Know The Novel Part One: Introducing Project Wales

 So. Hi. It's been a while. Big oof.

A lot has happened since last time I was on here. I'm not going to get into it all now and I'm honestly not sure how much I'm actually going to be active on here for a while, considering I've just started another course and I'm planning on adding NaNoWriMo to that workload apparently, so I don't think I need a blog to try and keep up with, at least not for a while. 

But I really wanted to join this link-up so! Brief bout of activity it is!

As I am doing NaNoWriMo this year, I figured I'd join the Know The Novel linkup this time around. So here we go!

The novel I'm planning on doing this year is one I've been working on for a really long time, but still have no name for yet, so it's just called Project Wales. I'm planning on taking this NaNoWriMo at a chill pace. I do still intend to try and reach the 50 000 words, but I'm not pressuring myself because I do have assignments to do as well. I'm more using this to get a good start on this story, rather than obsessing over the word count. So, hopefully I'll end the month as a NaNo winner, but if I don't hit the 50 000, I'll be happy with whatever I do end up with. 

Anyways! On with the linkup.

1. What first sparked the idea for this novel?

Oh boy. This idea’s been in the works for a long time and has gone through a lot of changes. It was originally a Victorian murder mystery idea, way back when, and honestly the only thing that’s stuck around since then is two of the characters' names, kind of. It’s hard to say what created what it is now, I’d say it’s a lot of factors. It’s been years honestly, and I’ve kept developing it and evolving it all that time. Now, it’s well whatever it is now.

2. Share a blurb (or just an overall summary if you’d prefer)!

When Jules Ridley - a young man with a mysterious ability to draw things he has never seen - returns to Carydrai University in North Wales for his second year, he fully intends to keep his head down and stay away from the magic at the fringes of Carydrai. That is, until he first draws, then meets Arthur Mulligan, a mysterious young man who speaks of a lost treasure that can grant you your heart’s greatest desire if only you find it. Arthur spins a convincing web and Jules cannot help but join him on his quest. But their group is not yet complete. 

It takes until the first-year students arrive for them to find the last pieces of the puzzle; Peri Gibson, a physically disabled girl with a way with words, and Kim Haneul, a Korean international student tormented by mysterious dreams. Once united, the four set off in search of the lost treasure of Merddyn Wyllt. 

But Carydrai has greater secrets than any of them know. As murders begin to occur throughout the town, will they survive to claim their prize? Or will the mysterious Golden Man find them first?

3. Where does the story take place? What are some of your favourite aspects about the setting?

It’s set initially in a fictional Welsh town called Carydrai, where magic blooms and dark secrets hide in the shadows. It kind of goes all over Wales and England though as the story goes on and the characters search for more clues to lead them to the treasure, and I’m so excited about it! 

I just love the eerie, magical nature of this world. I’ve been working on it for so long. I’m super passionate about Wales and specifically, this story draws from the Mabinogion as well as elements of Arthurian mythology and just general Welsh and English folklore. It’s supposed to be a bit creepy and a bit cosy and extremely magical. 

4. Tell us about your protagonist(s).

So I have three main protagonists in this first book; Jules, Haneul and Peri. The other main character is Arthur, but at this point in the series we don’t know much about him or his motivations. He’s super Mysterious. I’ll just quickly run through them, shall I? With the help of aesthetic boards I spent too long on.

Jules

INFP | 19 | Hufflepuff | magical artist | tol | wears all-black and thinks he's cool but is actually a Sensitive Bean | studying business at university even though he'd rather do literally anything else | has a really posh English accent | very sarcastic | emotional | can't cook, currently lives off instant noodles | carries jelly beans around with him everywhere | depressed

Peri

ENTP | 18 | Gryffindor | History student | Scouser | passionate | flighty | argumentative | refuses to tell anyone her full name | second-oldest of seven kids | protective to a fault | hot tempered | fiercely just | gardener who has won the prize at the local Agricultural Show for her Huge vegetables eight years running | physically disabled, has Ehlers Danlos Syndrome | feels like a burden on everyone around her

Haneul

ISFJ | 19 | Hufflepuff | Zoology student | Korean | magical dreamer | loves animals with all of his heart | deeply loving older brother | altruistic to a fault | hyperempathic | gentle | has rock bottom self-esteem | severe insomniac, suffers from nightmares almost every night | socially awkward | afraid of change | anxious | actually on the autism spectrum, but doesn't know it yet

Arthur

INTP | ? | Ravenclaw | has a Welsh accent | always wears wool | melodramatic | knows more than he's letting on??? | seems very sad sometimes | works at a magical coffee shop

5. Who (or what) is the antagonist?

The mysterious Golden Man. Can’t tell you much more than that though, a lot of spoilers surround this guy.

6. What excites you the most about this novel?

So much of this story excites me. So much. I just love the world and the characters and the themes, I’ve put so much of myself into this story already and I haven’t even properly started writing it yet. 

7. Is this going to be a series? standalone? something else?

It’ll be a series! Currently, I’m thinking a trilogy, but I’m actually not sure yet.

8. Are you plotting? pantsing? plansting?

Plansting mostly. I’ve done a lot of development for this story, and I have a whole page of notes and ideas roughly organised into chronological order, but I haven’t gone through and fully developed it all into scenes or chapters and a lot of it is subject to change. I’ve planned out the treasure clues a lot though and generally the mystery element needed a lot of planning and brainstorming. I have a lot of Thoughts and I’m not sure yet how much I’m revealing in this one, but I’ll figure it out as I go. 

