Research and Editing

You would think that, being a writer, I would be better at writing blog posts. Honestly, I'm used to writing as other people. My own internal monologue is far less interesting. If I could write these updates in someone else's voice you'd be getting one every three hours.

Anyway! I've been busy working on two different projects this month. One of them is the short story collection which is due to be released later this year: Let the Which Out. Editing short stories is a lot more intense than editing novels (it shouldn't be, but I'm a creature of bad habits) and as the book is a collection of ~4 years of writing, some of the older stories need a good deal of tweaking. I'm also including cover images from some of the stories' online previews. You can see some of these illustrations here.

My second project has just reached the point where I can write characters rather than plot into it. I love this stage of writing - when the skeleton is in place, fleshing it out with what people think, say and feel is fantastic. It's particularly enjoyable in this novel, as I have done a lot of research to make it happen. It is a retelling of the story of Lope de Aguirre, a brutal conquistador whose quest for El Dorado ended in him laying siege to the throne of Spain. Yes, really.

The most unbelievable part of his spiral into insanity is that when he ventured into the uncharted Amazon, he took his fourteen year old daughter with him. Elvira survived the journey when many died of sickness, starvation and battle wounds, only to be killed by her own father when they were captured. Very little else is known about her. Her whole life has been reduced to who her father was, and how she died.

I am fascinated by the story, but in all honesty the thought of putting words into a dead girl's mouth seems horribly disrespectful. My novel is very much a fiction. While it is based on Elvira's life, it looks more at the treatment of Aztec women and early-era mestizo children.

Well, it's hard work. I'm enjoying it - a lot! - but I've spent more time researching than writing this month.

And, of course, not writing my blog. My bad.