NaNoWriMo 2018: Thoughts, Stats, and Snippets

IT’S DECEMBER. December. DECEMBERRRR. NaNoWriMo is over. WUT???? We have made it through the insanity that is November a.k.a National Novel Writing Month and I MAY BE A LITTLE SHOCKED.

NaNo is always this weird paradox of time in that it feels like 3 days long and a lifetime all at once. I think it’s because the days are zipping by in my life, but I’m also so immersed in my characters lives, I feel as if I’ve gone on the same ginormous, life-changing journey as them. When I think back to the beginning of November, it seems like yesterday, and yet also so much has happened since then. It’s weird. NaNo is weird. EVERYTHING IS WEIRD.

But hi! We have made it!!! AND IT’S DECEMBER.

Except, erm, NaNo is still basically going on for me because I didn’t quiiiite finish my story. Yeah. It’s a beast. As of right now I have just FIVE chapters left and am right in the midst of the crazy climax so I’m excited to wrap this thing up. It shouldn’t be much longer now… Icandothis Icandothis Icandothis.

Ahem. Anyways. Just because my story isn’t finished, doesn’t mean I can’t do a big ol’ NaNo wrapup post with some thoughts on the experience and stats (because who doesn’t love stats?)! And yes, snippets shall also be included. *wriggles eyebrows*

NANOWRIMO 2018

 

MY THOUGHTS

This was both a wonderful and stressful NaNo, as all NaNos are. Although this one did feel a bit rougher than some of the others. Or it may have just felt like that because last year went so smoothly it gave the illusion of this one being hard. I DON’T KNOW. But still, I definitely enjoyed this one.

I think a big thing was that I have been in total editing mode pretty much all year long, so shifting into that first draft mentality didn’t go well. I keep pausing and stressing over every single wording choice, and bemoaning how dumb my sentences are. Some days I threw caution to the wind and wrote like a rabid monkey, but mostly that inner editor would not shush.

And yet, despite all my stressing, I still think this draft is a total disaster. XD I should have just enjoyed making a mess and accept it which is what I usually try to do during NaNo. But, again, I’ve been so focused on editing this year, more so than any other year, my inner editor has ingrained itself in my brain and won’t go away. >.> I also feel like the words were harder to get down because, despite my enormous outline, the absurdly complicated plot hurt my poor wee brain and it took a lot of effort to bring everything together in a (hopefully but probably not really) logical way.

But I also discovered something that surprised me while writing this. Usually, I am all for dark, emotional stories. Those are my faaave to write (should I be worried?), and I was extra excited about this book because ooooh boy, was it gonna be a feels-slayer. Bwahahaha. I had a playlist full of dramatic instrumental music to tug at my heartstrings, and was totally ready to destroy some fictional people’s lives. But then something happened. I…depressed myself with my own plot. Which has never really happened before. I do get very emotional with my stories, but I usually kinda…like it. We like to feel. And I love when I feel deeply over my novels. But this time, everything was so ridiculously sad, it actually made some cracks in my stony author’s heart.

And I realized…spending 30+ days straight in a depressing story may not be a good thing. If I was writing this slow, and not immersing myself in it during every. waking. hour. for a whole month, I doubt the dark side of it would have bothered me. I like how dark and emotional it is, I don’t want to change that. I think it really brings out the themes. BUT, it may have been a bit much for a NaNo novel. Because this is, without a doubt, my darkest book I’ve ever written. My other stories have some prettyyy emotional things, but I have to say Kings Bleed Gold won as far as deep, heartbreaking themes and a constant flow of sad circumstances. Eheheh. Hurray? XD

But seriously, I don’t regret writing it like that. This is a story I felt needed to be told, and I’m pretty happy with the outcome. Buuut I’m thinking for something like NaNo, where it’s filling my days and thoughts and life for a complete 30 days, writing something a liiiittle lighter may be better? Or at least not writing something super dark every year. I’m already considering a much more light-hearted and super fun idea I’ve had for a while for next NaNo. *griiiins*

Overall though? I really, really love this story. It definitely has not been the easiest to write, and it’s going to need a lot of work, but it really is a story I want to tell. It’s been a pleasure watching Midas go from bratty prince to hero. Seeing Korinna overcome her debilitating fears and taking a stand. And rooting Syram on as he finds his place in the world. It’s been a journey for sure, and I have no regrets writing it. Every single story is going to cause hard days, long days, stressful days. But, in the end, writing them is always, always worth it.

