Status Saturday

Haven't written many new words on the WIP this week. In fact, I deleted about 400. However, I did succeed in polishing the first 50 pages to send off to Rockstar.

I must say, ego hopefully aside, that I'm really happy with them. I struggled a bit with the idea of injecting enough YA voice into the main character without veering into a weird 18th vs. 21st Century anachronistic cluster F. As much as I'd love for Maggie to say to General Washington, "Dude, do not even worry about it. I've so got this covered." I figured I should at least make an attempt at authenticity in the dialogue. But at the same time, I wasn't going to go all 1740's Pamela either:

I have been scared out of my senses; for just now, as I was folding up this letter in my late lady’s dressing-room, in comes my young master! Good sirs! how was I frightened! I went to hide the letter in my bosom; and he, seeing me tremble, said, smiling, To whom have you been writing, Pamela?—I said, in my confusion, Pray your honour forgive me!—Only to my father and mother. He said, Well then, let me see how you are come on in your writing! O how ashamed I was!—

Yeah, no.

So now onward! I've been researching 18th-Century sailing ships like a junky in withdrawal, snatching up old books online at a frantic pace. But I think I've settled on a ship for the main part of the story. I decided to go brigantine over brig or sloop. I wanted a fast ship, big enough to have a quarterdeck but not large enough to have a separate gun deck. I'm using this ship - a privateer from the period named Fair American as the model:

And no, that's not my model. I'm a geek, but I draw the line somewhere.