It has been a wild few weeks of writing! And I come to you bleary-eyed and a little dazed to peek out of the flurry of storymaking and give a little update.

(And assure everyone that I am, in fact, still alive.)

I am in all the shock over the fact that FicFrenzy wraps up at the end of this week. But WHAT a time. It’s been a frenzied few weeks of writing (and not enough sleep *cough*) indeed, and I’m excited to share a little of the madness.

I’ll be answering the questions from the Know the Novel tag. So let’s dive right in!

THE WRITING OF
SENTIENT HOUSE

How’s the writing going overall?

Chaotic. Wild. Surprising. There has been screaming and cackling and maybe a bit of crying.

It’s been incredible.

The past few weeks have been a haze of mad typing in between life and forgetting why I walked into rooms because my head is so completely lost in this storyworld and what is real life again?? and oops it’s 2 in the morning but story stuff is happening so how can one sleep? My co-writer, Geneva Michaels, and I are living and breathing this story. (Maybe too much but pffft, who needs sanity?)

The story is zipping along, with twists and turns we never expected but are delighted over. We’ve screamed over the unexpected and cried over character feels and cackled over ideas of making things even more crazy and dramatic.

Make it worse is our writing motto. It’s fine, nooothing to see here.

We have had such a good flow, we are just about to wrap up what we’re calling “volume 1” of this serial story, and I couldn’t be more delighted.

What’s been the most fun aspect of writing this novel so far?

My word. Can I just say everything?

Two years ago, this story burst into my head, snagged hold of my brain, and claimed it as its own with no ransom or even hints of giving it back any time soon. And I’m okay with that.

It’s a story I feel like I’ve spent my life building up to tell, from its themes to its characters to its aesthetics, and one of the most fun aspects is just writing it. Immersing wholly in this giant, wild, complex, deep story and letting it spill out of me. There’s been something therapeutic about it after a really rough couple of years.

But the other best part is, without a doubt, writing it with one of my closest friends. Geneva and I are having the time of our lives bouncing back and forth on this story in a text RPG style way. This extroverted writer is thriving on the camaraderie of writing together. Constantly being able to feed off each other’s enthusiasm and energy feels like cheating because it is knocking the slog and exhaustion writing often brings right out.

We’re just having a grand time, and I’m so grateful for all of it.

What do you think of your characters at this point? Who’s your favorite to write about?

Oh, these characters. 😭💕 If the story kidnapped my brain, it’s the characters who broke into my heart and claimed it as their own.

I shouldn’t say much right now #spoilerssweetie And there are some who will come later in the story so haven’t made an appearance yet. But OH, the ones who have.

Some of my tippity top favorites are my awkward, cinnamon roll sun boy, Sevrin, and my co-writer’s fashionista, stabby goth girl, Genevieve, which is describing them in the barest, simplest of terms. These are exceedingly special characters for both of us with a lot of layers and a big story ahead of them that is very close to our hearts.

My sun boy holds so much of my heart and beliefs. His story is wrapped in themes that are centered right to my core, and I am so excited to be telling it all.

Buuut, I’d be remiss to not mention the character who was supposed to be a side character and more just mentioned here and there than anything else…and that apparently didn’t suit him, as he’s taken a major role in the whole first section of the story and causing all sorts of havoc. I am not sad about it.

We’re all mad here and we live for the chaos. 🙌🔥

Has your novel surprised you in any way?

Though we have most of our backstory and worldbuilding plotted out, we are completely pantsing the actual story and it feels like by the end of each day, a whole new wild discovery has been made that shifts all expectations and we have to collapse, regroup, and tackle the consequences for the next day of writing…only for it to happen all over again.

It’s the best.

These characters are just chaos walking and constantly throwing curveballs, and my discovery writing-loving heart LIVES for it. One of my favorite parts of writing is the unknown. Diving into the journey nearly as blind as the characters and experiencing it all right alongside them. And this is definitely proving to be an EXPERIENCE.

There is also the added surprise of dice rolls. Doing this roleplaying style, we’ve incorporated a dice rolling system, and BOY OH BOY. The dice like to keep things interesting, let me tell ya.

But, really, it’s the characters themselves who live to keep us on our toes. There have been completely unplanned havoc like…

• A character sending another one a pile of blood-stained letters with a cryptic note amongst them and no explanation about the blood.
• Discovering an ability in a character that we were completely unaware of until it just appeared in the moment and shifted a whole scene.
• Kissing. Very unplanned kissing.
• A straight-up duel between a couple of characters.
• There may also be some murder sprinkled in…

So, you know, a few surprises here and there. It’s all good.

