Not so short story

A few weeks back a friend of mine posted that her company was having a writing contest. It was free to enter at that time and if I won, my short fiction could be put into an anthology of theirs to be published in the future. Here is the problem I faced; I do not have any readily available short stories to submit. So, I set myself a goal: write as short story to submit. Okay, meet problem #2: I had three days to write a 10,000 word or less story that was stand alone and good enough to be considered. Needless to say, I did not meet my goal. I sort of knew it was a long shot, but I had never tried that before so I thought it would be fun.

Fear not my avid readers, my writing did not die at that. I began a short story idea for a simple fantasy story and got nearly to 10,000 words and realized I wasn't even halfway done with the idea. I learned about myself in this venture. I learned that I need to read and study short fiction before I try that, my idea was too broad and I spent too much time in character development for a short story. I learned that I can force myself to sit down and write even when I don't believe I am ready. And I learned that I can nearly go nuts trying to complete ludicrous goals and not to set them unwisely.

What I also learned was that my idea wasn't without merit. The story I began was kind of fun and could be written. So, I began to work on it and just go with it to see where it ended. It is simple, not epic fantasy dripping with deep thought and drama. It is a fun little story of adventure that should appeal to a younger audience than I have written to before. I tore into it and rewrote segments so that they would support a larger story. Now, I am ready to work on it.

''What is this story?'', you may have asked. (even if you didn't I am going to tell you anyways.)

A picture of a dragon statue I found online

Markus is a farmers son who is nearing his sixteenth birthday. All children in Gallenor have an option to leave a month before they turn sixteen and find a school to get an education. Few in the valley have taken to this practice in many years, but it is an opportunity for Markus. He already knows a few spells and wants to expand his knowledge of magic at the College of Wizardry. But, he needs something important, he needs a letter of recommendation from a full fledged wizard before he can even approach the school. Knowing this, he goes off to find Tolen the Wise, the only known wizard in the valley. Once he finally locates this Tolen, he discovers the ancient wizard is on the verge of death. Tolen bestows upon Markus something much greater  than a letter, he gives him a powerful wand. He also gives Markus a mission, to find the legendary Dragonwand and return it to the statue of the last dragon at Thendor, the capital of Gallenor. Unfortunately for Markus, it seems that there is much against him completing this mission, for all wizards in Gallenor have been rounded up and imprisoned. Barely a few days into his journey, Markus comes upon a village of Rakki, a dog people who live in the woods around Gallenor. There he meets a girl who is just like him, she too has magical talent. Only, she has lost both her parents to the Royal guards who are taking in all wizards. It has been four years since they were taken from her and she is beginning to lose hope of ever seeing them again. With the appearance of a powerful wand and a young man just like her she begins have hope. Crystal sets out with Markus to help him, in the hopes that his journey will bring about her parents freedom. Together, with the help of her adopted parents, Markus and Crystal must journey to the ominous Dragon Citadel and locate the Dragonwand while evading the Royal scouts, and return the wand to the statue before all is lost.


At least that is what I have so far. Thank you Kim for inspiring me to write this, lets see if I actually complete it.