But enough of my blabbers! Onto the fun stuff!

 

STATS

 

My final NaNo ‘18 stats.

- Number of Days I Wrote: 30! I managed to write every single day this November. Some NaNos I’m able to do that, some I’m deeefinitely not, but I’m always happy when I can. Despite some insanity, I actually didn’t struggle to find writing time most days this month, which was definitely a happy surprise. And it proved to me I can make time for writing every day if I put effort into it.

- Wordiest Day: November 1st with 7,031 words

- Least Wordiest Day: November 10th with 566 words

- Number of Character Deaths: BWAHAHAHAHA!!!

- Hit 50k On: Day 13!

- Hit 100k On: Day 28! (Yes, I did a double NaNo because sanity? pssshhh. Who needs it?)

Total Words Written: 107,280 words

 

SNIPPETS

So many of you sweet people actually kept requesting snippets. Like…of my messy, ridiculous novel. Just SDKJF:LJSD:LJF. I AM HONORED. I kept telling you I’d try to share more and…HERE WE ARE! Just remember I wrote 107k words in 30 days of no sleep so yeah. These are nooot exactly New York Times bestseller worthy. Or even sharing-on-my-little-blog worthy but here we are.

 

A mock cover I made just for funsies.

 

First up is one of Midas and Syram’s first conversations (because Syram).

“Are you a slave? I mean, is everyone here a slave?”

“Everyone?” He raised an eyebrow. “Of course not.”

Hope fluttered in Midas’ chest. “Really? Who’s not a slave?”

“The dragons.”

He groaned as the hope instantly deflated. Was this person serious? His name was becoming more and more fitting by the second. “Of course they’re not, but what about the people?”

“Oh them? Yes, they’re slaves.”

“Where in Ellador even are we?”

“Beneath.”

He furrowed his brow. “Beneath what?”

“Ellador. Well, somewhere in the west of Ellador I think.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” He mind spun. “Do you mean to tell me this place is underground?”

The man cocked his head again and looked at him as if he was the strange one. “Naturally. Where else would dragons live? The sun is poison to them you know. Well…for now. But I better get going. I doubt they’d be happy if they found me here. Goodbye.”

“No, wait!” But it was too late. The man was already down the tunnel and climbing right off…the edge? Was there a ladder of some kind there? He called to the man again, but his wild head of hair and leather cap had already disappeared from view.

 

And part of Midas and Korinna’s first conversation.

“It’s nice to meet you, Midas.” The genuine warmth in her tone startled him.

“Is it? No one else seems to think so.”

“Well.” She moved her gaze toward the fire where most of the slaves had gathered to eat and talk amongst themselves, though they didn’t seem too busy to shoot Midas a nasty look every now and again. “You’re our worst nightmare, really.”

He almost choked. “Oh, well that makes me feel better,” he said, coughing up bits of fish.

“Sorry.” Her eyes sparked with a hint of amusement, but the moment was fleeting and her tone dropped again. “It’s just we have hoped for so long the dragons would never reach their goal. We were encouraged when the gold in the mines seemed to run out. But now that you’re here…” They locked eyes, and that strength he had seen in her seemed to seep out, leaving nothing but pure terror. “I fear it will only be a matter of weeks.”

Syram and Korinna were obviously making Midas feel very comfortable with this whole enslaved-by-dragons thing. *cough, cough*

 

“The earth-shaking roar of a dragon startled him awake. “Get to work!” The dragon’s cry echoed through the sleeping quarters like a boom of thunder.

Midas squinted at the gold light now gleaming from the threads. It was day time already? But didn’t he just get to sleep? They couldn’t possibly expect him to get up already. But judging by the sounds of men shifting out of their cots and clumps of feet on ladders and stone, they did.

He really, really, really hated dragons.

 

“Things were looking brighter. At least as bright as being enslaved by dragons below the earth and aiding them in bringing the end of the world could be.

 

“His other source of companionship was Syram, who, unlike Korinna, lingered on the farm for long amounts of time and often aided Midas in his tasks. The man was utterly fascinated by the upper world, and asked Midas a hundred questions a day about his life there. He didn’t mind a bit talking about his kingdom and, odd though the man was, welcomed the company. It helped distract him from his own thoughts.

