Know The Novel Part One: Introducing Asteria (& An Update on Project Wales/NaNoWriMo)

 Hello all!

Last year, I participated in Know The Novel for the first two parts (and flopped at posting the last, but it's okay, everything's fine) and I had a really good time! For an update, since I missed the last lot of questions, I did in fact successfully finish NaNoWriMo last year.

So, I decided to participate again this year - and actually endeavour to finish it this time around. However, I was faced with a bit of a problem, specifically that my 2021 NaNo project is, in fact, the same as it was last year, because I'm hoping to use NaNo to completely finish Project Wales this year! I'm currently at 72k words for this draft, and before I start NaNo, I'm hoping to write another 20k or so on it during October so I can finish it with the 50k for NaNo. Yes, this is an enormous book. I'm currently partway through the midpoint chapter, so...yeah. Massive book. My goal was 120k, it's looking like it might be 140k haha. Hilariously, my first ever completed novel finished up at around 72k words, so...character development, I guess?

But, since I'm doing the same story, I felt like it'd be a bit redundant to go back through the same novel using these questions, since I've already answered them. The only thing that's really changed since last update is that Haneul's back to being a boy again haha. So, I made the decision to answer the Part 1 questions for my other WIP, Asteria. Yes, I have a plethora of WIPs. No, I'm not okay. Here's a link to my Project Wales post if you need a refresh on what my actual NaNo project is: Project Wales

Asteria is a WIP I've talked about a few times on this blog, but I've never actually made a whole post talking about it. Since I've long-since finished the first draft, and am currently working on the second, it seems like a good time to do so. Especially since I'm hoping to continue working on it a little during November. Project Wales will obviously be my focus, but I'm hoping to get a decent amount done on Asteria as well.

So, without further ado, let me introduce you to Asteria (definitely not final title).

What first sparked the idea for this novel?

I came up with this idea literally years ago and it's honestly very hard to pinpoint what started it. If I remember correctly, it was way back when Disney XD's Lab Rats was airing and I got an idea to write a contemporary sci-fi about three triplets with superpowers, who escape from a lab. Literally none of this has stuck around. For context, that show started airing in 2012 and only ended in 2016 so...it's been a while. I distinctly remember being sixteen when I was developing it, because I was the same age as Minerva, and I'm twenty-three now, so...yes. It's been a hot minute.

I wrote out so many different variations of this idea and it took years for me to come to my current iteration of it. First I switched it from contemporary to set in space. I even filled out a whole outline plan for that version of it, before ditching basically everything except for a couple of characters' names, as you can see here - I can include this because literally none of this is relevant anymore haha.

Then, I cut two of the siblings and stuck with just Minerva. I then wrote the first chapter and a half for my Advanced Creative Writing OU module final EMA in mid-2017. And then I wrote a rambling bulletpoint outline that was ninety-nine percent me snarking at myself and my characters, which ended up being what I wrote the first draft off of - except it was nothing like the outline really, because I am nothing if not an incorrigible pantser even when I'm trying to outline. Just so you understand what I'm talking about here, this was the beginning of my mess of an outline.

Also, for your information, Patrick does not in any way exist anymore. So that's a RIP on him.

So yes, this story has been in the works for a very, very long time and I'm just now starting on the second draft of it. I finished the first draft back in 2018, ignored it for ages because I'm the worst like that, and now I'm finally editing it. There are some big rewrites happening here. It's wild. 

Basically every piece of advice out there for editing says to read your whole draft through first and make notes before diving into editing. I...got up to the middle of it before I started editing? I have notes up until chapter twenty-four? (of forty-three, but shush, it's not a big deal)

Just funny things from the early days of this story's inception include Minerva being an INTP (rip her braincells) and the fact that I, for some reason, thought it was a smart idea to have no less than two separate smuggler crews involved in the storyline, which was confusing even in outline form, so I'm glad I got wise about that. Also, Minerva used to be named Becca. That's just very funny to me now.

