#sorry there isn't a clear synopsis it's the whole discovery writing thing but what i have there sums it up pretty well anyway

[formulatingfiction]

Malediction - WIP Intro

Title: Malediction

Form: short story

POV & Tense: past tense, third person limited

Genre: contemporary, literary fiction

Themes & Subject Matter: truth, trust, reality, mental illness, unhealthy mother-daughter relationship, disillusionment

Setting: a mix of Victorian-style and cottage-style house is in a very isolated area of the bush*. the house belongs to mc’s mother. the house is small and showing light weathering.

Status: writing the first draft

Summary: Mother believed the family was cursed. ‘The curse–’ Mother had told Olive, ‘–will affect all things in life.’ It is why Olive’s dog succumbed to the snake-bite, why her and Mother’s pockets seemed to get caught on the cupboard doorknobs more often than other people’s, why Olive must always stay there, in their home.

‘Our family wasn’t always like this.’ Mother would say, her eyes staring through Olive, seeing into the past. ‘No, this family used to have good luck.’

Characters-

Olive: Olive is our main character. She’s a petite red-haired girl with freckles spotting her cheeks and nose. The story takes place from her perspective (in third person) and starts on the day before her 16th birthday. She is a sweet young girl but very naïve. She loves to draw with the cheap pencil set her mother bought from the local Post Office. She also loves to learn. She wants to make her mother happy, no matter what it means for herself. Her mother is her whole world and all she has. Olive has been home-schooled by her mother since six years-old, her dad left when she was young, Olive knows no-one else. With no evidence or contradictions from the outside world, Olive has been left no choice but to believe in the curse that plagues their family.

The Mother: The mother plays the role of a subtle antagonist in this story. If you were to ask my characters what the antagonist in their lives were, they would say the curse. The mother is a bit of a scattered character. Her moods, ideas and opinions shift frequently. The only things that stay the same are her love for Olive, her fear of the curse, and her willingness to protect Olive from it. The mother can often be found in her wrinkled purple t-shirt that she owned before Olive was born, her red hair scraggly and dry. It is heavily implied throughout the story that the mother is suffering from some type of mental illness.

My Thoughts:

So, my friends, this is my very basic introduction to my current WIP Malediction. Some things may be changed as I continue writing since I’m trying my hand at discovery writing for the first time. Also, it is still a little baby being in its unfinished first draft phase. Because of its first draft/discovery status, the characters (and the story really) aren’t as fleshed out as I’m hoping they will be in later drafts. Anyway, if you read this my appreciation for you is indescribable.

*the bush is Australian slang for a wooded area, kind of like a forest? but more Australian. Hahaha why is the bush so hard to explain, here’s a link to explain it better.