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David Michael

Welcome, all wanderers, to my shelf. (lest ye be a minion of Satan or a large talking stalk of asparagus, that is)  Have yourself a comfortable seat and please, don't leave too soon!

My vital stats: I am a Christian, and my literary mentors are J.R.R. Tolkien (naturally), C.S. Lewis (supernaturally), and the fantastic-but-woefully-obscure Rosemary Sutcliff (she's just super).  I also won't deny my debt to Brian Jacques' Redwall series.

My posted works are categorized as such:

Vignettes or scenes give you a sense of some characters and plotlines that continue beyond.  May or may not be continued:

A Not-So Soft Moonlit Night

Extract from the Memoirs of Jesse Berlin

Lord of the Desert Storm

Queen of the Desert Lord (sequel to LotDS)

Complete short stories:

The Twilight's Warden

The Young Foxes

Sea Far and Wide

Berries in the Snow

One Day

Coyote, the Stars, and the Moon

Poems:

"An Unwise Bargain"

"Beyond the Seas"

"The Fay at Brightwater Cascades"

Non-genre:

Place of Honor

Road Play

Comments are the donuts in my coffee, the sprinkles on my cupcake, the pomodoro-alfredo sauce on my fettucine-- in short, they are what make me happy about Elfwood.  Each comment will get a reply, unless I've already replied to you elsewhere and have nothing more to say.  I also promise to at least visit your main page, and will certainly leave comments of my own if I get around to reading your stuff.

I strive to entertain, but have lately wondered if such a purpose must be mingled with something greater if it deserves any lifelong attention.  The purpose of writing is not necessarily to write what no one has ever read before, but to present any given story in a way that deepens our knowledge and appreciation of "Life, the Universe, and Everything" (to borrow a convenient phrase from Douglas Adams) - including, of course, the mysteries of human nature, imagination, and the soul.   In other words, it is to shed light on something that was dark.  To merely be provocative without building others up in some way seems to me utterly pointless and ultimately destructive.  I write what I want to read, and I hope to make myself an instrument through which God may work His own creativity.

Lastly, editing.  I'm quite happy to read people's stories and offer detailed comments. However, it's quite exhausting when the story is filled with many blatant grammatical and spelling errors, as I always feel compelled to change each and every one of them. There are probably more otherwise-good stories on Elfwood ruined by poor presentation like this than not.  So, if you are unsure if your story is written clearly and cleanly, grammar-wise, then PLEASE review the short, mighty book at this link: http://www.bartleby.com/141/.  It will save your literary life, I guarantee it.  At least as far as the clarity and power of your writing goes.  Okay?  Okay!

"Fairy-stories were plainly not primarily concerned with possibility, but with desirability. If they awakened desire, satisfying it while often whetting it unbearably, they succeeded."

- J.R.R. Tolkien's essay "On Fairy Stories."

"As through the hard rock go the branching silver veins; as into the solid land run the creeks and gulfs from the unresting sea; as the lights and influences of the upper worlds sink silently through the earth's atmosphere; so doth Faerie invade the world of men..."

- George MacDonald, Phantastes

And please let me introduce you to a new fantasy saga, The Birth of Terralax, authored by my good friend Blake Anderson.  You can learn about his first tome, The Dragonheroes, here.

Again, also, I now blog very frequently, reviewing books, movies, TV shows, short stories, and webcomics about fantasy and science fiction, and reflecting on the Joy and Meaning of storytelling. Please visit, it's pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

Thank you, and please enjoy your stay.

{bows elegantly}

Exeunt.