One day, he was sitting outside the stone building and pulling feathers out of a dead chicken (not his favorite task) with five more piled up, when the redhead bounced down the path to him, a book in hand. He plopped down in front of Midas with a grin.

“I thought I’d entertain you today.”

Midas stared wide-eyed at the enormous volume in the man’s lap. “Where did you get that?”

“The dragons’ library,” he said matter-of-factly.

“They have a library?” His mind whirled.

“Of course. The dragons love knowledge.”

“But where do they get the books?”

“Mmm…” He looked up, scratching his head. “They steal them a lot. Dragons do like collecting things, you know. They go above at night quite often to take things.”

“Including people,” Midas murmured.

 

Syram has a knack for dragging Midas on crazy escapades…

“It looks safe,” Syram whispered. “Come on, quick.” He lowered the plank off the ledge, looped the part of the rope around the hook and held the other end. Then he hopped on and pulled at the rope, keeping the plank from plummeting.

Midas’ heart skipped. “What are you doing?”

Now Syram’s impish grin made an appearance. “I’ve done it tons of times. Though usually I’m by myself, so you better keep a good grip on the rope too. Once we’re both on, we’ll slowly lower ourselves.”

“This is insane.”

Syram cast a nervous glance behind him at the guard dragon. “We need to go.”

With a huff, Midas reached down and took the end of the rope Syram held to keep the plank steady. He took a deep breath, held his foot out, and stepped onto the plank behind Syram. It jerked down, nearly throwing him off his feet, and the rope slipped between their fingers. “Whoa!” He snagged it tight and they halted. The plank rocked underneath them.

“Shhh,” Syram hissed.

He gritted his teeth, more concerned about falling to his death than keeping quiet.

“All right, on the count of three loosen your grip, then grab hold of it again. One, two—”

“Wait but.”

“Three.”

Midas grunted as both their weight tugged on his arms. Slowly, heart pounding, he loosened his hold. The plank shot down as the rope slid across his gloves. With a yelp, he snagged it again, but Syram did as well, and they lurched to a halt.

Syram tossed a grin over his shoulder. “See? It’s easy. Ready to go again?”

“Not really.”

“One, two, three.”

Midas loosened his finger despite himself, and his stomach flopped as they jerked down farther, but now he was getting the hang of it. After four more session, the plank plunked to the ground. Breaths heavy and arms sore, he stumbled to the earth. “This better be extremely important.”

“Very. Come on.” Syram dashed down the path, ducking in the shadows of the hills.

Groaning, Midas hurried after him.

 

Introducing Princess Ahleri (and her odd pet) of my African inspired kingdom. I only just met her officially at the tail end of November and may totally love her. XD

“Something black and white hurtled toward Midas’ face. He cried out and snatched it from the air before it made contact, but even as he held the wriggling thing before his eyes, he couldn’t comprehend what it was. At first appearance, it seemed to be a white rabbit with black tipped ears and specks along its lower back. But that wouldn’t account for the wings sprouting from its back and three tails. Its wings and tails, too, were tipped with black. It wrinkled its noise and made chirping noises as it continued to writhe in his grip.

“Suru! What do you think you’re doing?”

He pulled the odd rabbit down just as two young woman bustled into the room through a door to the left. One was the young female warrior who had escorted them to the castle. The other appeared a year or two younger than him. Dark hair piled atop her head in a haggard up-do and a smudge of something black streaked across her cheek. Her robe resembled the Queen’s in style, but had patterns of green and brown, save for the stain of black across the front. She wore no jewelry, and rough leather gloves covered her hands.

“I’m so sorry about that!” She ran up to Midas and took the winged-rabbit and held it up to eye level. “Will you please behave?”

Queen Malkaya cleared her throat.

The young woman snapped her head up and seemed to notice Midas for the first time. “Oooh, are you him? The one that can turn things to gold?” Her mouth spread into a delighted smile, and that’s when he saw the resemblance, and it took him by surprise. Was this Queen Malkaya’s…daughter?”

“I am,” he said slowly, offering a slight bow.

She gasped and scowled back down at the winged-rabbit. “See what could have happened, Suru? You could have become a gold statue to stick on the mantel.” The rabbit just squeaked. Rolling her eyes, she placed the creature on her shoulder. It clung there obediently, eyeing Midas with enormous black eyes.

