Introduction:
I'm revisiting my favorite fantasy I've ever written: StoweAway. It didn't turn out all that hot before, but I trust that I can now accomplish what I want to with this story. It has so much potential to be awesome, and I really want to show the world the story of Aly Stowe and her adventures. So. Here's a summary of the first (and only part planned) part of the book. It's in a spoiler because it's a bit long.
Summary:
[spoiler]Aly Stowe lives in East Bristol, England in 1804. She is twelve years old when the novel begins. Her psychic ability to communicate with animals allows her to converse with her snow leopard, Zekyll. She is a cub when the novel opens. East Bristol is a small village or town set in cobblestone and brick. It is a middle class city. No royalty lives there. Farmers and workman reside there with their wives and children.
Uncle Steven and Auntie Clair Stowe were left with Aly when she was just a baby. They refuse to let the girl know who her father was. Uncle Steven is an onion farmer, and Auntie Clair is a schoolteacher. She teaches all of the children, and even some adults in East Bristol. Aly, though, refuses to learn and act like a lady, as Auntie Clair wants her to. The little girl doesn’t have a strong relationship with her uncle because he is always farming and never has time to talk and be friendly.
In the beginning of StoweAway, Aly and Zek meet up with a gang of boys called the Rats who wreck havoc in East Bristol. She is the only girl because she is a tomboy. They create mischief around the town, and we begin to realize that Aly has a link to the animals of the world. She doesn’t realize what sort of a power she has.
The story goes on with a raven telling Aly about an army marching towards East Bristol. The city has guards and armor, but has no sentries. They wouldn’t be able to withhold Lord Isaac’s men. Aly races back to Uncle Steven and Auntie Clair and tell them about the army, and they refuse to believe her. They punish her for lying, but soon realize that she was telling the truth as a large army, hundreds upon hundreds are spotted heading towards the city. All of the men are summoned to fight with guns and knives and any sort of weapon they had.
Aly and Auntie Clair remain at their home with Zek for the battle. They hide in Aly’s room and curl up with each other. The battle rages on around them, and soon, well into the night, it is over. Auntie Clair discovers that Uncle Steven has been taken captive, along with any other surviving prisoners. Some of them heard rumors from the captain of Lord Isaac’s army that they were searching for a child. Auntie Clair knows that he is looking for Aly, because she is Lord Isaac’s daughter. She makes a hasty decision to flee the country and live in America. Aly, though, protests, saying that she refuses to leave her friends. In the end, after Auntie Clair mentions that she is three months pregnant, Aly decides to go to ‘help the baby grow’.
In the next section of the book, Auntie Clair and Aly journey with others to the coast. From there they will sail over the sea to America. A day before they reach London, Auntie Clair dies in childbirth, giving birth to an infant named Tristan Stowe. Aly vows to take care of him, but the people take the baby away, saying that Aly is only 12 and cannot care for a child. After much protesting, the baby is given to a family and never heard from again.
Aly is alone in the world, save it for Zek, who has traveled along with her. Zek is nearly full grown now, and is considered unusual when seen walking around the London streets. Aly finds an empty warehouse and stores Zekyll in there. The girl returns at night to feed and sleep with her.
Aly remains in London for two weeks, missing the boat that she would’ve taken with Auntie Clair if she had been alive. The girl and her leopard decide to travel to America still. They stash themselves away on a ship—soon to discover that it is a pirate ship. The pirates had though to been extinct for almost a centaury, but this band of robbers had survived. Aly stows away in cell in the ship and is discovered and questioned. There is a storm that night, and Aly and Zek are thrown into the sea, where it swallows them whole, and the girl knows that she is going to die. [/spoiler]
Progress Journal:
8-7-08: I have finished my character chart for Aly Stowe, and my synopsis. I feel like I've accomplished a lot so far. It's been a lot of fun working with the characters that I fell in love with a long time ago. I think this time 'round I'll make them much, much better.
I'm having some trouble, though. East Bristol is the city that Aly grows up in. I want to make it rich. Not monetarily rich, but rich in history. Culture. I talked with Saint Razorblade about it a while back and gave me some good advice. I suppose that I'm going to have to write the whole history of the city out, even though most of it isn't going to be included in the actual novel. Do you guys plan out your major cities before you write them?
I haven't began writing anything yet, considering I can't figure out where to start. In my first draft that I wrote, I started out with Judge Isaac debating with the Prime Minister about his plan to kill the poor people so that the rich can have more money and won't have to waste it on charities. The Prime Minister disagrees and Judge Isaac ends up killing him.
Anyway. That's the beginning. I don't know whether to start there, or start with Aly Stowe. What do you guys think?
Gender:
Points: 7740
Reviews: 713