I've been updating my Facebook page with each new post but haven't been updating here. I'm up to 10 chapter on Isaac, the First Sky Pirate now. I changed the name from "Isaac, Shield-Bearer" over the weekend to be a bit more interesting and to be more indicative of where the story is heading.
Isaac, The First Sky Pirate can be found at the following locations:
I finished part 2 of Isaac, Shield Bearer. Still need to come up with a catchier title but it'll do for now. I'm having a lot of fun writing this story and I think I've struck a decent balance between the two extremes I usually take of "just start writing and figure out where it goes along the way" and "have every detailed planned out from beginning to end before you write a word." I have the outline of where the story will go but it's broad enough I can change things as I write.
And now up on Royal Road:
I felt the pull of perfectionism creeping in again. This morning was the third time I had sat down and wrote the first part of (working title) Isaac, Shield Bearer. I kept starting the chapter, writing a few paragraphs, then deleting everything and starting over. It's the trap I always fall into when I start writing, I want to have everything reach some impossible standard and end up posting nothing.
So I finally forced myself to go back to my original self-imposed challenge: post whatever I can write in a single sitting each morning with no chance to just leave it in draft until I polish it. I slapped together a cover and now I've got just shy of a thousand words written. I'll eventually come back and polish things, or maybe do what I did with Sky Pirate and rewrite the entire thing once the rough draft is done, but I want to at least have content coming out.
Submitted to Royal Road, pending approval
Progress on the rewrite of By sun or Sword is going well. A lot of time is being spent planning out the storyline. Historically I've tended to just get an idea and jump in, figuring things out as I go along. Sometimes this has worked for me, even in the case of A sky pirate's last Flight I 'discovered' a lot of the story in the process of writing and rewriting it. However, I think Isaac's story is going to be longer than Nathaniel's and I want to be sure I have a good outline of what's going to happen between beginning and end.
One thing I'll need is a new title. Originally, the story covered Isaac's side deciding to use a magically induced heatwave and drought to help drive out the invading Tarid empire, or soften them up to be defeated in battle. The new version of the story takes place after the Great War ended, Isaac discharged from service and trying to survive in a world dealing with the aftermath of magic interference with the weather on an unprecedented scale as well as the natural consequences of a war that started as a standard medieval "swords, shields, pikes, and bows" style of fighting and ended with guns, cannons, steam-powered vehicles, and the advent of airships. Famine caused by farmers being conscripted and killed in battle, the loss of the Callers whose magic ensured good crops, and the disrupted weather all make for a dangerous and hostile world. The story now focuses more heavily on Isaac's attempt to find a place to fit in and survive the hostile, dangerous world he finds himself in after spending decades in the army.
I'll also be getting a better quality cover for this story. Nothing too crazy but I don't want to turn people off with the low effort, slapped together covers I've been using.
