This Leprechaun Thing
This Leprechaun thing started because people asked how I found story ideas but it has grown into how I plan a story and how things just pop up when I start the idea rolling, for discussion at the writing group. Things sometimes take on a life of their own.
First was Noah’s descendent being a Scot then the Irish believing the Leprechaun were the first nation of the Britain.
That led to Noah’s descendent running from the city of Hattusha believing he would be executed but really to force him to investigate the stories of metal working in Britain. That might take 3000 words or so. They cross Europe fighting off tribes, sabre toothed tigers and mammoths and that might last till 15000 words.
They cross the North Sea, the ice cap is still melting and the North Sea is mostly swamp but a storm blows their reed boat and they struggle to get to shore and land on the East coast at a river (the Forth). Up to 25000 words, hopefully.
They are chased by Neanderthals and rescued by wee green men who take them to The Leprechaun. The green men are skilled metal workers producing bronze and a bit of iron, maybe, the details of that need elaborating as they don’t always succeed in getting iron from the stones despite their chants and charms. They are also farmers and have made family servants of some of the more intelligent Neanderthals. The other Neanderthals are hunters who raid the farms and The Leprechaun organises a raid on their kraal and captures some young women, which will bring in romance somehow. The boy in the Noah family is taught some of the Leprechaun magic. How to control beasts and other things and will become The Druid. This needs a lot of incident as it must get the story to about 50000 words.
The various raids escalate into open revolt by the Neanderthals and the green men have to run across to the Firth of Clyde and make the boat to get them to Ireland. That would have to take 30000 words to get the novel to 80 000, so there is much to do.
How does it end? Does the Noah chap go back to Hattusha with all he has learned? Do they settle in Ireland? Are there already Leprechauns in Ireland? The characters will tell me when I get there.
Not so easy and Han’s friend and the Hittite pursuit, organised to make sure Han comes back to Hattusha are in the mix. Bearing in mind that a short story might be 1200 words long, 80 000 is 70 short stories. It might be fun but it needs grinding out.
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