The Ideas Genie Community Forum
What we do when we are not gardening => Creative Writing => Topic started by: NightHawk on August 21, 2012, 08:24:42 AM
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A novel - that's exciting!. Is this your first book?
My first one George.
I'm still in the early stages of coming up with a good storyline. It will be a work of fiction, possibly containing paranormal, drama and romance, as these are popular genres with a lot of readers.
One idea is using the New Forest as a starting point, which already has a connection with real-life witches, so this could be a basis of fact to work on for additional research. Getting started on a novel is more difficult than you realise, as my initial research has revealed. You need to have strong characters, some good and some not so good, so you can introduce conflicts into the plot; interesting locations and good dialogue between your characters.
I only need to write between 50,000 to 110,000 words, with most print publishers preferring a word count of around 70,000 for the first novel. No mean task, and not something you can finish overnight :D
I've barely scratched the surface of what's really involved in constructing a novel (it could take a topic on its own), so these are just a few of the things to take into consideration.
I don't want to give too much away about my novel at this stage, but one thing I will say is that I will be writing it under a pseudonym ;) There are several reasons for doing this. For example, research has shown that female readers are more comfortable with a female author when it involves romantic novels. If you're writing a thriller or action novel, the gender is not so critical. Kathy knows of several authors who have different pseudonyms depending on what genre novel they have written.
My pseudonym will be a closely guarded secret ;)
I've got my novel-writing software in place - WriteItNow (http://www.ravensheadservices.com/?Version=4.0.7f), which keeps all your information properly organised in one place. You can then concentrate on your novel hassle-free :)
So, on these days of extreme temperatures or cold winter nights when gardening is not possible, you'll know what I'll be doing.
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Best of luck. I gave up trying to get my stuff published. they did not even read it before sending it back.
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I'm prepared for that Eric. In fact, the advice that most creative writing web sites give is not to get disheartened with manuscript rejections.
With perseverence, you may eventually find the right publisher.
If you have an Editor, then they can sometimes minimise your rejections by suggesting ways to slightly rewrite your manuscript to be more appealing.
I suppose that's all part of the fun of writing. Every writer would love to be successful and get published, but many don't.
Anyway, I'm a long way off that stage at the moment so I'm staying positive :D
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Well I hope you don't get stuck, like what I am. I have had a story going round my head for ages, so I thought I had better get it written. I have managed the beginning and I know the ending and the way it gets there, but can I write it to my satisfaction? Can I heck.
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Well Eric, this is the place to tell us about it.
Maybe you'll get some inspiration from other people's ideas to kick-start your thoughts, or maybe something will just come to you by talking about it.
Best way is to start a new topic here for your 'book' and see what happens ;)
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I have to say that the thought of sitting down and trying to write something without already having he story in my head, quite strange. I have tried that before and finished up playing Patience on the computer with not a solitary word written. I suppose it depends on the way ones mind works. I need something to get me started, a title or a first line would do. The last lot of stories I wrote came from a challenge on another site. The owner put up 6 Story titles and asked members to chose one and write a short story from it. I wrote 5
When I was teaching I used to write a story for each class to show them how to construct a tale. The beginning for them was a single sentence. For example "The cat sat on the mat" A cliché I know, but if you apply the right questions to it, a story can emerge "Who, when, why, where, how what? " and so on.
I always used to feel sorry for the pupils when they were faced with an empty page and told "Write a story" At least the provision of a line gives a starting point.
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Laurie and Eric, I am impressed! I haven't a book in me waiting to get out, I am sorry to say. Good luck with your creative writing. I was reading somewhere that you can self publish on Kindle. Perhaps it is worth exploring when you get to that stage.
I am the missing generation; my father had a tome published and my eldest son has published a couple. Anthea wrote a book which never got published but it can be read on a website.
The main thing is to enjoy it and don't worry how long it takes. My father took 10 years after he retired writing his book but it did involve a lot of research.
All the best
Eric
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Hi Laurie,
I just came across this website: -
https://www.lulu.com/s1/paperbackuk_b/r/site?mid=~sem_ggl_lulu_brand_uk&s_kwcid=TC
I don't know whether it is of any interest. I thought of you when I found it. There some reviews here http://www.ciao.co.uk/lulu_com__Review_5713997
Good luck with your writing.
Eric
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Thanks for that link Eric - I've bookmarked it for future reference.
You're correct in suggesting self-publication as an option to consider, especially as electronic book-readers are common place nowadays.
Both Kathy and I have a Kindle each, but other makes are also available.
Even J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter writing fame has now published her novels onto e-books. She very cleverly got two bites of the cherry, starting with paperback publishing then going into e-books. However, at first she was adamant that her books would not appear in e-book format, but I think she soon realised the huge market out there.
