ONE. WEEK. LEFT. OF. NANOWRIMO!!! Can you believe it, guys? We are 3 weeks down and 1 to go!
My gracious goodness, this NaNo is flying by at record speeds! But WHAT a NaNo it has been!
Today instead of doing my day-by-day weekly update, I’m changing things up and answering the questions to my Know the Novel linkup. (Of which you can find the details HERE. The linkup part is open for one more week and I’d be thrilled if you joined!)
ALRIGHTY. I know you people have lives to live and novels to write, so let’s just jump right on in with these questions!
THE WRITING OF DUSK’S BROKEN SHADOWS
Honestly??? This has to be one of the smoothest, quickest first drafts I’ve ever written and I’m just…so grateful. And a little in shock.
NOW. I will admit, I’ve had a few days this week where it was a true struggle to sit down and get those words in. I think the burnout is starting to seep in. Plus I’ve been trying to work through some big plot stuff that is hurting my brain… (The plot of this book is something, guys. o.O) BUT the fact that I’ve gone this far with very few burnout days is a true miracle.
Life has also been pretty chill, the weather has been p e r f e c t, and just I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH.
Overall, I’m giving NaNo 2020 a big ol’ thumbs up thus far.
100000000% the RELATIONSHIPS. I went into this novel looking most forward to exploring all the different relationships and let me tell ya, THEY HAVE NOT DISAPPOINTED.
This novel features some of the strongest female friendships I have ever written in my life. One of the purest, most preciousest romances ever. (I’m actually not sure I’ve ever written main characters who are already in a solid romantic relationship??? My usual romances are few and far between and slooooow burn.) Delightful bromances. Epic 100% platonic girl-boy friendships. Actual healthy families??? (I know. Unheard of!) Just SO MANY THINGS. I have laughed and loved and ached with these people. After having them invade my brainspace for moooonths now, it has been such a joy seeing them come to life.
So uh yeah. The characters and different relationship dynamics is without a doubt my favorite thing about this novel.
A few other random things…
The complete weirdness of worlds being able to have actual fractures that tears sections of the worlds apart and leave a gaping hole of nothing. I don’t know if this concept even WORKS, but I’m having an absolute blast playing with it anyway.
The fact that everyone can talk a little modern. This is so completely random I know, but the majority of my books are set in sliiiightly more old world settings and having characters say things like “yeah” and “okay” and “yep” never quite look right. And for some reason I’m constantly wanting my characters to just say yeah??? Like, this has been a genuine problem for years. But THIS BOOK is set in such a different world, modern things actually work fine. My characters are throwing yeah’s all over the place and it’s great! XD
PEOPLE WITH WINGS. I have mentioned my obsession with wings riiiiight??? Because seriously, writing a book with a whole race possessing huge, soft-feathered, different colored wings just makes me squeal every single time. #nerd
And um….everything else I think of keeps pointing back to the character so let’s just move right along to the next question!
*cracks knuckles and gets ready to write a 20k-word essay about my complete and utter love for these children*
Juuuust kidding. (Maybe…?)
As mentioned, their different relationship dynamics makes my heart swell with alllll the happy feels and there’s just so much there. But individually…
AELIN – Ah, my chaotic little cinnamon roll. What I really love about Aelin is I’ll be writing her thought process and then realize…no, she’d probably just say that out loud. Even if it should most certainly not be said out loud. Such as pretty much calling the main baddie pompous right to his face. Yeah. Her mouth may get her killed one day, but man it’s fun to write. Chaos, beating impossible odds, and inappropriate remarks are Aelin all the way. She definitely keeps me on my toes…
DAYANA – I love Day’s fierceness. Though her methods are much more, erm, logical and methodical than Aelin, that doesn’t mean they’re any less explosive. The way she stands up for herself and her friends inspires even me. And then there’s her Famous Eyebrow Raise, which is also quite awe-worthy.
KEZRIN – Mmm, well, what can I say about my boy who really doesn’t seem to realize you’re allowed to have colors other than black in your wardrobe? Oh, Kez… *shakes head* What I really love is how, though he puts up a suave, I-couldn’t-care-less persona, an occasional silly side shows up when he’s in his comfort zone, and it really is quite delightful.
TALA – Where everyone else is a bit of a disaster, Tala is solidity. She is comfort and warmth and kindness. I particularly love her softness. Though the other characters’ fierceness is great, slipping into Tala’s POV always feels like a little fragment of peace and fresh air in the midst of a war. She also tends to want to adopt, well, everyone. Basically, if you even look at Tala with sad eyes, get ready to sign some adoption papers ‘cause you’re her child now.
RUNE – MY STABBY MARSHMALLOW. Awkward and precious and so big-hearted, I…I don’t even know what I love most about him. Everything??? I guess I particularly like the contrast of how nice he is, but then hand the boy a sword and, well, you better be on his side is all I’m sayin’. But as he says, it’s not about fighting but protecting. His loyalty knows no bounds. Also, as a side note, if you feed him you’re his friend for life. The boy can pack in some food. o.O
SO YES. Those are my children. And, shockingly, they’ve actually stayed pretty true to who I thought they would be before putting them on page. Oftentimes my characters take on different personalities than I originally planned once I start writing, but I guess since I’ve been so heavily dwelling on these five for most of the year, I had their personalities pretty down pat. (Though they still keep my on my toes, my word. >.>)
As far as who’s my favorite… WHO ASKED SUCH A CRUEL QUESTION? (Oh wait.)
Yeah, no, I CAN’T CHOOSE. It’s impossible. I love them all for such different reasons, but I also love them as a single unit. I JUST LOVE THEM.
And that’s just the Daystars! I haven’t even talked about a couple of other characters I’ve come to absolutely adore. But I feel like I’m already giving away to much of this book via these posts. I gotta keep some stuff to myself. *smile, smile*
(I really did try to keep this brief and not to turn it into a fangirly essay… Whoops.)