Queen Malkaya stepped forward. “Midas, Korinna, Syram, this is my daughter Ahleri.”

So she was a princess. Amusement tugged his lips up. Her appearance reminded him of the days he and Nikolas would come into the castle after one of their “adventures”, tracking in mud and their clothes ripped, much to Mother’s chagrin. “It is an honor to meet you, Princess Ahleri.”

“Oh, you as well!” Despite her rather disheveled appearance, she curtsied with all the grace of her mother, and grinned wide. “Can I see you turn something to gold? It sounds fascinating!”

“Ahleri, dear, this really isn’t the time,” the Queen said in a long-suffering tone.

 

“Ahleri handed the book to Syram, whose grin reached all the way across his face. “Thank you,” he breathed, holding it on top of his other book.

“I think we have more like that in the library,” she said.

He snapped his eyes up from the book at this. “Library?”

Midas shared a grin with Korinna. The keyword to Syram’s happiness.

Syram, a man of my own heart.

 

“I’m going to fix this,” Midas said, and he meant it with every bit of strength in his being. “If I leave, the dragons will just come searching for me again, so I’m going to stop them. Forever.”

Korinna’s brow furrowed. “How?”

“I highly doubt any person on Ellador will be too happy to hear that there is a horde of dragons right under their feet, just waiting to rise up, block the sun, and take reign. And so I’m going to rally forces, all the forces I can across Ellador. And we are going to fight.”

Slowly, Korinna rose to her feet, as did Syram, and the looks on their faces fueled his determination like a burning fire. Hope. He had given them hope.

“Syram.” He held his hand out.

Wordlessly, the man dropped his golden rock into his palm, but a smile crept across his face, and Midas smiled too.

“Let’s get me up on that pillar. It’s time to make a war.”

 

And there we go! I’m honestly proud I managed to find so many lighthearted ones. XD (And, yes, I may have just picked ones featuring Syram. *cough*)

 

CONCLUSION

Despite some bumps in the road, I had a wonderful time this NaNo. I was talking with some of my NaNo-ing buddies and one of them asked us to describe this NaNo in one word. It took me a minute to think of a single word, because this NaNo had so much. And then I realized, that was the answer right there. FULL. I’d describe this NaNo as full. Full of hard days, full of amazing days, full of all around cRaZy days, full of sleepless nights, full of emotions good and bad, full of words. Just very, very full in every sense of the word.

I think that’s what makes NaNo so special. It is an experience, and though sometimes it’ll make you want to pull your hair out and wonder whyyyyy you took on such a ridiculous challenge, in the end, the memories made, lessons learned, good writing habits formed, and novels created is invaluable.

I’d definitely call my 9th NaNoWriMo a success. I’m already looking forward to next year!

Buuut we’re not quite through with the NaNo talk yet. Yeeeah. You guys are gonna have to put up with it for just a bit longer, because next Monday I’ll be posting the 3rd and final installment of the Know the Novel linkup! And will hopefully be answering questions about it for Kings Bleed Gold soon after. Hope you don’t mind!

But seriously. Sooooo many of you have been cheering me on, encouraging me, praying for me, and just all around being a huge, huge, huge blessing to me through this crazy venture. I am utterly grateful for your friendship. I love my internet community so, SO much! Thank you for being the most supportive, enthusiastic friends in the world! <333

Also, I have to give out a huge CONGRATS to alllll of you who participated in NaNo. I watched so many of you conquer those words, carve time out of some craaazy days to write, and do insanely amazing feats to get those words on the page. I’m so beyond proud of ALL my writing buddies. And whether you hit that 50k mark or not, you WROTE. You took the initiative to get words on the page, even when it was hard, and that is the greatest accomplishment of all. I’M SO PROUD OF YOU GUYS! CONGRATULATIONS!!! Now go, take a nap, say hi to your family, eat some well-deserved Christmas cookies, CELEBRATE, because IT’S DECEMBER AND WE MADE IT TO THE FINISH LINE!

 

TALK WITH ME!

If you made it through this beast of a post, you get another congratulations! Now TELL ME EVERYTHING. How was your NaNo??? Because I MUST KNOW. How was your November? Are you excited it’s December? (I AM. *cranks up the Christmas music…even though I’ve been listening to it since the beginning of November #NOSHAME*) Let’s discuss all the things!

