this is a collection of unpolished, imperfect, messy snippets either from writing exercises or unfinished stories. I’m putting these here to document my progress as a writer, and to remind myself that writing is writing is writing — even if its not perfect.

currently working on my first interactive fiction.

Christina Ji Christina Ji

the tide

“The memory begins with death. A howling. The sound of metal against stone. The sort of bright darkness that happens when the mind can dream of the color white while the eyes are still closed.”

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writing sprint Christina Ji writing sprint Christina Ji

dialogue

“Before I can speak, the grinding sound of metal against stone spills through the clearing. There’s a dark clarity to it. Not the clean pierce of a knife being sharpened, nor the spark of swords coming to blows. Instead, it’s the cry of something being dragged. Ringing with finality, it's the sound of reapers drawing out scythes, the sound of felled gods and kingdoms. “

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writing sprint Christina Ji writing sprint Christina Ji

the isle

“The isle always trembles before a new arrival. It’s a sort of warning, the rumble beneath feet, vibrating up spines like a shockwave. The gods’ way of telling them that whoever arrives on the island has the power to move it, move them.”

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flax-golden tales Christina Ji flax-golden tales Christina Ji

fire

“Don’t burn,’ he whispers, voice barely lifting over the howling wind, his hot breath fanning down my exposed throat like a flame, there and gone.”

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wow! if you made it to the bottom of this, here’s my most unpolished but longest work (~53K words!): The Hall of Masks. This is a “zero draft” I wrote in 2019 - it is very, very unpolished and mostly word vomit, but it was my first time sticking with a full-length story until the end of the writing process. If I can do it once, I can do it again!