I mean, since I’m pantsing it’s basically a new surprise every single day. Which I kind of love??? It’s quite thrilling to wake up and have no idea what adventures I’ll be swept onto that day. (And stressful because each day it’s like will I find a plot today WHO CAN KNOW???)
So yes, I’ve been taken down quiiite a few unexpected paths. Literally just these week one of the characters ended up somewhere I was not expecting them to be, but it worked out perfectly and made things much more interesting, not to mention brought so many things together that were kind of giving me a headache. It was a good reminder to me that pantsing really is my best method of writing.
Oh. Also fire horses. Yeah, horses that literally have like…flames forever ablaze on their bodies. Waaaaay back near the beginning inklings of this story idea I had a very, very vague thought of putting some sort of fiery equestrian-ish creatures in, mainly just as a fun fantasy thing, because coming up with made-up animals is always a blast! But I had no clue if I’d use them or not and hadn’t even planned them out. WELP. They appeared, and not just appeared but have become a crucial part of the story so there’s that.
Like I said, it’s a surprise errrrry day.
I guess it’s a good sign that I actually had to think about this really hard?
Most of the problems I’ve come across end up untangling themselves after a while. It’s just the nature of pantsing. I’ll think I’ve written myself into a hole, and a couple of days later I’m like, “Wait a minute! That would actually make this other big thing over here work.” That’s happened so many times. It’s been…great. I’m truly so thankful for how well the plot seems to be going. (I mean, I may read back over it after NaNo and be like what even this is just one giant plot hole??? But I’m trying to be optimistic here.)
Of course, this is a NaNo novel so I know the sea of typos go on endlessly. And I keep using the same phrases and wording just absolutely CONSTANTLY. So yeah, that’s probably a problem. But PFFFT. That’s what revision is for. And I quite like the line-editing part of revisions, so I’m not too worried about that.
I suppose one thing is just the vastness of it. Not wordcount-wise (though probably that too), but the plot and world(s) and characters and arcs and just EVERYTHING. It is…quite an undertaking. And it keeps. getting. bigger.
For example, characters keep popping up that are supposed to be completely random people that are just there for one scene (like a random guard to escort someone to a location and that be IT), but then they take on this whole big personality? And want to be a part of the overall plot??? This has not just happened once, guys. I’m talking CONSTANTLY I have these random people who shouldn’t even have a name swoop in with fully developed personalities and far too much potential and I’m just like, “GUYS. I can’t write about all of you!!!” But they’re not listening.
All I can say is I’m glad this is going to be a series ‘cause there’s a lot to cover…
To completely contradict myself in the question above, honestly my biggest victory is how far I’ve come with the story and plot itself.
I know I said it’s vast and has a constant stream of characters pop up that want to be a part of things, not to mention the random elements I keep throwing in with no clue if they’ll even be an actual part of the story. BUT. Despite those snags, the story has moved along at a pretty good pace. The beginning did go on a bit longer than I thought it would, but I actually think I’m okay with that now. Getting some time with the characters and their normal life really sets up for some—ahem—emotional things later on.
I can get so very rambly in my novels, especially when pantsing. But this one feels fairly streamlined, the chapters have shockingly all stuck to 3k – 4k words (sometimes chapters can accidentally exploded to up to 7k+ words when I’m first drafting), and I’ve been fairly happy where everything has gone.
NOW. The fact that this is just book #1 helps, because I can leave all sorts of chaotic loose ends for myself to have to try to figure out in later books, instead of wrapping up errrrrything if this were a standalone. BUT STILL.
Things are happening, the story is moving along, and despite pantsing this ginormous, convoluted, big ensemble cast, mess of a story, I haven’t fallen too deeply down rabbit trails. I will definitely call that a victory!
HMMMM. This is hard because I rarely write characters that are much like me (which is funny because I’m an ENFJ which is literally labeled “The Protagonist” type, but I don’t feel much like a protagonist…).
I think out of everyone, I probably relate most to Tala, as I can very much be the Mom Friend. I feel like I’d totally be the one worried about everyone 24/7 and avoiding fights like the plague and wishing we could all just hug it out, 100% there for soul talks when needed, and accidentally adopting basically everyone I meet. And I think I’d actually handle things just about like she has too.
Although I don’t like to cook and can’t knit… But I do give people socks as gifts quite frequently so that’s close enough to Tala’s obsession with knitting everyone socks yeah? You know, we just gotta keep our peeps’ feet warm. IT’S IMPORTANT.
Here’s the opening:
“Don’t go near the Nothing.
Aelin stopped short as Mother’s warning flitted through her mind like a pesky jeren bug buzzing through the woods. That was the Rule, the most important command in Chethral. Don’t approach the Nothing—the gaping void that ate the south end of the world, and forever threatened to swallow the rest whole.
Annnd instead of sharing a bunch of different snippets, I thought I’d give you one long one because, well, I had a lot of fun with this scene and it’s one of the few—coughity cough—happy moments we get with the Daystars. (Though I did cut some chunks out because #SPOILERS, but I think it still reads smoothly.)
“So how ‘bout it, Kez?” Aelin said. “You feel like an old man yet? I mean, the last year to be a teenager, that’s pretty ancient.”
“Old man? You’re just jealous that I’m the only real adult amongst you children.”
Day snorted, and yet somehow made it sound ladylike.
Aelin stuck her nose up in the air. “I’m perfectly mature,” she said before snagging a pillow off the bed and hurling it across the room at him.
“Aelin, could you please not soil my pillows by tossing them on the floor?”
But Aelin barely acknowledged Day’s scold as Kez had caught the pillow and was running toward her, brandishing it like a weapon. She could just get in a squeal before receiving a faceful of pillow. She tried to wrangle it out of his grip but he snatched it back and whacked her in the head again.
“Stop!” she gasped out between giggles. “I’ll never get the tangles out of my hair before the ball tonight!”
Kez pulled back. “Ah well, not everyone is blessed with perfect hair like mine.”