NaNoWriMo ‘18 Week Four: Involving Ballets, a Ton of Turkey, and Crying

Um. So this will be my last post for the month of November. NaNoWriMo will be over by next Monday. We’re less than a week away from the end. WHAT EVEN WHAT????

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like my novel will be even sort of over by the end of the month. I thiiink I can finish it within the first week or two of December, buuut unless some magical writing fairy takes over my body for the rest of the week (I mean, if you know of one I’m hiring) I’m like 99.9% sure it ain’t gettin’ done by the end of this month. I bring this upon myself…

I am hoping to wrack in some serious words this coming week, but this last week was the least wordy one of the month. Between Thanksgiving, work, and just general life-ness, my crazed writing self had to take a serious chill-pill and just scrape out words when I could. Ah well, I probably needed a week where I wasn’t forcing out 5k a day. Eheheh. And I also seriously failed to keep up with aaanything. So if you’ve sent me an email or commented on a post or sent a direct message somewhere on social media or know me in person and wonder if I’m still even alive, I’M SORRY. I am in fact alive…maybe. I could be a ghost typing this. Wild things happen during NaNo. *shifty eyes* Ahem, aaanyways.

It was actually a good week! Just…full.

 

NANO ‘18 WEEK FOUR

 

MONDAY: DAY #19

As I mentioned in a previous post, Mondays are usually dedicating to doing much needed cleaning and social media-ing, not leaving much room for writing, though I was determined to get in 2k this day. Which I managed! And writing ended up going really fast and fun this day, so that was a blessing.

Because, well, Mondays are…Mondays. We gotta take what little victories we can, amiright?

WORDS WRITTEN: 2,020

 

TUESDAY: DAY #20

This was a good day! Not so much for my wordcount, buuut my sister and I went to see a ballet production of The Snow Queen, which just happens to be one of my favorite fairytales (and one I realize I don’t talk about nearly enough). And I LOVE ballet so yeah, I WAS PSYCHED. Most of the day was spent getting ready for it and then going that evening.

It was such a fun production! We very much enjoyed ourselves. And I needed that. I fear I’ve been so busy writing, I’ve sort of been starving myself of entertainment. Going to a fun ballet based on a fairytale I love was just the inspiration I needed. It filled up my poor, nearly empty creative tank and made me anxious to get back to writing. Except I had work the next day and we got home late so I didn’t get to write until Wednesday evening buuut still. It was good to go out and soak up some entertainment.

WORDS WRITTEN: 2,006

 

WEDNESDAY: DAY #21

Like I said, I had work this day, but it was a quiet day, which allowed me time to devour my review copy of Falling Snow by Skye Hoffert. This is the first novella in Rooglewood’s Five Poisoned Apples Snow White retelling anthology (well that was a mouthful). I got the utter DELIGHT of being an influencer reader of Falling Snow and aaaahhhhhh, GUYS. I LOVED IT SO MUCH. You can read my flaily review on GoodReads (and add the book to your TBR while you’re there *wink, wink* *nudge, nudge*). The book releases DECEMBER 1ST. SO CLOOOSE!!!! I am a bit excited, if you can’t tell.

ANYWAYS. I have a confession to make… I, erm, have not read anything since NaNo started. Yeah. I went 20 days without reading. o.o Remember how I said I’ve been starving myself of entertainment? Yepppp. And I should probably read more during NaNo than I do any other month, because I always write better and am more inspired to write the more I’m reading. Yet, every NaNo, without fail, I end up hardly picking up a single book. Nine NaNos and I still haven’t learned my lesson. Someonehelpme.

All that to say, getting to just sit down and read for a while was gloooorious. And I LOVED THAT NOVELLA SO VERY MUCH. I was in a good mood all the rest of the day after reading it, and between it and the ballet the night before, I was so ready to write. I didn’t get a whole lot written because I was pretty tired, but I was happy with what I got.

WORDS WRITTEN: 2,004

 

THURSDAY: DAY #22

THANKSGIVING! Except…we kind of had to postpone our official Thanksgiving dinner to Sunday so we could all have it together because plans got complicated, as they do. So this was actually a pretty quiet day, and I, at last, got to spend a good amount of time focused on writing instead of throwing words down in between activities like all the rest of the week. And I really enjoyed my writing session this day!

