18 Comments

I am impressed with how much life you could bring to Nib and Warv in so little time. You have a warmth to your writing - I can really tell you care about these characters. So good Nathan!

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Thanks Taegan, so kind 😊

Honestly, in writing this piece last week I discovered things about some backstory that I hadn't realised were there until I set about them on the page. Which perhaps says something disorganised about my process 😂

Also, if anyone else reads this, you must must go check out Taegan's work. He is a master craftsman doing some special things with single words, writing and video over on his Substack.

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Thank you Nathan 🙏

Really glad to have connected with you.

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Ditto!

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It's cool that you write background stories for side characters. I tend to scribble down notes in my lore section in Scrivener, otherwise, I will forget, e.g. one character has a bonsai collection, meticulously trimming them, a metaphor for something else going on in his life. So, keep them coming, those background stories. I like your names in the story, too. It gives it that little otherworldly touch.

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Thanks! This is pretty new to me, doing this kind of background story for side characters (beyond notes). I'm taking cues from Claudia over at Story Voyager 😄

Also, I totally made up "pickerel" because it sounded fitting to the world and I wanted something close but not obvious. Sardine would have been appropriate but a bit too immersion-breaking, perhaps. But, well, I was then informed by a friend this morning that pickerel is a real fish. And a freshwater one at that, which wasn't the oily type I had in mind. So, err, whoops but oh well. I figure in the world of Precipice, there's a salt-water fish called a pickerel 😁

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Apr 28, 2023·edited Apr 28, 2023Liked by Nathan Slake

yeah, pickerel or pike, we catch them around here a lot. state-licensed fisherman here :)

it's a delicacy. usually, we put them back though. no-kill fishing.

you could turn it into a pickereel. a cross between pickerel and eel. saltwater eel with the jaws of a pike... huh

I use AD&D character sheets sometimes, don't have to fill all stats obviously, but it's a fun way to gamify character creation: https://media.wizards.com/2022/dnd/downloads/5E-CHARACTERSHEETS.zip

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That's a great idea! Have only ever done that for an *actual* DnD character during lockdown.

RE: pickerel. I'm still face-palming slightly over not simply Googling before deciding upon the fish name. Pickereel is good :D

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I'm in love with little Nib, and so afraid for her, that precious tiny furball. And you did well with establishing Warv, how caring and practical he is.

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Aw, hehe thanks Nadia.

Thank you for taking the time to read and to comment.

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Of course! Thank you for sharing your wonderful craft with us!

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I love the simple details in this story like the care given to detail of his glasses. I'll check out your other writing too. Thanks for sharing.

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Thanks for reading, Dan, and for the comment. I really appreciate it.

Hope you're doing well. Looking forward to your next story instalment over on your Substack!

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What a sweet little nugget of a scene! Also a perfect amount of em-dashes 😁 The references back to Jisa were really nice, telling us without telling the complexity of that relationship, and how there are clearly many things still left unresolved, including how much Warv misses her. It's also a very nice metaphor, not having enough to keep feeding Nib, and (at least feeling like) not being enough for Jisa. Thanks for sharing this!

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🤗

Thank you for your thoughts and comments as always, Elnora. Means a lot.

I honestly wasn't sure if the metaphor was too strong or much, especially in the closing, but it's really the entirety of what I wanted the piece to be about, as well as hopefully leaving a number of swirling questions unresolved.

Originally, I was planning to return to Brae for next week's post, but now I'm considering posting the entire scene from Jisa's POV, where she comes to Warv to ask him the favour.

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We all must follow the dictates of our Muse 😊

I don't think the metaphor is too strong, personally!

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PS have a decent chunk of free time today and I've got some of your posts to catch up on, which I'm really looking forward to.

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Thank you, Garrett, truly. Means a lot to hear you say that.

I'm excited to write more, so expect more haha 😊

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