It’s been on the backburner for a while, and as I have so much trouble staying online for more than half a minute at a time, this is what you get. It’s a bit of fun, and one day it may be a real story.
This is how my stories start life:
Two: Robbers, Roos & Roses
Idea: She feeds the big roos to keep them out of her roses, and when she’s robbed, bashed, and about to be abducted, what happens? Who’s there to save her?
Genre: Australiana
Where, when, who – working on it.
OPEN: mulching the garden, half over the fence – plus his favourite treat – the bath water drained into the gully for the mob to get access to green grass, check the fence between the garden and the gully is stable. The garden must be secured against the boomer, who jumps six foot without thinking about it.
THEME: don’t spoil the wild-life with special treats – they’ll never leave
SETUP: Country life, garden marauders.
CATALYST: she’s expecting the regular delivery, but the kid turns up with escaped prisoners (2).
DEBATE: what do we do with her and him? We can hide out here …
BREAK: the kid will be missed – tells them the store will call her – she thinks they’ll go.
B-STORY: they trash the joint, break the things she treasures more than money.
PINCH: they found the shotgun. One gets wounded when she fights them for it.
FUN/GAMES:
MID: tell them where the booze is – should she warn them how strong home-made is, or what she really uses it for? Nah.
AGAINST IT: Get the kid out after they pass out – tell him the gully shortcut – watch out for the boomer – go OVER the ridge, even though it’s tougher, longer. Don’t go along the main track. Go OVER.
PINCH: Where is the kid? She’s bashed, dragged outside.
ALL IS LOST:
DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL/LULL:
BREAK: she points out the gully track – sees kids shirt on the trail.
PREP FOR FINALE: she packs food and drink – he makes her taste everything first. It works, the injured one stays, and he wants food, medicine – and he doesn’t get her to test any of it.
SHOWDOWN: the sammo, the big boomer wants his treat. By the time the cops come, crooks happy to go back to prison.
END:
The moral of the tale: country life isn’t the quiet life, nor the easy life.
Cage Dunn - Fibber, Fabricator, Teller-of-Tall-Tales 
Maybe the wombat is the narrator??
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No, a little old lady. I have a wombat in another story, though, and he thinks like a tractor.
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Skippy on ‘roids? – Michael.
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Yep. Some of those buggers are scary.
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I have a fondness for wombats but little old lady will be ok too.
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Wombats are crazy-wonderful creatures. I once had to restump my home to accommodate a den (the builders gave me a discount for doing that).
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When we traveled in Australia they were our son’s favorites. He was four at the time.
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Great bones there Cage. Love the idea 👏👏
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These play-dates with stories are so much fun!
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🤣
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This is an interesting idea, Cage. I have been reading a few novels set in Australia lately. This would fit right in but with a humorous angle.
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Not sure if I could carry off the humour, though – been told I don’t have a sense of humour. Sadly true.
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Well, my mom says my sense of humour is warped so maybe none is better. PS, I have used your showing vs telling advice extensively in editing my latest manuscript so thanks again.
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It’s always good to have a sense of humour, gets a person out of a lot of trouble, I’ve noticed.
Glad the advice had value – it took me years to work through it (or maybe I’m still working through it!).
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I like the way you’ve presented your story… hey, I like your story, too. 🙂
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This is the preliminary play-date to see if it’s got what it takes to build into a real deal. Or not. Sometimes, they don’t, but if I keep them at the back of the stove, sooner or later they offer a waft of something interesting …
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I know what you mean, and yet it stands as a novel way of presenting a novel in shorthand.
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Don’t mess with the roos! 😀
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No, they run much faster than a human, maybe even most horses!
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