My dream novel

[klatukatt]

Well, I just started this novel when my computer crashed and burned hard. I thought I had lost it for good.

UNTIL!

I was bored on my parents computer and I FOUND IT AGAIN in a strange file folder titled "Beware of Leopard."

I would appreciate it if someone could read these first three chapters and tell me if they at all make sense. I have an outline for the rest of the book, but that would spoil the surprise!

[klatukatt]

It was a bright sunny morning, which of course meant that Kary was still in bed. The sun rose higher in the sky, and still there was no action to comment upon. The air grew chill, the sky grew dark, and night reigned once again. Kary was still asleep.



It was a bright sunny morning, which of course meant that Kary was still in bed. That is, until her best friend bounced into the room with a breakfast tray.

“Wake up!” shouted the excited woman. “You have been asleep for two weeks! Come on, there is pancakes, juice and coffee for you!”

Kary shifted. “Pancakes?” The lump rolled off the bed and sat up. “You made pancakes?”

“Well I would have, but your house is kind of lacking in, aha, everything. I did the best I could under the circumstances.”

This did not bode well, so Kary decided it was time to open her eyes and take a peak at the tray dropped in front of her.

There was a piece of charcoal that may have once been toast, but mold is flammable after all. There was no juice, only an orange. That made sense, seeing as how oranges never go bad. The coffee was the worst part. There were blobs that could have been skyscrapers looming out of the mug. Kary swore she saw an airplane zooming around as well.

“It’s developed civilization now,” said the breakfast maker, cheerfully.

Kary finally looked up from her examination of the booming economy. “Only you could make sentient coffee, Tyla.”

Kary sprang up, cup in hand, and let her momentum swing her arm around into a perfect softball pitch. The mug shattered against the opposite wall, creating “The Fall of the Romans” done in the style of Pompey.

“All right,” said Kary, pulling up her cargo pants. “Let’s go out into the world.”

[klatukatt]

Kary and Tyla surveyed the house. It was built on the Sunny Side of the universe. They both preferred a nice rainy day, but Kary prefered her house to stay in one place. That was the benefit to the Sunny Side; things were more concrete here.

“It looks… crooked,” commented Tyla.

“Yeah. Pretty soon it will collapse into a pile of atoms. Then I’ll build again.”



It may be useful to tell you about the universe these girls inhabit. They live in the Fictionverse, where stories are created. Each author takes a bit of land to create their own universe. Now, stories don’t live here. Once they are published they move to the Multiverse, where fully rounded stories can be protected or continued.

These girls live in the non created space among the raw material. Nothing is permanent here. Without willpower holding something together, everything eventually falls apart.



“Yep, your house is on the outs.”

“But at least it stays where I leave it.”

“You know I’ve never been one for permanence.”

“Okay, wandering minstrel, where are we going this time?”

“I was thinking we’d head down to Swampland. You know, that’s where they mad the swamps for both—” Kary clamped a hand over Tyla’s mouth.

“What is it with you?” Kary was a bit mad. “You know we can’t name any cannon things in this verse. It could destroy everything.”

“Oops.” Tyla shrugged and rolled her eyes. “You know me. Such a scatterbrain.”

They started off toward the Swampland to the sounds of the house collapsing. Unbeknownst to them, the mold continued to grow.

[klatukatt]

As they passed through the Sunny Side, they saw the standard lot of developing stories that came from bright and cheerful lands such as this one. Stories about happy pigs rolling in the mud with absolutely no conflict. Tyla often felt sick journeying through such banal writing, but soon enough they were past the border and into the Epic Plains.

The Epic Plains were epic. Anyone who was anyone did their traveling here. The girls found an extra spring in their step, sensing the great adventure that was in store.

“Okay, that’s enough skipping.” Kary stopped in her tracks. “There will be no adventures for us. We are going to the swamp, beating some small animals and coming back. Agreed?”

“Agreed!” Tyla put on her best what a ridiculous idea? how could you ever think that face. She didn’t want an adventure any more than Kary, but she wasn’t prepared to rule anything out either.



There was something being created right on the edge of the Great Forest, which immediately drew Tyla’s eye.

“Tyla? What did I just say about adventures?”

“I wasn’t suggesting we get involved, I just wanna see what’s going on.”

“Uhn uh. My precog is tingling and telling me we’re gonna regret this.”

