. Thank you for the referrals, let me know how I can reach them, as FB can be tricky at times people searching especially when there are hundreds of people with the same name.
Thank you for the support with this project, well, passion more than anything. I am going to definitely pursue writing as a career to some extent. My work on here I understand seems daunting, but I have it under control. Though things may at times seem to be hectic, there is a method to my madness. We are making tremendous progress in every outlet and honestly I am blessed to be able to share in the growth of all of these projects with everyone on board. LOL if you only knew the extent of the things I do off of the platform, you would probably think I am not human.
Trust me, there is no need to worry. As ling as I have good people standing with me involved in every initiative I am behind, then failure is not a possibility. People like you help ensure that the vision is long living and destined for great success ;)
By the way, I do not really sleep HAHA my motto is I can sleep when I am dead ;)
I say this all the time. Seriously sleep is very overrated.
Congratulations! This is awesome. You left us on a bit of a cliffhanger there, looking forward to reading what happens next!
Thank you for reading this and for your support @dramamama :) Part Two will be out soon and it will tower this one for sure! I really appreciate your support!!!
I got a chance to read it at last. I like it. Will try to keep up and thanks again for all the things you are trying to do.
@stever82, thank you for your support and especially for taking the time to read my material :) It is very appreciate very much my brother!
You are welcome by the way. I am just trying to do my part in building the community and helping my fellow community members find their talents. I always try to do anything i can do to aid anyone on here. Thank you for taking part of the guild!
This post was shared in the Curation Collective Discord community for curators, and upvoted and resteemed by the @c-squared community account after manual review.
@c-squared, thank you for taking the time to curate my material :)I wish you guys many blessings and if you have room to add another to your awesome new initiative, reach out to me. I am on Discord as LuckyDev#1969.
@terminallyill i must say when i saw this post, i was amazed. You are always busy with activities of various communities here on steemit that i hardly see a post like this from you. Thank you for letting me know this writing part of you and passion you feel for it. Great post and well done.
@hermannsol, thank you for your kind comment and sincerity my brother! Writing has definitely become a passion of mine. It's funny, I have been fond of it and talented in writing for many years and had never taken the time to recognize my appreciation and passion for it until I had found my way on this platform. Now, it has become a big part of my life and something I work on in my private time. I have been working on this book for a few weeks now, as well as a couple others including a biography. I just hope that I can make something good come of it all :)
Thank you for taking the time to read this and for your feedback! I cannot express how thankful I am in words my friend!
You are welcome @terminallyill.
I got your back my friend..
Must be nice from few lines gone through...For reading such lovely stuffs peace of mind is essential...This comment is for refernece to check it later
@angelro I hope that you have a chance to read the entire thing my friend. Either way, thank you for your support and feedback!
Im just glad you're good... glad youre back at it. I could probably use some pointers from you to get back at this steemit jazzz.
Awesome setup! I especially love that you timed it perfectly (either deliberately or accidentally) for the anticipated maximum of Solar Cycle 26! Obviously, the sun is its own master and can change anytime, throwing guesses to the floor, but I think this adds a degree of reality to your story which gives it a life of its own.
I like how you've "painted" the setting - can't wait to hear more!
You might like to give Dbooks a play. They do interface directly to Steemit, though they have some issues between themselves and LibreOffice, at least. If you know any HTML, you can bully it into doing what you want fairly easily. (It might work better with Word, but I don't know as I don't have that product.) They don't (yet) allow you to choose your own tags, but they are working on it as it was one of the first things I talked to them about on Discord.
Anyway, keep it up!
Thanks @viking-ventures for checking this out. Knew you would have some ideas for @terminallyill that might help out. dbooks is the one I was thinking you might suggest, but couldn't remember what it was...simple enough...lol.
Dear bro, I'm going to be sincere because you deserve it, you want to walk the writer's path and, also, as a form of respect for your hard work. I already observed in other occasions that you've got a rich lexicon and I can see that your writing style is flowing and pleasant. If I have to focus on a constructive critic - merely said as a reader and without any pretense - you depict a classic apocalyptic scenario and probably you could concentrate more on some original scenes or elements. What caught my attention were the super-flares rain, but it was only at the end of this first episode. Your descriptive parts are well built but I would consider distributing the information in a more gradual way or starting with a "hook" for the reader. A particular scene that catches the attention from the beginning. Having said this, you've all my sustain and I feel that you've what it takes to amaze us.. I'm looking forward to reading your other episodes! tip!
Hi @terminallyill! You have received 0.1 SBD tip from @f3nix!
@f3nix wrote lately about: Finish The Story Contest - Week #15 Feel free to follow @f3nix if you like it :)
Earn daily income on steem: @tipU distributes 100% profit + 60% curation rewards to all investors.
Ah, taking on writing, eh?! You did great and I cant wait to read the next part! I didnt know you did home renovation for work. My hubby has been in the business for 20+ years! I just recently started helping him, since Sophie is at an age where I feel okay to leave her with grandma (for grandmas sake, not hers lol). Which is why Ive been MIA here lately. Ive always loved making things pretty, and we might as well keep the money at home, right?! Anyways, great job my friend! Was gonna share with C2 but I see someone else seen your greatness! Keep up the great work!
So a novel now, hey? :) Here's my humble opinion: The positives: it's well written, descriptive, nice word choice and imagery, and although a relatively 'common' premise, it's one that is popular and one that people can relate to. The "things to think about" (because they're not necessarily negatives): stereotypes are the death of good fiction...the tattered flag for example. Also, every English Creative Writing professor always says, "show, don't tell". I know this is the prologue and you're setting everything up, but in the guts of it, one way to do that for example is through dialogue, or characters' actions instead of the author telling the reader things, try to allow the reader to feel those things instead. Finally, prologues should be short, like this, but you said part 2 is coming and I wonder why not just jump in now?
Overall though, like I said, it's really well written and worth exploring for sure.