15 Comments

What a fantastic start!

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Thank you!

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Jul 12Liked by Ben Woestenburg

That was a great start. The pacing was excellent and you laid the foundation for a really cool story.

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Thank you so much for your kind words. I hope you stick around for PART TWO when it comes out.

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Let's begin!

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Jun 26·edited Jun 26Liked by Ben Woestenburg

Hi, Ben, FYI this Friday I'm starting Friday's Favorites, an opportunity for people to promote their own posts or any favorite post you'd like to share: https://lauramoreno.substack.com/p/tips-for-seat-of-their-pants-writers?sort=top Great pictures here, by the way!

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Jun 26Liked by Ben Woestenburg

Wow! Great start to what I'm sure will be an exciting story.

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Thank you for that!

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Incroyable, I like that Inverness is mentioned and so if it's to the south this means that this story is right now taking place in Pictland, I really do strongly approve!

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Thrilling stuff, Ben. That opening line is a real cracker! I read most of The Shield of Locksley when it was first posted, but I am loving starting from the beginning again. It will make it easier to keep track of all the characters. You still have a lot of chapters in the archive, right? Will they be going behind the paywall soon? A geography question: If the warriors are Norse coming from Orkney, and Inverness is to the south, where would you place Ivanore Castle? On the Black Isle? Near Dingwal or Dornoch?

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Wow! I haven't even looked at a map! 😆 I mean it. I just went on grade 8 geography. I made the name of Ivanore up. Inverness I knew--like I said--from grade 8 geography. At this point, I don't think it matters. It was just a place he came from. He left when he was nine, the place was a ruin. He's the heir, the Prince, but has long been a Prince in Exile, so to speak. Is he going to go back? Is there anything to go back to? I don't have those answers either. I treat the story as a fantasy. I'm only using, quite literally, Le Morte D'Arthur as my base research. I look things up about armour, and seeing they have chain mail and a mix of old Roman stuff, I kind of mix things together.

I go on Pinterest and look for pictures that inspire me. I don't think they're AI generated. But the artists' names are never readily available. So they're anonymous, for the moment. I have pictures of scenery, and battles, and jousts, and knights, and costumes, and pictures of what I imagine my characters to look like. I look at women's fashions, dress them in silks and ermine, throw in some sable -- which I don't even know if they're indigenous to England or not -- and try to make them appear as they are with as little description as possible. I like to make the women pretty, because those pictures are easier to find than pictures of plain and homely girls. It's a sad fact.

So you see, when I say seat of my pants writing, I really mean it. And yes, the other old chapters are archived. I should actually delete them as I post the new ones. I just can't decide if that's a good idea or not. I can always make a new section. I'll use my second title choice: THE BEGGAR'S KNAVE. Sorry, I didn't mean to go on like that, but I know you won't mind. Sometimes I wonder myself where I come up with half the stuff I do.

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Jun 28Liked by Ben Woestenburg

I like the way you work. I admire it, probably because I, myself, never know where my stories are going. I never have a plan. I am happy to see you do some of the same. Vindicates me. I remember your wonderful illustrations. I'm glad you found a source. As far as geography goes, it is only because I know Scotland so well I was trying to figure out exactly where this battle was taking place. Really doesn't matter at all. I am probably the only one who'd think about it. ha ha ha

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I'm thinking my brother will call me on it sooner or later.

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ha ha ha No doubt!

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PS Excellent art work. Please tell me they are not AI generated...

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