“That’s is entirely true, and it’s just rude.” She lunged toward him, hands reaching for his head. He slunk back out of her reach in a single, fluid motion, and she had to catch herself before flailing off the side of the bed. She glowered. “One day I’m going to mess up that perfect head of hair.”
“Impossible.” He ran his fingers through said hair, somehow making it look even better. Sickening.
“Boys,” Dayana said, successfully sliding her first slipper off, “did you come into my room for a specific purpose or just to intrude on the peace and dirty my pillow?”
“Oh!” A muffled shout came from underneath the bed, followed by Rune’s dark head. He stood, a bit of dust on his shirt and a ball of white fluff in the crook of his arm.
Meela was the newest member of the Daystars. Rune had found her mud-caked and flea-ridden in an alleyway one day and, being Rune, of course he immediately took her home. The boy had a knack for finding and attempting to adopt pretty much every creature that resided in all of Chethral. Unfortunately for him, one of his younger sister’s was terribly allergic to cats. So instead it was agreed on to keep the kitten at the castle, supposedly to catch mice, but she really just served as the official snuggle buddy to all the Daystars.
“Tala,” Rune said, giving her his most puppiest-dog of looks, “we were wondering if you could show Cook how to make your famous raspberry tarts for the party tonight.” He held up the kitten against his cheek, adding to the effect. “Meela says she wants some too.”
Tala pressed her hands against her hips, watching him with her signature exasperated but loving smile. “Is that what Meela told you while you were down there getting all dusty or is this Kez’s request?” She turned an expectant gaze his way.
Kez cleared his throat and leaned against one of the bed poster’s, nonchalant as ever. Or pretending to be. “They would be…appreciated.”
“Pwease, Miss Tala?” Rune held the kitten out, moving her paw with a finger and speaking in a squeaky voice that apparently served as a Meela impression. “We’re starved for your delicious sweeties, we are.”
Unable to hide the twinkle in her eye, Tala stepped up and tickled the kitten’s chin. “For you, little Meela, I’ll do anything. And I suppose since it’s Kez’s birthday, I could grant his request.”
Rune gasped. “Not me?”
She reached up and patted his short-cropped hair. “Only if you wear your best suit tonight and save me plenty of dances.”
His dazzling smile made a quick appearance. “I’ll save them all!”
“Aw, come on, Rune.” Aelin shoved off the bed to join the Meela loving. “Don’t I get at least one dance?”
“Oh, of course! You too, Day!”
“All right,” Day said, working on her second slipper, “but if yours and Aelin’s dance turns into one of your fight routines, I’m disowning you both.”
“Oooh.” Aelin rubbed her hands together. “Now there’s an idea.”
“No!” Day and Tala cried simultaneously.
Aelin and Rune shared a grin.
They had been working hard to learn to fight as a team, taking to sparring other students side-by-side more than each other these days. Much of this resulted into using each other as springboards for fancy flips and footwork. It was a dance in and of itself. A deadly dance, that assured, no matter what happened, together they could push back any enemy. There would be no more mistakes. Not like…
No. Today was a happy day. She refused to dwell on sad things.
It was time to get ready for a wonderful night.
She pressed a hand against her head, frowning at the tangled, unruly curls.
“Day, can I use your washroom to bathe?” Aelin and Mother had a perfectly functioning washroom in their apartment, but Day’s was so much nicer, not to mention she had a wonderful supply of shampoo that helped smooth out the tangles and curls, at least a little. Plus an array of delicious smelling soaps.
“Of course. But could you please not cause a water explosion this time?”
“No promises!” She darted for the washroom just to the left of the hearth and shut the door. Oh. She opened it again and poked her head through. “Kez, you better save me a dance too. I refuse to let those doting courtiers hog all your attention.”
He glanced at the ceiling with an alluring tilt to his lips, as if thinking about those doting courtiers now.
She rolled her eyes, ignoring the way her heart decided to beat uncomfortably. “I mean it!”
Smiling wider, he glanced back at her. “Sure. By the way, don’t bother too much about getting clean.” He and Rune shared a glance. “Things might get a bit…messy tonight.”
“Kezrin Zahar.” Day cast him a glare. “What does that mean?”
“Oh, nothing at all.”
“Kez!”
Grinning, Aelin closed the door again, knowing they’d be at it for a while.
(Ah, happy days. Those were good times…)
Well, the other day I accidentally typed Aelin saying she’d fight some people with her “bear” hands instead of bare. And I instantly got this image of her wildly attacking people with bear claws for hands and I can’t get it out of my head.
But to be fair, buying some goofy bear claw gloves and attempting to fight with them 100% sounds like something Aelin would do, so.
Step 1: Wake up
Step 2: COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE
Step 3: Word vomit e v e r y w h e r e
Step 4: There is no step 4. Only words.
Oookay. Just kidding! (Sort of.)
Shockingly, I don’t actually even get started until after lunch. Because I know once I begin, I’m going to get sucked into it and just keep writing and accidentally ignore EVERYTHING else. So usually before lunch I try to do a few other things like catchup on reading blog posts, do some Instagramming, check on my email, things like that. (Though I’m still woefully behind on things, but I’m trying???)
Then I have lunch, get coffee, and the day of writing begins. I start out writing in my room (or sometimes the front porch) with my coffee for about a couple of hours. Then I take a bit of a break and, if it’s a nice day (which it has been almost all November and I’m just SO GRATEFUL for all the pretty weather we’ve been blessed with), write for another hour or so out on my hammock until it’s dark/supper time. After supper I then get more coffee (#responsible) and pretty much always have my favorite writing session.
The first writing session is always the hardest. Trying to get those first words in can often be grueling. But after spending most of the afternoon making progress, by evening I’m so immersed in my story, the words come much, much better. Plus the house is dark and quieter and cozy, and there’s not really anymore life distraction and daily tasks (dishes, animal care, etc., etc.) tugging at me. So I can just fully disappear in my book and pound out words. I look forward to my evening writing every single day.
