Cynthia
asked
Katherine Bone:
How do you keep finding inspiration for more pirate stories to keep them fresh and different? Asked by a Golden Age of Piracy creative writer and pirates, in general, enthusiast.
Katherine Bone
Ahoy, Lady Cynthia! Thank you so much for contacting me! It's always great to talk to readers, authors, especially other pirate authors. Woot!
To answer your question, keeping things fresh and trying not to 'same o' is super hard, I know. I try to remind myself that there are only 5-10 original stories in the history of storytelling. That helps to minimize the pressure. LOL! It helps that my brainstorming partner writes Urban Fantasy, though she loves to read historicals. She keeps me on my toes and helps me veer from the norm. Strange though it may sound, the collaboration totally works!
Most times I find a compelling piece of history and then say, "What if?" For instance, the idea for my Nelson's Tea Series started when I discovered Admiral Nelson was never without his tea, even during battle. Immediately, I thought it would be cool that 'tea' was a code name he used for mercenaries/spies and when he asked for tea, it meant something else entirely.
In my Regent's Revenge Series, I borrowed the idea of Robin Hood and the Dread Pirate Roberts. With smuggling rife on the Cornish coast, who better to help than a man willing to disguise himself. And even better, men who operated under the guise of the Black Regent, fulfilling obligations before turning the duty over to another hero.
Also, I asked my readers what they wanted to see in pirate romance. (Highly suggest doing the same.) Their suggestions helped me to build a storyverse based on those tropes.
Key to keeping things fresh will be your voice, your life experiences, your view of piracy, your take on heroes and heroines, your perspective on emotions and adventure, and how you weave all of this together while writing your book. What helps me is digging into my life experiences and using those to fuel my characters, keeping in mind that people are the same no matter where they live, past, present, and/or future. The only difference is their environment; be it war, peace, etc.
I hopes this helps you in some way. I was just thinking the other day, how can I keep things fresh. It's definitely a journey. Just remember that no one sees things like you do. Tap into the well of life you've experienced and create a world of AWESOME!
Blessings, Katherine
To answer your question, keeping things fresh and trying not to 'same o' is super hard, I know. I try to remind myself that there are only 5-10 original stories in the history of storytelling. That helps to minimize the pressure. LOL! It helps that my brainstorming partner writes Urban Fantasy, though she loves to read historicals. She keeps me on my toes and helps me veer from the norm. Strange though it may sound, the collaboration totally works!
Most times I find a compelling piece of history and then say, "What if?" For instance, the idea for my Nelson's Tea Series started when I discovered Admiral Nelson was never without his tea, even during battle. Immediately, I thought it would be cool that 'tea' was a code name he used for mercenaries/spies and when he asked for tea, it meant something else entirely.
In my Regent's Revenge Series, I borrowed the idea of Robin Hood and the Dread Pirate Roberts. With smuggling rife on the Cornish coast, who better to help than a man willing to disguise himself. And even better, men who operated under the guise of the Black Regent, fulfilling obligations before turning the duty over to another hero.
Also, I asked my readers what they wanted to see in pirate romance. (Highly suggest doing the same.) Their suggestions helped me to build a storyverse based on those tropes.
Key to keeping things fresh will be your voice, your life experiences, your view of piracy, your take on heroes and heroines, your perspective on emotions and adventure, and how you weave all of this together while writing your book. What helps me is digging into my life experiences and using those to fuel my characters, keeping in mind that people are the same no matter where they live, past, present, and/or future. The only difference is their environment; be it war, peace, etc.
I hopes this helps you in some way. I was just thinking the other day, how can I keep things fresh. It's definitely a journey. Just remember that no one sees things like you do. Tap into the well of life you've experienced and create a world of AWESOME!
Blessings, Katherine
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