I'm a writer, and I'm looking for work! I mostly write for myself and my projects, but I thought I'd open myself up to lending my skills to the community. I'm looking for writing work in visual novels, and I can work either for pay (which we can talk about and negotiate) or trade -- see below on that. I specialize in fantasy writing and am ESPECIALLY skilled in building unique storyworlds from concept to actualization. If you have a vague idea for your storyworld but aren't sure how the mechanics would work (what are the politics? what is your character or the race's origin story?) then I'm the gal you need in your corner. You can see samples of my work here:
Writing
http://kaalibilli.com/2011/09/06/tabithe/
http://kaalibilli.com/2014/07/12/the-lo ... roduction/There was rain today.
I saw it on the way in to the tents as I was ushered in, with people trying to hold umbrellas over my head to keep the moisture out; it wouldn’t do much good. The entire world seemed muggy and hazy this afternoon. Was would not be the correct word, though, because it is still raining, even now. I cannot see it falling, from my position in the backstage area, but I can hear it, and I can still smell it. The smell of sweets and spices from the surrounding marketplaces have been drowned out by that of warm, wet earth and fresh water as it falls from the sky. I can still hear people’s reaction to it as well. Workers are running in and out of the area outside of my door, yelling directions and orders at one another. Grab the line, don’t let the costumes get wet. Move this over a few feet, what in the Goddess’ name are you doing? On and on bark the calls, echoing down the halls to where I am now. Cast and crew alike are left wondering when the rain will let up.
Wondering if the rain will ever let up.
There is supposed to be a show today, but I’m not entirely certain that people will come now that the weather has gotten bad. No one is. For my part, I am safe, dry, and secure in the backstage area. I sit at my vanity, staring into the mirror at the face before me. My usually bronze-colored skin is pale today, so pale that it is almost whiter than the sheets on my bed. Underneath my eyes are dark, heavy circles, black with purplish highlights underneath. That same darkness is found in my cheekbones, making my face appear thin and gaunt. The spot where my nose used to be is now just an empty, hollowed hole.
It’s not my face that I’m staring at in that mirror. It’s that of a spirit of death.
And I smile back into the mirror, proud of my handiwork.
http://kaalibilli.com/2012/09/08/charac ... te-tethys/I scrambled out of my bed, onto my feet. The shaman was necessary to give me an official statement. I couldn’t accept that. All I knew was that I had to get out of this place, now. A wave of dizziness washed over me; I caught my balance on the bedside table, knocking over the cup from earlier as I faltered and fell to the floor.
Outside the bed, the warmth and the smell of the lavender was gone. Outside, everything smelled cold. The room lacked the antiseptic scent of hospitals, but the frigidity remained. I peered into the darkness, trying to figure my surroundings. I could only make out a few things at this distance: there were a three other beds, but all were void of occupants. Their white and silver embroidered sheets were pristinely made, tucked and folded. On the other end of the room there was a sink and some towels were laid out.
I groped about in the darkness, over to the mirror over the sink. I could see I was wearing a white patient’s gown. My undergarments were gone, but thankfully, the back was closed up. I heard the door creak, and I turned toward it, my stomach filling with dread. Sara held the pitcher of water in her hands. I narrowed my eyes at the both of them.
“You are not my shaman.” The shaman for my village was very small. The man with Sara was very tall, broad shouldered. He had a long goatee, parted into two braids, tipped with silver and purple beads. They both turned toward where I stood at the sink.
“Janiya, my name is Lazarus.” I watched the man reach over and slowly turn up the lights a bit. He wore a silver tunic, embroidered in violet. He, too, wore the bass-treble-heart pendant, though his was in a necklace, surrounded by alternating silver and white beads. His voice was deep, and his eyes dark, like his skin.
I shook my head at him slowly. “You are not my shaman. I don’t know you.”
“I am the shaman of the region that currently houses you.”
“I will not accept this news from a stranger. I want my shaman. Where is my shaman?”
“Your shaman gave you to us. I need you to calm down and listen to me.”
“Why would he do that to me?” In contrast to my franticness, Lazarus was cool and collected. He gestured to my bed with his cane.
“Please sit, and we will talk.”
Storyworld Building“You knew how I was before you invited me here.” I keep the tone of my voice level; I see her wince. Just slightly. The truth is never comfortable. “You knew about me the moment I stepped foot in the bar. You’re the one who invited me over.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you asking why?” Her eyes close, and I see her begin to tremble. She shrugs. “Did you think that somehow you were different? That you would change me?”
She doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t move. She sits there, now with her arms wrapped around her waist, hugging herself tight.
Then she nods her head slowly. “I thought I’d be enough…”
I furrow my brows together in confusion. I don’t know what she means by that. It’s not the first time I’ve heard it, either. I’m not sure that there’s any such thing as enough, to me. There’s nothing wrong with any of them. They all seem to think that, though; that the ones before must not have been pretty enough, smart enough, thin enough, stacked enough… Then when they realize that I’m not going to change for them either, then they’re not beautiful enough, that they weren’t sexy enough, or that they didn’t try hard enough.
I run my hand across my hair. “It has nothing to do with you. This is all me. This is just what I do, and you knew that.”
She shakes her head.
“There must have been something –”
“Do me a favor.” Her eyes snap open when I interrupt her, and I have to force myself not to look away. The pain in her eyes is searing. She starts to sniffle now, scrunching her nightgown in her fingers as she hugs herself harder. “Hate me.” She starts to open her mouth to protest, but I rush on, not giving her room to speak. “Find someone else, some stable guy with a house and savings and a future… Make him fall in love with you. With the way you put x’s instead of dots over your I’s, your dimples when you smile, the way your nails are always perfectly trimmed.” I can see the beginnings of a smile, one that crosses her lips but doesn’t reach her eyes. “Lose yourself in him, marry him and think about how much better off you are without me. You deserve at least that.”
I cross the short yet incredibly long gap between us, and all motion in her body — the squeezing, the fidgeting, all of it — it all stops. I get down on my knees before her, looking at those soft brown eyes that, with a slight sliver of hope starting to return, plead for me not to leave. I reach forward to cup her face in my hands, and I tip her head downward to kiss her forehead. Just after that, I lean around, kissing her lightly behind her ear.
“Goodbye, Isabella. Have a beautiful life.”
http://kaalibilli.com/storyworlds/chance/races-of-dusk/
Character Bios, Lore Development, etc.
If I need to develop your concepts or ideas of characters into workable narrative players (building up the skeleton of your story from just an idea), I do charge differently/separately for that than I would just writing out your prose for you. I do this because it keeps the pricing fair and even. You can see some of my character bios here: http://kaalibilli.com/storyworlds/chance/characters/
Those are just surface bios for release; each of the characters has a history, demeanor, motivations, etc. It's a different phase of story writing/development.
I'll post a prototype of my own project here later, so that you can see how my visual novel flow works. I'm also skilled with working things into Python script, so there's that.
I'm primarily looking for paid gigs. In some rare cases, I'm open to trade; some of my projects need background art or sprites. They're slated to be commercial projects. We can discuss on that end, if you're so inclined.
I'm willing to try to work with people depending on what the budgets are for their projects, and how interested I am in them. If you're interested in using my services, inbox me!
Best,
Taryn