Share a blurb (or just an overall summary)!

Hello, welcome to To Write or Not To Write, where I'm absolutely terrible at writing blurbs. But here's a rough summary that I managed to scrap together over the course of about ten minutes.

Number 1291 – secretly known as Minerva to a scarce few – has nothing, except for her loyalty to the Valerian Republic, her orders and the stolen moments in cupboards and behind pods where she can truly be herself, with those few whose names she knows. Part of her knows that there should be something more to life than this, but she cannot let herself dwell on it.

But then Layla – one of the only people in her life – hacks the information satellite, Apollo, that keeps the Republic running, and reveals terrible information to Minerva about the Republic that they both serve. Shortly after, Layla is caught and executed for treachery. Minerva’s response drives the overseers to attempt to reprogram her and, terrified of losing Layla all over again, Minerva breaks out of the station and flees to the planet below.

All she cares about, all she can care about, is escaping. Getting away from the Republic, whatever the cost. A smuggler captain agrees to take her on as a passenger, as long as she works off the debt, and Minerva resolves to reach Kimbal – the only planet outside of the Republic’s control due to being a mechanical planet floating in the Hades gas cloud – without anything holding her back. But as she spends months on the ship, she finds herself growing steadily more and more attached to the crew – something that terrifies her because to love is to have a weakness. Worse, she soon discovers that she is being hunted down by the terrible Iron Lady, who will have no qualms about murdering whoever she is caught with.

As her desires, fear and heart conflict with each other, which will Minerva choose to follow?

Is it awful? Absolutely. Is it the best I can do in this current moment of time? One hundred percent.

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

This novel takes place in the Asterian solar system, which is largely ruled by the Valerian Republic - a deeply corrupt, abusive institute originally formed a thousand years prior by humans who migrated to the system via generational ships. While the Republic started with the best of intentions, and initially was perfectly fair and as right as a government can be, over time it steadily began to break down until it reaches the state it's currently in, which is very not-good. 

I created several planets for this world and I love all of them. Especially, I really enjoy the legends and myths that I crafted for the cultures. I also just really like writing in space. Space is fun. There are also a lot of minor details that I really had fun thinking up when I was writing. 

Tell us about your protagonist(s).

1291 | Minerva

ENFP | 16 | Hufflepuff | brainwashed assassin turned runaway | telepathic | incredibly anxious | suffers from PTSD and lowkey depression | named herself in secret | leather jackets | loves bread more than life itself | delights in exploring new places and meeting new people | kindhearted | loves history and stories | extremely protective of those she loves | has never heard of this 'friendship' you keep talking about | emotions are hard and she doesn't deal with them

*forgive my attempt at an aesthetic/moodboard here, i'm working with stock photos because i am terrified of copyright infringement and it's a rough life.

Who (or what) is the antagonist?

As a whole, the Valerian Republic is the overall antagonist, but the more personal antagonist is the Iron Lady, who is the Republic's enforcer specifically trained for hunting down people like Minerva.

What excites you the most about this novel?

So much about this novel excites me! It has so many of my favourite themes and elements. Honestly, I'm just as excited about it now as I was when I was first drafting it. Some major things I'm excited for are:

The Characters

I absolutely adore all of the characters in this novel. Minerva, of course, is an obvious one. She's one of my favourite protagonists that I've ever written and I'm very excited to strengthen her character. I put a lot of myself into her, especially I used a lot of my own experiences with anxiety and depression to write her, so she's a character who's very near and dear to my heart. 

I also love the crew she joins. There are nine current members of the crew, as well as another passenger called Calahan who's Very Important, and they're all so much fun. I'm really eager to strengthen their characters as well. I really want to create some more Conflict between them all and to make them more well-rounded and individual. I've been hard at work developing them more and I'm excited to put it all into action when I rewrite their scenes.

