It’s time for part two of Beautiful Books! I did it last month when planning for Subsapien: Hybrid, third book of my science-fiction series Subsapien and now I’m doing it during NaNoWriMo! Also did it last year with Red Hood and it was so fun! To get in the know with that, check out Beautiful Books #1, #2, and #3! Beautiful Books is a link-up that goes on during NaNoWriMo to show the progress of writing during that time. Basically it’s the time to show off your novels.
This year I’m writing with my awesome writing buddy Cassia from Dimensions of my Universe. If you’d like to participate in the link-up check out Paper Fury and Further Up and Further In! I’m doing better this year in NaNoWriMo than I did last year by a long shot. I’m not like some people (looking at you, Cait), who finish in like three days, but I’m at 33K (as of 11/13) and I feel pretty darn awesome with myself. Check out last month’s Beautiful Books to see in more detail what this year’s NaNo novel is about!
1.) Is the book turning out how you thought it would be, or is it defying your expectations?
It’s turning out shorter. I’m actually fearing I’m going to have to go back and add scenes to make this book longer. But I have yet to see. I still have a while to go. Some of my plans have changed, but I like them. This book is definitely going to need a lot of rewriting (seeing as I forgot a character for a while. Whoops.), but I think the plot is pretty solid.
2.) What’s your first sentence (or paragraph)?
I had to go back and edit it briefly but here’s my first paragraph:
Pantheros and Lupos paced the other side of the thick door as Nox waited with bated breath in the dimly lit room. Nineteen other teen graftings dressed in form-fitting, armor unitards stood or sat in the small room . They shifted from foot to foot, their tails swishing, and wings ruffling, waiting for the doors to open, the doors that would reveal today’s test.
3.) Are you a plotter or a pantser? Have you ever tried both methods and how did it turn out?
I’m a plonster. I like to a mix of box. I’ve tried pansting and it didn’t working and I don’t want to be restricted by too much plotting, so my happy medium is I plot my book basically then I go for it. If stuff changes then so bet it.
4.) What do you reward yourself with after meeting a goal?
Lately, I’ve been taking a break and watching a bit of Lost (Yes, after many years I’m finally watching the show so many raved about for the longest time.) and work on some drawings. I drew one of my characters in this book during my breaks.
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| This is Ingrid |
5.) What do you look for in a name? Do you have themes and where do you find your names?
A name for characters? It depends on the book. For this story, the humans are named pretty normally with some hyped up spelling often to give their names a more futuristic feel. For the graftings, they have anything from regular human names to words they make up themselves. Often my characters just tell me their names. I’ll be looking through a list of names and they pick on or they can be difficult like Nox was and I had to change his name twice. Also Nox is up for being interviewed, so if you’d like to learn more about him ask him a question!
6.) What is your favourite to write: beginning, middle, or end — and why?
A lot of people may be weirded out about this, but I actually really enjoy the middles. Beginnings I’m just getting my momentum and ends I’m usually running out of steam. The middle is where everything happens, especially the feelsy scenes.
7.) Who’s your current favourite character in your novel?
Bryce. He’s mah behbeh and the main character of the series. I love writing him. He’s passionate and brave and when he loves someone, he loves them unconditionally. I just love him so much.
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| My drawing of Bryce. |
8.) What kind of things have you researched for this project, and how do you go about researching? (What’s the weirdest thing you’ve researched?!)
I actually do my research in the second draft, so I haven’t technically done much research for this particular book. But in the past I’ve done a lot of research on medical stuff, because the books are mostly set in laboratories. One of the weirdest things I’ve looked up during that was how to intubate somebody. Eh heh. *^ ^’*
9.) Do you write better alone or with others? Do you share your work or prefer to keep it to yourself?
Well I haven’t had the opportunity to write much physically with someone seeing as all of my writer friends are long distance, but I do enjoy word warring immensely. I would have never been able to write this book so fast without word warring. I’m pretty slow other wise. I can write 400 words in 10 minutes while warring and maybe 200 when I’m not warring. See the difference?
I share my work with a select amount of people. Only my closest friends alpha read my books then I select carefully beta readers for much needed critique for the story after I’ve gotten it all edited.
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| Me before a war. |
10.) What are your writing habits? Is there a specific snack you eat? Do you listen to music? What time of day do you write best? Feel free to show us a picture of your writing space!
I write at night, I guzzle much tea, and I like snacking on fruit and mochi. I write at my desk which I can never get a good picture of due to lighting issues … It’s an oak desk with posters surrounding it and a dry erase board above it.
This NaNo is turning out to be the best ever! I’m on such a high. XD This book may need a lot of editing, but I’m excited to finally get it out of my head.
Are you doing NaNoWriMo? Are you writing a novel? How’s it going? Are you participating in this link-up? Post your link in the comments so I can see!
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If you liked this post, come back every Saturday for more writing advice, character interviews, book reviews and more! On Sundays I have Soundtrack Sundays where I post a new score piece, Tuesdays are Tea Tuesdays with tea reviews, Wednesdays I have Wonderful Word Wednesdays where I post a new vocabulary word, and Fridays are Fan Fridays where I post tags and other goodies. To help support my dream to be an author follow this blog, like me on Facebook, watch me on deviantART, and follow me on Pinterest and Twitter. If you want to know more about my books check out them out here. Thank you! 🙂
