Greetings friends, I have returned once more with the second part of the Know The Novel linkup. Last time, I told you all about Project Wales, my contemporary fantasy novel wherein four losers look for the legendary treasure of Merddyn Wyllt, the novel that I am writing for NaNoWriMo this year. If you didn't read that post or just want a refresher on the novel I'm talking about here, the link is here. And on we go!
How’s the writing going overall?
It has been...going. I had a pretty good start to NaNo, getting quite far ahead on my word count in that first week or so, but I've kind of been flipflopping between confident and happy with what I'm writing and hating every single word. It also definitely hasn't been helping that my physical and mental health have both been kind of all over the place, but it's not too bad. I'm currently at 40k, which I'm happy with. I'm trying to stay ahead of the word count I actually need in case I have Really Bad Days.
But overall, I think I'm feeling pretty good about this story. Like I mentioned in my first Know The Novel post, this is a story that means an awful lot to me and that's been in my head for a long time. To an extent, I think that's making it harder because I semi-frequently write scenes and they're just Not what I wanted them to be like, but it also makes it so much more exciting and satisfying when they come out exactly as I imagined or better.
So yes, very spotty and all over the place both in terms of how I'm feeling about this story, and also in word counts per day as you can see from this screenshot of my words per day table on the NaNoWriMo website, which isn't updated for today by the way.
But I am still super excited about this story and these characters and I'm especially excited to be done with the first draft so that I can begin polishing it.
What’s been the most fun aspect about writing this novel so far?
Absolutely the world. I just love this magic-tinged town and the whole way that magic works in this world is so much fun to write. I also love writing these characters a lot. I've had some trouble with them, but I do really really enjoy writing these characters overall.
It also has a nice Vibe overall. I don't really know how to explain it. It's kind of stylistic and odd and I just really enjoy writing in this style. My sister read the first chapter and said that she was imagining it in a Tim Burton-esque style as she read it, if that helps at all with understanding what I mean.
What do you think of your characters at this point? Who’s your favourite to write about?
They are my kids and I would die for every single one of them. I've really enjoyed the way they've come out in a lot of ways.
Peri - is just a huge amount of fun to write. She has so much energy and is so excited about everything and also a hundred percent down to fight at any given time. She's definitely a helpful character to have around considering the other three are really introverted and they definitely need a solid Extravert to pull them out of their shells.
Haneul - mysteriously switched genders and now she's a girl, so that's cool I guess. I think she's definitely the hardest to write, she's very reserved and doesn't like to make her feelings clear to either the other characters or to me haha. But she just has so much love and kindness in her, even if she doesn't always know how to show it, and she has suffered and struggled so much over her life and cares so much about others, I love her.
Jules - can be hard to write sometimes, just because he's in a really bad situation with his family and his depression makes his POV sad to write sometimes, but he has a great sense of humour and I love the way he describes things. He's an artist, so he gives some of the best descriptions of the setting of all of them and I love that about him. He's kind of clumsy and awkward when it comes to friendship, because he's never really had that before, but honestly he's just here to draw things and love his friends, that is all. Also, I know I typed him as an INFP prior to writing him, but I didn't realise until I wrote him just how much of an INFP he is, sheesh.
Arthur - mysterious nerd. Everyone makes fun of him for dressing like a grandad. There is speculation he's actually an eighty-year-old man trapped in a young body. He Knows Things, but refuses to explain any of it. Feels the need to be unnecessarily cryptic about literally everything. So many problems that come up later would be solved if Arthur Mulligan possessed the basic ability to Communicate His Problems, but it's fine, it's cool, everything's fine.
Has your novel surprised you in any way?
I mean, Haneul turned into a girl so that was a pretty big surprise. Other than that, everything is mostly going according to how it was in my head, so not really. I will say I think it's way bigger than I was fully anticipating it being. Like, I have never had a novel take So Long to get to the freaking inciting incident before. I was up to like 15 or 16k before I even hit the inciting incident. The first act is over 35k long. I knew it was going to be fairly long, but I hadn't really realised how long it really would be before I started writing.
Have you come across any problem areas?