Have you come across any problem areas?

As far as the story itself…shockingly little! Since we’re bouncing off of each other, pantsing, and doing this in a serialized format and not worrying about wordcount, it’s just zipping along.

Probably the biggest struggle on my end is just energy levels and juggling everything. I’m still dealing with a lot of fatigue and have to push through the tiredness to get things done. I have very few “spoons” to use these days, and as a result am using most of them on writing (and life essentials). So other things have fallen to the wayside. But I specifically planned to hone in on writing for the course of FicFrenzy, so I’m trying not to feel too bad about it.

But I promise I’m still alive, guys, and love you all, even if I’ve been AWOL for weeks.

What’s been your biggest victory with writing this novel at this point?

To totally contradict everything I just said… Finding the energy to write it. These last couple of years have been a huge lesson in learning how to manage the things I want and need to do with more limitations, and every day I go to bed with more words to add to the total word count, it feels like something big to be celebrated.

And the fact that we’ve about finished up the first volume of the story and just hit a whole 100k words, when I had no idea how much I’d be able to do? Yeah. That feels amazing. 😭

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?

If there was anyone in this novel I relate to the most, it’s my awkward sun boy Sevrin. We’re different in many ways; he is the INFJ to my ENFJ. But his constant fight for hope, his refusal to give into the shadows, and his conviction to cling to the light reflect so much of my own battles and beliefs and everything I hold onto.

As far as different actions… I, er, don’t think I could be as gentle and patient as he manages to be in the midst of his hardships.

My sass, sarcasm, and often jaded view of things lean closer to his sister Elowen. 😅

Give us the first sentence or paragraph then 2 (or 3!) more favorite snippets

OPENING:

Nothing but trees had lined the road for a good hour now, only the rumble of the automobile and Miss Morgan’s ever-restless mind breaking the silent drive. But when Lady Morgan’s elegant form shifted, something shifted with her, as though the very air had changed. Lady Morgan tipped her head forward to peer out the front window, and Miss Morgan followed her gaze.

The winding road had ended. The chauffeur brought the vehicle to a halt some feet away from what took a moment to recognize as a gate at the center of a great wall. Only peeks of black iron and bits of stone could be spotted beneath the overgrowth of ivy and vines and even roots climbing over the wall and twisting around the gate, to the point that it was difficult to tell where the woods ended on each side and the wall began.

“Hospitable,” Miss Morgan remarked sarcastically as the chauffeur got out of the vehicle.

“If you were the proprietor of a magical house, would you want to make it easily accessible?” Lady Morgan replied, one thin brow quirking upward.

SNIPPET #1:

Smiling now, Sevrin pushed aside some vines, making the gap in the overgrown gate a little bigger, but as he studied her the smile wavered, solemnity settling back over him. “I felt something from the House while you were in the gatehouse. As if it was…conflicted and troubled.”

Her brows drew downward. “Is that usual, feeling things from the House when you are not the Ward? I have noticed Lady Aldera experiencing odd feelings before, but Emil at least always has to ask her about them when they happen. He doesn’t seem to feel anything of the sort himself. Elowen…I cannot actually answer for what I have noticed about Elowen. She does not come to the gatehouse as often as she used to when I first began visiting.”  

He tilted his head back and forth in thought. “I think the House makes its feelings known to all of us sometimes. Nothing as strong as Mother, of course, but we can get the occasional nudge. And then sometimes it’s like…” he considered his words, “when a person you know well is feeling a strong emotion, and though they may not say anything or even give anything away on their face, you can just feel it. I don’t know, maybe that doesn’t make any sense at all, especially about a house.”

“I think it makes perfect sense,” Genevieve said flatly, perhaps as much because she knew Emil likely disagreed as anything else. But then, Sevrin’s explanation was so exactly true to her own experience as well. “Especially about a magic house that apparently has the ability to send rejected applicants into a dead faint.”

His forehead wrinkled in concern again. “The feeling I sensed from it was…quite strong, like it was displeased. Which brings me to the third thing I think is troubling you.” He took another shaky breath, but he kept his gaze on her, watching, studying, once more peering down to a nameless depth. His grip on the gate tightened. “You have a shadow. Not an actual shadow, not really. But there is something…cold and dark clinging to you.”  

Every muscle in her body went taut, tensing like a predator waiting to strike…or perhaps she wasn’t the predator but the prey it sought and she was tense with listening for any sound that an attack was imminent.  

“I would very much appreciate it if you could elaborate on that statement, Sevrin Aldera,” Genevieve said quietly.

