Notes: In the Land of Fire and Ice

There was only clear choice in the name for the Iceland story. Unfortunately, it's probably the cliche every adventure story-teller uses when their readers/viewers arrive in Iceland.

Oh well, such is life. Like Corey Frey, Jon Whitney, and I had theorized, everything in the world is a variation on the half-hitch. (which originally meant that all knots were variations on the half-hitch [a single turn of the rope over itself]. One of us proposed, "Aren't all things essentially a variation on the half-hitch?"

With that said, I detoured off the beaten path immediately. I wrote about everything I wanted, but not at the length with which I wanted to reside in each story. I found myself hacking pieces of story off just to try to keep them within a reasonable word count/length.

In fact, I'm not even happy with "Elves in the Eaves", because it dealt with the twelve nights of the Icelandic Christmas/Yuletide. Still, I think I handled it relatively well. On the other hand, I've gotten into a real habit of talking about transportation in all of my stories. Autobahns, fishing boats, passenger ferries, motorcycles, tandem bikes, arctic trucks, and seaplanes.

I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. I guess it just is. Except for one story, I think I'll keep away from the transportation issue when I venture to Morocco. I will also cut down on subplots for each story so I can fully develop each kernel/idea.

Otherwise, I really liked Iceland. It was a very quick write and I hope it's a quick read, too. I'm sure the Muse will give praise. I'm hoping mom is a little less forgiving. Who knows? Maybe it'll surpass the Germany story. I am very happy with the entire project, especially for a first draft.

Although I like the smaller family unit, I'm going to try an extended family for Morocco. Each child will be observed through my main character's eyes. I originally thought it would be a boy story, but maybe it's a girl story and how she 'views" her brothers...which will help describe traditional Muslim wear in the more conservative parts of Morocco.