Anyway, thanks for reviving this topic Eric by showing your interest.
I don't have anything else to add to it just yet - I'm still in research mode ;)
Laurie.
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Out of interest, did you ever finish your novel, Laurie?
I have managed to write the story I was stuck on when this thread began. And a few more. I am in the middle of a new one now and trying to type out a 40 year old one which I found hidden away.
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And if you are not good little children I will post them all on here!
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Not yet finished Eric - in fact, not yet started ::) At least not on paper, but plot and characters still rolling around in my head.
Other things seem to have taken priority over my spare time, but I'll get down to it at some point
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I couldn't do that. Once the story is in my head I have to write it down so I can get rid of it.
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That's a good tactic to adopt Eric 8)
If I can use a great author's strategy here - when J. K. Rowling was writing her Harry Potter novels, she would write all her thoughts down on whatever writing surface was available to her at the time. If she was out and about somewhere, e.g. restaurants, shops, she would use such items as napkins, paper coasters, cartons, etc., etc., to note ideas as they came to her.
The novel writing software I have, allows you to put all your relevant information into one place. Characters names and traits, plotlines/sub-plotlines, research of any locations or events you wish to include, timeline or and any other thoughts that come to you.
I just having got myself into that frame of mind yet where I'm getting serious enough to compile my thoughts into a working scenario.
And if you are not good little children I will post them all on here!
If you're serious about your written work Eric, and you're thinking about getting it 'published', then I would not post it online just yet. Get any copyright agreements in place first. Obviously, if you're not that serious about that aspect of your writing then by all means give us a treat and share some snippets with us ;)
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Actually all my stories have been put on line a long time ago. And with a copyright claim on them. Also have them all in the form of a paperback book (books actually) done by my son as a present for me, that too is dated etc.
Have sent things off for publishing before but no interest shown. Not that bothered to be honest.
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Doth thou wanteth to read a story or two?
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Yeth ;D of course Eric :)
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Will do, now I have put my teeth in!
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I wrote a lot of stories for my classes to help them see how to construct one. This is one of them.
The Kingdom without a Dragon
Chapter One
A Small Country
Somewhere along The Great South Road lay the Kingdom of Minisculia. If you had closed your eyes for a short nap whilst being driven along that particular stretch of the road, you may well have missed seeing the Kingdom at all.
It was not a very large country. It was just a narrow strip of land on either side of a wide river. The west end of the country was in the mountains where the river had its source. The eastern end was where the river widened out and ran into the sea.
Even if you kept your eyes open you would not have seen much. Minisculia was boring as well as thin. The river was just an ordinary bit of water, not very wide and only just too deep to be forded. It had no rapids or waterfalls. It did not flood and cover the plains with rich silt like some other rivers do. The bridge which carried The Great South Road over the river, was much the same as many other bridges. The boats which sailed on the water were very much like boats anywhere.
There had never been any important battles nor had there been any major disasters. The country had produced no great heroes or heroines. Not one of its kings or queens had achieved international fame. The people were much like people anywhere, most good, some of them bad. None of the good were so good they became saints and none of the bad were so wicked as to be spoken of in hushed tones.
The land was not very rich nor was it very poor. It was a pleasant place to live, if incredibly dull. The people who lived there liked it that way. The rest of the world left them alone to get on with their lives in peace. If the truth was to be told, the country only existed because it stopped its neighbours going to war with each other.
The present King and Queen were not as happy to be ignored as were their subjects. They did not want to go to war and conquer the world or anything like that. They just wanted to be remembered when invitations were sent out for Weddings, Christenings, Balls and such like things.
Queen Roberta felt most strongly about it. There was always something going on in the other countries. She read about them in the newspapers and got very upset. She would dearly have liked to have been invited to some of the Weddings. People did not mean to ignore them. They just somehow seemed to forget Minisculia existed.
Eventually King Simon could take no more of his wife's complaints. He decided that something had to be done. The fact that he made this decision after he had yet again not been invited to the Annual Kings Hunt had nothing to do with it.
King Simon sent for the Butler. Mr. Lawrence. He was also the Prime Minister and every other government official too. So little went on in the country it saved a lot of money by having one person do all these jobs. Mr. Lawrence was a clever man and usually had some good ideas.
"We really must do something to put the Kingdom on the map," said the King. "We have had enough of being ignored by everybody."
"But, Sire, we are on the map," replied the Butler.
An Atlas was sent for. The three looked through it. Sure enough, Minisculia was on the map. You could see it quite clearly, with a large magnifying glass.
"You see, your Majesties, we are on the map,” said the Butler.
"That is not quite what I meant," snapped King Simon. "We need something to make people look closely enough at the map to find us."