“Your precog hasn’t worked in an age.”

“Well, it’s twitching. I can’t just ignore it like you ignore all common sense.”

Since time and space don’t really matter in the Fictionverse, the girls were already quite close to the tiny piece of universe being created. It was to fancy medieval looking, but attractive, blond characters ‘forming an epic plan.’ A classic scene in any novel.

“Uh-oh.” Tyla grimaced. “I think I recognize the short character.”

“What? How could you? They haven’t been created yet!” Kary took a closer look. “Is that? Oh! Oh. Oh…”

The two girls veered their path drastically, but not before the author of this little scene stepped out from behind a tree and saw them.

“Kary and Tyla! What a surprise!”

The girls turned around.

“Mags you old bitch,” said Kary warmly. “You still writing that epic of yours?”

Mags shrugged. “Can’t you tell? But what are you two doing here? Not writing something without me.”

“No, just living here.”

“Really.” Mags blinked. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

“Oh, you know us and our perchance for rule breaking,” Tyla chimed in. “Like in the Multiverse. Hey, remember that time when the three of us—”

Kary shushed Tyla quick.

“Still running your mouth, Tyla?” Mags shook her head. “Anyway, where you guys off to?”

“Just the Swampland.”

“Oh no, don’t go there! Something big is moving in. I had to postpone my scene till whatever is happening is over.”

This was serious. Mags always took what she wanted. Her respect for the concept of “true love” was the only thing that ever stopped her. This didn’t sound like respect or love.

“Okay, we’ll steer clear, Mags.”

“Nice to see you!”

The girls walked away looking troubled.

Tyla asked, “Can we still go to the swamp?”

“You heard what Mags said. We have to stay away from that area.”

“But Kary, I really wanna go.”

Kary stopped walking. “Why?”

“I may have left some of my stuff there.”

“Stuff? Like what kind of stuff?”

“Stuff like, my special flask, and um, some mystic items.” Tyla avoided Kary’s gaze. “You gotta come get it with me!”

“No. I’m serious this time. We really need to stay out of trouble or we could break everything.”

“Poop. You always pull the Destruction of the Universe argument on me.”



They walked around the edge of the Great Forest until they came to the Revival River which they followed downstream to Flat Lake. The girls sat by the late in the sunshine and started to relax.

“Kary, why don’t we go back home? You know, the real world?”

“Can I have a tuna fish sandwich, Tyla?”

“Sure!”

A tuna sandwich popped into existence in Tyla’s hand. Kary looked at the sandwich, then at Tyla.

“Oh yeah,” said Tyla. “I can do that here. But don’t you ever miss Mags and the other girls?”

“Do you?”

“No. You’re right. The Fictionverse is much better.”

Yes it is, thought Kary as she threw as stone into the water.

Tyla laughed. “I thought you would know better.”

“What?”

“You know how powerful the Ripple Effect is here. Now you are throwing stones haphazardly? What if your stone awoke some powerful left-over monster?” Tyla waved her arms wildly for effect.

“Come off it. You know there are no monsters in Flat Lake. That is what Foreboding Lake is for.”

“So throw another stone.”

“Why?”

“Cause now you’re afraid to.”

“There is nothing here to be afraid of.”

“I bet you can’t hit that rock.”

“I’m not throwing it.”

“I could hit that rock with my mind.”

“Fine.” Kary chucked the rock. It flew perfectly, of course, and bounced off the boulder peacefully sticking out of the water.

The obvious creature at the bottom of the lake woke up.

[Earniel]

Are the characters based on real people? The names seem to remind me of certain people.

I like the idea of fiction-world, the story reads somewhat like Douglas Adams writings, bizarre but fun.

[Willow Oran]

Mags always took what she wanted. Her respect for the concept of “true love” was the only thing that ever stopped her. This didn’t sound like respect or love.

No cookie for you.


Fictionverse sounds fun. Keep going.

[klatukatt]

Originally Posted by Eärniel

Are the characters based on real people? The names seem to remind me of certain people.

I like the idea of fiction-world, the story reads somewhat like Douglas Adams writings, bizarre but fun.

Why, yes, they are real people! I didn't think anyone would notice.

Originally Posted by Willow Oran

No cookie for you.


Fictionverse sounds fun. Keep going.

to you too. You aren't the villain at least.