Direction - Coachscott Website Update Jan 24, 2023
Think of this as a Devlog.
Individual Audiobook Reviews: Are going to be cancelled in the future. What I'll try instead is to review batches of them every 1,3,6 months. I'm enjoying audiobooks but they don't fit in with the rest of my goals on this website. I want to read wherever possible and use audiobooks as a fun way of getting in some different content while I'm otherwise occupied. I don't feel like I can give a comprehensive review of the books when I'm only half paying attention.
WritingPrompts: When I was younger I would scroll through Reddit on r/writingprompts and I would submit little short stories. This is something I want to revive as it allows me to skip the storytelling/plot stages and focus entirely on the writing. My plan as of now, is to create a new tab on the website where I can keep a log of writing prompts that I can come back to. Also on this page would be my short story ideas with a small blurb so that the reader can know what writing examples to expect from Coachscott in the future.
Screenplays: Whenever I write or plot or being storytelling I tend to think in terms of how it would show on a movie screen. I have always said that books are, to me, simply movies but more vivid because it's my imagination creating the visuals. So I figure this will be a fun thing to try, I'm going to try turning some of my completed stories into screenplays (after completing the story, this will not take priority). Who knows, I might be better at writing if I don't have to worry about prose or word choice or descriptions.
NaNoWriMo: NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month which is a challenge for Authors to write an entire story (draft usually) in the 30 days of November. I would like to participate this year except I wouldn't be starting from scratch. I have already written two drafts of a story with a rough title of Orangutan Island. My plan is to slowly release to Readers the outlines and writing that I have already completed (excluding the ending, that will be a surprise). Then, in November, spend the 30 days creating a final draft of this novel. Here is the catch, I am not allowing myself to write another word of Orangutan island until November 1st. I can write outlines, I can change the plot, I can add depth to the characters, anything but adding new writing. There is one exception...
Orangutan Island - Chapter 5: This is the best chapter and I want Readers to be hooked by it. The best portion is going to live on the front page. This is the only part of the novel that I am going to allow myself to rewrite which will ensure that it is the best portion of the best chapter and guaranteed to lure in more interested readers. There will be a history of the different versions, I will be welcoming all feedback on the section and it will be lifted directly into the final Novel. Chapter 5 is the spirit of Orangutan Island and the reason I believe it deserves to be written in full. For more info please see, for the first time ever, the first draft of
Chapter 5:
He missed. Paul’s body smashed into the ground cracking the dried mud floor. He could hear his teeth ringing. After a moment he rolled on his side and tried to prop up his torso. He was struck with a stench of mud and sweat and he was awoken to the reality of his situation. He shivered and turned his head slowly towards the ground and then to his rear. It was standing there. It was standing tall. It held It’s hands above it’s head admiring something reflective. I reached for my belt. Missing, was my 4 inch Swiss army knife that had just slashed It’s leg. The leg that It was having no trouble standing on. It fiddled with the concealed knife and looked in it’s cracks and crevices. It softly cooed during the inspection. Paul's breath wouldn’t flow down to his lungs. In spite of that, he still managed to swallow deeply as he heard the noise that made him whimper. Click.And then It looked at Paul with calm eyes as it slowly lowered down from It’s upright position. It sank down to a crouch for what felt like an hour without ever breaking eye contact. The sound that I feared second most followed as leaves and twigs snapped underneath the approaching footsteps of the calculating beast. I turned away and steeled myself, using the last drop of strength in my upper body to pull myself away from the creature. My nails stinging from the rocks I was clawing in hopes of finding something to defend myself with. But the sound of Leaves and Twigs continued and I felt the grip of a father lifting his newborns wrist. The ground reversed in front of me as It dragged my leg into the air until we were eye to eye upside down. It reached up with it’s other hand and my greatest fear became fact, It gripped my Swiss army knife and pointing it towards my ankle it cooed softly at me. Tears welled in my eyes but I couldn’t tell if it was pain or terror. And then It stabbed me. Stinging like lightning tore away the skin. Then burning like acid ate my blood. Finally, the pounding of a hammer and nail struck my ankle bone. The only murmur I could make was a soft choking followed my a heavy gasp. I started to see less and less as my vision narrowed in on It’s eyes. Blackness surrounded me as I began to feint. And then it stabbed me again. And Again. And Again. And Aga…