The Return Teaser VII

Progress on The Return has been slow this week.  I really hate it when I’m moving right along and then I get that feeling that there is just something missing from a chapter.  That’s the way it was with chapter five.  So I went back and re-wrote some of it before finishing chapter six.  Now I think I’m satisfied.  =o)

Before I share the teaser, I want to talk about something I read on Nathan Bransford’s blog just recently, It’s Not Necessary to Write Everyday.  In it, he calls the idea that you have to write every single day a myth:

One of the most common writing myths out there is the idea that you have to write every single day in order to be a writer … I worry that this myth intimidates people who would otherwise excel at writing from pursuing their writing dreams. Every single day is a major, major commitment, and not everyone could or even should do it. Sometimes your brain needs a break to unlock a problem or maybe you just have a different rhythm.

I have to agree with him.  There is no way I could write everyday and still deliver the same quality of writing.  Sometimes writers need time to recharge their batteries or to fix a problem within their story or whatever.  For me, there are times when ideas just do not come.  Other times, they come so quickly, I have a hard time getting them all down before I forget them.  So I do what I call binge writing – I go for months without writing a word and then suddenly, write like seven chapters in two weeks and not all in chronological order either.  =o)  Crazy, I know.

In short, people are not machines and if you’re a writer, you shouldn’t feel pressured by this myth unless under a deadline.  Nuff said.

Now, on to the teaser.  This is from chapter six, one of my favorite chapters of the whole story:

Panicking, she reined Nipha onto a walkway and looked around.  People were running about, frantically trying to find the source of the commotion.  A tavern stood in front of her and she glanced upward to read the sign: The Wayward Soldier.  Before she could do anything else, the door flew open and a portly gentleman holding a tankard of ale and a pipe appeared.  He stumbled a bit as he glanced up and saw them.

“Well, I’ll be buggered,” he slurred.  “Do you …”

Chalice seized the opportunity and heeled Nipha forward.   “Go, girl.  Get us out of here.”

Nipha shot into the doorway as Chalice ducked her head, just barely missing the top of the door frame.  The drunkard fell to the right, spilling his drink and cursing loudly.

“See here, young Miss, you can’t bring a horse in here,” said another man near the door.

Then, a perfect hush fell over the entire tavern.  The music ceased, the dancing stopped, and people froze on the spot, some at the billiards table with queue sticks in hand and others with drinks halfway to their mouths.  They all gaped, mouths slack-jawed and unmoving.  Through the thick silence, Chalice heard faint whispers.

“Fire’s Bane.”
“Who?”
“The Princess.”
“She’s alive?”
“The Princess?”
“Is that White Beauty?”

The clatter of hooves hitting the cobblestone street outside swelled.  “Shut the door!” she shouted at the man.  “Shut it now!”  Alarmed, he rushed for the tavern door and slammed it closed.  She heeled Nipha forward and the crowd parted, opening a path to the bar, where a short, plump barman with a scraggly beard stood in the frozen motion of polishing a glass.

“Barman, your back door, please!”

Happy Reading!

~ Melissa

Tags: The Return