Happy Halloween

I don't know what they do in other countries, but here Halloween is kind of a big thing. Mostly for kids, but adults get in the spirit of Halloween, too. Many grownups dress up in costumes to go to work and that's true even at schools. I don't. Once, I taught at a school that required the teachers to dress up in a costume, and even though I went ahead and did it, I wish I didn't.

Why? Because, imo, it's a kid thing. I think teachers should teach and dressing up for halloween detracts from that in a classroom. But that's me. I go to the bank and to the grocery store and the employees are dressed in costumes. Whatever. I think going to a costume party is more the appropriate time and place to do that. I might be a prude, but the work place is a different element. Hey, don't get me wrong, I still take my kids out to trick or treat. Well, my nine year old anyway. My fifteen year old hasn't dressed up the last couple years. He's too old for that now. Sigh. How the years fly by.

Back to research

Pausing once again to firm up the research on these battles. Because the Battle of Isandlwana was not the only one happening. There were three of them happening almost simultaneously. As I've said, there were three British columns invading Zululand all at once. The Zulus stopped all three of them. The Central Column was destroyed, the Left Column was stopped at Hlobane and pushed back to Kambula, and the Right Column was stopped and besieged at Eshowe.

So I am researching the details of all three battles, just to make sure I get them right, and to figure out how much of them I want to actually put in the story. I have a lot of subplots that take place in these battles. For instance, not only does John Dunn fight in the battle to relieve the besieged Brits at Eshowe, two of Shepstone's sons fight at Isandlwana and one of them gets killed. It's some very interesting reading.

WIP at 82,000 words

82,000 words for my WIP right now and I'm not even close to done yet. THE VASE is 88,000 words, and KILLER OF KILLERS is 89,000. It''s looking like JOHN DUNN will exceed 90,000 and might even reach 100,000 by the time it's finished. That's OK for historical fiction, I think. Right now in the story the Dunn clan has just crossed over into Natal to sit out the war.

After that, Lord Chelmsford's third column will cross into Zululand. Colonel Wood has already invaded, and Colonel Pearson goes the next day. Then I'll put in the scene where the Zulu king Cetshwayo is planning his counterattack. The Battle of Isandlwana will come after that. It's a fast ride and it's picking up speed right about now.

Battle of Isandlwana

The first major battle of the Anglo-Zulu War was the British disaster at Isandlwana, which ranks as the worst-ever defeat of a modern army by a primitive one in the history of warfare. It’s the British version of “Custer’s Last Stand” but much worse.

After the British invaded Zululand, the top guy, Lord Chelmsford, AKA General Thesiger, decided to camp his center column at the base of a mountain called Isandlwana. Of course he wanted to make sure no Zulu army was around that might attack him, so he ordered Major Dartnell to scout ahead. Dartnell encountered Zulus and sent word back for permission to attack them. Thinking it was a big Zulu army, and not wanting to be left out of the fight, Chelmsford rode out with half of his force to reinforce him. This left the camp at half-strength and under the command of the inexperienced Major Pulliene.

But the main Zulu army was hiding out of sight in a low ravine, and they attacked, catching the camp unprepared. When Chelmsford returned, the camp had been wiped out. Over a thousand British and their native allies were massacred. News spread fast, and the world was shocked. They didn’t think that was possible.

The thing is that the Dutch-descended Boers who had been living in South Africa for hundreds of years and fighting the Zulus for just as long, had warned the British not to underestimate the Zulus. But the British didn’t listen. And that's what happened.

Chapter Outlining

So I’m nearing the conclusion of my WIP, John Dunn, which includes the Anglo-Zulu war and its aftermath. But there are so many subplots and characters involved I’ve decided to outline each remaining chapter.

First, there’s the chapter when the war begins. It begins, of course with the British invasion into Zululand. John Dunn, trying to remain neutral, undertakes an exodus of thousands of the people who live under his autonomous rule in the part of Zululand called Dunnsland.

This exodus also included upward of 3,000 head of cattle. The British, fearful that the thousands of Zulus who live under him might join the Zulu side, promise to provide food and shelter. But once Dunn brings them into Natal, not only do the British break their promise and provide nothing, they take all of their guns away, to boot.

But the invasion does not go as planned for the British. No spoiler alert needed because it is a historical fact that the first invasion ended in disaster for the British. They invaded with three separate columns which were supposed to converge on the Zulu capital, but all three columns were defeated, one being destroyed, and the other two stopped.

So Lord Chelmsford, who is in overall command of the British forces, comes to Dunn and this time forces him to join the British side instead of just being a bystander. It’s also true history that after he left his Zulu homestead, rogue Zulus burned down his house and the surrounding villages where his people lived.

And there is quite a bit more going on in the story, some of it fiction that I’ve added to spice it up, but all the characters are real and these main events are all true to history. It’s a great deal of fun, just too much research involved for me to ever want to do it again.

Chapter Length

Since I started writing novels, I have been interested in chapter length. More so than before, because when I read a novel, I never even thought about it. In KILLER OF KILLERS, I have short chapters, as few as four pages, and long chapters, as many as thirty-some pages. I know that other novels by other authors also vary in chapter length. I've read novels where chapters are as long as forty or more pages. And I've picked up books where every scene change is a new chapter, and very short ones at that.

In THE VASE, I've averaged my chapters to be about twelve pages or so, with some that do exceed twenty, and I think that's about right. But in JOHN DUNN, HEART OF A ZULU, the chapters tend to be long. The opening chapter is twenty-six pages, and some are well over thirty and even forty pages long. It makes for a book with not so many chapters.

I pick up books in the store and see books that have over FIFTY chapters! Forget that. It's like an endless chapter-filled story. My books have more like twenty chapters, or even fewer. And that's the way I think it should be. I mean if you have a new chapter after every scene break, and each chapter only three or four pages long, that makes for a lot of white space. I know white space is necessary, but I think a chapter break should be worked into the story. When you have a good place to end a chapter, then do it, but I don't think a mere scene break necessarily qualifies as a chapter break. But maybe some people disagree. That's OK.

New Writing Contest

My favorite writing contests are held by Literary Agent Janet Reid because they are short, (100 words or fewer,) and must contain preselected words. This time the words were unforsaken, witch, ghost, deadly, slay, and decay, with an optional word which was "insalubrious." I don't believe I ever heard of that word, but I managed to use it. Hope I used it correctly.

So no, I don't expect to win, and I didn't enter the contest to win anything, but you know what? It was fun. It didn't take a lot of my time, and figuring a short little segment with those words was a minor challenge. OK. Now back to the WIP.