Has anyone here ever written or conceived of a pirate story? Right now my brother and I are trying to write a pirate/modern/comedy story with maybe a tad of fantasy thrown in for good measure.

That sounds awesome, McKinnon! No, I have never tried one, but maybe someday. Maybe .

One of our members has published a pirate trilogy if I'm remembering correctly. Her name is Malkilen (or something similar ) on the fantasy forum, but I can't recall her name here.

Molly Evangeline is her name on here, and here's a link to her thread about her pirate series:

http://www.holyworlds.org/historical/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=357

I wrote a children's picture book called "The Tale of Pirate Shishkabob"! You can read more about it on my website here: http://katielynndaniels.com/wordpress/b ... hishkabob/

I'm also working on a children's pirate musical, but it's lacking in plot, sadly.

I don't think I've ever tried a more serious novel with pirates. The need for realism scares me. But for children they're the greatest things ever.

Yeah, the main plot of my (and my brother's) story is this pirate who is taking a bus trip across America. There's more to it than that, but it's pretty funny. Me and my brother have had these characters for years. It's primarily a comedy, but I still am trying to insert epic action sequences and thoughtful musings as well. After all, if a pirate from the 1700s sailed into modern Miami, what would he think?

I love pirate stories. The Golden Age of Piracy ended in the early 1700s, but I didn't like that because I like American history - so I wrote my own pirate story.

Basically, the first maritime division of the US was the Coast Guard, established in 1790 back when it was called the United States Revenue Cutter Service, USRCS. When America decided it needed money, back before income tax was thought up by Teddy Roosevelt, it charged tariffs on all imported goods. To enforce this, they started the USRCS to keep smugglers from disregarding the tariffs.

My current logline: "When Captain Sharps of the USRC General Greene learns of an impending attack on the nearby armory in Portland, Maine, he must enlist a band of smugglers to assist him with the defense of the port."

Because I like anything on the ocean, I'm working on integrating the plot with the Quasi-War with France, hence the attack on the armory in Portland.

That's a good story idea.

(And we like old threads getting woken up.)

Thanks. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Mborn!

Sounds like a fascinating story; how is it coming along? How much have you written of it up to now?

As Jon said, we love people brushing the dust off old threads!

Thanks Lady Eleanor!

I'm not a book writer, I just love writing plots, usually from a movie standpoint. This is a hobby for me more than anything else, but I convince myself I'm good at it.

This one I came up with the idea for over a year ago, and I'm still working on getting the plot perfect. It's probably my favorite (and best) story idea though. I've done a lot of research, and it seems that pirates were just about non-existent by the time the United States formed , with the notable exception of the Barbary Pirates, who would make an amazing movie / book by themselves. However, good 'ol smuggling was rampant after the U.S. put a tariff on all imported goods in order to make some spending cash. The USRC was created to end the smuggling, and there are numerous stories of them doing just that, although none as fantastical as this.

There are many ways to end such a plot as good guys versus pirates, but I wanted to turn the smugglers into good guys, if possible, and add some little known history as well. These two reasons made me rewrite the plot with the French as the main protagonist, and set the date as 1790, during the Quasi-War.

Sorry. More than you needed to know!

Oh, do you write scripts? Your story sounds fascinating, by the way. But all you had to say was "late 1700s" and I was good.

I have written a few scripts, but due to very limited time, the best I can manage nowadays is a story.

I absolutely love the old sailing ships, so the beginning of America's navy was a must for the story - therefore, late 1700s.

Try short scripts. They're so quick 'n fun!

Sadly, I have yet to succeed in writing any short stories or scripts. I can manage a half-hour script, but somehow my brain is wired more for the Hitchcock style plot-heavy ring around the rosies.

But, I will definitely give it another wack. Thanks for the prod.

Yep, I wrote one in 2010. I self-published it in 2011, but I'm not divulging a link or a name because quite honestly, I look back on it, and it's horrible. I was an over-confident 13-year-old who hadn't quite gotten the hang of writing down yet.

Everyone has to start somewhere, and it's just great that you have the drive to finish a novel. I wrote a 70 chapter novel when I was 12/13 and when I look at it now I feel awful about how it's written. But it's still an achievement that I was able to complete a novel, and I enjoy looking at it, even if I won't show it to anyone else.