I do tend to pause around 9-ish and sometimes do 30 minutes of exercises (some days this happens, some it doesn’t, but I am TRYING, guys! I promise!), then put on my jammies, wash my face, and get tea. BUT. It’s non-caffeinated “Tension Tamer” tea that helps you sleep and has all sorts of good benefits SO. It’s actually a good thing. (Again, trying to keep some healthy habits going.)
After that, the evening writing can last all the way up to midnight, but I try to stop by around 11. It just depends on how the scene is going and if I’m finishing up a chapter or rushing to attempt to reach some ridiculous wordcount before midnight. But I definitely stop at midnight.
Then I work on my blog post (because I’ve been adding to these weekly updates each night so I don’t have to write a gigantic blog post all at once) and if I’m still semi-conscious maybe reply to some blog comments or something (I know my replies have been slow in coming, I’m so sorry!), annnd then crash around 1 a.m. and start again the next day! WHOOOO!
Definitely not the pace I’m accustomed to, but it works for me for this one month out of the year.
Basically: Lots of coffee and tea, hours of writing throughout the day, and so much gorgeous weather. That’s been my NaNo and just… It’s been a good one, guys!
Week Three’s Wordcount: 26,420
This is it, my fellow Wrimos. The final week. One last sprint and then THE FINISH LINE!!!
Whatever your wordcount looks like by November 30th, the fact that you took time during a super busy month to put words on page is 90000% something to be celebrated! You all deserve cake. (And naps.)
We’re almost there! Let’s make this final week the best one yet! CHAAARGE!!!
LET’S TALK!
Now that I’ve taken up like 12 years of your life with this single blog post, COME TALK TO ME. If you’re doing NaNo, how did week 3 treat you? How has your November been thus far? Are you excited Thanksgiving is coming up??? And, seriously, someone please explain to me how there’s only one. week. left?!
Don’t forget you can join this linkup yourself HERE!
That SNIPPET! Oh. My. Goodness. I love the Daystars, all of them! I can’t even handle it.
Also congrats on your epic word count! Your enthusiasm for your story makes me so very happy.
I’ve got to get back to my own chaotic cast of characters now, I’m pantsing my current scene (where did it come from? I made an outline for my characters and they were like ‘uh, nah’) so lets hope your pantsing powers can be absorbed by osmosis from reading this post XD
*HAPPY FLAILING* Awww! That just makes me so ridiculously happy to hear, you just have no idea! Thank you so, so much!
YOU”VE GOT THIS. Embrace the pantsing waaaays! *cackles* Okay, but seriously, isn’t it just “great” when characters completely ignore all your well laid plans and run away to cause trouble? Seriously, they’re like toddlers. >.> I do hope you can wrangle them into some form of submission! ;D Cheering you on!
How is there only one week left?!?!? I feel like November JUST started! I am pretty excited for Thanksgiving, though! I’m also off school this week (blessings of being homeschooled) XD so that should be fun!
Only 1,343 words left! YOU CAN DO IT!!! I’m just so, so happy this has been a great NaNo for you, Christine! You’re excitement makes me excited even when I’m not doing it! XD
THAT OPENING. I was hooked so bad!!! I have no idea how you do it, but kudos for you anyway! ALSO THAT SNIPPET!!! *hyperventilates* Gimmeitalll!!! You just made me love Rune 5000000x more!!!!!! Oh, and Kez!!! Kez and his hair business is the best! He actually reminds me of another character in a book series I’ve read and I’m just like THEY COULD BE TWINS!!! The girls of course are THE CUTEST. I love female characters who love on each other like that and act like 100% sisters! Wait. Did you just say there are FIRE HORSES?!?!?! Gahhhhh! THAT’S THE BEST THING EVER!!!!!! Can I have one as a pet??? Please, please, please??? (Horses miiiight be my favorite animal ever. In case you couldn’t tell.) XD Also, the whole healthy family element? *Gives you cookies and ice cream* There are sooo many books these days that leave out that kind of thing. Sometimes I just want to shout to the world HEY GUYS, THERE IS SUCH THING AS A KIND, HAPPY FAMILY WHO ACTUALLY LOVES EACH OTHER! I’m not saying I hate books that do have messed up families because that is a reality (in fact there are some books I like which have that element in them) BUT it’s such a relief to find out someone’s writing a book that has a healthy family relationship going on too.
ANYWHO. That paragraph turned out waaaay longer than I thought it would! XD Good luck on the last week of Nano and I KNOW you can end it strong!!!! 😀
NOVEMBER HAS GONE BY SO FAST I CAN’T EVEN. But yaaaay for Thanksgiving breaks! Woot, woot! I hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving yesterday! <3
Awww, Victoria! You’ve been such an encouragement. Just… THANK YOU SO MUCH! *happy sobs*
Oh my gracious, GIRL. You should see my grin right now reading this comment! I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY. Your enthusiasm over all the characters and everything is giving me LIFE. EEP. <333
I mean, if you’ve got some three dozen fire extinguishers on hand, you can totally have a fire horse for a pet. ;D (I LOVE HORSES TOOOO! *high-fives*)
And I so totally agree about the healthy families in fiction thing! It’s always SO refreshing to find them! Although yeeeeah, I’ve written plenty of books with some messed up families. And this book has some of those too… *cough, cough* BUT. It’s got some perfectly functioning families as well. All in the balance, yeah? ^_^
I repeat: This comment gave me LIFE. Thank you so much for all the enthusiasm and encouragement and support! It means more than I can express! <3
I did!!! Hope you had a fantabulous one as well! 😀
Hey, I’m sure I can find three dozen fire extinguishers somewhere! XD (You love horses too?!?!? YAY!!! *high-fives you back*)
Definitely in the balance! 😀 Like I said, I don’t hate the messed up family element and it’s only when I read about it all the time when it starts to get on my nerves. But if it’s an appropriate amount then bring it on (especially if there’s plenty of awesome families too)!