"And quickly!" snapped Queen Roberta. "There is a Wedding in Fortunia in three months time and I would like to be invited."
"I will do my best, your Majesties," promised the Butler.
The very next day he presented his ideas to the Royal couple.
"There is only one main road though our country. We could put up a road block and charge everybody to cross the River" That was his first idea.
King Simon shook his head. "That would probably upset people you know and we are trying to be friendly with them."
"In that case, we could build a Tavern by the bridge and encourage travelers to stop and eat. If the food was good enough then people would talk about it and the fame of our country would spread." That was the Butler's next suggestion.
Queen Roberta shook her head. "If might well work, but surely that would take a long time, building an Inn and so on."
"The Queen is right, you know. We need something which will give instant results. Though the Tavern is a good idea. We should have built one years ago." King Simon said.
The Butler was not finished. "Perhaps we could organise a Grand Fireworks display on barges in the river."
"Tried that, " sniffed the King. "We sent out hundreds of invitations, but only those who live in Minisculia turned up."
"Flower show?" the Butler persevered.
"Same problem," replied the Queen. "Besides these things cost money and we need something cheap. Anyway we do not want people to come here. We want them to invite us there!"
"That really does make it much harder, "said the Butler.
"What we need is something which will get into all the newspapers in all these other countries," mused King Simon. "Something that will make them sit up and take notice."
The Butler walked around the room with his hands clasped behind his back. He found thinking easier that way. The sad monarchs sat and watched him.
Suddenly he clicked his fingers." Got it!" he shouted. "What we need is a Dragon."
"I beg your pardon," said the startled King. "A Dragon! There is precious little of the country as it is without half of it being burnt up by a nasty fire-breathing Dragon."
"That is not quite what I had in mind, "smiled the Butler.”What I was thinking of was a tame Dragon."
The monarchs looked puzzled.
"Please, Your Majesties, "Leave it with me. I will organise everything. And I promise you there will be no damage to the kingdom," said the Butler
Reluctantly King Simon agreed to let the Butler do what he wanted. "Just remember that it should not cost too much as we will need to buy clothes and things, if your idea works that is."
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Book at bedtime, Chapter 1 read Eric. You've painted a vivid picture in that opening. I'm looking forward to the next issue :)
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Just how a good serial should work, Eric, I am now all in suspense longing to learn more about the dragon ;D
Eric H.
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Chapter Two
The Dragon
The following week the Butler told the royal couple that a Dragon would be arriving for an interview at 11 o’ clock on Tuesday. The rather nervous pair waited in the Throne room for the Dragon to arrive. The Butler would not answer any of their questions about the Dragon. He merely smiled and recommended them to wait and see.
The throne room doors were thrown open and the Butler announced in his best butler’s voice. "Your Majesties, the Dragon."
It is perhaps a good thing that Kings and Queens are trained to keep their faces straight, otherwise they may well have laughed at what they saw and upset the creature which crept in through the door. It was the smallest Dragon you have ever seen, assuming of course that you have ever seen a Dragon. It was not green and purple like pictures often show dragons to be, nor did it reek of fire and sulphur. Indeed, it was a rather delicate shade of pink and smelled of soap.
"Oh," cried the Queen, who if the truth be told, had been dreading this meeting. "Isn’t he sweet?"
King Simon whispered to the Butler. "Is this the right Dragon?"
"The only one we could afford, Your Majesty," replied the Butler.
"Well, in that case I suppose we had better get on with the interview then." King Simon turned to the Dragon. "Do you have any references?
The Dragon blushed a deeper shade of pink and took out a letter from a little satchel which hung round its neck. The Butler took the letter and passed it to King Simon. It was from Dame Little's School for Orphan Dragons. It said that Dragon number 731 was polite, hard working, house trained, very willing, but rather shy.
"Ah, I see." King Simon was not really sure what to ask. "Er....tell me Dragon.....Look here I cannot keep on calling you Dragon, have you got a name?"
A small purple tear ran down the dragon’s cheek and dripped on to the carpet as it shook its head.
"Oh, the poor little thing." Queen Roberta knelt down and wiped the Dragon’s eyes with her own handkerchief.
King Simon struggled on with the interview. "So, what do you eat?"
"Cucumber sandwiches and plums," whispered the Dragon, blushing again.
"That is a relief," King Simon whispered to the Butler. "At least he does not eat princesses or anything messy like that."
He turned back to the Dragon. "Do you breathe fire?"
The Dragon shoook its head and puffed out its cheeks. It blew a tiny, perfectly shaped, purple smoke ring.
"Is that all?" Queen Roberta asked.
The Dragon nodded.
King Simon shook his head. "I am not sure that this Dragon is exactly what we want. Is he Butler?"
Another purple tear rolled down the sad little Dragon’s face and it turned to go.