Despite having a way too ridiculously long, detailed outline, I’m still very much discovering things about my story as I write. That old pantser in me is still there, I think, because I just can’t always see the full picture and every detail until I’m sitting down writing it.

Well, this day I made a very exciting discovery that made so many things suddenly click into place and make way more sense. Which is the BEST. You gotta love when your story just magically solves some holes itself, and that happened this day.

‘Twas a good writing day and I was pleased!

I mean, this new discovery made Midas even more miserable than he already was buuut, ya know, that’s basically the nature of this entire book. If I haven’t ended the day without making Midas’ life even worse than I left it, it doesn’t feel like a proper writing day.

 

Me @ my character daily.
(Except the days I stab them.)

WORDS WRITTEN: 3,550

 

FRIDAY: DAY #23

I took it a little easier this day to hang out with my family (something I haven’t made much time for since, ya know, #NaNoWriMo), do a little online Black Friday shopping, and I put together my review of Falling Snow. Plus I was pretty tired and not feeling as motivated as I’d like. All that together ended in not a huge wordcount. But I kept reminding myself I need a break sometimes and to get things done that aren’t writing (I know, craziness!).

But, in the end, once I started writing I got so into it, it ended up being one of the most immersive, enjoyable, emotional writing sessions I’ve had all month. Maybe taking it easy during the first part of the day paid off???? (Once again, I know I should take more breaks and feed my creativity often during NaNo, but do I ever actually listen to reason? Psssshhh. Of course not.)

But GUYS. My Midas bby is growing up. *wipes away tear* This was the day he truly started seeing the light and realizing allll the mistakes he had made. It was painful, because, again, his life just seems to get worse by the day, but I’m proud of my broken, emotionally unstable child whom I’ve totally destroyed. :’)

WORDS WRITTEN: 1,686

 

SATURDAY: DAY #24

I had work again this day, but got off at 2, so went home, grabbed some coffee, and pounded out 1k words. Then I helped my mom and sister prep some food for our late-Thanksgiving dinner we were going to have the next day. I didn’t really get to go back to writing until after supper but oohoooo. I just thought the previous day’s writing was emotional.

This time I cried. Like, genuine tears in my eyes CRYING. See? I’m not completely heartless all the time. But it was such a painful and yet at the same time sweet scene and alkdjfljaldf. I love my bbys. <3 And I may feel a teeny tiiiiny bit bad about what I’ve been putting them through lately. *cough, cough, cough*

This was a good writing day despite not having much time to write (and I also ended up putting together most of this here blog post this night lol).

WORDS WRITTEN: 2,684

 

SUNDAY: DAY #25

The week ended with stretchy pants and stringed lights. Because this day not only did we do our official Thanksgiving meal (turkeeeeyyyy), but we also put up the CHRISTMAS TREE! So most of the day was spent cooking and decorating the tree, and it was a happy affair all around. Decorating for Christmas is my faaave. I turn into Buddy from Elf every single time.

I didn’t think I’d get much writing (if any) done this day, but after supper I tackled my novel with full-force and ended up having so. much. fun. that I had a full chapter finished before I knew it. I actually ended up writing a rather happy scene for the first time since, like, chapter 1… *cough* And it was a nice break after all the depression and doom. Squealing may have been involved. (I get a little over enthused while writing sometimes. Eheh.) But yes, yesterday was just a good day.

WORDS WRITTEN: 3,210

Total Words Written: 17,160

(The least I’ve written in a week so far, but I went in this week knowing I wouldn’t have much time to write. I should be happy I got anything written!)

I finished chapter 24 last night and ended the week with 88,210 words. Annnd I’ve got 11 more chapters to go and probably about…40k more words left. Eheheh. Yeeeah. But I’m getting there!

And with the end of chapter 24 I also reached the third section of my novel where things shift and change and begin to lead up to the climax and I AM PUMPED. I’m basically looking forward to all the next scenes, so that’s gonna help keep me going in this homestretch.

