Free Novelette – The Caravan
Writing The Caravan has been a long process.
The Idea came from a dream I had about two years ago. I don’t want to give away the story before you read it, so I’ll just say, the dream inspired the big, dramatic scene towards the end. Because of this, I thought it would be a horror story. (It is most definitely not a horror story.)
My Process
I wrote a few sentences down about the dream in my idea book, knowing it needed to be fleshed out before it could be a story. Over the next few months, I asked questions about the motivations of the people and the wolves. I thought about the setting and how that affected peoples lives.
By the time I started writing, I had a basic understanding of how it started, where the journey led, and how it ended. This was a skeleton of an idea.
Because of work and family and other hobbies, I’m a slow writer. But this is how I write best. I get the bones down, and then overtime color in the body, sometimes by adding only one sentence or even one word during a writing session.
During my writing process, there are many days I don’t write. However, the story is always stored in my memory, peculating. As I read about writing, and think about my story, smaller ideas are added in the mix and slowly the story is formed.
Time to let go
I was able to spend extra time this summer writing and editing. After reading this more than 20 times, I’m finally ready to share it.
Some things to prepare you for. It’s longer than a regular short story, over 7,500 words, which puts it in novelette territory. And it’s still far from perfect, especially the grammar. I’m not a grammarian, although, I have had beta readers who’s critiques were extremely helpful.
Thank you for taking the time to read The Caravan. If you enjoy my story, please share it with your friends and family.