So many. I think Haneul's POV is going to take the most work in editing, because I'm definitely still getting to know her and understand how her mind works. Other issues include Terrible Descriptions, settings that just Aren't what I wanted them to be and a bunch of scenes that come across as super stilted that I was just desperately trying to hammer out and get past.
What’s been your biggest victory with writing this novel at this point?
Irregardless of anything else, I am genuinely enjoying writing this novel and that's a victory all on its own. Also, while there have absolutely been major issues in this story, when I get it right it is Right. Like, some of the scenes I have written in here are some of my favourites ever. A really good example of that is that I finally wrote the scene where I introduced my main antagonist and I just? Love this scene? So much? It's so creepy and unnerving and well and truly out-did my expectations for it.
Also overall, I don't think the plot is going to need that much fixing? It's mostly all going exactly how I want it to go. I think there are absolutely a few issues there, but mostly it all makes sense and fits together nicely.
If you were transported into your novel and became any one of the characters, which one do you think you’d be? Would you take any different actions than they have?
Give us the first sentence or paragraph then 2 (or 3!) more favourite snippets!
Okay, because I began this novel pre-NaNo, I'm going to give the first bit of the overall novel and then the first bit that I actually wrote during NaNo.
"
The painted faces of his parents over the mantlepiece scared Jules Ridley. They always had.
When he was young, Jules had avoided this room at all costs because being near the painting made him feel sick. It was like that with all of the paintings in the house, but this one was especially bad.
A painting was supposed to be filled with life. The painting of Jules’ parents was filled with nothing but hollow smiles and covered in a shiny gloss finish.
After Jules agreed, Arthur led them both to a little pub down a side-street deep inside Carydrai. Crooked old buildings crowded the sides, leaning over like worried gnomes, watching as Jules followed Arthur.
The Leaping Frog read the faintly glowing sign swinging above the door. A painting of a frog sat just under the words. As Jules watched, the frog turned and winked at him.
"
Haneul didn’t remember the dream.
This wasn’t anything new. Haneul rarely remembered her dreams once they were over. She just woke; shaking, sometimes sick, with a nameless dread weighing down her bones.
All she could ever remember were flashes; once a bloody knife, once flashing ambulance lights, sometimes not even those remnants instead just a vague premonition, a certainty of things that were to come, even though she didn’t remember how she knew.
But this dream wasn’t like the others. There was no dread, no trembling, no hollow certainty. Only peace and comfort.
"
Just outside of the back door was the garden she had poured her heart into. Every vegetable growing in that vegetable patch was her pride and joy; the gigantic pumpkins, the sexy onions, the long carrots and more. Once a year, since she was eleven, she had won the prize at the local agricultural fair for her vegetables.
“Okay,” Peri said, kneeling down in front of the patch and wincing against her will. “Lanci. This is of vital importance. Hold up your right hand.”
Lancelot raised an unconvinced eyebrow. “Why?”
“Just do it,” Peri made a face at him.
Lancelot rolled his eyes, then raised his right hand. “Fine. Now what?”
“You, Lancelot Gibson, have solemnly sworn to carry out the vital job of keeping these vegetables alive while their mother is at university,” Peri proclaimed seriously, raising her own right hand.
“I said I’d water them,” Lancelot said, “I don’t think that’s as big a deal as you’re making it.”
“Shush,” Peri hissed at him. “Now. Say after me. I, Lancelot Gibson.”
Lancelot didn’t say anything.
Peri kicked at him. Finally he rolled his eyes again and repeated the words. “I, Lancelot Gibson.”
He didn’t quite have the gravitas Peri wanted, instead sounding rather bored, but she decided to let it pass. “Do solemnly swear.”
“Do solemnly swear.” Lancelot suddenly looked very concerned. “You better not be making me sign my life away to you or anything.”
“Would I do a thing like that?” Peri put her hand to her chest in shock. “Me? Your dear older sister, Peri?”
“You once tricked me into giving you all my Christmas chocolate in exchange for a stick,” said Lancelot flatly.
“Okay, that one was on you and also I was eight,” Peri protested.
