The fifteen minute novel writing experiment is a attempt to write a complete (and very rough) draft of a novel by writing for fifteen minutes each day. I have taken a timed writing from one of the daily prompts done in 2021, cleaned it up a little and used it as my jumping off point into a story. Each day I will take the last line of the story written the day before and use it as my sentence starter and write for fifteen minutes, growing the story as the year progresses.
Day 24: “Is the entire mountain carved into buildings?” she couldn’t help but ask.
“Is the entire mountain carved into buildings?” she couldn’t help but ask.
“For the most part, the older woman told her. “I’m not sure how far back it goes. No one is entirely certain who built the citadel and those that live here mostly do so to manage the Star’s House and the donations sent here. Most of the inner city, the deeper parts of the mountain, are abandoned. If you move towards the back of the space there is a wooden wall built to separate the occupied parts from the rest. There is a door leading to the older parts, but it is easy to get lost.”
“Because it’s dark?” Anya asked. “I mean there aren’t windows inside the mountain are there?”
“No but it’s not just the darkness,” the woman told her. “The streets wind and twist as they move around rock that the builders couldn’t carve or that they left for supports. From what I’ve heard there is no pattern to the streets and it is simply easy to get lost. Plus I imagine it’s been abandoned so long that many of the buildings are in disrepair so it might be quite dangerous.”
Anya nodded taking the information in. “So all but the House of the Star left the city and only they remain,” she said.
“No,” the younger girl said with a shake of her head. “The Star used to be located in my home town,” she said. “But then they needed more space than Grenton could provide and they moved here because it was abandoned.”
“Grenton,” Anya repeated. As the younger woman told her of the Star’s big move and how many wagons and workmen it took, Anya tried to recall if she ever heard of Grenton. It didn’t sound familiar and she couldn’t think of any tale from the merchants that featured it.
“How far is Grenton from here?” she asked.
“About two day’s journey,” the young woman told her.
Anya nodded. “So that’s why you were able to come every year.”
“Many make the pilgrimage annually,” She said.
Anya nodded. They reached a large room with many milling women. There was a table in the center of the room with a group of women sitting at it. They seemed less like they were simply relaxing and more like they were in charge. There were papers in front of them and the women arriving walked over to consult with them. The two with Anya went directly towards the table. they waited their turn and then stepped in front of the woman. There were papers and charcoal writing sticks strewn across the table.
‘Good morning, the older woman with Anya said to the trip seated at the table. we are here to see what is needed.”
“And your skills?” one of the women asked.
Ten til Midnight 