Updated ranking of the contest

For reading the rules of the contest, please, follow this link:

Rules of the contest

Last Update at: 5/30/2016 17:23 (GTM +1)

The winner is Victor Hugo's quote tweet (Tweet number two)

Number	Quote	Hits	Likes	Retweets	Points
1	I just invent, then wait until man comes around to needing what I've invented. R. Buckminster Fuller See tweet in Twitter	386			386
2	When a woman is talking to you, listen to what she says with her eyes. Victor Hugo See tweet in Twitter	482	2	1	527
3	The artist must bow to the monster of his own imagination. Richard Wright See tweet in Twitter	319			319
4	Be truthful, nature only sides with truth. Adolf Loos See tweet in Twitter	249			249
5	When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself Wayne Dyer See tweet in Twitter	249	1		259

Contest of Tweets

I am going to start today a contest related with five tweets containing quotes in my Twitter account: https://twitter.com/dswaltz. The idea is to see which quote likes people the most and test the way in which another more interesting contests can be made.

I will publish five post with quotes, labelled with the hashtag #contest from 16th of May to 20th of May. I will record the hits, the likes and the retweets that each post receives from 16th to 29th of May and I will publish the results on 30th of May in another entry in this blog.

I will update the partial results in another entry of this blog that I will link from here soon.

The scoring is the following:

• 1 hit = 1 point.
• 1 like =10 points.
• 1 retweet=25 points.

The five quotes are:

1) I just invent, then wait until man comes around to needing what I've invented.
R. Buckminster Fuller

2) When a woman is talking to you, listen to what she says with her eyes.
Victor Hugo

3) The artist must bow to the monster of his own imagination.
Richard Wright

4) Be truthful, nature only sides with truth.
Adolf Loos

5) When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself
Wayne Dyer

I hope that you will enjoy the contest.

About how I created the title

Titling a literary work is complicated for most authors. For me is very difficult, and I have finished more than one novel or short story without having found that sentence which will express the essence of the story that I am going to tell.

Things were easier than expected for Sails in the distance, since I only needed six months, from the moment in which I started to work in the story. As a help for other authors with similar problems, and just as a matter of interest for readers, I will talk a bit about how the title came to my mind.

Everything started when I reflected about the setting. The novel takes place in two countries: The Republic of Hakol and the Kingdom of Govria. Reflecting about the past of both countries, I started to write about the process in which Govria conquered Hakol territory along three centuries. And as the Republic did not stop losing battles, I came to the conclusion that, a century and a half ago, Hakol people split. One half resolved to leave the Republic and look for another land with no Govrians. The other half were the ancestors of those who insisted on offer resistance behind Bukret's Dyke, the last defensive structure that the Republic built.

That massive migration is the male protagonist's reason for starting his adventure, so the title should be related with that "exodus". I needed an image capable of depicting that event, a image that could last in the memory of the ones who remained in the Republic. As both countries share an island, that migration had to be carried out by ship. So, I needed an image connected with the sea or with sailboats.

And I imagined the picture of hundreds of sails, that were becoming smaller and smaller for the thousands of Hakol who, with broken hearts, saw as their brothers departed. When that image was in my mind, the title came to me very fast.

If you are a writer, comment below your tricks for finding titles.

Map of the countries of Sails in the distance

Here is the version number 2 of the map that I draw for planning the novel. It is not very good; it's draw with a pen, but it made its function:

(Click on it for enlarging).
 
I will continue improving it, but you have a preview for the definitive map. The boxed names are the names of the countries: the Kingdom of Govria and the Republic of Hakol.

The biggest island has a length of about 200 kilometers (about 125 miles).

Synopsis of Sails in the distance

The presentation of a novel is used to be done by its synopsis. This is a brief description of the topics covered by the book and some hints about the things that the reader will find in it. And because this is a blog devoted the novel Sails in the distance, it would be expected that the second post would include it. So, here is the synopsis of the novel:

The Republic of Hakol is dying. Another people started to invade it three centuries ago and the country has lost all the battles. About 150 years ago, the Hakol people's willpower broke. Almost the half part of the inhabitants left their land in the bitterest day that can be remembered in the Republic. The picture that still remains between those who stayed is the one of sails in the distance.

In that condemned country reduced to the third part of the territory that it ruled in the past, a young man, Loztu, receives from his father the axe that belonged to his family from several centuries ago. And, in that ceremony, he is granted permission for leaving his home and finding the location of those who had to leave. The only option is venturing at the other side of the Dyke, the last defence of the Republic, and boarding towards the mainland.

Unable of hiding his origin, Loztu will have to face the rejection of the people who ruined the Republic as he earns the money that he needs for his passage. And when he finds that his mission is more difficult than he expected, he will encounter a thief girl who will try to finish with his quest.

What do you think? Any comments?

First post

Welcome to this blog that will be devoted to share information about an epic fantasy novel that I am writing. The title of the novel is Sails in the distance.

I am still configuring the blog and I will upload information about the novel. I can tell for the moment that my goals are:

• Writing "realistic" epic fantasy. The world where the story takes place is a fictional one, but the setting is inspired in 16th-17th century European society. Magic could exist, but people would show themselves as astonished as we if a wizard appeared.
• Giving importance to characters, main or secondary ones.
• Giving importance to realistic armed combat.
• Treating about unarmed combat or martial arts in a typical medieval fantasy setting.
• Including a little elements from other genres.

And the most important one: please the readers and make them enjoy the adventures that I will talk about in the novel.