THE GRAND STORY OF THE SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE ADVENTURES OF BARON BRITPOP BLASTFURNACE

Writing Baron Britpop Blastfurnace

Epilogue: The story of writing this novel

During a recent Zoom get-together by some Medium authors, Tommy Paley asked me about writing Baron Britpop Blastfurnace. He said he was interested in my writer’s process. I explained a little about how I wrote the novel, and he said I should write a story about how I wrote this story. So here it is.

Captain Peanut Butter

Around 2008, I started posting silly little stories and thoughts on Facebook (Facebook was still fun back then.) I began writing a series called, “Sayings of renown by Captain Peanut Butter.” Which were just funny sayings using pirate talk. They were very popular with my Facebook friends.

Probably a year or two later, I thought, maybe I could write a novel about Captain Peanut Butter. I briefly toyed with the idea of having him time-travel to meet Hollister Bootstone, a cowboy in the Wild West, who was another character I did on Facebook. But I figured that was stretching things a little too far. So I decided to stick with the pirate heyday of the 1700s.

I knew it would be an adventure story since it featured a pirate captain. As I was thinking about a plot, I realized it would be better if another character was the protagonist who encounters Captain Peanut Butter. So I created a new character to star in the novel. I decided to make him a Baron. But a young Baron who was looking for adventure.

Since he was a Baron, and I get great joy out of creating unusual names, I decided his first and last names would start with the letter B. So, I started scrolling through the dictionary on the letter B. I came across Britpop and thought that would be a fun first name. Especially considering it would be entirely out of place in the 18th century. Then I found Blastfurnace (blast furnace.) Awesome! I knew I had his name. Baron Britpop Blastfurnace. And since his name was Blastfurnace, it was only right that I make him a blacksmith.

The Initial Concept

Being completely ignorant of the craft of writing novels, I came up with the brilliant (I thought) idea of writing a novel where each chapter was a complete story, yet part of a whole novel. So I wrote the first chapter about a young blacksmith who invents silent horseshoes and becomes a Baron. I posted it on Facebook, and it got a lot of likes. This encouraged me.

I wrote a follow-up chapter about Britpop deciding to go to France and getting attacked by a Tibetan Ankle-Grabbing Death Vine. I don’t remember where the idea for the vine came from. I obviously wasn’t going for mass-market appeal.

I posted the second chapter on Facebook, and then didn’t write any more for a long time. I had no discipline and felt no urgency to complete the story. It was just something I did for fun when I felt inspired.

After writing the second chapter, I decided to give Andelbert the role of Britpop’s companion on the adventure. He seemed like an excellent companion as he would know a lot and help Britpop get out of trouble.

By the time I started writing the third chapter, I abandoned the idea of each chapter being a complete story. It wasn’t realistic. Although I did write each chapter as a complete “scene” in the story, if not a completely stand-alone story.

Getting Serious And Organized

I eventually decided I needed to get organized and write an outline if I had any hope of completing the novel. I did some research and decided to go with Scrivener writing software to organize and write the novel.

Being an organizing geek, I liked the idea that I could keep everything (the story, research, inspiration photos, character profiles, etc.) in one file. It worked perfectly for me.

The Outline

In the beginning, my outline was bare-bones. I knew how the novel began and how I wanted it to end, but not much more. My initial outline was literally:

• Leaving For France
• Encountering Captain Peanut Butter
• Adventures In Spain
• Adventures In Venice
• Adventures in The Caribbean
• Adventures In France
• Returning Home

Then I started jotting down plot ideas like:

• Britpop joins Captain Peanut Butter’s Crew
• Breaks out of jail in a hot-air balloon,
• Buys a Stradivarius violin from its maker,
• Buys a guitar in Spain
• Meets a young woman on a ship they raid and falls in love
• Meets the young woman again later in the story. She sends for police to arrest Britpop then changes her mind and helps him escape

As I wrote, new ideas came from what I had written, so I kept adding to the outline. I spent a lot of time on the outline, except the France portion. That stayed “Adventures in France” until I started writing it. I knew I wanted to have Britpop meet the King and Queen and possibly the hot-air balloon inventors. But that was about it.

Learning A Lot • The Research

When I started writing the novel, I had limited knowledge of pirates and the 18th century. As I began researching the time period and pirates, I learned a lot of history I didn’t previously know.

I found the research engaging. I discovered many characters and storylines in the book from doing the research. Like the Montgolfier Brothers, who invented hot-air ballooning.

Of course, I knew about Louis the XVI and Marie Antoinette. I also knew of Lafayette from reading the history of the American Revolution. But I had no idea that Emperor Joseph II was Marie Antoinette’s brother. Or even that there was a Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II.

I learned about the King of Spain, although I didn’t feature him other than mentioning his name once.

I also learned about the historical locations that I featured in the story. It was quite an education. And very enjoyable. A trip to Paris and the Palace of Versailles a couple of years ago made the France portion a little easier to imagine.

I didn’t try to be faithful to the historical character’s personalities or traits, and I changed the timeline of some events by a few years. I didn’t think this was a crime as I was writing imaginative fiction (entertainment) that no one would ever confuse with actual history. I simply used historical events and characters to make the story more interesting. At least for me.

My Hybrid Method Of Writing

I don’t do drafts. I never liked the idea of writing a novel, then going back and re-writing it multiple times. I use a hybrid read, write, and edit as I go method.

I start each writing session by reading what I have previously written and then edit it. Then I write new material. The next writing session, I do the same thing. If something I write affects a previous part of the story, I make the edits right then.

Since I continuously added to and fleshed out my outline as I went along. By the time I wrote a chapter, I knew the bulk of what I was going to write.

I also frequently re-read old chapters and did any edits necessary. This often inspired me to write new material when I initially didn’t feel like writing anything.

Of course, there was still that magic that happens when you start writing, and dialog suddenly appears that you didn’t expect. Which often led to new storylines. I still marvel at how it is even possible to write fiction. I have no explanation for it. It is a little bit of magic still allowed in the world.

When I finished the novel, I just needed to do some minor editing as I proofread it.

Dream Fulfilled

This was my first novel. It is not great literature, it is entertainment. But it is better than I expected, and I am pleased with it. And I truly enjoyed writing it.

It is also the fulfillment of a life goal. I set a goal to finish by my 60th birthday on July 05, 2020. And I made it.

That’s about it. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the responses. I hope you enjoyed this peek into my unorthodox novel writing method.

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