Naturans | Naturata

David is lost in a Yorkshire fog. Deep in a valley without mobile signal and only a stream to guide him, he discovers the remains of an unmapped and abandoned settlement. Here, he learns of the mystery that befell the place and the curious story of the Dale Heron.

A little intrigue, a little gothic horror. I'm trying to play with the idea of ingrained misogyny and the lessons we fail to learn at various stages in our treatment of women.

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If you're interested... BEHIND THE SCENES!

Writing is a process, and in this work I've tried to improve my writing by:

(1) Economising - I wrote a longer story called The Dale Heron (which is also on WattPad). Though I prefer the longer version, it is too long to be a true short story and perhaps rambles a bit. I wanted to push myself to see if I could find a better way to tell it. Though the two stories share some plot points and some prose, they are otherwise very different takes.
(2) Exploring new avenues - I usually have a fixed idea in my mind of where I want my plot to go, often thinking about them thoroughly in my mind before typing anything out. So I don't give myself space to write out different plot possibilities or alternative avenues for action. So this was a good opportunity to try it and flesh out ideas that could make for a definitive telling of the story.

In working on this version (and thinking about it next to The Dale Heron), I realised that there is perhaps a story to tell about nature: naturans (nature doing what it does) and naturata (the ways we affect nature). So, that's why I named this version as I did - it's a reminder that I may want to explore this in a third version.

Feedback is always welcome!