Post by Angel Kaida on May 30, 2009 19:22:54 GMT -5
I'm writing a story for my little brother. I was hoping, over the course of the summer, to read a book with him. He is five, with a fairly high reading level, and I wanted to find a book that would challenge him, but I also wanted to avoid overly intense or complex stories (Ender's Game will have to wait a few years). To complicate things, he requested that the book be about castles and princesses and suchlike. In my searches at Borders, I was unable to find anything appropriate, so I decided I would just start writing. This is the story so far, and I also have some of the plot figured out. I know there is still some polishing to be done if it's ever to be a serious work (some of which stems from my attempt to keep the new vocabulary manageable), but so far I'm pretty happy with it.
Dragon Bones:
A Book for Jacob
by Angel Kaida
For as long as he could remember, the little boy had wondered about the great castle. It was huge and very beautiful. It had vast windows with colorful pictures made of glass. It was made of stone. It was also very far away, so that it looked very little from his house. From his school, Jason could not see it at all.
He imagined the fun and exciting people who might live there. There might be queens, who would wear beautiful clothes and jeweled crowns, and they would sit on thrones all day. There might be brave princes, who would fight dragons and save children from evil witches. There might be wise kings, who would make proclamations to make people's lives happier. There might even be a little princess who could be his friend. He imagined that the little princess would be conscientious and smart. She would love animals and know all kinds of things about rocks and bugs and dinosaurs. She would not be afraid of snakes.
One day, after a long day at school, Jason could not stop thinking about the castle and wondering what was in it.
While he was coloring, he thought about the castle.
While he was baking cookies with his mom, he thought about the castle.
While he was playing with his dog, he thought about the castle.
While he was playing games with his big brother, he thought about the castle.
When his big sister came home from school, he asked her if she had ever been to the castle. She shook her head, smiled, and asked, "Would you like to go to the park to play?" Even though he was still curious, he wanted very much to go to the park, so he nodded happily and didn't ask any more questions about the castle.
At the park, Jason pretended that he was a brave prince fighting big, scary monsters. He pretended that he lived in a castle. He saw a pretty little red bird, and he pretended that the little bird was his guide on a quest to find magic stones for the princess's crown. He did not know that soon, he would have a very different guide on a much more dangerous, important, and exciting quest. The next day, Jason's big sister took him out to a grassy meadow to fly kites. The sun was very bright, and the blue sky had only a few fluffy clouds. The wind was not too strong, just strong enough to pull Jason's orange kite into the sky. His kite was so high that it looked like a bright orange dot in the blue sky.
Jason's sister said, "Let's race!" They raced across the meadow. Jason's sister was winning at first, but Jason started to catch up. Suddenly, his sister's kite got stuck in a tree, and the string broke because she kept running. She stopped. Jason started laughing so hard he had to stop running and fell down in the soft grass.
"Help me get it down," said his sister. They both started jumping up and down, trying to grab a branch or the kite, but it was much too high. While they were jumping, Jason heard a loud, strange noise coming from far away.
"What's that sound?" he asked. His sister stopped and looked around. Then she pointed. Jason looked where she was pointing. He saw a huge black creature with flapping wings, hurtling out of the sky. It was flying so fast that it was blurry, and it was coming right for them.
Jason's sister grabbed his hand and ran under the tree. She pulled him so hard he fell down into the grass and hurt his knee. He started crying, but his sister hugged him and covered his mouth. "Shhhh!" The creature flew past them, and Jason heard a terrible screech, like a girl screaming but much, much louder. It tumbled into the grass. Jason looked at his sister, and he saw that her eyes looked very wide. She was looking at the enormous creature, which was starting to get up. Jason watched it. It had a long, curved, sharp beak with many pointy teeth. It had big claws that looked like a bird's claws, and wings, which looked leathery and tough like a bat's wings. It had no feathers at all. Instead, it had shiny scales like a snake. It turned its head and looked right at Jason with its bright orange eyes. Jason wondered if it was a dragon.
Jason's sister stood up, then helped Jason stand up too. She whispered, "Come on!" They both stood looking at the monster for a few seconds, then started to run together across the meadow, toward home. As they were running, Jason heard the loud, terrible noise again. He looked back over his shoulder and saw that the monster was chasing them. Jason's sister ran even faster, pulling him along behind her. Finally, when they got to the trees at the edge of the meadow, his sister let go and stopped running. "Keep running, Jason!" she yelled, and he kept running, but he looked behind him.
"Come on!" he yelled to her. Instead, she turned around to look at the monster. Jason had to stop running because he was scared. He hid behind a tree and watched. His sister picked up a huge branch that had fallen off the tree. She started to swing it at the monster, but Jason was afraid that the monster was too big to be scared of a stick. "Run! Run!" he yelled again.
