Slacker.
Escape is really flowing along now. I'm so proud of myself! There was a point in my life not too long ago where the thought of writing this novel was too terrifying, and I put it aside. Eh, not like actually terrifying. There aren't any monster, dragons, fairies, reapers, were-animals, witches, demons, kelpies, harpies (or any other -ies), mermaids, warlocks, magic books, amulets, portals, mythology....
You see a pattern?
To tell the truth, I think it's because the novel lacks any of these elements that I found it so mountainous of a task. While any fiction writing involves a certain amount of imaginative leeway, fantasy provides the widest thoroughfare for wild ideas and flights of fancy. You can build your own world, make your own rules, and while that provides its own sort of challenge, I love the way I can create an element to fit a specific plot point. And also, while research plays a significant role in anything I write, I'll never have some Tir na nOg historian writing scathing reviews of my inaccurate depiction of the Celtic afterlife.
I hope. That would be a tad disconcerting.
But now I'm writing historic fiction, set on a friggin sailing ship no less. And there are certain things you just have to get right - from clothing to vocabulary, from 18th century technology to the mechanics of sailing a ship-rigged vs. a fore-and-aft rigged vessel. That's scary shit for a California music-major who's never even seen a sailboat let alone been on one.
Research. History. Imaginative leeway. They all gotta blend together in a happy Word Cocktail.
Mmmmm. Cocktail. Never to early in the day!
Dude, you're awesome for writing a straight historical! And that's great that it's coming along so well for you. It's so scary writing in a new genre but--like your story--what a great adventure!
ReplyDeleteYay for WIP productivity! And this is why I'm impressed with anyone who writes historicals. Even when I was researching 18th century sailing for a fantasy, I got so overwhelmed by everything that it nearly choked my writing.
ReplyDelete*bows to your greatness*
On the upside, it will likely be read by large numbers of people who also have never been on a sailboat. ;o) Or lived in the 18th century. Plus, the pleasure of research. Drink up!
ReplyDeleteBut I'm terrified of that one Patrick O'Brien geek who's read every single Aubrey novel plus all the appendage material and is going to call me out because spankers (naughty) weren't used until the 1790's or some such thing!
ReplyDelete