"Oh no!" cried the tender hearted Queen. "You cannot turn the poor little thing away."
"But my dear," protested the King.
"But nothing,” sniffed the Queen. She knelt down on the floor next to the Dragon. "You would like to live here in the Palace wouldn’t you?"
The Dragon nodded its head and sniffed.
"Then so you shall," smiled the Queen.
King Simon turned to the Butler and shrugged.
"Perhaps he is not as big and fierce as I had expected, but he is the only Dragon available, " replied the Butler. "I have an idea that might work."
"Well you had better go and make some cucumber sandwiches then." King Simon knew when he was beaten.
"Good!" Queen Roberta stood up. "Cedric can stay as long as he likes." Then a thought struck her. "You are a boy Dragon aren't you?"
Cedric the Dragon nodded and skipped around the floor.
"Well, I suppose that is that!" King Simon went and sat on the throne.
The Butler bowed himself out of the room.
Next morning the Butler came to talk to the King. "The fire in the Kitchen is smoking badly again, Sire"
Simon was not really in the mood for trivial business matters. "Well, call the Chimney sweep out then."
"Not yet Sire, not yet. I have an idea."
Roberta came into the throne room, followed by Cedric who was happily munching on his breakfast plum.
The Butler bowed to the Queen and continued. "What do Dragons normally do?" Roberta shuddered. "They breathe fire on things."
"And eat people," added the king.
"Precisely," said the Butler.
"Everyone knows that, "said Simon."But this one doesn’t."
"But he IS a Dragon which means that we can honestly say the Minisculia HAS a Dragon!" said the Butler.
The monarchs looked puzzled.
The Butler asked another question." How were we going to let the rest of the world know that we are having a problem with a Dragon?"
"Well, it was your plan," replied Simon. "I suppose you were going to tell the Newspapers about it."
Roberta was still puzzled. "But Cedric here is the wrong sort of Dragon. I mean look at him. He is definitely not the fire breathing people eating kind of monster that Newspapers like to write about."
Cedric was lying on the rug in front of the fire counting his toes.
"The corn field behind the Palace is due to have the stubble burnt off it today," said the Butler.
"Yes" replied Simon. "But so what?"
"I wonder if Cedric would like to do the honours and start it burning for us. I am sure he can be trusted with a box of matches, don’t you, Your Majesties?" asked the Butler.
Cedric nodded eagerly and blew a really superb smoke ring.
Even Simon could see that the Butler was up to something.
"Be that as it may, but what about the people eating?" he asked.
The Butler answered with yet another question. "How do you know when a Dragon has eaten someone?"
"Usually because they have completely disappeared and the Dragon looks full." replied Roberta.
"Exactly!" smiled the Butler.
"I am not sure I understand what you are planning," said Simon. "And I think perhaps it is better if we do not know, then we cannot spoil it. You had better go ahead and organise it all. I am sure you know what you are doing."
The butler bowed and left the room.
Later that day the field of stubble behind the palace burned really well in the late summer sun. At the same time two of the Palace chamber maids suddenly disappeared. The butler told them to pack their bags and go off on paid holiday to the seaside. They were not to return until they were told to do so by him. They were very happy to do as they were told.
That evening King Simon sent for the Butler. "Have you seen these stories in the evening newspapers?"
"Yes, Sire," replied the Butler.
Simon read them out just to make sure. "Minisculia ravaged by a fierce Dragon. The reporter tells of how the country is in danger of disappearing in flames and that half the young women in the country have been eaten."
"Very interesting story, is it not Sire?" smiled the Butler.
"But where on earth did they get the story from? I hope you have not been telling lies." said Simon sternly.
"Certainly not," sniffed the Butler a little huffily. "I did not need to. The reporters managed that very nicely for themselves."
"But there haven’t been any reporters in the kingdom," complained Simon.
"I know Sire, they could not find it!" laughed the Butler as he left the room.
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Good work Eric - nicely constructed 8)
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Chapter Three
Invitations
The first invitation arrived the very next morning. The Post Office was one of the few institutions which could find Minisculia, especially when it came to delivering bills.
"Simon, my dear, look. An invitation." cried an excited Queen Roberta.
"Oh how nice," said Simon, not really listening. He was reading the morning newspapers. There were further stories about the horrors taking place in Minisculia. This report claimed that the people there were having to live on boats in the river for safety. This rather puzzled him, as most people already lived on boats in the river, since there was so little land.
"It is from Queen Margaret. She wants us to go to a Ball tomorrow evening. Shall we go?"
"May as well, make the most of it while it lasts!" replied the gloomy king.
He handed over the newspapers which Roberta quickly scanned.
"Oh dear, what shall we do. They are sure to ask about the Dragon?" she wailed.
