Decided I’d revisit this ace WeWriWa thing today, and showcase a bit of my recent writes.
To meet some new authors, read some great writing, or join in the 8-sentence fun, stop by at Weekend Writing Warriors!
In this scene, we see Roger getting some Inner Peace (TM) happening after a ludicrously massive night, and then one of his new-crew candidates decides to join him, just to shoot-the-proverbial. This scene isn’t so emotional, because that’s already been dealt with during the alluded to “subsequent exploits”. This is just a bit of fun.
I sat alone and sipped at a gin highball (with a dash of tonic to ward away the clime’s vapours) throughout the first sundown, the dimming, and into the midday sunrise. The garden was cool, and my first shower after last night’s battle (and subsequent exploits) had left me feeling fresh as a newborn butterpig.
Yumiko entered, wrapped in her only-around-the-resort yukata, and lobbed a news-film hologram down in front of me, saying “Good job, hero.”
The image had me front and centre, mid hand-stand atop a seriously unhappy dragon.
I chuckled and said “Well here’s a turn up for the books.”
“Don’t worry, I still know the truth about you.”
“That I’m a narcissistic sociopath, borderline-alcoholic pirate, a true gentleman, and the salt-of-the-earth?”
“I’m going to give a tentative yes-to-all, except where did the ‘borderline’ part come from?”
That’s it. Like I said, just a bit of fun, and a rare chance for our much-maligned protagonist to receive some praise, albeit sarcastic.
If you feel inclined, here’s the link to my first one of these: WeWriWa 1
Best regards,
D.R.Sylvester
D.R.SYLVESTER FICTION 
Pingback: Weekend Writing Warriors (#1) | WRITES & RESPONSIBILITIES
How far off is the complete book?
I am aiming to have it to my editor by October. After that it depends how long it takes me to do the third re write! 🙂 I’m hoping I can finish by the end of the year, but I’ll have a baby daughter to look after from October… Could quite possibly get a little bit hectic 😉
No kidding! Good luck
Very fun snippet. I loved the dialog in this scene – snappy and full of snark. Great job! And on a side note (as I see from the comment above), congrats on the newest family member. Here’s to hoping that things don’t get too hectic! Happy writing!
Thank you! And thank you again! Yeah… I hope so too. I think the key will be to get 90% finished before October *he says, as though that’s going to be easy peasy*
Oh this is a bit of fun. Love her sarcasm…borderline…snort : )
Thank you 🙂
I’m getting a Stainless Steel Rat vibe from this—excellent!
And I don’t know what a butterpig is, but I want one.
Y’know, character wise he’s not too dissimilar from the Stainless Steel Rat (which I had to google, and have now added to my to-read list), except that my character is blasé about killing. He pretty much needs to be reminded on a semi-regular basis not to kill anyone…
And thank you! Also, here’s a butterpig. Feed it coke and artichokes twice a day, and don’t leave it in the sun. *hands over squealing ball of chub*
Slippery Jim isn’t a killer, but his wife is. 🙂
Squee! Thank you! Wait—what kind of coke?
Two suns?
Good guess, but actually this one is set in our solar system, only on the planetoid Ceres, out in the Asteroid Belt.
I did an article explaining how the day cycle works there (each day is about nine hours long, so each “Day” is composed of three shorter periods of light and dark, in order to allow people to live in a cycle with the rising and setting sun). Here you go if you’re curious at how much time I wasted on it http://wp.me/p4GUHD-7c
I’m considering drawing a Ceresian wrist-watch and putting it on one of the first few pages of the book as a reference (but I definitely don’t want to bore the less pedantic readers by explaining why it’s light and then dark and then light again all the time)
I don’t know what a butterpig is, but I like it. I like all the little oddities in this exchange! Very fun snippet.
Thank you! I think the oddness mixed into the mundane (eg. the butterpig) was something that I picked up from reading Julian May, a far, far better author than myself who wrote Intervention and the Galactic Milieu series. I just loved the way I could feel some familiarity with their world, but novelty at the same time. Made me want to be there.
Thanks again!
Great tone you have there! Your dialogue is just the right amount of snark (is that the right word)?
Anyway, good luck on finishing your rewrite by October. I’m aiming to finish my third draft by fall as well. Let’s feed off of each other’s productivity.
Thank you! Gotta love a bit of snark.
And absolutely, I’ll be cheering you on as well. I’d be happy to help with beta-reading the third draft. This is the book about Nash Moor, right?
Yes, Nash Moor, you’re correct!
I’ll be happy to beta-read your draft as well. Godspeed till then!
This gave me a great visual: “…fresh as a newborn butterpig.” A lot of character building happening in htis excerpt, and I wondered what’s going on–and that’s a good thing. Good 8!
Thanks! Haha yes indeed, these out of context snippets are always a bit mysterious.
I’ve pretty much taken out all the back-story and info-dump from my novel in this write-through, so all the character development is coming out in little glimpses through the action and dialogue instead. In-clueing I think the technique is called. I’ll have to check that I didn’t miss anything when I do the next edit.
Thanks again!
Awesome to have you back! This is such an interesting and unique world you have, and a great picture you’re painting. The line “left me feeling fresh as a newborn butterpig” made me laugh out loud 🙂 Great snippet!
Thank you! It’s certainly a strange world, though I’m hoping it will be familiar too once people start reading. There’s a lot of history, science, mythology, and astrology thrown in, and the writing itself is done in the same vein as popular Urban Fantasy like the Dresden Files, so I’m hoping the oddness kind of meshes. Smooshes. Forms a great big story-shaped butterpig of its own.
Haha and yes, I do tend to drift in and out of these things (did the same for the What’s up Wednesday), because sometimes I’ve got another blog idea and sometimes I don’t. I’d like to draw up a blogging schedule with my own topics and ideas, make it all a bit more rational, but I haven’t yet taken the time to do so.
Interesting. I certainly like the hero already…enjoyed the casual details that tell us we’re in another world. Excellent excerpt!
Thank you! Glad you like it, and him. Especially him. He’s a great guy (in a swashbuckling pirate kind of way), and I can’t wait to introduce him to everyone.
You’ve sure got your characters’ personalities down, and that’s essential for making them believable. Great exchange between these two, and I haven’t even read your previous excerpts 🙂
Thank you! They were all horrendously two-dimensional characters in the first write through, but I’m hoping to bring them to life a bit more this run through. During the edit I’ll focus on each individual character, following just their thread and really nailing down their motivations and voices.
Also by the way, I tried clicking to get to your blog and have a look (partly because your avatar pic is awesome), but it’s set to private? Are you just getting set up at the moment? 🙂
‘…wrapped in her only-around-the-resort yukata…’ Such a clever description. I can’t wait to read your book!
Thank you! Really appreciate it. It will be done late this year *determined face* and should be free to download for the first week when it’s out (my technical expertise permitting…)
Thanks again!
I look forward to it. Wishing you luck.
I think this was my favorite line, “The garden was cool, and my first shower after last night’s battle (and subsequent exploits) had left me feeling fresh as a newborn butterpig.” You infused so much of his character with your prose. I actually laughed out loud XD The part about the sunrise made me pause. Then I read it again and liked it. Anyway, great snippet 😀
Thank you! Ahh yeah, the daytime thing is a bit confusing still. I’m thinking I need to make up new names for things so they stand out. Later in the parts set in space it’s weird again, because there’s no night in space, only the occasional eclipse.
I’m surprised how much everyone has liked the butterpig 🙂 Surprised and delighted. Surprighted.
Anyway, thanks again!