I finished a very rough draft of my middle grade novel today. I am excited to get back into it and work through some revisions! The characters and plot are all there, but the descriptions are lacking a bit at this point, and some of the character’s motivations are … murky at best. But the overall story is strong, and I am excited to finish telling it. Here’s the beginning for those of you who haven’t seen it yet:
Chapter One
There’s a few things you need to know about me. First, my name is Charles Pinklesworth the 15th. And I’m a girl. My father wanted a boy, you see, and didn’t give up his aspirations just because he had me.
Mum calls me Charlie. Father simply hates that. So everyone else calls me Charles.
My best friend, Maria, she always says it sounds like I have a British accent. She says my whole family talks funny. Like we’re not from around here. Trent says it’s not a British accent. It’s a stupid accent. But he’s just mad because I always clobber him on the math speed tests. Nobody ever beats me on the speed tests. Not even the fractions. I leave them in the dust.
But I’m moving too fast. Mr. Julian always says to tell them what they need to know first. Don’t start right in the middle. So, like I said, my name is Charles. I’m ten years old with bright blonde hair and a big gap between my front teeth. It helps me whistle really loud.
I guess I should also tell you I’m in a wheelchair. I don’t really care anymore, but other people seem to, so you’ll probably want to know too. My legs don’t work, but my wheelchair is wicked fast, all black wheels and shiny spokes, and I can outrun any kid in my class (except Maria – she’s an all-star!). So the wheelchair’s not that big of a deal. Seriously, it doesn’t even get me out of gym class.
Nothing gets you out of Mr. Anderson’s class. He has me doing push-ups against the wall, even though I tell him it’s not really doing anything.
“Twenty more push-ups!” he yells.
“Yes sir!” I yell right back. That’s fine with me. It’s not like I’m missing anything with the leg stretches either.
Anyways, I have a dog named Cordelia and two yellow finches. I live at 232 Glastonbury Lane in Generation, Illinois. My teacher is Mr. Julian and my favorite color is blue.
Oh, and I rode a minotaur.