“I was six! You tricked a six-year-old into selling you Christmas chocolate!”
Peri shrugged. “You snooze, you lose. Anyway, carry on repeating, you loser. To care for these vegetables as though they were my own children.”
Lancelot repeated her words, looking very dubious indeed which Peri thought was very unfair.
“To read to them, every day, a chapter from the Lord of the Rings books,” Peri continued onwards.
Lancelot sent her a blank look.
Peri shrugged. “That’s their favourite.”
“They’re vegetables, Peri.”
“They have feelings, Lancelot.”
“Again, I reiterate, they’re vegetables, Peri!” Lancelot crossed his arms, glaring at her. “Vegetables don’t have feelings!”
“Maybe most vegetables don’t,” Peri said primly, “But mine do. Now shush and repeat it.”
Lancelot rolled his eyes so hard Peri was surprised they didn’t fall out of his head. “Fine. To read a chapter of Lord of the Rings to them everyday.”
“That’s not quite what I said, but I’ll let it go,” Peri said, and Lancelot made a face at her. She made a face back, before she straightened her face and tried to look serious. “Repeat. To talk to them and make sure they feel comfortable and to tell them that they’re doing well, tell them to grow up good and strong.”
“This is ridiculous,” Lancelot said.
“Shut up,” Peri said.
“You’re the most annoying person on the planet,” Lancelot informed her.
“I know,” Peri said, with a huge grin. “It’s great, isn’t it?”
Lancelot rolled his eyes, but said nothing.
“Now, repeat it. Come on!” Peri kicked him again just for good luck.
Lancelot groaned, but dutifully repeated her words. “Are we done now?”
“Not quite. Repeat. Most of all, I swear to be father and mother to these vegetables and to make sure they don’t die while Peri’s away, cause she’d be really sad and would probably cry if that happened.”
“This is getting personal now,” Lancelot said.
Peri scowled at him.
He rolled his eyes — again, Lancelot’s eye-sockets had to be getting the best workout of their lives today, Lancelot should really be thanking her for that. “Fine. Most of all, I swear to be father and mother to these stupid vegetables and to make sure they don’t die while Peri’s away, cause she’d be really sad and would probably cry.”
Peri gasped and put her hands on the nearest pumpkin on either side. “Don’t listen, babies. He’s just being mean.”
Lancelot just looked at her. “Can I go now? Am I free yet?”
“Yeah, you’re done,” Peri said with the biggest grin she could muster. “Take care of them, Lanci.”
Lancelot send her a long look. “I won’t let your vegetables die, Peri. You know I won’t.”
Peri reached out and squeezed his hand. “I know that, Lanci.”
Share an interesting tidbit about the writing process so far! (For example: Have you made any hilarious typos? Derailed from your outline? Killed off a character? Changed projects entirely? Anything you want to share!)
I got bored of trying to cut out the few thousand words I wrote pre-NaNo when I worked out my word count and ended up writing the same amount of words in a different project and then included them haha. I haven't killed anyone yet, though we're getting close to the first death if my vague plot outline is correct. I also just generally keep switching projects and writing a bit on other stuff whenever I need a break from this one, but I don't normally include those words in my NaNo count.
Take us on a tour of what a normal writing day for this novel looks like. Where do you write? What time of day? Alone or with others? Is a lot of coffee (or some other drink) consumed? Do you light candles? Play music? Get distracted by social media (*cough, cough*)? Tell all!
Well, I haven't really had Writing Days. I've been working on my course at the same time, as well as struggling through various health issues both physical and mental, so I've mostly been writing as and when I feel up to doing it. Most of the time, that ends up being in the evening. I've also joined a Discord group of NaNoers from Wales, so I've made heavy use of sprints and word wars this NaNo, which works really well for me. I also have a Whole Playlist about 11 hours long that I put together for this story, link here. I always turn that on when I'm writing, it helps me get in the mood.
I get distracted by literally everything, but in particular my mind just fixated on the older tv show Starsky and Hutch this month for some reason and all I actually want to do 24/7 is watch it haha. But! I'm overcoming it. We're fighting onwards lads.
