Sailing with Captain Varney

 

 

As of two days ago, I’ve reached page 120 of my second novel, which is tentatively titled “Dragons and Angels”.  My hero, Pol Dairre, has learned that sorcerors have imprisoned the Archangel of Light and are draining him for energy with which to fuel the kingdom of Ryze.  Through the device of a gem called sangold, the King learns that Pol has discovered the plan and imprisoned him in the Spyre  --rather like the Tower of London.  Pol has escaped, has visited his wife Vyessa and is now going abroad.  He seeks the dragon Akloganzurrat who, the angel has told him, holds the key to the angel’s freedom. Having taken some money saved by his wife, Pol meets Captain Varney, who offers to take him on board the good ship Fortitude to hunt a sea monster called the harrowfish, or simply Harrow.

 

Well and good.  All of that sounds really meaty.  And I’ve written the hell out of those first 120 pages.  The thing is, I know nothing about sailing vessels of the 16th and 17th century, the general time frame in which my novel is set.  Very often, I can parley what is effectively a scant handful of facts into a believable tale, but that is simply not going to fly here.  People are going to insist that I know the difference between a scupper and a mizzenmast  --and why a square-rigger is called that, and what a spanker is, and what the crew on such a ship consists of and oh just name your poison. The fact is, I’ve been dreading this for some time.  I hate being stalled to do research when what I want to be doing is writing, writing, writing.  You know, talking about sea monsters and terrifying storms is much more entertaining than learning what a focsle is.

 

But oh, it will all be worthwhile once Captain Varney jumps into the sea with a knife clenched between his teeth for a climactic confrontation with Harrow. Call Borders and put your orders in today, kids, because –once the bleeding research is done—this is going to be lightning in four hundred pages.

 

Neil who?

 

 

 

Technorati Tags: research,persistence,novel writing,chutzpah