know the novel: part two {within the WIP}

Hello, my friends!

I’m currently taking a break from typing away at my novel crazily to write this blog post for you all! Normally, I’d have all my posts scheduled ahead of time, but this isn’t necessarily a post you can schedule because it’s right at the moment I’m writing. xD In case you missed it, here’s the first part of this post where you get to know my WIP (work-in-progress), The Summer at Sunset Bay. Today, I’ll be sharing answers to the question about what’s going on in my writing and how it’s going!

Enjoy this quick peek into my writing!

how’s the writing going overall?

Overall, I’m loving writing this project! There are definitely those moments that I don’t want to write (like right now. . .) but so far, it’s been pretty smooth. As I’m writing this, it’s day 17 and I’m at 40,000 words (as of the 17th), and I’m aiming to write 4K words today (the 18th), and 6k words on Saturday, to reach 50K. So overall, I’d say writing this project is going wonderfully!

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

Oooh. . . I’d say the character dynamics or the setting. I absolutely love the setting, but there are some really fun sibling dynamics in this story that I love to write, so. . . there are so many things I love about this story. 😀

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

I have so many favorite characters. First of all, I love one of my MCs, Gina, ’cause she is a hilarious and creative writer who’s incredibly imaginative and always saying funny things. But my MC’s younger brother, Luke, is a really fun brother to write. . . I’d have to say I love all of these characters evenly.

has your novel surprised you in any way?

Mhm. . . in some ways, yes, but in other ways, no. When I was plotting, I didn’t realize how much fun this story would be to write. And I also think I underestimated the length of this novel. My goal was 50,000 words for the month, and I thought that would finish it up, with maybe a few extra words, but I’m on chapter 10 with nearly 30,000 words, and I still have 16 chapters left to go, so I’m guessing it’ll be longer than I expected, which is definitely a surprise.

have you come across any problem areas?

So far, I thankfully haven’t come across anything major! I’ve had a few problems with the timeline and how that all works, but other than that, it’s gone pretty smoothly.

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

Well. . . the fact that it’s only the 18th at I only have 8K left to write is pretty exciting! Only about to go and I’ll be finished for the month (I’m actually planning just to write ’til this novel is finished but slow down so I’m not writing 3000 – 4000 words a day) and then take a break before I edit.) but it’s going to be pretty exciting to have finished with time to spare! (As long as I don’t just randomly quit writing now. . . *winks*)

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?

Ooh. . .I’d probably be Gina Douglas – She is a lot like me, personality-wise, and struggles with one of the things I’ve struggled with. I’m definitely a little bit more nervous and less of a dare-devil than she is, and I’m more upfront, which would have saved her a lot of trouble.
*evil author grin*

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

Ooh, I’m going to pull the last sentences from the first three chapters, because I loved how I wrote them and it fits each of the characters’ journey pretty well.

~

Eleanor whispered the prompt to herself, looking up . . . “Every scar has a story. . . even the hidden ones.”
That was her problem. She didn’t have any scars. She didn’t have any stories. She was plain. She was boring. She was ordinary.

~

Gina couldn’t help glancing out her window, at the starry sky, and smiling, she truly was very blessed, even in the chaos. There was also one other thing that she was. . .and Gina realized as her head sank into the pillow. She couldn’t think of why the idea of swimming brought panic to her and a bought of dizziness. And then it hit her. . . .
She was afraid.

~

Melissa didn’t even want to look at the paper when it was dropped on her desk. The large red 86 glared at her on the paper. Melissa held in a gasp and quickly covered her paper with her hand. No one could see this disgrace. How could this have happened? She was dumb. No, she was worse than dumb, she was stupid. And then. . . the horrible truth came to her. . . .
She was a failure.

~

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!)

My writing process has actually been pretty boring and smooth so far. But, I did have a major plot twist that was not on the outline, and it was so much fun to write as a discovery writer for once, instead of following my outline.

take us on a tour of what a normal writing day for this novel looks like.

Ahh. . . love this question! Since I’m writing over 2,000 words every day, I usually split my writing into two-three different sections. I usually have one before lunch, once my school is finished, and then one after lunch and my chores are completed. I’ve found that writing 3,000 – 4,000 words is too much to try to write at one time, so splitting it up has really helped me start fresh and be able to get my word count in within 2 hours. There have definitely been slower days, though. For the before-lunch one, I always drink a cup of tea while I write, read over the last chapter I wrote to get caught back up and begin to write. For the second session, I usually snack on pretzels / popcorn and then just continue where I left off for the first session. Anyway, it took me a few days to get into that rhythm, and I don’t always stick to it (like today. :P), but overall, it’s worked pretty well!

Well, here are my answers! Thank you so much for reading – Stay tuned for a fun and photo-filled Thanksgiving post next week which will be on Thursday instead of Friday. Until then. . .

If you’re doing NaNoWriMo, how has it been going for you? What’s your favorite question / answer? How’s your November been?