Calahan in particular is a character I'm excited to make better. He's very complex and I love the character arc he undergoes, but it definitely needs strengthening. I also love his relationship specifically with Minerva, it's very important overall - it's somewhere between a romance and a friendship, which develops more later in the series, but in this book we lay the foundation, which needs to be strong. I'm eager to improve it.

The Relationships

Speaking of which, in general, I'm very excited for all the character relationships in this book. There's a significant found family aspect, every member of the crew has in some way lost their family and they've built this family and home together, and through that, Minerva comes to understand friendship and family in a way she never has before. 

Along with Minerva and Calahan's relationship, there's also the relationship between Minerva and Layla, which is extremely pivotal and a lot of the novel is devoted to Minerva figuring out how to define it and understand it, as when she first leaves, she doesn't know how to call it a friendship.

The Themes

There are so many themes in this that I just adore. Themes of friendship, sacrifice, found family, freedom - the question of what freedom truly means, healing from trauma, rebuilding self-identity and a lot more. I'm so excited to bring them out more and make them stronger.

Certain Scenes

As this is a second draft, there are also just some scenes that I'm really excited to get to and work on. There are more scenes that I've planned to replace old ones that I'm eager to write out and see how well they actually work. I'm just really excited about this story, guys.

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

This is intended to be a trilogy. I've planned out a lot of the second already, and I'm mostly just hoping to get this one a few drafts in before I start on the second.

Are you plotting? pantsing? plansting?

I'm editing, so I'm kind of beyond the plotting vs pantsing stage. If I had to pick one, I'd probably say plantsing, since I have kind of planned out scenes that I need to write, but a lot of the changes are happening as I write still.

Name a few unique elements about this story.

Hmmm, I think the characters are quite unique, hopefully. I also think the idea of a mechanical planet in a gas cloud is pretty unique. Also, there are space sirens! And a space kraken! And semi-living spaceships! And slight hints of magic, which is always fun. This story is really more science-fantasy/space opera than sci-fi, and I'm hoping to bring that out more in the second draft haha.

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!).

The Pinterest board for this novel is here and the Spotify playlist is here. 

And that, my friends, is that. Hopefully, I will return in November with Part Two, and December with Part Three. Who knows, maybe I'll start being more active on here in general...we shall see. Good luck to you if you're doing NaNoWriMo too. My NaNoWriMo account is here, I'd love to be buddies if you so desire. Just shoot me an invite and then message away to your heart's content.

Know The Novel Part Two - Within the WIP

 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?

I'd become Arthur and make him talk out his problems, for goodness' sake. But for the most part, none of them have made any of their Horrendous decisions just yet. We're barely out of Act 1 yet.

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. 

#1

"
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.

"

#2

"
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.

"

#3

"
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.

"

#4

 "
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.

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!

Beautiful People: Favourites Edition

So I'm back with another Beautiful People linkup questionnaire. This one'll be the last one - at least for a while. So I thought I'd do it, just because of that.

I've got a couple of big assignments coming up next month, one at the beginning and one at the end, so I'm probably not going to be posting any posts really next month. I'm just too busy, so I'm pulling back a bit to hopefully start again once my degree is finished.

Anyway, enough of my wittering. On we go!

Favourite genre to write in?

Fantasy, a hundred percent. I love fantasy. Although I am developing a fondness for sci-fi and magical realism...which is still technically fantasy.

What book (a real actual published book!) do you think your character would benefit from reading?

Minerva (Asteria) - I think she'd benefit from reading The Hunger Games. The whole theme of recovering from trauma and violence and life being good again is one that I think is really important for her.

Favourite piece of dialogue you’ve written?

I love a lot of the dialogue I've written, but I suppose that I'm pretty partial to this bit:

It's from Ghosts, Doughnuts and Other Related Things, my weird novel that's somehow both the worst thing I've ever written and also the best. Somehow.

What did your character want to be when they grew up, and what did they actually become?