9. Name a few unique elements about this story.

The world is unique, in my opinion. Like I said, I’ve drawn a lot from Welsh mythology and Welsh and English folklore for this world. I’ve also gone for a kind of interesting take on the contemporary fantasy realm where I haven’t actually completely hidden the magical world, it’s probably closer to magical realism in that way? I guess? I also think the characters are pretty unique, I’ve spent so long developing them that they’ve quite grown lives of their own. Another unique thing is that there's no romance in this novel, the main characters develop a very intense friendship with each other, but there's no romance whatsoever!

10. Share some fun “extras” of the story (a song or full playlist, some aesthetics, a collage, a Pinterest board, a map you’ve made, a special theme you’re going to incorporate, ANYTHING you want to share!).

Project Wales Aesthetic

old books - dark forests - crooked trees - libraries buried in the roots of trees - warm fires - tight hugs - ancient mysteries - dark alleyways - floating cups - loud laughter - worn sofas - corkboards with string - conspiracy theories - tingling at your fingertips - nighttime - flickering candle-light - friendship - espresso coffee - spinning compasses

As for playlists, here are a few songs for each MC that I personally feel fit them the best.

Jules

Pluto by Sleeping At Last

Still I’m pinned under the weight | Of what I believed would keep me safe. | So show me where my armour ends | Show me where my skin begins. | Like a final puzzle piece | It all makes perfect sense to me | The heaviness that I hold in my heart belongs to gravity | The heaviness that I hold in my heart’s been crushing me…

Side Effects by Stray Kids

My head hurts | I threw myself with trust in me | But why am I being swayed | I threw myself with trust in me | But why am I just being hurt | Wait a second, this is weird, my vision’s blurry | Why doesn’t it end? I keep hearing disturbing noises | Even here, I kept | Believing in winning over everything with my will to fight | Bravado can’t last anymore | Maybe it hurts more because I thought it’d be easy…

Zero by Imagine Dragons

Hello, hello | Let me tell you what it's like to be a zero, zero | Let me show you what it's like to always feel, feel | Like I'm empty and there's nothing really real, real | I'm looking for a way out | Hello, hello | Let me tell you what it's like to be a zero, zero | Let me show you what it's like to never feel, feel | Like I'm good enough for anything that's real, real | I'm looking for a way out… 

Zombie by Day6 (Korean Version)

What kind of day was it yesterday | Was there anything special | I’m trying to remember | But nothing much comes to mind…How do I get through this | Would things get better if I cry my heart out… I feel like I became a zombie | With an empty head and an empty heart | A scarecrow without a brain inside | Since when have I ended up like this? Oh why | I became a zombie | I walk on, drifting aimlessly | Tomorrow will be no different | I live counting the time ’til I close my eyes…

Peri

A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman

'Cause every night, I lie in bed | The brightest colours fill my head | A million dreams are keeping me awake | I think of what the world could be | A vision of the one I see | A million dreams is all it's gonna take | Oh, a million dreams for the world we're gonna make…

Hey Brother by Avicii

Hey, brother | There's an endless road to rediscover. | Hey, sister | Do you still believe in love, I wonder? | Oh, if the sky comes falling down for you, | There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do…

Four by Sleeping At Last

But I've fallen in love with a ghost | And I lost my balance when I needed it most | This blurry photograph is proof | Of what I'm not sure but it feels like truth | I'm stuck swimming in shadows down here | It's been forever since I came up for air | Flashlight in hand determined to find | Authenticity only poetry could even begin to try to describe | Bodies fashioned out of dirt and dust | For a moment we get to be glorious…

The Upside by Lindsey Stirling (feat. Elle King)

Now I'm lost and I'm broken | Deep in like the ocean | Heart's been cut wide open | Changing and I know it | I'm seeing signs of you | When it's the only thing | That gets me through| On my way to the upside now | I'm on my way, on my way out | I don't know if I'm right side up | I'm inside out but I won't give up | On my way, I'm on my way…

Haneul

Sunrise by GFRIEND

My burning heart will not hold on | I’ll send you all of me | So that you remember me | I’ll remember you in memory | Just wait and listen to me | I need you to come with me | I’m going to get you out of this darkness | The cold and radiant | Sunrise, sunrise | Look, look, it’s hiding | I’m never going back | Hold on to me | I’ve been waiting for you to start | From start to finish

Mixtape #3 by Stray Kids

You must have suffered a lot | Living as you tried to be awake | Time must have passed a lot | It’s on your face | You lost and won in the battle | With the numbers for 4380 days | Get out of the room that locked you all night | You really did a good job | Let’s only walk on the flowery path | I’ve run without a break | In the repeated tension | I chose a path that’s not easy | To make flowers bloom, they have to go through the winter | I hope I can see the fruits of the flowers…

Waving Through A Window from Dear Evan Hansen

On the outside always looking in | Will I ever be more than I've always been | Cause I'm tap, tap, tapping on the glass | Waving through a window | I tried to speak but nobody can hear | So I wait around for an answer to appear…When you're falling in a forest and there's nobody around | Do you ever really crash or even make a sound | Did I even make a sound | Did I even make a sound | It's like I never made a sound | Will I ever make a sound?…

Bird With A Broken Wing by Owl City

It's another night of the living dead | Like a viper bite in a spiderweb | It's so deathly dark in the alleyway | And a bleeding heart makes you easy prey | I would run and hide for the afternoon | With the butterfly in the panic room | Though I won't be missed, I would say it's time | For a different twist in the story line…

And with that, we're done! I'll probably be back to do the second part of the linkup in November. Bye!