Awww, you’re so welcome!!! Well you’re the one who takes the time to share a post every Monday! It’s seriously one of the highlights of my week! I’m just glad I get the opportunity to comment and be as encouraging as I can! <333
Awww yay! We had a lovely one too! A very relaxing, nice day of family time. ^_^
HORSES ARE AMAZING. They were everything to me when I was younger, and though I’m not quite as obsessive as I was then lol, they’re still probably my favorite animals in existence. <3
SAME, SAME. It can totally work for some novels, but when there’s just like no functioning families found in any bit of fiction it gets really discouraging. I totally agree!
One of the highlights of your week??? Now you’re going to make me cry! Thank you so much, Victoria!!! <333333
That’s it. I’m adopting them all. Although they may have to pick me up off the floor because they have WAY more energy than I’ll ever have.
That snippet was LIFE! THEY ARE ALL SO CUTE AND AHHHH!!! Christine, finish this and publish it because I NEED this!
*BEAMS* I’m just so happy you enjoy my disaster children! But yeeeah, the energy is ridiculous. And like 80% of the Daystar energy is Aelin alone. I don’t even know what to do with the girl…
GAH. I don’t even know what to say! I’m so thrilled and honored you like the sound of this. It motivates me so much! Just… THANK YOU!!! *hugs*
Sweet celestial stars in the sky!!! That is impressive!! AND THAT SNIPPET!! I want to know more about these kiddos…. (Also, can I say I love the phrase Stabby Marshmallow and will now (with your permission) adopt that into my everyday vocabulary….)
Kez, though….I love black-clothed boys who are not as emo as they appear to be…and I just love what you’ve shown us so far!!!! <3 <3
Oh my goodness! *blushes* I don’t know if it’s as much impressive as it is just ridiculous. XD BUT THANK YOU!!! And EEP. I’m so glad you enjoyed the snippet! (ACTUALLY. I’m pretty positive I stole that phrase from somewhere else! SO YES. USE IT! I think it’s just one of those internet phrases that people use, ya know? Gotta love ’em. XD)
I love them too, I really do. Kez is a piece of work and I enjoyed every minute with him.
Thank you SO MUCH!!! Your enthusiasm over this just…means so much to me! <3
OMG! With every post I want to read your story more and more!!! It’s sounds amazing! And that snippet was GOLD!
Yes, the fact that November is almost over is crazy! But you can finish strong! You go girl!
AWK, GIRL! THAT MEANS SO MUCH!!! I’m so happy you like it! *happy tears*
Thank you! <3
How is November already almost over????? I mean, HOW??????
Eeek, your snippet is amazing! I’M SERIOUSLY SO EXCITED.
Ahhhh, winged people. Winged people are the best. And FIRE HORSES????? Sounds so awesome!
Ahhh, I love all of your charries so much already. They sound amazing!
Relationships are my personal fav thing to write, and, eeek, yours sound amazing.
Happy rest of NaNo, Christine!
And also Stabby Marshmallow is, like, the best phrase ever, and totally describes so many of my characters.
I DON’T KNOW. Wasn’t it the first week just yesterday??? IT’S INSANE.
Oh my goodness, THANK YOU!!! I’m so happy you liked it! It really has been a lot of fun with the winged people and fire horses and all the things! ^_^
Writing relationships is the BEST. YASSS.
Thank you so much, McKayla, your enthusiasm over this has mean so much to me! <3
(LOL. I feel like I’ve seen that phrase around. I love that you have characters like that toooo. They are seriously the best. XD)
Aaarggghhh how are you making me want this book in my life even more???? Because I am SUCH a fan of female friendships, and platonic girl-boy friendships! I neeeeeeed themmmmm!!
FIRE HORSES. Whaaaaatttttt.
THE SNIPPETS I LOVE THEM!
And wow, you’re so close to 100k! Go Christine! I hope you have an epic last week of NaNo!
OH MY GOODNESS. SAMANTHA. THIS COMMENT I CAN’T! <333 I’m just over here melting in a puddle of happy feels from all your sweetness and enthusiasm. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
The part with Kez’s perfect hair had me laughing so much. XD Then later I was reading too quickly trying to soak it all in and I misread “Tala stepped up and tickled the kitten’s chin”. Instead of “tickled” I read “kicked” and was horrified for 0.463572 seconds before I realized what I’d done. XD
Thank you for sharing all of this with us! And seriously, fire horses? I am in awe! That sounds so amazing!!!
*BEAMS* Kez keeps me on my toes for sure. XD
Oh my! LOLOLOL. I’m laughing so hard. Tala would literally murder herself (and probably everyone in that room) before ever kicking a kitten.
Awww! Thank YOU for reading and commenting and just being such a support! <333
Female friendships!!! Yes!!! Also FIRE HORSES CAN I GET A HALLELUJAH
This novel is gonna be epic, Christine! I mean heck, it already is, at 100000 words, good grief! You go, girl! <3
EEP. I’M SO GLAD YOU APPROVE! I’ve had such fun playing with all these elements!
D’AWWWW!!! I’m smiling so hard! Thank you so, so much, Katie! <3
THAT SNIPPET! *is aware everyone already said the same thing but can’t help herself* AGHHH CHRISTINE I’m dying! I love your characters so much already. Can I please, please read this book someday? (…can I read <em>all</em> your books?)
