I knew writing time was going to be at a premium this weekend. My ultimate goal was to break 30K words on Lanternfish, but I didn’t make it.
I’ve been stealing an hour here and there in an alternate room, and it just isn’t the same. I’m a firm believer that all progress is progress, so I have some of that to keep me positive.
A big part of my slower pace comes down to logistics. I’m dealing with a fantasy world in Lanternfish, but ships don’t just sail from point to point. Even with James’s sextant, there are weeks and months involved in moving the ship.
I have them with an easy appointment to make with the Prelonian Navy, but too much time on their hands. They decided to go chasing information about a new enemy in the war, but still need to make their rendezvous.
I like the extra tension this brings, but I’m writing myself into a corner to a degree. They need to visit two or three places, but still make the appointment. There are going to be delays with piracy, exploring, and more.
It’s easy enough to “magic” my way out of this issue, but that isn’t fair to readers. Even with James’s sextant there have to be rules. It has a limited range, even though it’s much greater than other ships can sail in a day.
They’re going to be doing some exploring in what is similar to the South Pacific. Since this is a fantasy world, I don’t have to place all the islands exactly like they might appear on Earth.
Now a bright author might just back up and change the time of the appointment to allow for all this exploring. I could do it, but I want to challenge myself. I’m even toying with the idea of being at the rendezvous point late. This could add some extra tension to the series. What sort of disaster could this lead to? (It is book two of a trilogy, so a bit of tragedy is allowed.)
There are other forces at work here, too. I have a tropical storm hinted at that will cause some delays and diversions. So I have partial information they need on two different islands, plus a tropical storm, and a tight deadline they have to make. Let’s face it, there needs to be some piracy going on here too.
One fun bit today. I included a mermaid in my story. I swore to avoid traditional monsters and legends in this tale, but there she was. She isn’t like anything you’ve likely seen before. She’s about 90 feet long and towers above the ship when she visits. She could easily pull them down to the depths, but is a benevolent creature/person. (For a change.)
In my mind it’s a good time to go back to the paycheck job. Some of this stuff tends to work itself out during the commute. I may have to adjust my outline a bit to make it all come out the way it should.
Lanternfish spent the entire first book without having everything they need. It involved crew, guns, munitions, etc. I’m also thinking about what it might do to the crew to have too much. How motivated might they be to assist in the war when their hull is overflowing with treasure? People with nothing to lose see the world differently than those who have more than they’ll ever need. It’s an interesting concept if James has to hold the crew together in face of this new challenge.
Again, putting it aside for a week often brings more clarity to issues like this. I may even have a solution in mind, but need some time to work it all out.
That was my writer’s weekend. As a couple, we managed date night at Old Chicago and I sampled the seasonal beers. We also rented Godzilla King of the Monsters, and I really liked it. I like the way they worked in the fever theory of global warming. The theory is that living creatures get a fever when they’re sick to kill off the bug that’s causing the problem. In the fever theory, Earth is the creature, global warming is the fever, and we are the virus that’s making her sick. This theory has been around for a long time, but it was cool that the film went with it.
For those of you who get a holiday, I hope you’re enjoying your Labor Day. For everyone else, I wish you a happy Monday whatever you’re doing.
That fever theory always reminds me of Agent Smith in ‘The Matrix’ comparing humans to viruses. Who would have thought he’d be onto something there? Sounds like the Lanternfish is destined be late with all those things happening.
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Good example. Making Lanternfish late has some advantages. They would have to make a decision to act without full knowledge. Neat bit of tension. I don’t have to solve that mystery for a few more chapters.
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Good to have some time. Since it’s the ‘bridge’ volume, you can do a lot of things that can carry over.
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There is a lot more to this than I expected. I can drop plants that will payoff later, but have to keep this volume relatively its own story. There needs to be some kind of limited success within this book.
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That’s always the challenge of a part 2 of 3. It needs it’s own story with connections to the first part and foreshadowing to the third. Dropping plants for later definitely helps . . . Are we talking foreshadowing or are the characters really delivering plants? I ask because I remember a video game having the latter as a big side quest.
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Foreshadowing, but hey. It’s one of my books and I already have plant characters.
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Good point.
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Not enough mermaids in fantasy. Definitely not enough giant mermaids for sure.
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It was a difficult choice for me. I may go back and change it later. Made for some fun off-color remarks from the pirates after the fact.
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A big ole mermaid sounds fun. Best wishes that you pull it all together. I know you will.
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I will, eventually. Solving all the logistics puzzles is part of the fun.
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I know what you mean.
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Sounds productive enough to me! New ideas are always good. The pirates seem to be coming along nicely:)
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It’s just a matter of having the pieces fall into place for this story. Then they can go about the mission I have planned for them.
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I’m always thinking of my stories during my daily commute too. Most other times as well, picking at plot threads. I’m sure you’ll come up with all manner of new scenarios for your pirates. And I can’t wait to meet the mermaid!
We rented Godzilla King of the Monsters this weekend, too. Definitely entertaining, and I loved all the various titans, even if we only caught glimpses of them. The one that looked like a mammoth was my favorite.
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I’ve never seen the mammoth one before, but many of the others were in their own films 50 years ago. Solving my logistical problems is kind of fun, so I’ll get there eventually.
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Giant benevolent mermaid FTW! We absolutely will not read it unless there’s piracy. Do not skimp on the piracy.
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That’s a fact. When I stopped for the day, a ship was in sight. This one may surrender fairly easily, because of all the war disruption going on. Still working that out in my head.
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Commute writing serves you well 🙂
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It sounds like the Laternfish crew are having a great time, Craig. “People with nothing to lose see the world differently than those who have more than they’ll ever need.” truer words were never spoken, we can see the implications of this all around us.
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It might be fun to explore in fiction.
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Sounds exciting! Also sounds like you’ve got a lot to think about during your daily commutes this week.
Glad you had a nice datenight in there too.
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Working out the logistics can be part of the fun.
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A 90 foot long mermaid – can’t wait to read about that! I’d been on the fence about renting the new Godzilla, but you’ve convinced me.
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Hope you aren’t a Red Sox fan. Enjoy the show.
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It must have been movie weekend. We had Rocketman on our list.
I also do my thinking on the daily commute. It i get a really great idea, I text it to myself, and no, not when driving. I have hands free texting. If I have the husband’s car, I pull over and send it. So many times I thought, I’ll remember, and didn’t.
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I’ve done that one too. Memories are such fleeting things. I lost a good character name last week because I didn’t write it down.
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Oh wow! A 90 foot Mermaid!! I am already loving this book and it isn’t written yet. 🙂 Congrats on the movement even if it wasn’t your word count goal. As you say, any progress is progress!! Onward through the fog!
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Figured if I was going to include a mermaid she had to be different to what came before. Still working out the logistics, but I’m getting closer.
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Whatever the outcome, I hope you have fun with it.
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