Beautiful Books Part 2

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My writing, NaNoWriMo

Cait from The Notebook Sisters and Sky from Further Up and Further In do this thing called Beautiful People, where you answer questions about your characters.
In honour of NaNoWriMo, we are now answering questions about our WIPs.

Welcome back to Beautiful Books!

Be honest: how is your writing going?

Well, first I was all

Then uni was all

And now I’m all

Basically, I’ve written slightly under 10,000 words, so this week is going to be fun.

What’s your first sentence/paragraph?

“They find us when we’re young”

Do you have pictures of each of your characters? If not, describe them for us! (Be as descriptive as you can.)

Ok, I’m going to be honest here…I don’t actually have physical descriptions of any of the characters yet…with the exception of Gemma. I know what she looks like. But everyone else…I have no idea.

Share a snippet or a scene that you really enjoyed writing.

Hmm…maybe later.

Now that you’re writing, have any of the plot details, or the process itself, turned out different from what you planned or imagined?

Yes! ONE plot detail has changed. ONE! And it’s driving me nuts, because there is now a MASSIVE PLOT HOLE THAT I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH!

ONE seemingly minor change. One that I didn’t even realise was happening, and now everything’s falling to bits.

Is there a character or aspect of your plot that’s difficult to write?

Backstory. I’m having a lot of trouble figuring out how to incorporate the history/rules/background info of the world.

What’s your favorite aspect of this novel so far? Favorite character?

Aspect: I dunno…I just love everything.

Character: I love them all, but Harriet and Gemma are probably my favourites.

Have you drawn off of any life experiences or people you know to create your novel and your characters?

I don’t think so.

Let’s have some fun for a moment: imagine you are somehow transported into your book’s world. Which character are you most likely to be found hanging out with?

Harriet. No question. She’s a complete Harry Potter fan. She sorts her M&Ms by colour and then eats them in alphabetical colour order.

How do you keep yourself motivated to finish your daily wordcount? (Pinterest? Internet breaks? Chocolate?)

I’m not bothering with the daily word count, namely because of uni. Assignments + exams = no daily word count.
However, now that exams are over, the plan is basically this: write like hell until you’re done. This plan is starting tomorrow.

How does this book make you feel so far? Are you laughing? Crying? Frustrated?

It’s frustrating the hell out of me because of that stupid plot hole. THERE WAS NO PLOT HOLE IT WAS WORKING FINE BUT THEN SUDDENLY GEMMA RECOGNISED JAMES’ VOICE AND THAT PRETTY MUCH RUINS EVERYTHING!!
The worst part was, I didn’t realise I was digging myself a hole until it was too late.

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So, now that that’s over and done with, how is everyone else going with their NaNo’s? And if you’re participating in this link-up, feel free to link me to your post.

Beautiful Books

Tags

My writing, NaNoWriMo

So, Cait from The Notebook Sisters and Sky from Further Up and Further In do this thing called Beautiful People, where you answer questions about your characters.
This month, they’re doing something different, in honour of NaNoWriMo.

Welcome to Beautiful Books!

This month, the questions focus on Plotting (because we ‘plan’ our novels now, write them rapidly in November, and then edit them in December).

[Warning: I am NOT a planner. By the end of November, some of this information may be completely wrong. If that happens, I will let you know in December].

What came first: characters or plot idea? Are you a plotter or a pantser?

The plot idea came first.
I tend to be more of a pantser…like, I have a broad idea in mind, but I don’t know the details until they’re written.

Do you have a title and/or a “back-cover-blurb”?

Title: Yes. It is called ‘Witch Hunter’

Blurb: no, not really. I mean, I know the basics of what it’s going to be about, but a blurb probably won’t come to me until mid-November (half-way through an exam, knowing my luck).

What wordcount are you aiming for when your novel is finished?

Well, this is a NaNoWriMo thing, so 50,000 is (supposedly) the end goal…but honestly, if I get 10,000 words down in the last week of November, I’ll be happy.

Sum up your novel in 3 sentences.

Witches are evil demons.
Girl trains her whole life to kill witches.
Girl goes out to kill evil demon witches.

Sum up your characters in one word each.

[Note: I’m not one for massively planning ahead, so these characters may end up completely different to how they are now…except Gemma and Owen…they’re locked in].

Gemma (main character)- Egotistical
Owen (MC’s best friend)- mild-mannered
James (random guy who becomes less random)- mysterious
Tanya (MC’s supervisor)- Laid-back
Harriet (random girl who becomes slightly less random)- Curious

Other characters may show up as the story happens, but those are the ones I know about. [I’m not a planner].

Which character are you most excited to write? Tell us about them!

Gemma. She’s very arrogant and self-centred: she believes that she’s the best at everything. She also believes she’s right about everything. Also, she has purple hair. (Be jealous).

What about your villain? Who is he, what is his goal?

You assume the villain is a ‘he’?
I don’t think there is a specific, defined villain as such. Because all the witches are technically villains…as I keep saying, I’m not a planner.

What is your protagonist’s goal? And what stands in the way?

She really just wants to do her job. She wants to become a qualified witch-hunter and just go out killing witches.
Problem is she doesn’t like following orders/rules. Plus, she already thinks she can do anything…this leads to problems (like almost dying).

What inciting incident begins your protagonist’s journey?

Gemma gets sent out for field experience.
Basically, all Hunters get chosen when they’re young to go to the ‘Academy’ (such an original name, right?), and when they hit 16 they’re able to go out into ‘field experience’ in their chosen area (like, actual hunting, preventing the humans from finding out what’s going on, stuff like that). Naturally, Gemma goes for actual hunting.

Where is your novel set?

Somewhere in Australia…not sure where exactly yet. I just wanted somewhere that wasn’t New York or LA.

What are three big scenes in your novel that change the game completely?

Gemma telling Harriet that Harry Potter sucks
Gemma meeting James
Gemma discovering that James is a warlock (but that happens, like, right at the end).

What is the most dynamic relationship your character has? Who else do they come in contact with or become close to during the story?

Gemma has been friends with Owen pretty much her entire life (since coming to the academy).
Once James shows up she becomes pretty close to him.
She sort-of becomes friends with Harriet. Gemma overhears Harriet talking about Harry Potter, and Gemma tells her that Harry Potter sucks…things get interesting.

How does your protagonist change by the end of the novel?

She’s beginning to miss her family more. She’s starting to question the way things are done…? Maybe?
I keep telling you people, I’m NOT A PLANNER!

Do you have an ending in mind, or do you plan to see what happens?

I’m actually planning a trilogy out of this…and I do know the ending for each individual book…
How I get there, on the other hand, I’m not entirely sure of.
I just know that if book 2 or 3 ever get written, the people reading them better cry.

What are your hopes and dreams for your book? What impressions are you hoping this novel will leave on your readers and yourself?

Honestly, I just want to be able to say: Yes! I’ve written an entire book.
I don’t even care if the only people who read it are my immediate family/friends. Just the accomplishment that comes with finishing something…
It would be nice.

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Well, that made me feel severely underprepared.
Anyone else getting ready for NaNoWriMo this year?