22 July 17 Draft Finished!
I'm putting the Ice Pirates story off to the side for a week or two, letting it marinate and see how it ages. It's a good first draft, just over 8,000 words. Finished in a marathon late-night session a few days ago. I had a sudden burst of 'Let's get this done!'
I've sent the draft out to a few Beta readers to get some feedback, including my wife, though the genre is not her style. I really appreciate her input. Also had a good review session on Skype with one of the readers from the Creative Writers Facebook group.
When I pick the story up again and apply any edits the final draft will probably be somewhere between 9-10K. Too big for the original outlet I was going to send it to, so I'll see about farming it out to other publishers. Might even make this my first Kindle Direct novel.
Although I don't write with a certain mood or influence in mind, upon reflection, I hope the piece has a Fifth Element feel to it: some adventure, some comedy (in this case through the character Cheeks), some wow factor in there too. I look forward to writing some more stories involving Sea Dog, Cheeks, Winder, and Captain Connor as well. Got a good little crew there. I thought I would have more fun writing the pirates but it turned out I enjoyed the regular sailors more. Well, regular is a relative term in this case. :)
For those aspiring writers out there, steps to remember when writing:
1. Write a complete first draft. This step is the hardest sometimes!
2. Give your story to a few readers to look over. Whether you have an editor or just some good friends, every writer misses something.
3. Put your writing aside for a few days. This can be done over the same time input from your readers is coming in. This gives your brain some time to subconsciously work on your story.
4. Review any inputs from your readers and then read your story again. Read with a fresh set of eyes and those inputs from your readers.
5. Incorporate any changes or inputs that you agree with from your readers and any new ideas you have. Notice I didn't say just add in any inputs from your readers. It's your story! You're the final say on what goes in there.
Time to take a little break from writing and get back to my day job. Going to see what inspiration hits me after that. Good luck to all the writers out there! Maybe I'll do a little drawing next. My daughters like to draw, they inspire me to do some doodling again. They are both better than I am, by the way.
Good luck to all, happy creating!
Picture for today: Santa Pirate!
16 July 17: So I've continued to work on my Ice Pirates story over the last week or two. It's coming along well, almost 6,000 words with about 1,000-2,000 remaining to write. I still have some work to do improving conversations, crystallizing visuals, and tightening the plot twists, but I am happy with the direction it is going in. I've never written a pirate story before! Barring any unforeseen issues, this story will be part of the Seasons Anthology collection from Wolfsinger Press sometime in the future.
Below is the first three hundred words or so, to give you a taste. Tell me what you think in the comments!
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Demons on the High Seas [working title]
“Contact,” the spotter up in the Crow’s Nest shouted to the sailors down below. “Horizon off to port, amidships!”
The first mate, a tall, tattooed, hardened hand by the name of Sea Dog Sam, yelled back a sharp “Heard!” to the sailor up in the basket on the main mast and headed toward the front end of the ship. He climbed the few steps to the fo’c’sle, the small raised deck at the bow of the ship where the captain of the ship was watching the waves.
It was cold this slow morning on the high seas, a Nor’Wester bringing a wintry wind with a chance of rain as the ship made the months-long ocean voyage to the New Lands. “Cap’n Connor.” Sam raised his voice to be heard over the biting air and salt water spray. “Cap’n.” He handed the master of the ship a hot bowl of porridge. “Compliments of the chef. There’s the usual complaints from the passengers and crew, nothing new from below decks. Spotter reports a ship on the horizon, amidships off to port.”
The captain nodded his thanks. This was their first run together, but they were meshing well since pulling out of port, with Sea Dog a fitting replacement into the crucial role of first mate.
Placing his breakfast on the railing, the captain uncovered his scrying stone. “Best take a look before I dine. Not expecting any company on our crossing.” Raising the clear crystal up, the captain scanned the northern horizon. “Ice Pirates!” he yelled, even before putting the precious gemstone away. “Damn and double damn, Sea Dog!” Captain Connor turned around and roared, “Helmsman! Hard to starboard! Bos’n! Run full sail south! Winder, get to blowing! All hands heave to! Look lively boys!” His steaming porridge went over the side as the ship turned, the small splash lost in the instant commotion from the crew of the ship named Breaker.
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For this blog entry, the picture below is what comes to my mind when someone says they have angry thoughts. Their head is ablaze with anger. They see red. I'm not sure if that is what the artist was thinking of when he or she created this piece, it is darker than a piece centered around anger should look like in my opinion. But it is rather evocative.