Simon sighed, "That is what is bothering me!"
The Butler entered the room with the breakfast tray. "Good morning Your Majesties. The postman has brought an unusually large number of letters today. I trust that some of them are the Invitations you wanted?"
"Ah, Butler, certainly there is at least one invitation," replied Simon, looking at the card Roberta was holding.
"But we do have one small worry about accepting it."
"Sire?" The butler sounded surprised. "I though the whole point of the exercise was to get invited to parties and things?"
"It was," replied Roberta. "But what do we say when people ask us about the Dragon and the damage and people disappearing and having to live on boats?"
The Butler smiled. "It is very simple, Your Majesties. Tell them the truth."
Roberta sniffed, "I don’t understand."
Simon was also puzzled. "I don’t understand either. If we tell them the truth then they will know it was all exaggeration and laugh at us."
"Will they? That all depends on how you go about telling the truth." explained the Butter patiently.
The monarchs still looked puzzled.
"We DO have a Dragon." said the Butler.
The couple nodded. "But!" protested Simon, "You cannot say he is the world's' fiercest creature. I mean, look at him."
Cedric was playing on with a ball of wool, for all the world like a large pink kitten.
The butler sighed. "If anyone asks you about the Dragon all you have to do is say that you prefer not to talk about him."
"Well, that is true enough," said Simon.
"And, " went on the Butler. "The field behind the palace has been burnt by a Dragon. I gave him the matches myself and watched to make sure he came to no harm."
"I suppose so, "agreed Simon. "So now explain these disappearances."
"Have you seen either Betty or Jane, the chambermaids recently?" asked the Butler.
"No, I was going to ask you about them," said the Queen.
"There you are then," said the butler in triumph. "Some people have disappeared. And before you mention it, people do live on the river in boats. All you need to do is tell the truth, shudder and say you had rather not talk about it."
The king and queen nodded.
The Ball was a huge success. Roberta and Simon were the stars of the evening. Everybody wanted to talk to them. Roberta had a wonderful time and accepted invitations to all sorts of Balls, Christenings, Weddings and parties. Simon found himself the centre of a group of rulers who wanted his opinion on every subject under the sun. It was a tremendous feeling.
As they drove home by the light of the moon, Roberta snuggled up to her husband and said sleepily, "The nice thing is that we don’t have to invite them back just yet. They won’t come until we have got rid of the Dragon and Cedric is far too nice to want to do that."
Chapter Four
Trouble with a Hero
Next day a small problem did occur. In the afternoon Simon was in the throne room dealing with the day's business when the Butler came in and announced "A Petitioner, YourMajesty."
A group of Minisculia citizens followed the Butler into the room. They were carrying a large roll of paper. The leader of the group bowed low and presented the roll to the king. He opened it and read "To his Royal Highness King Simon of Minisculia. We the undersigned respectfully request that the king take action to protect his loyal subjects from the Dragon which at this moment is ravaging our fair country." Underneath were a large number of signatures.
"But, but......." Simon was rather taken aback. "Have any of you actually seen this Dragon?"
"Not as such," said the leader of the group. "But there must be one. We read about it in the papers."
Simon looked wildly to the Butler for help.
The Butler stepped forward. "King Simon thanks you for your petition and assures you that everything in his power will be done to protect the citizens of our beloved country from the Dragon. Even now steps are being taken to see that any damage done by the Dragon is being repaired with the utmost speed."
King Simon’s eyebrows almost disappeared into hair.
The leader of the group bowed and said, "We are grateful to his Majesty for his kind words and wish him every success."
"Thank you. Before you go I do have one question to ask of you," said Simon.
"I am yours to command," replied the man.
"When are you coming to sweep the kitchen chimney?"
"Ah, well now Your Majesty. I have got you down for a fortnight on Tuesday." The leader of the group was indeed the Chimney sweep.
"Well, I hope so. Now just go away and leave it to me."
The group backed out of the room and the Butler closed the doors behind them.
"Well?" asked Simon when they were safely out of earshot. "What do we do now? And how could you tell such a great big fib?"
"What fib?"
"The one about repairing the damage done by the Dragon," said the King
"That was no fib. I looked out of the window and the gardener is replanting the rose bushes that Cedric dug up yesterday," said the Butler
"Oh!" replied the King.
"As to what to do, we issue a Proclamation," finished the Butler.
"Saying what?” asked Simon.
"Oh, the usual, you know. ‘Whosoever riddeth the kingdom of the Dragon shall receive half of the kingdom as reward.’ That one," said the Butler.
"Hang on, the place is small enough as it is without giving half of it away," protested Simon.
"We won’t have to, "said the Butler. "One. No right minded person is going to fight a Dragon for such a small reward and Two. We do not want to actually get rid of the Dragon anyway."
