The Perilous Forest

Several years back I started a story that I called The Enchanted Forest. The idea was good, but unfortunately it didn't have much of a plot, and after meandering aimlessly with it for seven or eight chapters I shelved it.

Then last year, halfway through NaNoWriMo, I decided to write something. I didn't want to force myself too much, I just wanted to have it started, and NaNo gave me the little push I needed.

I found myself thinking about The Enchanted Forest again, and the more I thought about it, the more the ideas started coming in. It was beginning to have an actual plot (imagine that!), and the characters became more real and alive. Even now, I'm still getting ideas for it that are very exciting. I love it when that happens.

I'm also trying, for the first time, to use K. M. Weiland's Outlining your Novel and Structuring Your Novel and it seems to be working. As much as I've always said that I am not an outliner, building a structure to support the story really makes sense. I would highly recommend both books.

So you're probably wondering what The Perilous Forest is about. Here's the synopsis:

Two children, Alice and Gilbert, set out to break a witch's three-centuries-old curse over their villages and to rescue Alice's brother.

I plan on sharing clips and snippets along the way and explaining the idea in more detail. It's still in the first draft stages, but here is a snapshot:

Drawing a deep breath she again faced south and began to run. The wind blew in her tear-streaked face; the pounding of her feet drowned out the music.Every time she paused she heard the music still, pursuing her, and fear gave wings to her feet.As she ran, ghostly figures of children passed her, all in the opposite direction, all progressing towards the forest. She did not know if they were real, or merely the phantoms of past years, but she kept well out of their way, and was glad when the road was once again deserted.