*glares at computer* the italics thing didn’t work. I just learned it today but maybe I’m doing it wrong? XD
AAAAHHH, MAYA, YOU SWEET SOUL. I can’t even tell you how much it means to me that you are interested in my stories! That just motivates me SO MUCH! Thank you! <3
(OH. I think you totally did the italics right, I jus use a different comment system from the norm. You should just be able to hit the little I right on the bottom of the comment box for italics with the one I use. ^_^)
Aha! I actually like your comment system better anyway 😀
I’m so glad to hear it! I wasn’t too happy with the default system and, after some trial and error, FINALLY found this one. So it’s good to know you like it! I definitely want it to be easy on you guys to comment. ^_^
CHARGE!!!!! Hahaha, I LOVED how you ended that post. And that GIF. I HAVE NO IDEA HOW November is almost over. I’m still trying to figure out where in the world October went. It was like it was just here a few days ago and now Thanksgiving is TWO DAYS AWAY!!!!! HOW!!!??? Someone explain the madness! Your story just sounds soooooo amazing!!!! And CREATIVE AND GENIUS AND CAN I JUST READ IT!!!!!! Aelin sounds like such a fun character. (You wanna swap characters. The MC of my WIP is starting to bug me. 😆 Just a joke, if you couldn’t tell I was joking. I sometimes have to remind myself that I’m not actually TALKING to someone and they can’t hear my tone of voice.) Anyway, this sounds like a book THAT I WOULD FANGIRL OVER TO EVERYONE I KNEW!!!!!! Wow, about 2k to your goal, THAT’S SOOOOO COOL!!!!! And, man, that’s a long book. HOW do you do it? It’s hard for me to make my word count to 70k. Well, anyway, I’m sooo happy your NaNo is going well!!!! And I really enjoyed this post! Can’t wait for more!!!
LOL. I’m glad you approve! The end of NaNo does always feel like an army charging forward to defeat our wordcounts and make it to the finish line. It’s a wild time. XD
NOVEMBER SHOULD NOT ALMOST BE OVER IT IS WILD AND I’M SO CONFUSED. And now Thanksgiving is over and just??? But it’s been a pretty fabulous month!
EEP. Oh my goodness gracious, I’m so thrilled and honored you love the idea of this story and everything! YOU ARE SO SWEET. THANK YOU!!! (Lol. maybe we should swap MCs. Aelin keeps me on my toes. I probably need a break. XDD)
I don’t know how my stories get so long. o.o I honestly wish they’d calm down. I would LOVE it if I could keep them down to 70k! Lol. They’re such monster children! There is nothing wrong at all with having shorter stories–that’s a good thing!
MAGGIE. I have no words to all this niceness! Thank you SO SO MUCH!!!! <333
Hi Christine! Happy (early) Thanksgiving! I just want to wish you good luck on you’re final week of NaNo. 🙂 I really enjoyed reading about your characters (that was a lot of fun seeing how they play off each other).
Wishing you the best in your writing! (Ps. You listed animal care among ‘daily tasks’. Do you have a pet?)
LILY! *glomps* Thank you! And now a happy (late) Thanksgiving to you! Haha. I hope you had a lovely one. <3
Awwww! Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! They’ve been a lot of fun to spend the month with. ^_^
We do have pets! 3 dogs and a cat! 😀 How about you?
I have so much fun reading your posts. Like, seriously I am so inspired. How can you write so much?! And you always seem like you are having so much fun that I’m worried that I’m dong something wrong in my story. XD Or maybe I’m just not that expressive?
But I LOVE your snippets! I want more! Seriously can I offer to be a alpha/beta reader in the future whenever you get this done? It sounds crazy amazing, and your dialogue is SO great! I love your characters already too. 😀
Also every time I read “stabby marshmallow” I get the image in my head of a literal marshmallow with a smiley face drawn it and a toothpick stuck in it to wield as a sword and it cracks me up. :,D
Oh my goodness, really??? These feel like such rambling messes. I’m so honored you enjoy them!
Gracious me. Lol. I normally do nooooooooot write like this during non-NaNo months. I just kind of…ignore everything and go crazy during November. It’s probably not healthy. *hides face* And I DEFINITELY do not always have this much fun writing. This book was a particularly fun one for me. But yeah…writing can be so, so hard and exhausting sometimes. o.o In fact, all year long up ’til now I’ve had a HARD time getting words down and things finished. I totally feel you on that! It is perfectly normal. *hugs*
AWK. YOU ARE SO SWEET!!! I am so unbelievably honored you want to read it! What a compliment! It may be quite a bit before I’m at the beta-reading stage because I will probably write the other books of the series first before editing this one and prepping it for beta reading. But your enthusiasm just motivates me to keep going with this series and get it to that stage! 😀
BWAHAHAHA! That is the best image ever! And, really, if Rune was a cartoon or something, I feel like he’d honestly be an actual marshmallow holding a toothpick. XD
That opening has me enthralled! Fantastic snippet too, I love all of these characters.
Strong female friendships!!! Yesss!
Awww, what a compliment! Thank you so much, Skye!!! I’m so happy you like the sound of the characters and things. That means so much! <3
OKAY, BUT I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. The characters all sound so adorable and THAT SNIPPET, oh my gosh–CAN I JUST ADOPT ALL THE DAYSTARS NOW, please and thank you. I can’t handle the cuteness. Bury me in Aelin and Rune’s ridiculously wonderful friendship, okay?
Your ability to fast-draft amazes me once again! I’m very glad you’ve been actively taking care of yourself during this crazy month. Also, at the time of writing this I know you’ve already finished DBS, so CONGRATULATIONS!!!
AWK. MERIE. Brb while I explode into a glittery mess of happiness from this comment! I’m so so so thrilled you like the sound of my Daystars! They have definitely been a light to me during this dark year. <3
EEP. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I’m really excited! 😀
*squeals for eternity* Askghdlkadghldagekld;ahgka!!! I just love all of this *huggles dis whole post* I am so, so thrilled your NaNo is going spectacularly!!! And yes, yes, yes to all the HEALTHY and EPIC relationships between everyone!!! We can have platonic friendships, bromances, and female friendships and still have an epic story, thank you very much. ;D Lol on finally being able to write modern dialogue! XD And yes, gimme all the wings! ^_^
Can I just hug all the Daystars? I love all the descriptions of them!!! (Can Tala adopt me? Kidding! But also not… XD)
FIRE HORSES!!! I love elemental animals!!! Fire horses are one of my favourites! Also, it’s like the opposite of Elsa’s water/ice horse in Frozen 2, coolness!!!