Simon gave a great big sigh. This was getting very complicated. "You had better go ahead and issue the Proclamation then."
The next month was very busy. The King and Queen were out almost every night enjoying themselves. Quite a few would be heroes came, but as the Butler said none of them were willing to fight a Dragon for such a small reward. The locals went back to their boats and since there were no more fires and no more disappearances, they were not unhappy, Indeed, the only sign of the Dragon was the smoke from somewhere in the palace. The chimney sweep had not yet managed to sweep the kitchen chimney.
However, at the end of the month it happened. A hero came who was not in his right mind and did not care about the size of the reward. In fact he offered to do the job for no reward at all. He just wanted to fight a Dragon to impress his girlfriend.
"It is not a very big one!" said King Simon to the would-be hero, Sir Roger de Masham.
"All the better then Sire," he said. "I am a bit nervous about the whole thing. It may be better to start off with something small." He pushed his glasses up his nose and smiled at the King.
"Yes, I suppose so. The Butler will show you to your room. You look as if you have had a long and weary journey."
"Thank-you Sire. Yes it was a long journey. I had terrible trouble finding the place. I kept falling asleep in the coach and driving straight through," said Sir Roger
The Butler came in.
"Ah, show Sir Roger to a guest room. He has come to kill the Dragon for us, "ordered Simon. "Then come back here, I wish to talk to you."
The Butler bowed and led Sir Roger from the room.
Simon sat tapping his fingers on the arm of the throne until the Butler returned.
"Well," said the Butler. "This is a bit of a problem, but do not concern yourself you majesty, I will think of something."
"You had better." Simon was almost frantic with worry. "The queen would never speak to either of us again if that.... idiot..... killed Cedric."
"I do not think it will come to that," soothed the Butler.
"Well, whatever you do, I don’t want to know about it," said Simon. "Just find a way to get rid of that clown upstairs without him hurting Cedric."
The butler bowed himself out of the room. He was beginning to wish he had never thought of the idea in the first place.
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Brilliant, Eric ;D
I'm loving this! A chapter at a time to read over a cup of coffee :D
Cant help bursting into laughter in nearly every paragraph as this classic unravels. Its packed with brilliant flashes of hilarity and imagination.
I'm printing it off as we go along and will read it to the kids. Might be a bit subtle for the younger ones :)
What was your target age range?
James (now aged 8 ) has now read Chapter 1 of The Kingdom without a Dragon.
What is your nom de plume?
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I think I was teaching 9/10 year olds when I wrote this one. But I have done ones for ones from 7 up to 12 or so.
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Chapter Five
A Dragon for Sir Roger
The Butler left the palace and walked down into the small town which was the capital city of Minisculia. His brother was the local Blacksmith. The problem was explained to him. He though for a few minutes, then said, "I think I know what we can do. Come on we need to go and talk to Cousin Fred, the carpenter."
The problem was explained to Fred. He thought for a few moments, then said, "Yes. I could make that, but it would be better if it moved. I think Uncle Albert, the Clock maker would be the one to talk to,"
The problem was explained to the Clock maker. He thought for a few moments and said, "I am sure we can do that between us, let’s get started, if you need it by tomorrow morning."
"I will have to leave you to it. I have to go back to the Palace now," said the Butler. "Send a message when it is finished. Oh and this really must be kept a secret, please."
The others nodded. They were too busy to speak.
By the time the Butler returned to the Palace, it was time to serve the evening meal. Sir Roger spent the whole time explaining how he was going to kill the Dragon. Fortunately, Queen Roberta was away at an all Queens evening in a neighbouring country or she would have been very upset. As it was Simon got more and more worried as the evening went on.
"Do not worry, Sire. I have got everything under control," whispered the Butler as he served the coffee in the Drawing room.
"I hope so," replied Simon. "I really do hope so."
After coffee Sir Roger went off to the Exercise Yard to practice a few strokes. Each time he swung his sword he had to stop, lift the visor on his helmet and push his glasses back up his nose. Simon watched him for a few moments then went into the Palace to talk to the Butler.
"Well, what are you going to do?"
"I thought Your Majesty did not want to know," said the Butler.
"I did, but it is probably better if I have some idea other wise I may give the game away by accident."
"Well, Sire what is a Dragon?"
Simon was far too worried to be in a good mood. "Never mind the Twenty Questions, just explain what you are doing!"
The butler sighed. "A Dragon is just a lot of smoke, a bit of fire and few roars, but not much else."
"They usually have a large body, a long tail, and an appetite to match," said the King.
