I enjoyed writing Swamp Dragon.  It’s not my most engaging of stories, picking it up before Quartes and Keto had entered the swamp probably would’ve let me develop things a bit more to make it a story with more of a narrative depth and payoff.  However, what I really wanted was to write something where I focused on the monster and in describing it.  A weakness in my writing that really stuck out to me back in The Halls of Falden was the Dragon there was something I struggled to detail in an effective way.  Across that story and Against the Riders I realized that making effective descriptions, whether of beasts, people, or locations, is something I struggle with.

Swamp Dragon gave me a chance to work at that part of my craft and I’m happy with how the story conveyed the size and might of the creature.  The way that it’s bulk created waves that were nearly overwhelming for the characters, the strength of its movement through the water, and how rugged it was that Quartes had to draw significantly upon his Shards of Lehn to defeat it.  At the end of the day, the Swamp Dragon may have been nothing more than a massive, four-eyed alligator but working to see how more than just it’s physical description could convey traits of the creature was good practice.

Plus, while I don’t like to write scenes of Quartes killing other people, seeing him cut loose against a massive monster is still kinda fun.  In a more serious way, we got to see more of the coordination, and assistance, each of the Landian’s weapons bring him in a fight and how he fights with his lost friends.

Not much else to report beyond that.  The work side of my life is ramping up, and we’ll see how that affects my writing.  Busier work takes up more time but also means I enjoy writing as a place to find refuge and relaxation.  For this upcoming week, I think I’ll share a post of how things go when Quartes doesn’t end a fight quite so unscathed.

Go forth and do good things,

Sean