*squeals again* A SERIES!!!! I am so unapologetically ecstatic over this!!! (Though, if you want, I can pretend to be apologetic. XD) THERE’S GOING TO BE MORE BOOOOOKKSSS!!!
Hehe, I can so see you as the Mom Friend, in the best way. ^_^ (And I SO relate to that gif, that’s how I feel when I want to be friends with someone. XD)
OH MY STARS!!! Dat snippet!!! I LOVE them both but that whole scene? *clutches heart* Such happiness!!! I love how Day can snort in a ladylike way. XDDD AND THE KITTEN!!! Rune is adorable with her! I love Meela!!! I vote Aelin gets to mess up Kez’s hair one day! XP Oh! Or it messes up if he ever has to save her life and then she can brush it out of his face. (I am so sappy.) Oooh, full name, Kez, not good. XD
Haha! I can so see Aelin fighting with fake bear claws as a prank or something! XD
I think I need to pick up your habit of working on a blog post a little bit all week instead of cramming the night before (or the morning of *cough cough*).
YOU’RE SO CLOSE TO 100K!!! Though, I’m sure by now you have far surpassed it and maybe even finished Dusk’s Broken Shadows! (Bringing it that much closer to being able to be read! ;p)
November is *almost* over! I hope your last few days of NaNo are fantabulous!!! ^_^ <333
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
(wow, that is one monster comment… I blame the tryptophan and your epic story! XD ^_^)
*squeals for an eternity plus some* JENNNNN. YOU PRECIOUS SOUL!!! Thank you so much! Your enthusiasm gives me life! I’m so glad you approve of all these things. I seriously adore stories that have way more relationships than just of the romance variety. Because YES. ALL relationships matter!
D’awww! They would love to be hugged honestly. So have at it! Hehe. (And Tala would be thrilled to adopt you. I am 100% certain of that!)
Ooooh, I hadn’t thought about the horse from Frozen 2! But you’re totally right! I LOVED that scene in the movie. Elemental animals are so much fun, I absolutely agree!
GIRL. I’m just squealing and grinning over your enthusiasm! YES. It’s a series! I know for sure there will be 3 books. It maaay end in 4 though, but I don’t know yet. I’m hoping to keep it down to a trilogy but who even knows. XD
*blushes* I feel like I go back and forth from being the Mom Friend to the crazy irresponsible aunt so I don’t even know. It just depends on my mood at the time. LOL. (Literally same tho! XD)
AAAHHHH THANK YOU!!! I’m so happy you liked the snippet! Seriously, I feel like my face is going to crack if you make me grin any wider! <3
(OH OH. Those are fantastic ideas via Kez’s hair! I maaay have already written a specific other hair scene that made me cackle out loud but that’s allll I’m saying. *smile, smile* But I ADORE the idea of her fixing his hair for him and I may have to use this sometime! :D)
This was the first NaNo I’ve ever tried this system of working on my blog posts each night. Usually I end up staying up until like 2 in the morning Sunday nights trying to get my NaNo blog posts written all at once and it’s EXHAUSTING. So I tried something else this year and it helps SO SO MUCH! Took me 11 years, but I finally found a blogging-during-NaNo system that works for me. XD
ACTUALLY. I DO HAVE SUPER HAPPY NEWS. I FINISHED THE BOOK WEDNESDAY. *SHRIIIIEEEEKSSSSS* I did not expect to finish it this early and just– I’M SO ECSTATIC!!!
Thank you SOOOOOOOO much for being with me on this journey and cheering me on every single step of the way! You’ve been such an encouragement and light to me through this NaNo, Jen! I feel so blessed to have met you! <333
Happy (late) Thanksgiving to you! I do hope you had a great one and these last few days of November will be beautiful!
(GIRL. I absolutely adore your long comments. They give me all the happy feels every single time. <3)
^_^
For your sake, I hope it’s 3 books! (For my sake, I hope 4! XDDD I kid, whatever you do will be epic and awesome!)
I vary from quiet little mouse to crazy little sister. XD (Haha, yeah, I sometimes worry that I come on too strong and freak people out and I’m just like, you’re awesome, please let me be your friend. XD)
😀 There’s already a hair scene? Oooh! XP Lol, use whatever you want!
Hehe, yeah I am definitely doing what you did for next year. Though, maybe I should do it all the time… 😉
YOU DID!?!? *squeals and happy dances while setting off Gandalf worthy fireworks and fixing you every non-chocolate dessert you like* IT’S FINISHED!!! I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!! 😀 ^_^
Eeep! You’re gonna make me cry! *^_^* I have LOVED cheering you on and I am so, so glad it encouraged you. Awww! I feel so blessed to have met you too! <333 I cannot express enough how much it means to me to be your friend! ^_^ <333
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, thank you! I hope you did as well! Enjoy the last few days of November!
(Hehe, I feel the same about yours! <3 ^_^)
(Also, I wondered why I wasn't getting notifications when you replied, it was because I forgot a letter in my email. *facepalm* Whups! XD)
LOLZ. I’m honored! And I mean, sheesh. It could be 7 books. There is NO TELLING with me. XDD BUT YES I FINISHED AND I AM SO HAPPYYYYY. EEP. Thank you so much for celebrating with me! You are the sweetest, Jen! <333
So glad to hear you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Ours was quite lovely as well!
Thanks again, girl! I hope your last few days of November are SPECTACULAR. I can’t believe December is almost HERE! :O
This sounds REALLY fun. I love the snippets!
Awww! I am thrilled you think so! Thank you so much!!!
WOW, WOW, I loved reading this post! Hearing about the characters again and those snippets and, well, everything makes me so excited for this story’s existence. I feel like I’m just repeating myself, but I just LOVE the sound of this story!
And that snippet made me convinced that I will love EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE MAIN CHARACTERS. Kez is so funny and a pain (I believe this is the first time that I read about him). And Tala does seem like such a sweetheart (also first time?)
