The Roundtable Forum

Challenge: My character Richard has multiple traumas from the ambush in Syria that ended his Ranger career and which internally influence him throughout the first A.T.X.D. book. One of those is the fact that he was starting to form a relationship with fellow Ranger Isabelle Kaci Gomez, but she is ki

I am working on deepening the pasts of my characters, in particular my operative protagonists, in A.T.X.D. One of the characters who I might need some help with is Capatain Jordana "Jordan" Ceva-Ankers: a member of Alpha Team and one of Ashley Miller's closest friends. Here's what I have in summar

The following are two dialogue scenes from A.T.X.D. Dreaded Past (Book 3). The hope is to establish better visual writings for the characters. In these two scenes, we have two characters who I think have similar traits and need to have their lines upgraded to sound unique person-to-person. Scene 1

Ice spread across the hinges of Ayu’s bedroom window. As the cold seeped into the metal, it broke under its own newfound brittleness. Death Frost nudged the window open and leaped inside. He leaped inside and laid Ayu on her bed. He gripped her wrist. Her skin was pale but her pulse still stirred be

Ashley then heard a beep in her pocket, pulled out the notification device and flipped on its holographic display. “It’s Reach. He wants all Team Leaders and Second Officers in the Ops Center.” Ashley then paused with a two-second period of silent shock as scanned the following message. “They’ve lo

Off to his right was Russell Campbell’s office, where the Major General himself sat with his back turned to Richard and looking at something in his hands. But Richard was only able to make out this much detail because the glass surrounding Russell’s office had its tinted setting deactivated. Taking

The streets of Tokyo were just as crowded and chaotic as Ayu remembered them. There was so much commotion going on at once it was enough to make anyone’s head spin. Giant screens laid across towering skyscrapers blared stunning and eye-catching advertisements. Music was always playing from somewhere

Lively Eden wasn’t losing here. She still had so much to do! She wanted to live her life to the fullest; there were so many loose ends she needed to wrap up. What the heck was up with Yuuto? What was he talking about? Why did he do that? And more importantly… Juuzou. He shared the same feelings that

I'm jumping ahead a bit so to briefly fill you in on what has happened: Juuzou and Akira now know each other's identities as Death Frost and Storm respectively; Ayu, Sayuri, and Rin also know of each other's identities as Lively Eden, Pacifica, and Arctic respectively; both Juuzou and Ayu have indep

>>>>>>>THE FOLLOWING DAY<<<<<<< >>>>>>>A.T.X.D. DATA CENTER<<<<<<< >>>>>>>9:25 AM<<<<<<< Richard didn’t sleep well the previous night: he couldn’t stop thinking about the operation at Hangar 18. The almost open engagements at Camp Pendleton and Wright-Patterson had been covered up as a series of pr

Upon dividing their squads out, the initial team split and headed off on their respective routes.  As William and Sophia hurried along with their two new comrades, Grizzly turned to Tiger. “Considering the circumstances, and that we are operating in a remote location, I’m allowing you to reveal you

Hello, this is my first time creating a rock band that consists in rock, hip hop, rap, and all of the above, let me show you the list of instruments that will be needed. Vocal/Matt Thompson: Matt Thompson Matt seems to have a strong voice, and can compete against artists from America, Canada, Aus

Context: I am trying to make my characters' dialogue appear different or--in some way--stand out as unique to the reader such that you can better identify them. In military science fiction, such is the case with A.T.X.D., it's very hard to make characters stand out with different voices on the page.

It was customary that the knight posted outside would open both doors to the palace, either for Lady Trianite or her queen. Waterlord Zul welcomed this treatment every time she entered, putting her in a good mood as she called the butler. Hastily, the man brought her pastries, leaning his back wh

Icelord Ryan strolled into the palace with nothing but a fancy robe and a charismatic smirk on his face. With a salutary hand to the butler, nothing stood in his way as he made haste to Queen Zul’s throne room. On the way, he saw a mural of himself painted on the wall, his name engraved in silver

There once was a male in the woods, a one that got stuck with the hoods, they pushed him around and his phone that they found and just took him out for his goods There once was a British queen, a one who was never really mean, though she once really died and londoners cried, and remembered that she

   It was a cage reserved for an animal. A musty smell permeated beneath the palace, as the walls were covered in moss and rotting wood. Mushrooms grew on the floor, a disgusting ecosystem. Rats scurried off as I approached the steel door, the only side of the cell that had even a semblance of a win

