Creating the First Arc of Peregrine

I began writing Peregrine shortly after I finished the first draft of Reckoning of the Gods, my fantasy/mythology series. Well, I say first draft, but this is more like the fifteenth or sixteenth draft (I’ve lost count over the nine years I’ve been working on it). In any case, I knew that I needed to walk away from the story for a few months, but I didn’t want to lose my writing momentum. I wrote a few short stories (which you can find on my website), but I began running out of ideas for those fairly quickly. Then, I remembered an idea that I had for a story called Peregrine.

The inspiration for Peregrine came from an episode of Planet Earth 2 where they focused on Peregrine falcons living in New York City. I found it fascinating how well these birds had adapted to the concrete jungle, and eventually, I began to wonder if human beings could find themselves in a similar situation. A concept formed in my mind of humans with wingsuits swooping through floating refineries in the sky. From that initial seed grew the rest of Peregrine.

For a long time, I had hoped to make Peregrine a graphic novel (and if I’m being honest I still have that same hope), but when I realized that I needed to start working on something that wasn’t a short story, Peregrine came to mind. What if I made Peregrine a series? Once that decision had been made, I remembered that Wattpad seemed to be a great place for series, so I began creating arcs for the story with the intent of finishing each arc between drafts of Reckoning of the Gods.

Now, I would like to tell you that I spent weeks coming up with the first arc for Peregrine, but that would be a lie.

I didn’t.

I spent a few days brainstorming the characters, the ragtag group of high-fliers that comprised the Peregrines. Once I had a basic understanding of the story, I hit the ground running, and if I’m being honest, I’m pretty happy with how everything turned out.

More than anything, Peregrine was a challenge to write a chapter a week, and I’m happy to say that I managed to do that. I made a few mistakes along the way, and I fully intend to revise the first arc at a later date, but the basic ingredients are all there: action, adventure, wingsuits.

My current plan is to start working on the second draft of Reckoning of the Gods, then return to Peregrine after that’s finished. In the meantime, feel free to visit the world of Nisi as many times as you like. We’ve only cracked the surface of what’s in store for the Peregrines, and I hope you’ll stick around to find out what’s next.

Read Peregrine on Wattpad.
Read Peregrine on ARBrasch.com.