The Butler ignored the interruption. "What we are going to do is to build an artificial Dragon. The Carpenter is putting an old garden shed on wheels and adding a long neck and head and a tail. The Clock maker is going to put some cogs and things inside so that the head can be moved and the Blacksmith is going to put a fire and bellows inside so that it can blow smoke. Then we can put it in the field behind the Palace for Sir Roger to fight."
King Simon thought for a few minutes then nodded. "It could work, but how are you going to stop Sir Roger noticing it is just a shed?"
"You may have noticed that Sir Roger is rather short sighted," said the Butler. "If I swap his glasses for my reading glasses, he is going to have trouble seeing anything beyond the end of his sword."
"It has to work, otherwise we are in real trouble. I wish we had never started this thing," sighed Simon. "When will it be ready?"
"In the morning, we will put it there tonight after everyone is in bed," replied the Butler.
There was nothing else to be said.
Sir Roger entered the throne room "Your Majesty, I am ready to fight the Dragon. Where will I find it?"
"Er, well, I. ummmmm." Simon looked helplessly at the Butler.
"The Dragon usually appears in the field behind the Palace at dawn," said the Butler. "If you go there just as the sun is rising, the Dragon will be there."
Sir Roger nodded and swallowed nervously.
"You will only have the one chance to kill it. If you fail it may well eat you." The Butler sounded as if he was enjoying himself. "If you do not manage to cut of its head with your first blow, all you can do is run. You must leave the Kingdom as fast as you can and never return. Dragons have very long memories."
Sir Roger looked even more nervous.
"But if.....no when you are successful, your name will be in every Newspaper and your girl friend cannot fail to be impressed," went on the Butler
Sir Roger still looked unhappy. "I think I had better go and get a good nights sleep.
King Simon nodded. "A very good idea. I will send the Butler up with a hot drink to help you go to sleep."
Sir Roger went to his room. He got undressed and into bed. The Butler brought him a cup of Cocoa and put it on the bedside cabinet. As he did so he took Sir Roger’s glasses from the bedside cabinet and placed his own there instead.
When everyone in the Palace was settled down, the Butler went into town. The Dragon was ready, but it still did not look enough like a Dragon to fool even a blind knight. The four men raced to the palace and collected up all the egg boxes they could find and glued them all over the shed.
"That looks a bit better," said the Clock maker. "But the colour is wrong, it should be green and purple."
The Carpenter nodded. "I have some paint which will do nicely."
They fetched the paint and set too. Soon the ‘Dragon’ looked more like the real thing, from a distance anyway.
They pushed and pulled the ‘Dragon’ to the field and set it in position. The Blacksmith got inside. "I will set my alarm for just before dawn to give me time to light the fire," he said.
Next morning everyone was up before the sun. The Butler went out to make sure the Blacksmith was awake. There was a plume of smoke already coming from the ‘Dragon's’ mouth. The butler knocked on the shed. "Are you ready?"
"Yes, "came the muffled reply, "But make sure you get everyone away straight afterwards so I can get out."
"Will do!" promised the Butler. "Oh dear, the paint is not dry!" His hand had a purple stain on it.
"It is too late to worry about that," said the Blacksmith.
The Butler wiped his hands on the grass and went back inside to supervise breakfast.
Sir Roger could not face food. Now that it was time to fight the Dragon, he was wondering if it was such a good idea after all.
The Butler encouraged him. "Do not worry, sir. I am positive that you will win without any difficulty what so ever. I feel it in my bones."
Sir Roger was so nervous that he did not even notice that he could hardly see past the end of his nose, nor that the glasses perched there were not his own.
After those who wanted breakfast had finished, the sun was just peeping over the hills and Sir Roger was led out to the field. It was a fine if rather misty morning. It was quite hard to make out the ‘Dragon’ in the haze.
Sir Roger did not want an audience, but King Simon and Queen Roberta insisted and since it was their Kingdom he could hardly refuse. The Butler came along too.
As promised the ‘Dragon’ was there, waiting for him, swinging its head from side to side, breathing smoke and roaring. It was hard to see clearly through the mist and smoke, especially with the sun shining from behind the ‘Dragon’.
The Queen gave a squeal, quite forgetting that it was not real. She had been let in on the scheme when she returned from her party.
Simon turned to the Butler. "I say, you have made a really good job of that."
The Butler bowed.
Sir Roger took a deep breath and pulled down the visor on his helmet. He tried to swallow the huge lump which had jumped into his throat, but it would not go down. He tottered forwards swinging his sword from side to side. There was a satisfying thud and something fell at his feet. He looked down in amazement to see the ‘Dragon’s’ nose resting on his shoe. Before he could move or do anything else there was a sudden spurt of smoke from the ‘Dragon's’ body which then burst into flames.
"Whoops," said the Butler and rushed forward. King Simon followed and quickly led away the still bewildered Dragon slayer away. The Blacksmith staggered out of the burning shed.
