Beautiful Books: November 2016
Beautiful Books is hosted by Sky and Cait. While Beautiful Books is focused towards NaNoWriMo, you can still join the linkup using any WIP. To find out more and to join in the fun, check out their blogs!
As with last month’s edition, I’ll be featuring my NaNo project, Tolling Bells.
As with last month’s edition, I’ll be featuring my NaNo project, Tolling Bells.
1.) Overall, how is
your mental state, and how is your novel going?
The
mental state is good. As for the novel, it’s going well too. I’ve
managed to stay ahead, and have written every day so far, which is
nice.
Tolling
Bells will need some work, of
course, but I feel like it’s good for now. It took me about 10,000
words to get a grasp of the character’s voices, but once I started
writing my antagonist’s, things went a lot easier. I’m now over
30K.
2.)What’s your first
sentence (or paragraph)?
The door of Doctor Sheffield’s office closed with a soft creak.
3.)Who’s your current
favourite character in your novel?
I’ve
written from Theo, Leo, and Albion’s POVs so far, and of the three,
Albion’s is the easiest to slip into. I like all the characters,
but I’ve acquired quite a soft spot for Doctor Sheffield.
4.) What do you love
about your novel so far?
The
challenge. I’m trying to stay as accurate as I can from a
historical standpoint, but also allow myself the freedom that comes
with writing fiction. If it’s not quite correct, I can fix it in a
later draft. So for now, I’m enjoying figuring out who the
characters really are and what they are going to do.
5.) Have you made any
hilarious typos or other mistakes?
I
kept switching spellings for a secondary character’s name. That’s
all I can think of at the moment.
6.) What is your
favourite to write: beginning, middle, or end — and why?
For
this one, the middle. The beginning was weird because of the
character voice problems, but the middle is actually moving really
quickly! Usually, this is not the case for me. Plus, I like how in
the middle of a story you can see how the threads come together.
7.) 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!
My
writing habits this NaNo are not much different than usual. I work in
15-30 minutes segments, and take breaks in between to read or catch
up on other things I have to do.
For snacks, I’ve
been slowly depleting the leftover Halloween candy, or eating apples
with peanut butter or chocolate spread. I’ve been
listening to a playlist I made for Tolling Bells,
and Christmas music.
I
write best at night, but I’ve trained myself to write in the
mornings mostly these days. And here’s a photo of my writing space:
8.) How private are you
about your novel while you’re writing? Do you need a cheer squad or
do you work alone (like, ahem, Batman)?
With
this one, I’ve actually discussed it a lot with other people,
mostly family, or here on my blog. Having a cheer squad is very
nice—especially during NaNo. My family is super encouraging and
will check in to make sure I’m writing instead of procrastinating.
This year, I’ve been in a fun Twitter group chat as well.
9.) What keeps you
writing even when it’s hard?
I
really want to finish this
first draft because I’ve been excited to write it for so long. The
enthusiasm has stuck around, so that’s helpful too.
10.) What are your top 3 pieces of writing advice?
First: Take breaks.
Whether it’s do read or watch something, do chores, or take a walk.
You’ll feel better.
Second: Keep a list of
reasons why you love your WIP. When the going gets tough, you can
have that to look back on and gain inspiration from.
Third: Sometimes you have
to step away from a project. That’s okay. Don’t stress too much
when you have to put some distance between yourself and a WIP. You
can come back to it later. :)
Are you participating in NaNo? Tell me how it’s
going for you!
Ugh, everyone has such cute writing spaces! Lucky!
ReplyDeleteAlso I need a family to make sure I'm not procrastinating!
Lastly, HOW IS YOUR MENTAL STATE OKAY????
It's fun to have them checking in to make sure I'm writing! :) And I quite like my little writing nook, even if the cats take over from time to time. (What kind of human would I be if I deprived them of such a great sleep spot???)
DeleteI'm not sure? Usually at this point I'm a bit worried about my word count and wondering what will happen if I fall behind and stuff. Maybe it's where I've been able to write a little extra every day? I don't know! :)
YOU ARE DOING SO AWESOME THIS NANO. I loved this post and seeing how it's going for you.
ReplyDeleteI always have the hardest time with beginnings as well. But once I've gotten a feel for the story, it goes much smoother. So I feel like in the minority myself because I actually love writing the middles!
I love how your family checks to make sure your writing. That's the cutest! XD
I like your idea of having a list of reasons why we love our novels. Because in the busyness of life and overwhelming amount of words, sometimes it's easy to forgot WHY we're writing it. Wonderful advice!
I hope the rest of NaNo goes AMAZINGLY for you! Keep at it, girl! *waves pompoms*
Aw, thanks! :) And look at you with over 60K! That's amazing!
DeleteIt really depends on the project, I guess. Some books I can charge through the beginning but get stuck in the middle, but this year it's the opposite. It's still going well, so I'm happy with that! :)
Thanks! Losing inspiration stinks, so I've found that keeping a list like that is a good way to focus on the good about the story. :)
Same for you!
I'm glad NaNo is going so well for you, Jameson! Your novel sounds as awesome as always!
ReplyDeleteGo supportive families that stop procrastination! Though mine has been horrible this month, I just...it's way too easy to convince them I'm not procrastinating when I'm very clearly procrastinating!
Your spelling mistakes one reminds me, that's not that bad okay because I accidentally spent a chapter spelling my MC's name (Margo) as Mango yesterday...
LOVE your advice! Good luck with the rest of the month, can't wait to find out how the rest of your novel comes along! XD
Thank you so much!
DeleteThey're great. :) When I'm behind on my word count or something, they'll be like, "Don't you have some writing to do?" The accountability is quite motivating, hehe.
Margo and Mango are close, right? ;) I once had a character from completely different book show up in a chapter, and I didn't even notice until I went to write the next draft...
Thanks! :) Hopefully, it's encouraging and helpful!
Thanks for stopping by, and best writing wishes!
Eating apples with peanut butter is about the best snack ever. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not doing NaNo this year, but I have a couple times in the past and really enjoy it.