February 2021 Update: The Pirates of Sissa

February 2021 Writing Update: The Pirates of Sissa

A while ago, I celebrated passing the 80k word milestone in my The Pirates of Sissa manuscript. I didn't really work on the book for a while since then, so if you're not familiar with it, here's a post introducing this WIP. In short, it's a high fantasy about two people on opposing sides of a violent conflict that end up being forced to work together in order to achieve peace... only there's a catch!

Recently, I started working on the book again (now that I've completed and published Apartment), and I find myself feeling quite content every time I refine my chapters, write new scenes, or figure out new plot twists. Revisiting this book is like revisiting an old friend, and it's nice to know that a project I've been working on for a handful of years now is significantly progressing.

 

I also broke a personal record with Pirates - its sixth chapter has over 10k words, and that is very new for me. I considered whether or not it would be a good idea to have a chapter that long, then decided that it didn't matter, because if it worked in the overall manuscript, then that was good enough for me. After all, as a reader, I've stopped mid-chapter many times, and I don't see that being a great hindrance, especially given my particular writing style for my high fantasy series The Qarran Tales - writing in character-based POV sections. But perhaps other readers and writers could share their thoughts on the matter?

The current plot has changed greatly from what it was originally, but I'm enjoying writing this very much. There are new characters thrown into the mix - characters that have truly grown on me - and existing characters are playing somewhat different roles to the ones they had originally been given.

For example, I've introduced the completely new character of Krig Varonis, head of the imperial armies of Sissa and childhood friend to the Sissan ruler, Gallus II. He brings a bit of humour and lightheartedness to an otherwise heavy story, and he also provides the reader with a side to the stiff and rigid character of Gallus that they don't see anywhere else.

I've also added a subplot that includes spies and espionage, which intertwines with the main plot towards the end of the story and directly affects our two main characters, Sahra and Vadra. And I've polished up a cliffhanger ending that I'm quite proud of!

In fact, here's a little snippet from the manuscript:

"She watched, hour after hour, when she was supposed to be reading books or completing assignments from her tutors. She saw humanity and compassion. She saw a community. And she couldn't believe that these same people, all different, all human, would turn their backs on their neighbors because of their heritage. It was a fascinating spectacle, and for two weeks now she hadn't tired of it. But she didn't like the way it made her feel. She would remember that day when her own life had been shredded to bits, when people - these people - had taken her parents away from her, her friends, her family. Her skin would crawl with the eeriness of it all, and she would turn away, back into the relative safety of her small prison."

Apart from all of this, I've been wondering about one important thing as I get closer and closer to the end of this book. 

You see, The Pirates of Sissa is part of The Qarran Tales, and chronologically it does come after The Fall of the Black Masks, making it the second book in the overall series. However, it's the first book in the Sissan-Qorsan plotline, which ultimately follows Sahra and Vadra as the two main characters, and which doesn't really have much effect on the other parallel plotline that starts off with Fall of the Black Masks.

So, basically, I've been thinking that maybe I should release The Pirates of Sissa and its sequels as one series, and The Fall of the Black Masks and its sequels as another series, but all underneath the umbrella of The Qarran Tales. A good friend of mine also suggested this idea, and I think that should work, but I'd definitely have to make it clear how the books are chronologically ordered, especially as there are some Easter eggs that I've sprinkled throughout the books, referencing characters from parallel plotlines. (By the way, have I told you that I've already started working on the series to The Pirates of Sissa? Because I have! The Order of Chaos - as it is currently titled - picks up right after the horrible cliffhanger, and it's all about revenge and justice...)

All in all, I'm stoked to be at this point in my writing of this book, and hope that I can create a high fantasy story that readers will enjoy, especially those of you who have been following my fantasy series updates from the very beginning.

Current Book Stats:

• Word Count: 85,345
  
• Number of Chapters: 11
  
• Average Word Count per Chapter: 7,781
• Most Commonly Used Character Name: Sahra (451 uses)