Boot Camp Week 1

Words: Zealous, Abstinent, Beleaguer, Candor, Daunt, Eclectic, Fastidious, Gargantuan

I was sort of disappointed that none of the words thus far are unfamiliar to me - ah well.

Been enjoying this boot camp session, though it isn't very intensive: I complete it quickly each day. The other thing that differs from previous exercises is context. In previous boot camps, setting, character and plot have been at least implied and often outlined. In this one, I've stayed fairly generic. I've avoided names and numbers. Most of these descriptions could be plugged into a number of stories, with the exception that references to modern elements aren't going to work in a medieval-style fantasy, and some of the place descs have a vaguely Victorian feel.

Here are the best of each - person and place - from this week. This is best description, not necessarily best use of word ...

(Daunt)
She was wiry, sparse, a collection of attenuated muscles strung taut over thin bone. One part warrior, one part scarecrow, daubed in the colors of decay: leaf-mold brown hair, turned-earth skin, pallid grey eyes. Most of the time, she kept her head down and her voice soft - but the grave-chill she could summon when roused would daunt even the fiercest of challengers.

(Gargantuan)
The ground cover grew more sparse deeper into the forest, shrubs and smaller trees fading away as their cunning neighbors sucked away the descending light. Those who had dwelt here were old enough to have a history surpassing that of nations. Gargantuan trunks swelled upwards like the roots of mountains, their peaks hidden in a fog of green. Leaf-fall crackled underfoot, the whisper of ancient voices. Pebbles kicked from emperors' feet lay as scattered gravel beneath.