Context: Strikeforce Elite is that story from our first in-person meeting with Stuart in the Experimental Theater. It is supposed to be a video game idea, but I am wondering if I should make it a novel first beforehand. The following monologues were done originally for a role-playing game in the Str

[Revised for the umpteenth time most likely.] >>>>>>>A.T.X.D. TRAINING CENTER<<<<<<< >>>>>>>TACTICAL COMBAT OPERATIVE LINE-UP<<<<<<< >>>>>>>DAY 1<<<<<<< >>>>>>>10:25 AM MDT<<<<<<< Richard was just getting into position with a group of recruits when Jack came up and stood next to him. They stood in

Death Frost’s attention snapped to Lively Arctic and Storm. The white Agent of Naturae blasted a flurry of ice and snow at Storm, sending him flying. He screeched as frost spread across his body. The snow mixed with the lingering winds from Eden’s Heaven’s Gale and cloaked the area in a misty blizza

“I’ll do most of the talking,” Juuzou volunteered as they left the classroom and descended down the hallway.  “No, I want to say what I can to Izayoi,” Ayu insisted. “It’s gonna be really hard… And I’ll probably stutter a lot, but… I don’t want to just leave this to you, Juuzou.”  “Are you sure?”

“Bye, Mom! I’m off to school!”  Ayu hesitated as her grip tightened around the door’s knob. Her feet were rooted onto the hardwood. Two days ago, Juuzou confessed to her and they officially became a couple. But right after, Kurosaki Yuuto—her close friend from Tokyo—attacked them and said all those

“Naturae knows all of our identities; it probably shared that information with its Agents. We know Rin and Sayuri; now it’s time to strike at Sahara and Amazon. I developed a plan with Gramps.” Ayu held out her notebook. “We’re going to lure them out by tricking Naturae into thinking there will be a

PROLOGUE THE MESSAGE This is a tale of adventure endless in bounds, of revenge so sweet, and of emotion so cruel. A tale that has gone unheard for more than a millennium, but must be read for the lasses who wish to push the bounds of their minds, for the lads who want to see what lies beyond the la

Hanazoe Juuzou:  Hey  We need to talk  Can you meet me on the roof tomorrow after school?  Ayu's short auburn hair fluttered around her face from the breeze. She shivered; though it was still technically summertime, autumn yet lingered in the air. Her heart paced; she felt every frantic beat as it

>>>>>>>NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA<<<<<<< >>>>>>>11:15 AM EST<<<<<<< For the third time this morning, Sophia carefully but hurriedly pounded up the steps as she carried another cold towel to put over Alexis’ forehead. Since early yesterday morning, Alexis had been complaining of persistently sore and

Excerpt 1 - Opening chapter >>>>>>>THETA BASE - SURFACE PRISON COMPLEX<<<<<<< >>>>>>>SURVEILLANCE CENTER<<<<<<< >>>>>>>12:21 AM<<<<<<< >>>>>>>WARNING: HOSTILE PRESENCE CONFIRMED<<<<<<< With the remaining A.T.X.D. personnel on-site having either evacuated or rendered K.I.A., the scene had been clea

Our ship screeched into the atmosphere as a howling rumble was felt throughout the cabin. I focused my gaze on the cockpit window—endowed with a scorching wave of Titan’s fiery spirit. With the angle of our approach, such intensity would shred vessels of the old ages, though the advancements of t

❋ Niko ❋ —Jaiharan Subcontinent / The Snow Colonies / Prince Street— “Why do these Ercanians hate each other?”  -Earthking Fernando, Jaiharan Liberation War 1919 I grabbed my brother’s body, pulled it over mine, and dragged him to the infirmary that night. He’d been beaten in a mere minute, all

>>>>>>>TWO YEARS AFTER THE COLLAPSE OF SIGA<<<<<<< >>>>>>>BROOKLYN, NEW YORK CITY, NY, USA<<<<<<< >>>>>>>ILLEGAL UNDERGROUND FIGHT CLUB<<<<<<< >>>>>>>11:00 PM EST<<<<<<< One, two….THREE! Captain Jordana “Jordan” Ceva-Ankers’ first two punches struck the muscular, insect-eyed, Stagarante fighter in