They’d left the keys there to taunt her. Naa lunged. Stupid. Like the first thirty times, the chains on her ankles tensed, snatching her back. Pain tore across her body as she slammed into the dungeon’s icy wall. She wheezed through chattering teeth. The glowing orange manacles around her wrists continued to shrink, their sinister laugh echoing in the darkness. She chuckled. Her tummy cramped. ‘I’ll need a long beauty rest after this.’ Wind whooshed in through the window slats, carrying sounds of distant brass harmonies and beating drums. The coronation! Seven days. That was how long the strongest–or most stubborn–magic wielders could survive before the manacles fused with their skin, sucking all their ability. It had been six days since Jasim threw her in, clearing the final obstacle to his coronation tomorrow. Naa’s chains rattled as she scrambled to her feet. She could not hang around for another day. If she could just reach the stupid keys! ...
Ooh, I make it sound so fancy. I watched a YouTube video. (Although, in all fairness, a commenter under said video said he couldn’t believe it was free.) It was a lecture, about 45 minutes long, and I’ll link it here so you can watch the whole thing. (Ms Kowal’s a great writer and teacher, so even if you’re already a short story expert it wouldn’t hurt to watch.) Read this bite-size version before you go there, though, and write along if you will. Let’s talk about MICE There are four types of stories: Milieu ( M ) - A character’s trying to get from Point A to Point B. Between those two points are a bunch of difficulties that make the story. Character enters → Difficulty → Character exits Inquiry ( I ) - The character wants to figure something out. Question → No answers for you! → Answer Character ( C ) - This is an internal struggle. The character wants to know something about himself, or change something about himself. Cha...