OK, so I had this crazy idea and I’m going to try it out on you guys.

I’m going to cobble together a brief Regency-set story using (practically) nothing but the comments to this post, which story I will post next Wednesday unless the whole thing turns out to be an embarrassing fiasco, in which case I will um … do something else unless they kick me out of the Riskies for having dumb ideas and then carrying them out.

By which I mean, you-all will have written the story whilst I do the cobbling and rearranging of your Regency Group Write sentences.

So, a few parameters (watch out! I’m making this up as I write!).

  • The hero’s name is Colin Exeter-Smith, the Duke of Hartley. He is 27, unmarried and looks EXACTLY like Alexander Skarsgard, only possibly he is not a vampire. His close friends and enemies call him Hartless.
  • The heroine’s name is Jessica Darby. She is 24, plays the piano and is a mathematical genius who hates cooked carrots. Her friends call her Darby.
  • The hero’s best friend is William FitzAndrew, 28, the earl of Featherlock.
  • The heroine’s best friend is Sally Elizabeth, 23
  • There is a dog named Fred.
  • The antagonist is Sir Waverly Scott, 30 and he may well be sequel bait.
  • There is a mysterious castle

Choose from the following for your comment. Please limit yourself to 1-2 sentences per response. You can leave more than one comment, or put in the same comment if you want, just make it clear there’s more than one.

  • If you can see a coffee cup from where you’re sitting, write about the weather.
  • Is your hair blond (naturally or otherwise) or do you think you’d be smashing as a blond? Write a sentence in which you use one of these words or phrases: penultimate, Loch Ness, square root of 11, reticule, shark
  • If your name contains the letter E, your setting is a carriage ride
  • If you know someone named “James” write some (unattributed) dialogue (can go beyond 2 sentences, unless they’re long sentences)
  • Look out the window. Can you see the sky? If it’s blue, write about the antagonist, otherwise write about the hero’s best friend
  • If you thought about chocolate at any time today or yesterday, write about the heroine’s best friend.
  • Check the other comments and ad lib with the idea of helping me out or filling in gaps

Go.