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Chatterbox: Inkwell
Ascent~
Prologue
When they call me Crystal, they aren’t referring to my birth name. They are talking about the way the way I have formed slowly, over time. The way that I am unique. The way I am sharp around the edges. I am born from heat and pressure. I am something that reflects the firelight of evening storytelling and glows with an eerie glimmer. I’ve come so far. Built up so much. I thought I left nothing behind, when I left an eternity and embraced a void. I am a riddle; an enigma. I come from a farm in the land of peace, and yet I set out to prove that peace is a relative thing. So when they talk about me, they are talking about a shadow of myself, because I think I left myself behind years ago. I think I left myself behind the day you were forced to leave. I think I left myself behind when I saw you board the ship and felt I was already sinking. I know you had no choice, and yet some part of me went missing that day, and I’m still looking for it in all the wrong places. You asked me what happened. I’m still wondering. You asked me who I really am. I still don’t know. You asked me where it started. This one, I can answer. It started on the little farm in Zequa. I hope this answers your questions, although I don’t know whether or not it counts as an explanation.
Yours,
Crytal Ocee
Okay, this is the prologue to my FIRST EVER NanoNovel! I only have about 3,500 words so far :( but hey, it's a nice start of what is hopefully going to become an annual tradition. So, I don't write a lot of fantasy, and this book is very difficult for me to configure. I'm especially having trouble introducing the different chatacters. I thought your typical, cliche, mysterious letter prologue might make it a little easier, but the question is...is it too vague? Does it make you want to read the rest, or are you like (*Thomas Jefferson Voice*): WHAAAAAAAAAAT?
submitted by Rose bud, age 15
(November 20, 2017 - 9:40 am)
(November 20, 2017 - 9:40 am)
Wow, nice, Rosey! I love your writing style, and the simple description in this is beautiful.
(November 26, 2017 - 5:23 pm)
Thanks! I know NanoWriMo is over, but here's a little more in case anyone is interested.
The breakfast-time sounds of loud chatter mixed with the dull clunk of thick-soled boots on hardwood floors rise up the stairs to greet me when I open the door. I hover in the doorway, staring across the narrow hallway at the closed door of my oldest brother, Zayd. A sudden thought gallops across my mind like one of those fire-lit horses. Maybe I can show Jade the bit I’ve been trying to solve. She’s always smart with puzzles. Whirling around, I sift through the junk on my floor. Off-white papers covered in symbols, homemade dictionaries, and carefully copied sections from my books slip through my fingers. Within seconds, I find the most recent note. The dusty charcoal scribbles are still fresh on the smudged paper. Holding it by the corners, I carefully place it into my pocket. My newest revelation tucked away in the creases of my dirt-smudged work pants, I follow the smell of bacon downstairs.
When I reach the last stair, the front door swings open and shut, inviting in a little piece of the cool, crisp morning. A moment later, a head pokes around the stair railing.
“Well, look who decided to finally roll out of bed!” My older brother, Asta, says with a sloppy grin. His brown hair dangles in front of his eyes, and he blows it upward with a short breath before coughing into the crook of his arm. I allow him a “good morning” out of the corner of my mouth before pushing by him. Asta lets me pass in a rare gesture of decency and follows behind me to the kitchen like a taller, thinner shadow.
(December 2, 2017 - 9:20 pm)