Because today calls for Sadness(tm), let's go with Minerva.

When she was very young - about six - Minerva wanted to be a historian like her mum. She used to spend hours pouring over books - even though she didn't really understand any of it. 

Now - at sixteen - she's a brainwashed assassin slave and her mum's been murdered. Fun times.

Favourite character name(s)?

I am never happy with my character names, but there are a few that I ended up being genuinely happy with. Some of my favourites are: Calahan Brazier (Asteria), Medea Nakamura (Medea) and Giovanni Lupo (Graylings).

What makes your character feel loved, and who was the last person to make them feel that way?

Minerva - People taking the time to talk to her and listen to her and be with her makes her feel loved. The last person to make her feel loved - even though she hadn't realised that was what it was - was her best friend, Layla. She also didn't know that Layla was her best friend, that that was what it was called, until after Layla had been murdered. Minerva's full of sadness, guys.

Favourite character you’ve ever written?

I can't choose! I love them all. I guess I'm going to have to go with Will Herrman (The Gatekeeper Chronicles). He's my soft boy book worm and I love him. He was the first character I created that I got really invested in, so I suppose I'm always going to come back to him.

Honourable mentions include: Reinette Bellerose (Ghosts, Doughnuts and Other Related Things), Vivi (my new fantasy series, Narafire),  Ellie Kendrick (The Kendricks),  Jeffrey Waldorf (X) and Ophelia (The Raven and The King). 

If your character were permanently leaving town, what would they easily throw out? What would they refuse to part with? (Why?)

Minerva - She doesn't own much, so she would have much to throw out. But she'd never throw away her leather jacket (which was a gift from someone she adores). Never ever.

Favourite tropes to write!

Found families! I love found families so much. And just generally friendship. I also love the brooding old/middle-aged man who's super grumpy accidentally adopts child trope. See: my favourite video game of all time, The Last of Us.

Which story has your heart and won’t let go?

Look, I adore all my stories. They're all my favourite. But my favourite favourite stories tend to be whatever I've been working on at the time. At the moment, my favourite is probably either Asteria which I've been working hard on or Narafire which I've been doing a bunch of worldbuilding for and falling more and more in love with.

Favourite relationship between characters you’ve written?

I love the relationship between Minerva and Calahan in Asteria. It's kind of romantic, kind of friendship, but it's all beautiful. My precious kids who are trying to figure out how to be free and fix each other. I mean, it starts with attempted murder, but I swear it gets better.

Toni Morrison once said, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” What are the books that you want to see more of, and what “holes” do you think need filling in the literary world?

I should actually write a post about this - I've been planning to. But, in a quick answer, I really want to see more friendship in books. I adore friendship.

Favourite pinterest board / aesthetic for a book?

I really, really love The Raven and The King.



I've put a lot of effort into making it as Aesthetic(tm) as possible.

Favourite time periods & settings to work with?

I love history-based fantasy - particularly Victorian or 1900s era fantasy. I also love medieval fantasy, although I don't write that much of it. I also adore space! Space is so much fun to write!

When people are done reading your book, what feeling do you want them to come away with?

I want people to come away feeling hopeful. Feeling like maybe there's something good in the world and believing that people can be good. I write a lot about light in darkness and I suppose that's the attitude I want people to come away with.

And I want them to feel satisfied. And like they can't tear themselves away from my dorky characters.

And that's the last Beautiful People post. At least for now. Hopefully, it'll restart again at somepoint, but even if it didn't, I've really enjoyed it while it lasted. It's been fun! 

Genres Explained - Fantasy (And A Tiny Bit Of Sci-Fi...Tiny)

Hey guys!

Last week I talked about wanting to start a new series called Genres Explained. And that's this! Before we go any further, I know I said that I'd start with magical realism. But! I quickly realised that it'd make a ton more sense to start with the umbrella genres; fantasy, science fiction, contemporary and so on, and then talk about the smaller genres within those ones.

