FOR WIPpet WEDS: Thanks to the encouragement of Kate Schwengel, participants post a snippet of their work in progress, somehow related to the date. For me, February 11 = 2 + 1 + 1 = 4 paragraphs from Rivers of Stone. Here, French-Canadian voyageurs prepare to travel in canoes for the long trek from Hudson's Bay to Fort Vancouver. It's late August, 1842.
Murray’s pen paused. “When are you leaving?”
“We’d leave tonight if we could.” Fronteneau paced in front of the
counter as if he couldn’t bear being inside. “By God, I don’t want us caught
out when the cold comes. ‘Twill be bad eno’ as it is, so late my men will drop
like wasps at the first frost.”
“I’m telling Hargrave yer leaving in the morning. Can you do it?”
“Aye, and don’t tell him different.” Fronteneau left, slamming the
heavy door of the Trading Post behind him.
Now for ROW80's mid-week check-in (with hopes Cait Nolan will soon recover from the flu):1. WRITING/READING. Still revising away a minimum of an hour a day on Rivers of Stone, now up to Chapter 14. Elizabeth Lyon's Manuscript Makeover is a very useful resource. I'm tightening the writing and adding (gently) more sense-based imagery. I'm reading Ken Follett's Fall of Giants and appreciating again the tension created by plot-driven writing. By SUNDAY: Complete 3 more chapters of ROS, 3 more chapters in Lyon.
2. COMMUNITY. Completed two reviews (one for NOVELS-L and another for a my F2F group back home). Keeping current with ROW80 reading, By SUNDAY: Finish one chapter review and begin reading novel by indie writer. Read one writing craft mag.
3. MARKETING. Finally! Began drafting 2015 marketing plan with due dates by month. Researching sites for guest blogs and ads.
Just as the sun ended the day, I saw a pelican drop into the sea with a splash. I wasn't close enough to see if he caught his fish, but it was enough. May your writing go well!
Check out what other WIPpet writers are doing HERE and encourage other ROW80 writers HERE.
 |
| Brown Pelican (by NixBC on Flickr) |
Brrrr. .... Brrrrrr. I don't like being cold. At all. I'm reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder books to my kids and every time Laura mentions the cold, I think, "thank you, Lord, for heaters, and thermal things, and heaters, and cars with heaters, and cups that keep drinks hot, and libraries/stores with heaters, and hot water in my shower for when the heaters aren't enough." :-P I hope your French Canadians make it safely to their destination without too much frigidness. I don't envy your poor characters.
ReplyDeleteAnother fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder. What a wonderful read aloud for you and the kids to share. I feel a little guilty being down here in Galveston this month, but every day, we're walking around without coats and enjoying the sunshine! Thank you for visiting.
Delete"So late my men will drop like wasps at the first frost.”--A great line. Your WIPpet piqued my curiosity; I'm wondering what sort of hardships these characters will face on their journey. Hope you share more next week!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting, Denise. Sometimes I worry that what's ahead will push away readers . . . Can you imagine the entire Hudson's Bay frozen solid? A wonderful landscape where survival hinges on skill.
DeleteCanoes in Hudson Bay???? I am freezing just thinking about it!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting. Actually, the canoes were only used in the summer, then snowshoes took over! I think I'd rather write about summer. :)
DeleteThe thought of having to make that trek has me shivering. Better these characters than me!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Amy, for reading and commenting. Sometimes I wonder what our life would be like today if these intrepid men and women didn't persevere. Most likely the US would be more strongly Hispanic, though I can't imagine the trek through the deserts of the Southwest would be any easier.
DeleteMy one winter in Wyoming was enough, thanks. =)
ReplyDeleteI hope they make it safely, but I'm guessing they don't do it easily. Where would be the story in that?
Good progress on the goals! =)
Hello, Shan. Thank you for affirming good progress on my goals. That progress still seems as slow as the internet connection we're curently using. What is ever easy about writing? Twisting story plots? Giving our characters a hard time?
DeleteI'll jump in with the others - I am not a fan of the cold! I am a fan of historical fiction, though, and this is such a rich setting and era! Truly a unique and determined group of men. Looking forward to hearing more about their adventure!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Abigail. I do love studying the past and trying to tell a good story. But actually, my main character is a woman -- and she's pretty unique and determined.
DeleteYou remind her that is effing cold here. But that's okay.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the Marketing draft!! Wooo.... :-)
Oh, and cute snippet, love read things in dialect. I can usually hear them in my head, even if i can't speak them.
Thank you, Cindy. Have you noticed how we change our vocabulary based on who we're talking with? I was raised blue collar, went to college, and always worked to fit in. So when I'm working with working class characters, their language feels like home.
DeleteEvery time I take the dogs out and it's sub-zero (like this morning), I honestly think of how folks survived in this kind of weather when they didn't have the luxuries we have now. I wonder if I would have been hardy enough, or would have been one of the wasps. Great excerpt!
ReplyDeleteI like the cold... but only when I'm inside, away from it, and can watch it from a distance. So I love the freezing feeling of your snippet because I'm not shivering myself! I love their accents too, and Fronteneau's pacing feels infectious. His apprehension is palpable and I don't blame him, it sounds like a hideous trek...
ReplyDelete