MIRANDAAAA!!! You’ve been so encouraging through this. Thank you so, so, SO much!!! And AWK. Your enthusiasm over the characters just gives me all the happy feels! Yes! I do think this is the first snippet I’ve shared featuring Kez and Tala, plus all of them together. It was a fun scene to write. Hehe.
Thank you again! <3
AAAAAH YAY!!!! I’d been looking forward to this!!
Oh, how wonderful that the writing is going so smoothly! (Though I know you’re finished by now!)
Wow, we NEED relationships like those more in stories! Usually people settle for the romance, and that’s fine–but there are so many other good relationships out there that need attention! And this sounds like the perfect story/cast of characters to explore them!
The fracturing of worlds sounds like the perfect blend of fantasy and sci-fi to me, Especially since there are stars as part of one world–it’s just so cool! (And having more modern dialogue fit the world definitely makes writing a bit easier!)
So, um, now I want to try drawing people with wings..,
Gotta love those characters who just say what’s on their mind/what needs to be said! They have a lot of spunk! I love that you have such a variety of personalities and problem-solving abilities in your characters. “Stabby marshmallow” made me laugh, though!
Your ideas and style of writing fits the pantser method so well–I could see the life being written out of the story if you tried to plan TOO much. Particularly with this story and its many unique elements. So yeah, how wonderful that it was a adventure for you every day!
FIRE HORSES!!??!! I’m picturing flames as the manes and tails–maybe that’s not exactly what you had in mind, but I totally want to try painting those kinds of horses!!
Oh, goodness, I have the “use the same phrase endlessly” problem…it really makes you facepalm reading over the draft. All fine during NaNo, though!
A series?!?!? Is this the first I’ve heard of that?!?!?
Aw, Tala sounds so absolutely precious!
Aaaaand I’m hooked with that first line!
Okay, that dialogue/snippet is absolutely hilarious! Just all those different senses of humor? Snorting and somehow making it sound ladylike? Aah, they’re all just so vivid and distinct!
Writing outside sounds LOVELY! We had perfect weather for it too through most of November! And your writing routine sounds ideal! (Am actually kinda jealous, haha!)
Wonderful post! I’m looking forward to another recap and/or Know the Novel Part 3!!
Awwww!!! You’re so sweet!
EEP. Thank you so much!!! It was such a fun month of writing. Honestly, it feels so weird being done. I already miss my disaster children of characters! (Though it is nice having more free time. Haha.)
I TOTALLY agree. It gets frustrating when romance is the ooooonly thing we ever get to have in fiction. A touch of romance is great, but man it gets exhausting when there’s nothing else! I’m so honored you think this cast is a good one to explore different relationships! It’s definitely been a lot of fun playing around with the different character dynamics. ^_^
It’s so hard to label the genre of this, because though it is fantasy, it does have a touch of sci-fi things to it! It’s been…different. Lol. But so much fun!
OOOooooOOHHHHH! I would LOVE to see your draw winged people! *heart-eyes*
*grins* They all kept my on my toes, that’s for sure! I especially had a hard time keeping Aelin ALIVE just from her reckless behavior and unfiltered mouth. >.>
Oh my goodness, YOU GET IT. That’s exactly right. The more I wrote this story, the more I realized it would NOT have worked if I had tried to outline. There was just so much to explore and play around with and see where it would go. I’m really glad I chose to pants it. Even if it did end in some pretty heavy brainstorming sessions when I was trying to sleep. XD
That’s totally how I was picturing the fire horses too! Although Pinterest helped me get a good visual. Good ‘ol pinterest. XD THIS is what I sort of based them off of. Fire manes and tails and coal-like bodies. And oh my gracious goodness, a painting of something like that would be AH-MAY-ZING!!!!
That makes me feel so much better I’m not the only one constantly repeating phrases. But YES. During the first draft, we’re totally allowed to plagiarize ourselves. XD But thank goodness editing is a thing! Haha.
*GRINS* YEP! A series! I thiiink I mentioned it when I did the first Know the Novel post? But I really haven’t talked about it that much since. BUT YES. It’ll be probably either 3 or 4 books. And man have I left a mess for myself to clean up in book #2. XD
AWWWWW!!!! All your enthusiasm is just making my DAY. Thank you so so much!!!
YAY FOR LOVELY WEATHER! It was seriously perfect all month long! I was so thankful for the absolutely delightful weather! <3 (Oh goodness, don’t be jealous of my schedule! My brain and eyes were just like PLEASE STAHP. I had no respect for my sanity whatsoever at all… *cough, cough*)
AWK. THANK YOU SO MUCH, GIRL!!!! This whole comment has given me all the happy feels! And I’ll have one more recap post this coming Monday and then answering the part 3 Know the Novel questions next Monday! You guys are going to be sick of hearing about this novel by the end of all this. XD
I love your opening! That definitely hooks me! It sounds like this book is a blast and I kinda wanna read it now. XD I volunteer as beta!
Aaaahhhhhh really??? That is like one of the BEST compliments a writer can get! Thank you so much!!! 😀 And GIRL. I’d be thrilled to have you as a beta. EEP. I’m so honored it interests you that much! It may, erm, be a while before it’s ready for beta readers. Eheheh. BUT STILL. I’m so honored! <3
I was so caught up in NaNoWriMo that I didn’t get to read this post when it first came out! Congratulations on getting so many words! You’ve done a great job! An interesting tidbit about my writing progress last month was that I survived the whole NaNoWrimo without consuming caffeine. I drank a lot of herbal tea and decaf cappuccinos 😀
Oh goodness, I understand! I’ve spent the last two weeks just trying to catch up on alllll the things I abandoned during NaNo! Haha. But that’s what NaNo is for, to set aside things and just WRITE!
Awww, thank you!!! And gracious me, no caffeine whatsoever??? CHELSEA. Are you even human? I bow to your superiority. That is amazing!