SNIPPET #2:

Another letter sat waiting for Sevrin on his nightstand two days after he sent out his first one. Not only was it a pleasant surprise—he didn’t expect her to feel the need to write back, much less so quickly—the envelope was very thick.

Curiosity and excitement had him snagging the letter opener immediately, but the anticipatory pound of his heart took an unsteady turn at the dark red stains marring the envelope. His fingers shook trying to get it open, and unease slinked deeper down his chest at the contents inside—multiple wrinkled papers stuffed haphazardly within…all stained with drops and streaks of red.

Blood.

His trembling hands fumbled to pull out all the papers, and his stomach took a sharp twist to find Emil’s handwriting over all of them, all addressed to Lady Morgan.

He shook his head, trying to get his racing thoughts and slamming heart under control. These must be to the late Lady Morgan. But still— He scrambled through the papers and, at last, found one written in the neat, elegant script he expected.

A pounding on his door sent him jumping so violently, the letters scattered along the bed and tumbled to the floor.

“You missed breakfast, you lazy rat!”

He winced at Emil’s shouts. Dinner was the only meal Mother insisted they all eat together, including him, at least when there were no guests. Over half the time, they took breakfast in their rooms. Of course today would be a day the others had breakfast together and Emil noticed his absence.

Another bang of Emil’s fists slammed the door. “In the study.”

No, no, no… He couldn’t leave, not yet. He scrambled to find the letter with her handwriting again. Bloodied fingerprints smudged the white stationery.

“Now!” Emil’s footsteps echoed down the hall, leaving no room for argument.

He squeezed his eyes shut. If he didn’t go, things would be far worse. But the quicker he went, the quicker it would be over with and he could return. He gathered up the blood-stained letters from the sheets and clambered off the bed to retrieve those on the floor. A single torn piece of paper lay strewn over the letters.

They can speak. I heard them in actual words. If they can talk, they can be banished.

I realize not a bit of this makes sense out of context. *cackles and creeps back into the depth of my writing cave*

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 know I’ve already mentioned it but… The dice system!

We’re embracing our roleplaying-style of storytelling and letting dice decide the outcome of so many things via a method of our own making, and, truly, it adds such a huge layer of fun to creating stories.

And chaos. So much chaos.

One part of our system involves, welllll, let’s just say how reckless a character will or will not be in any given situation. If they roll high, they manage to keep it cool, if they roll low…all bets are off. All kept within the bounds of what they would naturally do based on who they are as a person, of course. Buuut you can imagine the shenanigans that go on when someone rolls a Nat1.

Did that unplanned kissing happen because of a Nat1 roll? Maaaaaybe.

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!

Writing is happening in between life.

After lunch, I get coffee (because of course), turn on the story playlist (music is a must), and settle in to try to get about an hour in of writing. From there, it’s adding words here and there around whatever is going on throughout the day. Nighttime is usually when the majority of the focus work takes place, once the day is settled and we can really hone in on the story.

(Has that led to quite a lot of late nights? …yes. But write when inspired, yeah? 😅)

We have a couple of fun ways we do this whole co-writing thing…

1. We each have characters that are solely ours. The cast is split between us, so that means, if we have sets of characters in the same scene, we write it together, going back and forth with our character(s) in that scene. (Sometimes we’ll have scenes involving characters that only belong to one of us, and write those solo. It just depends on the scene.) What makes this so special is that it makes the conversations and events feel natural. We rarely talk about exactly how things will go, but instead throw our characters together and see what the other person does with them. And the thrill of that! For example, if my character does or says something, I have no idea how Geneva will respond with hers, and it is far too exciting waiting for each reply and deciding how to respond back. We call it “yes, and-ing”. One of us will do something, and the other goes “yes, and…” by building on what just happened, and on and on it goes.
2. We write on Discord. This makes it much easier to play back and forth off of one another, as well as helps writing between life because we can add a reply here, another there throughout the day as life allows in a very easy manner. A lot of writing has been done on our phones, as needed because #life. Sometimes you just have to make time where you can. But, truly, it is astounding how the wordcount goes up just with incrementally dropping additions. (We do copy the words over to a proper doc as we finish scenes, if you were wondering.)

With the struggles of my health right now, not carrying the full load has been such a blessing. And we are just having a grand time creating this chaotic, complex story full of themes close to our hearts and characters we adore.

It’s a heavy story, in many ways. It dives into the darkness and touches on some hard subjects, but the point of the darkness is to make the light shine all the brighter. And I’m so grateful to have this opportunity to tell it.

Thank you for reading my rambles. It’s been a time, but a good one! Have you ever written (or read) a co-authored story? Do you have any big writing projects or other things in the works?

Don’t forget you can join this tag yourself HERE!