And today's genre is! Fantasy!

Yeah, you already knew that from the title but eh. Give me my moment, okay?

So what exactly is fantasy?

Fantasy -  as I mentioned above - is what I call an umbrella genre. That is to say that it's a big genre that a whole bunch of eeeny-bitty tiny genres come under. Let's say that it's the mother genre and all the others are its babies that it loves a lot, but honestly, sometimes they get a bit out of control.

It's the genre with magic, it's the genre without rules - unless you set them up yourself - it's kind of a giant mess, but we all love it anyway.

Fundamentally, to be a fantasy, you need one thing - something out-of-the-ordinary or unexplainable by real-world standards.

And that something can be anything. From the vague magic-tinted tips of magical realism to the vast fictional realms of epic fantasy, fantasy can be literally anything. It's like the ultimate version of play-dough.

But, I hear you asking, where does science fiction come into this? Wouldn't that come under that banner as well?

And...you're sort of right. See, this is why I often prefer to use 'speculative-fiction' as the umbrella genre term, but for the sake of this series, I decided to split fantasy and sci-fi.

Honestly, the difference isn't huge.

You can hear the horrified gasps from the nerds in the back.

Look, just let me explain. The truth is fantasy and science fiction are too interlinked to really separate them too much. I mean, there's so much crossover. You have science-fantasy - a fantasy that uses scientific elements. You have hard fantasy - fantasy that confines itself to rules not unlike hard science fiction. You have space operas, like Star Wars, that are clearly fantastical...but they're set in space, so what gives?

See?

But, personally, I would typically define the difference as this:

Sci-fi does its best to fit in with the world of established reality. If something couldn't happen in reality, they either don't let it happen or - in the world of softer sci-fi - they throw technobabble at you.

Fantasy takes the world of established reality...and crumples it up into a ball, lights it on fire and dances around it as its dying screams echo throughout the universe. Fantasy likes to be internally consistent. But that doesn't mean that it needs to fit in with reality.

For example, take a flying bus. Those two genres would have two different ways of explaining that. Our old buddy Fantasy - let's make her a cute twelve-year-old girl with a big sword twice her size on her back - would take one look at it and say 'Magic! Magic fuel makes it fly!' Then she'd probably come up with a whole magic system for that fuel and it'd become a big thing.

Meanwhile our other friend Science Fiction - let's make him a pretty cool guy with glasses and a mohawk - would take a look at that flying bus and then start spouting something about aerodynamics and trying to fit wings onto that thing. He'd throw all sorts of science at you and expect you to understand it.

See the difference? Both are dealing with something that - in the real world - is impossible, but they both handle explaining it in two different ways. One takes the rules and throws them out of the window, while the other does its darnedest to make that dang flying bus fit in with what could actually happen.

Got it? Good. Let's move on.

What comes under the umbrella of fantasy?

There are a lot of different genres under fantasy and I am not going to write them all down. Look it up, mate. But I'll give you a few.

• High/Epic fantasy
• Low fantasy 
• Urban fantasy
• Magical realism
• Fairy tales
• Steampunk fantasy
• Historical fantasy
• Sword and sorcery

See? There's a whole bunch and that's definitely not all of them. As mentioned at the start, I'm planning to go into more detail about these genres - or at least into my own understanding of them. But that's pretty much it for today. Just a brief overview of fantasy as a whole.

What are your thoughts on fantasy? Do you think I drew the line between sci-fi and fantasy fairly or not? Tell me in the comments below.

January Wrap-Up

In no way, shape or form is this post late. Shush.

Hey guys!

So this week I'm doing my January Wrapup - a week late. I'm sorry, okay! We've covered that I'm bad at deadlines and I need to get back into the rhythm of writing posts. But it's here now.

