A bit of fun, on an otherwise ordinary morning~

This morning's sword play took an interesting turn. I begin each day with a bit of sword play, either on the back deck (seen by only one neighbor), or in the front of the house (seen by six neighbors). Assuming that most would be sleeping so early in the morning, I opted for the more spacious and challengingly uneven front yard.

I had finished warming up, and begun to battle my imaginary - though I see him very clearly - troll opponent. Today he was armed with a short sword, while I was armed with the sword of the joined houses (known to real life folks as Marto of Spain's Dragon Ninja). Sparring was going well, blood seeped from a wound on the troll's thigh, and I was as yet unscathed.

As I swung the sword around for a vicious back-hand slice at the troll's wide open chest, a deep voice called out, "How do you do that?"

Lowering my blade and bowing to my invisible opponent, I turned to address my laughing neighbor. "Do what, Ken?"

"Well, you really look like you are fighting with someone else, but there's no one there." Ken stated, with a chuckle. "And I just wondered what you were seeing when you were practicing."

"Ahhhh," I responded, noticing the children on the porch behind him, "this morning 'tis a troll. Terribly ugly brute, but a great sparring partner because he has such a long reach. Keeps me on my toes." I winked.

Down the steps from my neighbor's house came the grandchildren. Gullible ten and eleven year olds, with sleepy eyes.

"Can I hold your dagger?" asked the taller, pointing to the sheath at my waist.

"Indeed you may." I answered. (not bothering to say - not bothering to remark on the grammar rule of CAN vs MAY, like my mother always did). "As long as it is okay with your granddad."

My neighbor grinned widely and nodded that it was okay. The light on the dagger blade sparkled, gaining immediate approval from the granddaughter. "I like the handle." (Said 'handle' is a dragon embraced by a serpent.)

"With swords and daggers, we call that end the hilt."

She nodded. An early lesson on weaponry learned. "Do your really see trolls?" she asked, looking up at me with wide brown eyes.

"Aye, I do," I admitted. "They are large and quite frightening, which is why I keep them in my stories. That way they cannot get loose to terrorize the neighborhood."

"I have an imaginary friend." Her younger brother said, looking at me, waiting for my disbelief.

"Human or not?" I asked, and received a wide grin for my unwavering belief.

"Nope, he is a badger."

"They make great friends, badgers do. They are tough in a fight and very loyal." I replied, reclaiming my dagger from Granddaughter. "Now you must excuse me, for my opponent grows impatient."

My neighbor gathered his grandchildren, waved and returned to his porch. They watched until the final disembowelment...the troll's, not mine.

Even if I tell you, you'll still have no idea how awesome that sounds to me. Being surrounded by Noa and Lloyde as I write! HAH!! WOW!!

*continues ranting*

But seriously, it's great to have another accomplished writer join our ranks. Many of us, including myself, have a long ways to go, so a place like TWL (which seems to be getting better every day) is a both convenient and effective way for us to learn from more experienced writers. Welcome again!

iloveflash

Character portraits are great inspiration. On days I'd rather be wandering the woods, or my muse is out dancing in the moonlight, it is the eyes of those characters glaring from the walls that gets me started.

I'm not sure how accomplished I am, but I am havin' fun with it.

Welcome to the union Jayel. :)

I believe Zeta_Thompson is substantially older (and wiser! :P) than others on the union, so you aren't the first!

Foolz3h

Thanks for the welcome! Whew! Glad to know I'm not the first 'oldling' among you. I think I know of Zeta. At least of her, there is a reviewer on Amazon.com named Zeta Thompson - the same person perhaps?

Life has brought me loads of experience, not sure about wisdom. :roll: I'm still working on the wisdom, though I am wise enough not to touch a hot stove.

Thanks for the welcome. I've always enjoyed hanging out at GameSpot, and to discover an active union where writers are hanging out is a real bonus. So many unions have simply become ghosts.

I'll pass on your avatar compliment to the artist. His name is Mates Laurentiu, his website is AvatarArt. The full artwork is HERE. I commission Mates to create book character portraits for me. I like being surrounded by the characters as I write. My office walls are covered in Mates creations at the moment.

I teach writing for publication at Southwestern Oregon Community College, so if you think I can be of help to any of you just let know. If I don't know the answer, I probably know someone who does.

I'm Jayel. I'm just another writer and gamer, very much like the rest of you with one exception *grin* - I am old. I mean - grandmother old. I began gaming when D & D was still a paper and pencil game, and I've been writing since the stoneage.

I believe that writing chooses the writer, rather than the other way around. For me, there was never any deliberate decision to be a writer. I have always been a writer, keeping journals, writing short bits for friends' role play character profiles, and stories for game websites. My first novel began as a short introductory story for a friend's website. About 90 pages in, I realized it was a 'book' - and Dragon Queen was born. It would be impossible for me not to write, even if no one ever read my work. It's as much a part of me as breathing. When the muse cracks the whip, I write, sometimes 6 to 10 hours a day. Video games provide my brain breaks.

In addition to fantasy novels, I write a lot of articles about games and gaming, women in gaming, and the use of gaming in education.