Okay yesterday I ran out the base storyline of my Fifteen Minute Novel experiment for the year. The goal of the experiment is to take one of the prompts previously written out and use it as a starting point for a full length story. Each day the last sentence written the day before starts the new day’s writing. The rule (as I set it for myself) is no editing until the end. I know if i start to edit while writing the story might not be told. and honestly editing is it’s own beast.
So The story featuring Gwen has been concluded earlier than the year has run out. It will require much editing of both the addition of detail and the subtracting of scenes. Much adjustment will be made.
At some other time.
So I have chosen one of the other prompts to work on for the rest of the year. it was late in the day when I chose this yesterday so I cleaned it up a bit and will post it as the Day 1 post and then try to work on some sort of outline this week. I was unprepared for Gwen’s story ending and didn’t have another story set up. So this may be writing without the net of a basic outline. e shall see how that goes. Below is the story start I will be working with. It was originally posted Tuesday April 18th, 2023 if you want to see what the original prompt was and how it compares to the quick clean up. Mostly I made it third person rather than first.
Day 1
The string was blue. She knew it was blue. Anna tied it there herself the day before. She wanted to know if anyone but her checked the archives. It was a mostly forgotten space and each time she arrived she could see only her own movements in the dust. She didn’t expect anyone would, but thought it prudent to make certain. She had lived too long on extra paranoia to get sloppy give the habit up now
The blue string was gone. A red string was in its place. The enchantment worked.
Anna didn’t stop to look at anything. She turned and walked back down the hall to the elevator. The archivist looked at her strangely as she signed out. After all, she just signed in less than two minutes prior. Anna smiled but did not offer an explanation. She knew any excuse would make her look like she was hiding something.
Anna wasn’t hiding anything but herself most of the time. If there was a red string attached to the place where she tied the blue string there was only one explanation.
‘Someone is looking for me.’
Anna didn’t know what surprise was waiting in the shelves, but knew there would be one. ‘Otherwise the string would still be blue. ‘
It was an old trick and she felt paranoid using it. After all, no one had been hunting her for a while. She fell off everyone’s radar and ceased to be an issue. There were bigger fish to fry, other larger concerns. At least there had been. As Anna pressed the button for the elevator, she wondered if that meant things changed.
The doors dinged open almost immediately as she just used the elevator to arrive. She got in and pressed the button for the upper floor. It didn’t take it to the main floor but the floor above. Anna would then take the stairs down and use an exit different from the one she used when she arrived. Her mind was already shifting into tactical mode. If there had been usable stairs from the archives she would have taken them, but that wasn’t an option. She hated feeling trapped in a box. But the stairs were an emergency fire exit only and Anna knew she didn’t need the alarms going off as she tried to make her escape.
The elevator rose and she wondered what sort of trap was laid for her in the archive shelves. That there was something was undeniable. The string turned red.
The elevator dinged and she stepped out. Anna looked around to orient myself. ‘Biography,’ she said to herself softly. ‘East facing.’
She nodded, knowing where she was. The stairs were to her left. She could take them and exit from the east side of the building without having to go through the main atrium. Anna walked briskly as though she was eager to be on her way but not running.
‘Purposeful,’ she told herself. ‘Not scared.’
She passed no one and from where she was, no one on the floors below could see her. The West side was open and airy, the east faced a view less inspiring and the building was designed to feature the spectacular while turning its back to the mundane.
Anna made it down the stairs and exited the library building. From here there was a veritable maze of buildings. Science labs, and maintenance sheds. The sheds were for grounds keeping and tended to be built of blocky cinder block. The science labs were built to create a controlled environment and were oddly enough structured along almost similar lines. Often she had a hard time picking out which was storage and which was science. For now, the maze helped and let her get clear of the library. With luck she could get home before anyone noticed. If none of her home defenses were triggered I she could get what she needed and be gone in less than ten minutes.
Ten til Midnight 