My plans for the next few months aren't completely set in stone, but next week, I'm going to start a new series dedicated to explaining genres and giving a few examples of each one. I'm planning to start with magical realism - which I myself had trouble fully understanding for ages!

I'm also considering starting a series called 'Writer's Reviews'. This would be reviewing books and films with the goal of seeing what we as writers can take from it, whether that be through what the author did right or through what they did wrong. Would anyone be interested in that? I'm going to try one and see how it goes, see if it works alright as a format.

But that's my current plans for the blog, so hopefully I won't miss any more weeks. Sorry again!

But onto the Wrap-Up we go!

Music

I got massively into Ruelle this month. She's similar to AURORA who I recommended back in November. More creepy, atmospheric songs. I've been compiling some playlists that require that sort of song so I've been listening to her a lot. 

I also started listening to Jonathan Young who does a lot of rock/pop punk covers of different songs - I particularly like his Disney covers. He did an amazing cover of The Bells of Notre Dame from The Hunchback of Notre Dame with Caleb Hyles which I adore. 

My song recommendations for this month are:

Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra: So cheerful and upbeat! I love it. 

On My Way Home by Pentatonix - Another happy one that I love. It's great for family playlists.

Hustler by Zayde Wolf - Zayde Wolf is another one I've gotten really into this month and Hustler is one of my favourites. I don't even know why, I just love it. 

And my artist's recommendation for this month is: Jonathan Young.

His covers are amazing. Seriously, go listen to them. My favourites are The Bells of Notre Dame (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), The Trail We Blaze (The Road to El Dorado) and Peace Sign (Boku No Hero Academia).

Films

I watched IT this month! And it was great. I loved it. And I cried, but that's not a surprise to anyone who knows me - since I cry incredibly easily. 

My film recommendation for this month is:

 The Prince Of Egypt - This is an adaption of the first part of Exodus, for those who didn't know. It's the story of Moses. But it has stunning animation and amazing songs. My favourite is Deliver Us.

So prettyyyyy.

TV

I watched Brooklyn Nine-Nine this month. It's a comedy about police officers in Brooklyn, New York. It's actually hilarious. I love it. I also watched some of The Shannara Chronicles which is a fantasy series. Another good one, at least so far. 

I also watched some Power Rangers. Because I enjoy cheesy superhero shows, okay? Don't judge me. 

My TV recommendation for this month is: 

White Collar - This is an US show about a con-man who gets caught and makes a deal to help the FBI catch other white collar criminals. It's nowhere near as serious as it sounds. It's ridiculous and funny and Neal Caffrey and Peter Burke are my ultimate BrOTP. 

Neal is really very polite.

Writing

I reached 70000 words on Asteria! I mean, I'm still only just two-thirds of the way through my outline, but still! Achievement. I'm slightly concerned about how long this story is going to end up, but eh. It'll be fine. 

I've been working a lot on world-building for my different stories, particularly Asteria but also my Narafire epic fantasy series and The Memory Weaver - an alternate-historical fantasy set in Victorian Britain. 

The only post I wrote on my blog this month was - Ten Types of Writers.

But! I did guest-post over on Deborah Kelty's blog, writing about editing here.

Reading

This month I started Game of Thrones by G.R.R. Martin finally! I've also been reading a few books for my module. I've been reading Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, The Country Wife and Arabian Nights' Entertainment. 

My recommendation for this month is:

The Smell of Other People's Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock - I love this book so much. It's set in Alaska in 1970. It follows four different characters living different stories right until they meet at the climax. It was such a fascinating read, particularly since I don't know much about life in Alaska. The writing is so amazing and lyrical. Really sensory as well, the author does an incredible job of describing scents and sounds and so on. Definitely a good one to pick up. 

And that's it for January!

I didn't get as much done as I wish I had, but I was ill for all of it, so I think I did okay. As I mentioned at the top, next week I'm going to be talking about magical realism, so look out for that. 

What did you read or watch during January? Let me know, down in the comments.