Berserk! Story-boarding Chapter 10

That Eureka! Feeling :)

Four months into writing Berserk! and half way through the first draft of its penultimate chapter, my confidence in finding a satisfying ending to to the book was beginning to wane. The denouements of my tales are seldom on my mind as I start a new writing project. Indeed, the main fun I have in creative writing is that of solving the mystery of how things are going to work out, for the characters and situations in my tale. It is like a jigsaw puzzle where you aren't even aware if you the last few pieces to slot into place but you keep plugging away at the piece in the hope of a happy conclusion.

While I never know the ending to the stories I write when I start work on them, I have grown pretty confident in my ability to locate those out of sight final jigsaw pieces as I progress through the telling of the tale. But, as I have already noted, my belief in my ability to find a rewarding conclusion to this particular novella was, I have to admit, was becoming questionable. 

But last night, during a bout of insomnia that had me wide awake well into the small hours of the morning, my tale of Vikings, death metal and werewolves finally all snapped together in that lovely eureka moment that is one of the most satisfying moments of my writing, equal even to finally holding that final published paperback copy of the completed book in my hands.

So, I am happy to report this evening that I  have that much desired ending for Berserk! It's denouement suprised me greatly, as I hope it will surprise readers of the book when it is finally published, which I now hope will be before the end of this year. To make the denouement believable and satisfying will involve a little extra work in the second draft of writing and involves a slight tweak in the protagonist's thought processes as well as some careful dialogue editing. But it is work that will be satisfying. For the first time since this particular tale came to mind earlier this year, I am happy to report that the end is in sight :)

Completing the penultimate chapter of Beserk! 

Berserk! Work on Chapter Nine Continues

Stuck in the middle of the penultimate chapter of my latest book:

Morning Gusts

It was very windy here this morning. It seems like we are having another typical British summer :(

Books and Cats Go Together

Monkshood / Wolfsbane

Monkshood, a.k.a. Wolfsbane, plays an integral part of the latest novel I am working on. It's a beautiful, but deadly plant! It is believed to have been used by Berserker warriors to increase their aggression and ferocity during battle. I found this particular specimen growing in the National Botanic Garden of Wales.

A Couple of Pics of my Writing Shed

Researching Viking Runes

Berserk! Story-boarding Chapter Nine

Berserk! Chapter Eight Done 'n' Dusted

Story-boarding and Writing Chapter 8

Raining in My Writing Shed

Sometimes, you just have to love the rain :)

  

Monknash and Nashpoint Lighthouse

I paid a visit to Monknash today. The path down from the village to the Jurassic coastline was billed as a beautiful secret walk on the internet, but the route was moderately busy in the Saturday sunshine. Along the track, which dips down from the Honesty Box car park (£3 at the time of my visit), I passed the ruins of Monknash Mill, and I spent a little time there to take the following photographs and make an audio recording of the trickling stream there:

 

It was on down to the beach then, where I discovered a rather lengthy strength of coastline, backed with a huge length of crumbling cliff that is apparently rich in ammonite and other fossils.

Monknash Beach

Monknash Beach is a stunning and picturesque beach but with only limited stretches of sand, so I didn't find any seaglass to add to my growing collection. The beach is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and forms part of Glamorgan Heritage Coast.

My next audio recording from the day was captured in the beer-garden of a reportedly haunted pub, whilst recovering from the sweltering climb back up from the coast. The Plough ad Harrow was built in 1383 and originally formed part of the grange of a local monastery. At one point the building was used by the monks to store the bodies of drowned sailors recovered from the beaches below. Some of the timber from the numerous shipwrecks associated with this neck of coastline were used to form the beams in the later restructuring of the inn.

 

My final stop off for the day before heading home was this gem of a lighthouse at Nash Point:

Nash Point Lighhouse

Nash Point Lighthouse Fog Horn

I will have to head back down to the lighthouse at some point in the future to do an audio field recording of the fog horn in action... :)

Berserk! A Tale of Vikings, Death Metal and Werewolves

Writing With My Eldest & Quietest Cat