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 76: It squealed harshly as she rolled it, but the squeals soon died down to soft squeaks as the wheels became accustomed to movement once again.
It squealed harshly as she rolled it, but the squeals soon died down to soft squeaks as the wheels became accustomed to movement once again. Anya moved the ladder into the farthest corner and then climbed to the top, figuring that she would be less inclined to climb as the day darkened. The ladder shifted a bit with her weight but each rung held as she put her weight on it. Anya kept a tight grip on the sides of the ladder in case the rungs failed. She had no desire to tumble.
When she reached the top,. Anya looked down. She knew the shelves were tall when she stood on the floor, but from the top of the ladder, the floor looked like it was much further away than she expected. Heights had never bothered her and she felt that the ladder was holding so she dismissed the fear of falling and turned her attention to the shelf that was now in her sight line. Many of the books had no markings on their spines. Those that had markings on their spines were not that helpful.
‘Gotlieb Vol 1,’ Anya read. The next four books were Gotlieb Vol 2 through 5. This didn’t tell her much so Anya reached for the first book on the shelf and pulled it down. She hooked an arm through the ladder and rested the volume on the rung. The leather of the cover creaked as she opened it, little flakes falling off as the cover bent.
Anya flipped through the pages slowly. The book held drawings of mushrooms with their descriptions listed out beside the, many of them were familiar to her by sight, even if the names were different. The mushroom she knew as the Fat Friar was pictured with enough detail that she was certain it was the same mushroom, even though it was called Epiec Monvara in the book. The description listed also fit with what she knew of the Fat Friar. As it was one she frequently gathered for meals she knew it well. There were others listed that she knew, both edible and not. They all had different names, but the descriptions fit with what she knew.
Anya frowned as she flipped through the pages. Of the mushrooms she knew, the ones that were edible and frequently gathered for food were listed as Epiec with only the second part of the name differing. Nutty Bunch, known for its nutty flavor and the fact that it grew in bunches was called Epiec Denom, while Striped hen was listed as Epiec Gormal. The mushrooms she knew were poisonous also had two names. The deadly Ruffled Tan was listed as Morca Jelusi.
Ten til Midnight 