In which a purpose is introduced
Princess Emmaline (working title) is a story comprised of smaller stories. There are two main storylines, Emmaline's and John's, as well as a minor one, the Adults'. The target audience is children 10+ though I'm also hoping older audiences can appreciate it. The best stories are ones everyone can appreciate.
This is a story that I've been needing to write for a while, for reasons that might become obvious once I'm finished the first draft.
Now, since I don't write fiction linearly, I haven't posted anything longer than a short story or a poem in years because posting stories out of order doesn't make sense, and so I've been waiting to finish at least the first draft of things before posting anything more novelish in length.
Rest in peace, sense. You will only sometimes be missed. Meanwhile, I've got a story to write.
Because I'll be posting the parts up as I write them, one of the main purposes of this thread will be to organize the parts chronologically. I'll also be using this thread to keep track of some goals and resources, and to answer any questions you folks might have about the story or my writing process.
In other words, welcome to Draft 0.
In which there is order
Emmaline
Spoiler
John
Spoiler
Adults
Spoiler
In which notes are kept
Locations
Spoiler
John's House
Queen Anne style similar to a cross between this and this. Loads of rooms that haven't been used in decades. Functional widow's walk near the chimneys. In a state of slight disrepair due to John's grandparents being unable to keep up maintenance.
Contemporary floor plans: 1880 | 1887 | 1915
The Lightning-Split Oak
A barely-alive white oak, at least 200 years old. The trunk has been split by a lightning strike.
General reference
Split reference
Alt split reference
How to estimate the age of an oak
The Signpost
A round post of mortared stone around eight feet tall, with the facing stones falling out. The facing stones are carved with human faces of various expressions, with each cardinal direction corresponding to a theme in expressions.
The post is capped with a four-sided face, each pointing in a cardinal direction. These four faces are the only ones which speak, though other face occasionally appear. Once the post is repaired, each face on the post is capable of independent speech.
Queen Anne style similar to a cross between this and this. Loads of rooms that haven't been used in decades. Functional widow's walk near the chimneys. In a state of slight disrepair due to John's grandparents being unable to keep up maintenance.
Contemporary floor plans: 1880 | 1887 | 1915
The Lightning-Split Oak
A barely-alive white oak, at least 200 years old. The trunk has been split by a lightning strike.
General reference
Split reference
Alt split reference
How to estimate the age of an oak
The Signpost
A round post of mortared stone around eight feet tall, with the facing stones falling out. The facing stones are carved with human faces of various expressions, with each cardinal direction corresponding to a theme in expressions.
The post is capped with a four-sided face, each pointing in a cardinal direction. These four faces are the only ones which speak, though other face occasionally appear. Once the post is repaired, each face on the post is capable of independent speech.
Character relationships
Spoiler
John's father and John's maternal grandparents do not like each other due to John's mother running off to marry him instead of the nice young doctor her parents approved of. They currently tolerate each other only because of John's father's financial success as a bestselling author of speculative fiction, though the grandparents openly disapprove of his choice of genre.
John's mother and her parents have since reconciled. Mostly. It helps that the nice young doctor her parents initially approved of got involved in a scandal involving billing fraud and tax evasion.
Before moving into the house, John had only met his maternal grandparents a few times. He's not quite sure how to relate to them, especially since he's well aware of how bad the relationship is between his father and them.
John's grandparents want to get closer to John. They just don't know how.
John's mother and her parents have since reconciled. Mostly. It helps that the nice young doctor her parents initially approved of got involved in a scandal involving billing fraud and tax evasion.
Before moving into the house, John had only met his maternal grandparents a few times. He's not quite sure how to relate to them, especially since he's well aware of how bad the relationship is between his father and them.
John's grandparents want to get closer to John. They just don't know how.
In which goals are set
> Post at least one part up a week.
- which I have miserably failed at lol
- but I do poke at the writing at least weekly
> Come up with a better title.
- Through the Lightning-Split Oak
- In the Land Beyond the Lightning-Split Oak
- The Princess and John
- or just stick with Princess Emmaline
- maybe Beyond the Lighting-Split
In which questions are answered
Why are there so many repeated words/so few descriptions in Emmaline's story?
Emmaline's story is told in the style of the old tales which were told orally. As a result, these tales tend to have a lot of repetition and very few descriptions, to make them easier to remember and retell. There will be descriptions of the characters, but only when those descriptions become relevant to the story, and even then, they will be sparse.