Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly blog hop where participants post eight to ten sentences of their writing. You can find out more about it by clicking on the image.
Continuing the opening from The Long Dark in Anna's point of view. Anna is driving a massive surface vehicle and is aiming to retrieve a hard-to-reach navigation beacon before winter closes in.
Up another hanging ladder, Anna mounted a slender catwalk suspended below the front of the cab. She selected a lightweight cable from the row of drums above her head and released the drum’s clutch.
Once more on the ground, she fastened the dollies a few meters back from the end of the cable, then clipped herself on for safety. With the end of the line slung over one shoulder, and a sounding pole in her free hand, she tested the surface ahead as she trudged away, sinking ankle-deep with each step.
Despite the late season wind keening around her, sweat slicked the edge of her mask by the time Anna slogged her way to the beacon.
She slackened off the beacon’s guy lines and carefully lowered the heavy three-meter pole to the ground, slipping the axle of a dolly beneath each end.
A sharp crack followed by a muted rumble startled her. She glanced instinctively back to the crawler, calming her heartbeat when she reassured herself it was okay. Bright yellow boxes slung between silvery mesh wheels looked like a row of old-fashioned stagecoaches, except those ancient carriages were never built four decks tall. Home and safety, a crawler driver always looked to their rig first when danger threatened.
Back to cover art, and progress at last. That last unit and wheel peeping in from the edge of the page is done. From now on, progress will be less obvious as it's down to details.
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15 comments:
Cool looking crawler.
Aha! Now I understand what your picture is -- a crawler.
Okay, so she made it there, but can she make it back. Your cover is coming along nicely!
My anxiety level is through the roof here, you've made the scene so immediate. LOVE the way her visuals match your cover. Well done, sir!
Thanks all. Regarding the cover art, the crawler was such an outlandish vehicle, yet central to the story, I figured it had to feature on the cover.
Very nicely written snippet, and the cover is looking awesome! Well done! :)
Enjoying all the details of her work process and her life style. Great snippet!
Very nice descriptions and artwork.
Intriguing snippet. Great descriptions.
Now to make it back. The cover looks good.
Excellent world building! A fantastic scene, and I love the picture of the crawler!
Naughty Netherworld Press
I hope she makes it back safely! I assume crawlers aren't cheap to replace.
I love the descriptions of the world, it puts me in the moment. And that moment is quite tense. I can't wait until next week.
Great cover! The details on the wheels are awesome.
Hi Ian - congratulations on your art ... I agree the crawler is central to the story - but now I want to find out what happens with Anna ... take care - Hilary
I don't know how you do it. This description of the crawler and what she's doing is full of peril. Another writer might have made my eyes glaze over. Well done, Ian. :-)
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