Ashards

I love to play a board game called Clue. You know, Mr. Green, Mrs. White, Scarlettte? Imagine reading the game in a much more complex scenario. And imagine that instead of watching a bunch of people playing it, you influence and try to help others figure out who, what and where is in the envelope.

A Maze

In elementary school, I drew mazes. I actively made mazes from grade 3 to secondary 5. A maze makes discovery so rewarding but can also be deceptive once you know the path. Blending these 2 to make a story feel alive and good is what drove me in Ashards’ world. I just did not get the push to pursue this visual maze into a story.

The Trigger

Britney Spears published a song a long time ago titled “If U Seek Amy”. The entire video clip shows Amy in some kind of brothel. As the clip moves on, you get to know that it’s her home. And as she wakes up and goes about her day, she changes from that sexy attire to really conservative clothes, gets out of her home with her husband and children as if she has one of the most perfect lives of her town. The song continuously provokes the question of what is she, does she have a party, anything and everyone are begging to be with Amy. This is what triggered me to stop talking to myself alone with my story in my head during shower time and write it once and for all.

Ambiance

Ashards is a voyeurism type of mystery-thriller and YOU, as the reader, are part of this voyeur community. This woman, ordinary, with no story seems to beg for attention. And people who get invited all have special reactions which makes you want to know why? But is it the entire plot of the story? What starts as a simple obsession slowly turns into a dark and gruesome experience. A town’s obsession will become their own demise and for what? Knowing the exact height of Ashards or which clothes she wears on what day? The first few chapters of Ashards start softly for you to settle in your new city. Get to know her and the town you live in. But knowledge might become your enemy’s ally. But is she really an enemy? Basically, the question is and always will be: Who is Ashards?

Pacing and the Nano Chapters

We live in a world fast paced by our work, daily life routines and waiting rooms. Ashards is written in what I call, Nano Chapters. These chapters are very small, hence the term “Nano”. They are meant for you to read on the fly while riding the bus or waiting for an answer on the phone and actually finish the chapter in that time. It’s meant to be quick but effective. I challenged myself in a specific constraint of text space. This means that every chapter has to have precise details, important to the plot and not prolong anything for nothing.

Expect the chapters to be very short as they are intended that way. It’s not an incomplete story or lack of information. It is meant to make every word count and have a purpose, may it be emotional, physical or a detail that will reveal to be critical in the end game.

So in short, Nano Chapters are: Ultra short (200-600 words) high density episodic fragments that tell a story using subtle clues, emotional impact or concentrated information where each sentence serves a deliberate purpose in advancing the plot with minimal to no filler.

If I would classify Ashards in a story mold, I’d say it is a Nano Serialized Fiction. I know the term does not exist, but it encapsulates the Nano Chapters, the fact that they are meant to tell 1 original story all together.

Is the story completed?

The answer is yes. I am intentionally releasing 1 chapter at a time on specific days. All nano chapters are written, all I need to do is hit the “Submit Chapter” button when I am ready to release. There are 53 Nano Chapters in total.

Do you publish this story somewhere else?

I do, on reddit (r/stories), on my personal facebook page as a public post, WattPad and here on InkItt. Nano Chapter 1 is available at these addresses and you can then use those to access the other chapters on those platforms by clicking on my account/username of these platforms:

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/stories/comments/1r24igg/ashards_nano_chapter_1/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BrTQoSPSL/

Ashards channel on my Discord server: https://discord.com/invite/CEknu5fcPJ