The fifteen minute novel writing experiment is an 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 239: ‘Something to check later,’ Anya decided.
‘Something to check later,’ Anya decided. ‘Although as I don’t really know the towns the range might pass by I don’t know if the map will help. I suppose I could see the distance between Tyrin and another place I know to get a better idea of how far towns are stretched.’
Anya found herself thinking of Lord Mathis. She knew he was in the capitol as the last time she saw him was when he was riding out hunting with the King. While she suspected no place would be far enough from her for her to feel comfortable, she hoped that Lord Mathis and the capitol was a long journey away.
‘That would at least be nice to know,’ she decided. ‘And reason enough to hang the map.’
Anya finished up her small supper and as she fell asleep with her hair wet in the chair, it was tangled and still loose around her shoulders. She did not know what sort of advisor Bendesea arranged for her, but she wanted to make a good impression.
“I should at least brush my hair if they can see me,” she decided. Anya rinsed off her hands in the wash basin and dried them before walking to the things she laid out. The comb was one of the few things she brought with her and was hers. It was an older comb well loved. One side had thicker teeth for working out snarls in her hair and the other was finer, helping to smooth out the newly untangled hair and comb any excess grease from her locks before she braided it and tied it up on her head. As she began the process of untangling her hair, Anya wondered what sort of advisor she would be meeting. Bendesea only gave the name, Arkaron.
‘It sounds like a male name,’ Anya decided. It was not a name she had ever heard before though so she knew there was a possibility she could be wrong. As she worked out the tangles in her hair, she wondered what sort of advisor he would be. She also wondered if he would be annoyed at being summoned by the statue to be an advisor.
‘It can’t be anything he was expecting.’
She worked the last of the tangles out of her hair and combed through the newly washed locks. The ritual of combing out her hair after a wash was relaxing and settled her soothed nerves. The comb had been a gift a few years back and its newness wore off becoming comfortably familiar in her hands. She used it daily and was relaxed by using it now. It was with reluctance that she set it aside and began braiding her hair to tie up. When her hair was arranged in a neat manner, Anya stood and tried to brush a few of the wrinkles out of her clothes. These were the cleanest garments she had at the moment so wrinkles aside they would have to do.
Ten til Midnight 