Short story

I found myself a little lacking in things to do this week, so I decided to put in an attempt at creativity. Anyone who knows me, knows I am not overly creative in the literary sense (although I have written a few short stories, mostly for high school English assignments, and my sister and I wrote one together in middle school; and I'm an avid reader). I'm not even really creative in the engineering sense (i.e. not good at coming up with a novel design, but I can take someone else's and make it manufacturable and put together a development document package). But I figured it was worth a shot.

The story falls under the fantasy category, but feel as though I'm borrowing heavily from novels I've read, so probably not entirely original. At any rate, it's not done yet. I will likely post it here when I'm finished, so stay tuned! (And by stay tuned, I mean follow my blog for a while because I don't know how long this will take.)

Here are the first two paragraphs for a teaser, and any good plot direction suggestions (not really looking for criticism, just ideas).

"It was a clear, cold night when the small boat drifted onto the deserted beach. The moon was waning in its cycle, leaving only a pale glimmer on the surface of the water. The only sound to be heard was the lapping of the waves against the sand, and the whisper of the wind in the trees just beyond the edge of the beach.

The dingy settled itself into the wet sand with a slurping sound as the tide receded. A pair of hands appeared, gripping the edge as a small form peeked out above the rim. The dark eyes glinted in the moonlight as the girl looked fearfully around. She carefully climbed out of the vessel, her ragged garment hanging loosely on her frame like a burlap sack on a broomstick. She couldn’t have been more than 7 or 8 years of age."

To be continued...