"That was close, but when he hit the head, the fire fell over," he explained.
"As long as you are safe, it is probably for the best. Quick throw the head on the fire and then get yourself home," said the Butler.
Back in the Palace Sir Roger was sitting in the throne room. He was still shaking. He had not even managed to put his sword away. The royal couple were congratulating him. He took off his glasses and wiped his forehead. "I don’t think I am cut out for this sort of thing. I don’t think I will make a career out of it."
"Very wise," said Simon.
While they were talking, the Butler quickly replaced Sir Roger’s own glasses.
Sir Roger put on his glasses and looked at his sword. "Oh, it has got dragon’s blood on it. Funny how it looks like purple paint isn’t it?"
"Allow me to clean it off for you," said the Butler and wiped the sword clean. "Now, Sir Roger, the Newspaper photographer is waiting for you."
Sir Roger allowed himself to be led away.
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Do look out for typos and missing bits. Not always carefully edited.
I have got about 20 stories altogether, so plenty to be going on with,
Finished a new one yesterday. No one read it but me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I'm up to date on this one Eric. Its a VERY good story - I admire your imagination!
I read two more chapters to James today and we had a good laugh as we discussed each "scene" ;D
Rather than break up the flow (and the enjoyment) it might be a good idea to ask for any typos to be reported by Personal Message.
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Denouement tomorrow then!
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Awwww :'(
Hope it has a happy ending :D
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Chapter Six
The Final Act
The story of the heroic battle with eye witness reports of the event and photographs of the burning carcass and the madly grinning hero soon appeared in the specially rushed out editions of the newspapers. The people of Minisculia sent a deputation to thank the King and the brave knight. They were so pleased that they asked if they could hold a Flower festival cum Firework display to celebrate.
"We will pay!" said the Chimney sweep.
"In that case," said the King. "Go ahead."
When the Royal couple eventually managed to get back to the throne room and sit down Roberta sighed, "Well, I suppose it is all over now."
"What do you mean, my dear?"
"Now that the Dragon has been killed we will stop getting invitations. Everyone will forget all about us again," she said sadly.
"I suppose so. Still never mind, we have enjoyed ourselves and there is the Fireworks Ball to look forward to." King Simon tried to cheer her up.
The Celebration was a great success. All the local children made a model Dragon from egg boxes painted purple and green. They paraded it through the town to the field behind the Palace where it was burnt as the firework display took place.
Sir Roger had to shake hands with everyone who came and to show them his sword. He was given the honour of lighting the Dragon bonfire. He was still a little puzzled about what had happened, but he read about the glorious battle in the newspapers and came to believe it, After all it must be true, it had been in the Newspapers. His girl friend was as impressed as he had hoped, but wisely forbade him from ever fighting another Dragon, just in case.
All the rulers of all the surrounding countries turned up for the Ball, as did everyone who was invited and a few who were not. The evening was a huge success. The Dragon idea was after all the success it was hoped it would be.
The kitchen maids returned from their holidays and went back to work.
To make sure that nobody ever missed their way when visiting the Kingdom, the butler had a huge sign put up. It read "Welcome to Minisculia. The Kingdom Without A Dragon." Now that was the biggest fib of all, Minisculia still had a Dragon, Cedric.
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;D (me) and ;D (young James)
Love it Eric! I have another suggestion for member participation later :)
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The question is, do you and James want more?
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Yes please Eric. Start a new Topic for each novel.
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Great work, Eric. Like all good stories, I was sorry when it came to an end. Jolly glad Cedric was OK :)
Eric H
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So here's the thing. I have a full length (well 80,000 word) story which is not quite finished. I do know what happens in the end and that part is actually written, hand written too I might add. I am not happy about the way I got to the end so I want to alter that part. Trouble is, that the site I used to post stories on for criticism no longer exists. All the ones I can find are a bit' iffy'. (Want you to read and criticise others work before putting your own on, or are downright unpleasant)
I am not even sure that the story is any good at all. The short 'Fairy' type tales are easy. They either work or they don't.
Not sure what to do really.
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I am not hot on literary criticism, Eric, so can't really suggest much. In our village they have a reading group, if you have something similar nearby you could always try it out on them.
Eric H
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The Shadow was the last of my stories of that type by the way. Need to write some more I suppose.
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Anyone want any more stories. I have 12 or so slightly different ones, if any one is interested.
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James says yes please Eric :)
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They are not Fairy stories like the others, rather they are about a gang of 11 year old lads growing up in the North of England in the '50's. A bit like a scruffy Just William set.
Still interested?
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Sounds good Eric. Lets roll!
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That is the last of that particular set of Ashton Road Gang stories. There are another, much shorter set. You want?