Suddenly, the tallest man Jason had ever seen came running through the trees. He looked like he was made of metal, but Jason knew that he was wearing armor. The man took out a gigantic silver sword. The monster screeched at him. "Run!" the tall man yelled to Jason's sister. She ran to Jason, hugging him, and covered his eyes. He peeked between her fingers. The man started to fight the monster with his sword. Jason heard a very loud sound when the man's sword cut the monster's long tail. The monster screeched again at the man, then started to fly away through the tops of the trees. The man chased it for a few seconds, but the monster was too fast. The monster got away.
Dragon Bones:
A Book for Jacob
by Angel Kaida
For as long as he could remember, the little boy had wondered about the great castle. It was huge and very beautiful. It had vast windows with colorful pictures made of glass. It was made of stone. It was also very far away, so that it looked very little from his house. From his school, Jason could not see it at all.
He imagined the fun and exciting people who might live there. There might be queens, who would wear beautiful clothes and jeweled crowns, and they would sit on thrones all day. There might be brave princes, who would fight dragons and save children from evil witches. There might be wise kings, who would make proclamations to make people's lives happier. There might even be a little princess who could be his friend. He imagined that the little princess would be conscientious and smart. She would love animals and know all kinds of things about rocks and bugs and dinosaurs. She would not be afraid of snakes.
One day, after a long day at school, Jason could not stop thinking about the castle and wondering what was in it.
While he was coloring, he thought about the castle.
While he was baking cookies with his mom, he thought about the castle.
While he was playing with his dog, he thought about the castle.
While he was playing games with his big brother, he thought about the castle.
When his big sister came home from school, he asked her if she had ever been to the castle. She shook her head, smiled, and asked, "Would you like to go to the park to play?" Even though he was still curious, he wanted very much to go to the park, so he nodded happily and didn't ask any more questions about the castle.
At the park, Jason pretended that he was a brave prince fighting big, scary monsters. He pretended that he lived in a castle. He saw a pretty little red bird, and he pretended that the little bird was his guide on a quest to find magic stones for the princess's crown. He did not know that soon, he would have a very different guide on a much more dangerous, important, and exciting quest. The next day, Jason's big sister took him out to a grassy meadow to fly kites. The sun was very bright, and the blue sky had only a few fluffy clouds. The wind was not too strong, just strong enough to pull Jason's orange kite into the sky. His kite was so high that it looked like a bright orange dot in the blue sky.
Jason's sister said, "Let's race!" They raced across the meadow. Jason's sister was winning at first, but Jason started to catch up. Suddenly, his sister's kite got stuck in a tree, and the string broke because she kept running. She stopped. Jason started laughing so hard he had to stop running and fell down in the soft grass.
"Help me get it down," said his sister. They both started jumping up and down, trying to grab a branch or the kite, but it was much too high. While they were jumping, Jason heard a loud, strange noise coming from far away.
"What's that sound?" he asked. His sister stopped and looked around. Then she pointed. Jason looked where she was pointing. He saw a huge black creature with flapping wings, hurtling out of the sky. It was flying so fast that it was blurry, and it was coming right for them.
Jason's sister grabbed his hand and ran under the tree. She pulled him so hard he fell down into the grass and hurt his knee. He started crying, but his sister hugged him and covered his mouth. "Shhhh!" The creature flew past them, and Jason heard a terrible screech, like a girl screaming but much, much louder. It tumbled into the grass. Jason looked at his sister, and he saw that her eyes looked very wide. She was looking at the enormous creature, which was starting to get up. Jason watched it. It had a long, curved, sharp beak with many pointy teeth. It had big claws that looked like a bird's claws, and wings, which looked leathery and tough like a bat's wings. It had no feathers at all. Instead, it had shiny scales like a snake. It turned its head and looked right at Jason with its bright orange eyes. Jason wondered if it was a dragon.
Jason's sister stood up, then helped Jason stand up too. She whispered, "Come on!" They both stood looking at the monster for a few seconds, then started to run together across the meadow, toward home. As they were running, Jason heard the loud, terrible noise again. He looked back over his shoulder and saw that the monster was chasing them. Jason's sister ran even faster, pulling him along behind her. Finally, when they got to the trees at the edge of the meadow, his sister let go and stopped running. "Keep running, Jason!" she yelled, and he kept running, but he looked behind him.
"Come on!" he yelled to her. Instead, she turned around to look at the monster. Jason had to stop running because he was scared. He hid behind a tree and watched. His sister picked up a huge branch that had fallen off the tree. She started to swing it at the monster, but Jason was afraid that the monster was too big to be scared of a stick. "Run! Run!" he yelled again.
Suddenly, the tallest man Jason had ever seen came running through the trees. He looked like he was made of metal, but Jason knew that he was wearing armor. The man took out a gigantic silver sword. The monster screeched at him. "Run!" the tall man yelled to Jason's sister. She ran to Jason, hugging him, and covered his eyes. He peeked between her fingers. The man started to fight the monster with his sword. Jason heard a very loud sound when the man's sword cut the monster's long tail. The monster screeched again at the man, then started to fly away through the tops of the trees. The man chased it for a few seconds, but the monster was too fast. The monster got away.