Over The Hill Preptober 2026

The Spark: What Are You Writing?
Oct 1 - Oct 9
This week is about turning "I have an idea" into something resembling a story.

The Elevator Pitch: Klavdiya V. Udaeva, Carmesina Falrook, Rhylan Coren, Oliver Atlas Barent, Leannah Kuijver-Colemann, and Maya Yavan all have something in common. They have come to the world of Klavdiya's imaginings and find their solace in each other.
1 Sentence: A group of kids learn that family isn't blood and sometimes the best thing you can do is have dreams and let go.
Three Things I Know:

• Leannah and Klavdiya both come to this 'realm' in dreams. Leannah has been to this realm almost every night since she was 13 (now 15) and fights her inner demons (though they appear as tangible monsters to her). Klavdiya dreams about this train station and fortress every night because it's her and Artyom's old imaginings that they played and talked about when they were younger. Carmesina, Rhylan, and Oliver all found this place by slipping between two things. Oliver wandered away from his father on a hunting trip and went between two trees and is now in a realm. Rhylan got chased off the road on his motorcycle and slipped past a creek. Carmesina went over a hill and past a powerline and found herself on a hill overlooking klava's fortress and river. Maya, on the other hand, fell asleep on the train and found herself at Klava's station. Klava and Leannah (called Lea) only come to the realm when they sleep, and time passes normally for them, but for everyone else, time has stopped save for the occasional trickling second in the outside world.
• This is found family! There will be a lot of fun loving scenes, but also a lot of heavy ones where they share their burdens and help each other out. Klavdiya's own inner demons have taken on the forms of Lea's, and they're been coming around more, endangering her new friends. Klava's never had them materialize like this before. Lea comes at the beginning of act two out of three.
• This is going to end with Klavdiya moving on. While the whole story may not only be from her POV, she's still the main, most important character. She will be starting a new school (heh. koldov.) and is gushing about it, while still sad that she won't be able to talk to them ever again. A sort of melancholy ending, that still leaves you feeling content that they can all continue with their lives while sharing experiences no one else will ever know or believe.

Three Things I Don't Know:

• I don't really know the middle part of the story? Like, the main bit of it. I know I'll need to link in that dreams are necessary for any sort of future, and that they're trying to clean up the place for her (like making her mind a comfortable place for her to be in) but I'm not sure if I have enough of a driving plot. I need more of an antagonist.
• It's mostly just the first one. Like I genuinely just don't know what the whole plot is.
• I don't know how the characters interact yet! I haven't really written them all out together or figured out the individual personalities, which I'm quite excited for ^^

The Promise: "I want this story to make the reader feel Fulfilled."
-The purpose of any good found family novel is to make the reader feel as though they were a part of a family that chose each other. (imo) I want this ending to be satisfying in a way that only leaving can make it.
CHALLENGE. Steal This Prompt: Pick one of these 10 elements and incorporate it somehow into your concept.

- A locked door There is a door in one of the towers that only Klava has the key to. It is the door to her record room, where she keeps track of all the people she's met, and what happened, and grudges, and debts (of course, as much as an eleven year old can. Like that time her dad yelled at her, or when her brother stole her sweets.)
- An unwanted inheritance
- A lie told at dinner
- Something buried beneath a tree
- An embarrassing lie Oliver totally isn't slightly smitten with Klava. or obsessed with her cat, Pushok. (10/11 year old feelings are so cute bro x-x)
- A secret
- Something very very pink
- A monster I feel like this is a given. Leannah's whole arc is just monsters x-x
- A sport game Carme has a volleyball (girl has everything in her bag. I'm not even joking) and is trying to teach these uncoordinated children how to bump a volleyball.
- A story within a story