Guestbook for Starwind

Date Name Comment   20 Jun 2010 A. Setliffe Loading... Prayers are much appreciated. The cleanup is still going on, but life has largely returned to normal for most people. The sense of community solidarity hasn’t faded. How are you? David Michael replies: "Trying to make myself useful, that’s what I’m up to. A few weeks ago I officially graduated with my Bachelors in History and double minor in Classical Studies and Medieval/Renaissance Studies -- and now I’m "in the job market," as it were. That, and trying to discipline myself to keep better contact with all my internet friends, now that I’ve no excuse not to, and Bible-studying more regularly, and praying more fully, and writing...yeah, I gotta get on that. Also, reading for pleasure. I’m working through Bunyan’s "Pilgrim’s Progress" right now, for an old classic, but recently I bought 2 novels on vague recommendations from reliable friends, and hope to try them out soon. "Airman" by Eoin Colfer and "Tigana" by Guy Gavriel Kay. Know anything about them?" 25 Oct 2010 Rory braconnier Loading... hii i need some help and you seem like you knwo this place i am writing a book. and my friends directed me here to post some of it to see if it is any good. But i cant find where to post it. I went ot the stoire section but it just told me stuff about other people stuff. so i need your help if you would be so kind to give it thanks David Michael replies: "Hi Rory, welcome to Elfwood. When you registered, you probably were offered to a choice to join the SciFi & Fantasy Art section of the site, or the Wyverns Library (where stories/poems are posted). Once you’ve made sure you are a member of Wyverns, then go to the drop down menu for "My Account" and you will see two options, one that says "Upload..." and another that says "Uploading Quick Guide." Click the second option if you’re a newcomer, and that should tell you the basics. It should be pretty straightforward. If it isn’t clear to you, then read through the site Rules. Most everything is answered there. If you still have a problem, check the forums. If you can’t find the info you need there, then go to the "About" dropdown menu, click "Contact Us," and send your question to the moderators. Make sure your story is fantasy, science fiction, or some kind of supernatural horror, because that’s what Elfwood publishes. Post chapter by chapter, but make sure each entry isn’t too long, or people will be less likely to read it. And most importantly, if you want people to give you good comments, then you MUST read their stories and give them good comments! That’s what makes Elfwood tick. There really is a great writing community here, as long as you participate. Good luck and God bless! P.S. Be absolutely sure you use good grammar, spelling, and formatting in your posted stories, otherwise people REALLY won’t want to read them!" 26 Oct 2010 Rory braconnier Loading... thank thank you so much. im pre sure my would be fantasy lol. and i have word for my grammer i just well im not good on certan thing like there thier and the other one too two and to that type of thing. i usally only use one of them i suck at english oh and i read on of your stories. loved it. wish i could write like that. The lord of the desert. Such a wonderful storie. BTW! i got mine up. Thanks so much for helping me and getting my stoire up and on elfwood for this great community to see it . Hopfully it does good by your guys views thanks again David Michael replies: "Well, just do your best with the grammar and punctuation. A really helpful and easy-to-use resource is this one: http://www.bartleby.com/141/. I recommend you check it out; it’s an invaluable resource for me, and I recommend it to writers of all skill levels. Really, the most important part of writing effectively is writing clearly. Anyway, give me a heads up when your story is published. And I’m glad you enjoyed the two stories, those are some of my best. If you want, feel free to browse my Favorited people to find other writers to comment on -- some of them might even come back and read your material when it’s up!" 27 Oct 2010 Rory braconnier Loading... heyy wanted to ask one more thing, how long does it take them to publish the writings??? jw David Michael replies: "Depends. I haven’t published in about a year or so, and back then I was a patron so it only took a couple days for my ticket to go through. Normally, though, you should expect longer. I’m not sure what the average is now -- 2 or 3 years ago it was horribly long, like one or two months! They changed how it’s done, so now it might be more like a week or two. I know, it’s long, but it’s because every entry has to be read and approved by a moderator." 28 Oct 2010 Rory braconnier Loading... oh okayy..well when it gets pub ill post you the link David Michael replies: "Very well, then." 2 Nov 2010 Rory braconnier Loading... heyy bud!!! both chapter 1-2 got published today so here is the link! http://www.elfwood.com/~rizzet/The-Legend-Of-Shadow-Chapter-1- - - .3572662.html David Michael replies: "Thanks for letting me know. And I hope you don’t mind me asking, but is English not your first language? You mentioned before that you’re not good at it. Also, I scanned the first chapter quickly, and you seem to have some trouble with proper tenses for words. I’d just like to know, is all. But even if the language is tough for you, it’ll really pay to put a lot of work into getting the punctuation and tenses right. It’ll make it easier for others to help critique your work. Anyway, I probably won’t read your whole story today, but I’ll try to get to it soon." 15 Nov 2010 A. Setliffe Loading... He does work in mysterious ways, and often not at our comfort level. ...and I love him for it. ^_^ *surreptitiously feeds David’s muse* I kinda wish I’d signed up for NaNoWriMo, but it’s kinda late now unless I wanted to just follow the basic rules on my own schedule. I figured out how to remove all the distractions from the Word screen when I write. Just my test-typing started to yield a kind of intriguingly-wacky story. Haven’t had a chance to pursue it though. Spent this last week ramping up the job-search to "apply everywhere in sight" levels and landed a cashier job at Borders bookstore. So that’s good! And they let employees borrow books too, the shiny new ones! Compensation for being paid minimum wage. ’-) *chuckles* that sounds like fun! Fringe is kind of like X-Files (which I enjoyed) only not quite. I love it for the character interactions... the acting is very good, in my opinion. The plots are fine, but it’s the characters I most enjoy. Walter, a literal mad-scientist, is fantastic. People can be funny about their Doctors. David Michael replies: "Oo oo, did you know what just got released? "Serenity: The Shepherd’s Tale" graphic novel! Book’s backstory! Haven’t got my hands on it yet, but anything more Serenity is generally a good thing. Of course it’ll be way too short, but still. And, I have a new book review blog. http://twilightswarden.wordpress.com/" 30 Nov 2010 Nataly Pag Loading... hey I´ve just posted at the forum at sci fi books-author... my topic is can you choose the BEST Sci Fi author/film/novel? please leave your comment there (at the forum) greetings from your mexican friend 30 Nov 2010 Nataly Pag Loading... hey I´ve just posted at the forum at sci fi books-author... my topic is can you choose the BEST Sci Fi author/film/novel? please leave your comment there (at the forum) greetings from your mexican friend by the way you seem to be an interesting person hope we can keep in touch David Michael replies: "Hey, you posted twice on my page... Cool, I’m glad you visited the forum. More folks should use it, there are some really good discussions that have happened there before. As for picking the best sci-fi author, book, or film, that’s simply impossible since there are so many different kinds of sci-fi, and books and films are completely different media. Also, I’m not very well-read in sci-fi -- most I could do is pick a current favorite. I’m better with fantasy. Best way to keep in touch with me is read and comment on my posted stories, or maybe to post on a forum thread that I’m interested in and can write back on. But mainly comments on my page. ’-) If you comment on my stories, I will comment on your stories/art." 25 Dec 2010 Lindsay Verde Loading... Merry Christmas David and happy holidays! David Michael replies: "Thanks, Lindsay! A belated Merry Christmas and an early Happy New Year to you!" Page: [1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

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David Michael