I've decided to go back and edit my WIP a lot sooner than expected. I came across a scene I am now questioning: in the scene, the MC is leaving a trading port, but there is a passing storm out at sea, so she and her father's crew plan to wait out the storm in the harbor (they can see the storm, but its not passing close enough to cause damage to the port or the ships, but they are hesitant to leave the harbor and get caught in it). While in the harbor and focusing on the storm, 3 skiffs approach and climb aboard to cause some hell (long story short, there was a tavern brawl the night before and the people in the skiff want revenge on the MC's crew by setting fires and beating people up). Is this believable? I keep thinking that a storm - even a far away one- would cause choppy water and make it too hard for a skiff (would the water be calmer in a harbor?). And then i thought... how would the crew not notice 3 skiffs? I thought about making this happen in the evening at around sunset or maybe in the early evening when the sky is darkening to make it easy to overlook the skiffs. The MC's on a sloop; would it be harder to board one unnoticed from a skiff? Am I just over thinking or are there some flaws here....
Usually there's a natural or artificial breakwater keeps ships safe from waves and surges that would otherwise snap the moorings or damage the ships. That's kind of the point of a harbor in the first place I think, but I'm not expert (though I did grow up next to one). Does there have to be a storm at all? Can't they just be chilling on the boat? If the only purpose of the storm is to explain how the attackers approached unnoticed, there would seem to be other ways to accomplish that. If it's necessary at all. You could just be overthinking it... these are the kind of things that betas will notice or not notice. I wouldn't worry too much about it.
The captain of this small crew is a mercenary. He wouldnt linger anywhere longer than he has too. I was trying to come up with a reason for them to be delayed. I dont know another reason for them to linger in the harbor. I figure, a storm is plausible. They are in the tropics, after all.... I'll go back and think on it...
Maybe a disproportionate number of their crew were jailed for rowdy behavior the previous night. Maybe they need certain stores but none are immediately available.
maybe instead of a storm theres no wind, he can't set sail without wind, but smaller boats could be rowed
Having angry men attacking sounds like something to save for act three. You need to raise the tension slowly to last the whole book without falling back into an anti-climax. Let them stare and frown in act one. Insult and confront you in act two. Then when there's no way to escape, you get surprised by someone who claim that you indirectly killed his father or something.
The angry men contribute to the MCs quest for self discovery in the other acts. The reason for reason the guys to strongly want to attack their ship is because one of the guys recognizes the captain. The captain has been living under a false identity. The MC is his daughter and never knew this. confrontation has the other guy disclosing stuff from the past and the MC begins to question everything. It's not a very long conflict, but it's enough to push my MC toward her quest