CONCLUSION

It’s funny, every day was quite nice of this week, but my dumb, overachieving, workaholic self kept feeling disappointed in what I didn’t accomplish. How I couldn’t keep up with things and couldn’t ever seem to get more than 2k words in a day almost all week when, uh, that’s over the daily wordcount NaNo suggests doing. I HAVE A PROBLEM, and I know it. I also have the worst tendency in competing with myself, and last week I wrote 10k more words than this one and that bothered me.

By the end of the week I had to take a deep breath and look at everything I did do, and remember the fact that I wasn’t slacking off this week or being lazy, I just genuinely was busy, and I did write when I could. And that’s the key there, to all of NaNo. It’s not really about that wordcount. It’s about forming a habit of making time for your writing even when there’s no time to be found. If this week was not a NaNo week, I probably wouldn’t have put aside a single part of any of the days to work on my writing. But NaNo pushed me to find time.

And as far as having to continue writing in December. That’s not exactly a death sentence. I’m loving this story and characters, I should be celebrating that I get to spend a little extra time with them than I thought!

So if you’re looking at that calendar and thinking, “How in the name of Cheez-Its am I going to make the word goal by the end of the month???” It’s OKAY. If you’ve written something, anything, this month and have set aside time in your crazy life for your novel, YOU HAVE WON. You have made progress on your novel and on your dream. Don’t let some word goal take away that victory and joy. And just because that calendar will soon switch to a new month, it doesn’t mean your story is suddenly gone. It’ll still be waiting and ready whenever you’re ready to keep writing it.

So onward! Let’s give this final week the best we have and celebrate whatever that is by the end of it. See you all at the finish line!

 

TALK WITH ME!

CAN YOU BELIEVE NANO IS ALMOST OVER????? I’m pretty sure October was yesterday so yeah. How was your Thanksgiving for my fellow Americans? How’s this week of writing gone for the NaNo-ers? And how has everyone’s week been? I want to hear ALL. BEST WISHES TO YOU NANO-ERS. WE’RE GONNA ROCK THIS FINAL WEEK!

Know the Novel Part 2 - Within Kings Bleed Gold {NaNoWriMo 2018}

WE. ARE. OVER. HALFWAY. THROUGH. NANOWRIMO. Not that I’m freaking out. Noooo. Buthowdidthishappenhalp.

I had a prettyyy awesome week. A thing may have happened on the 13th…

I HIT 50K WORDS!!!!

This means I’ve officially participated and won 9 NaNos in a row and just…what is my life? (Answer: I have no life.) I hit 50k on the 13th last year too, so see? 13 is most certainly not unlucky. I also managed to write almost 27k this week because, again, no life, and am now at 71k words on my novel!

BUT. This week, instead of doing a day-by-day update, I’m going to be participating in my Know the Novel linkup! If you missed it, this is a 3-part linkup, one for each of these last 3 months of the year, geared toward writers. In October we introduced our novels, and this month the linkup is all about how the writing is going! It runs until the end of November, so if you want to join in (you shooould) you can find the questions and linkup HERE!

I’ll, of course, be answering questions about my NaNo novel, Kings Bleed Gold, so let’s get to it!

WITHIN THE WRITING
OF KINGS BLEED GOLD

 

1.) How’s the writing going?

Well? Good? Great? I don’t know???

Sleep has become a foreign thing, I’ve consumed so much coffee and tea I probably have sugar running through my veins, I’m writing half a NaNo’s amount of words weekly, am super behind on things like replying to blog comments (I’m so sorry, guys, but I will respond when I can snag a minute!), annnd I’ve destroyed Midas’ life at least 27 times over at this point.

Basically? AWESOME. I am extremely sleep deprived and a little overwhelmed by how massive my story is proving to be. (I’m estimating it to be around 130k??? I may die.) But, at the same time, I’m so enjoying being immersed in this storyworld.

I just hit the halfway point Saturday where eeeeerything changes, and I’m really excited about writing the next half. So much drama and deliciously emotional scenes. Bwahahaha! And it’s nice to have the story shift on me and get into some new scenery and happenings.

So overall, the writing is going really smoothly. I feel like the story is a mess and I’ve already discovered some plot holes that will need to be fixed during revision. But hey, that’s why we write first drafts. Gotta figure this stuff out and get it all on the page so then it can later be rearranged.

I do wish the story was shorter, but still. I’m loving this wild journey of writing it! I haven’t first drafted anything since last NaNo, and I almost forgot the joy of just vomiting words on a page.

 

2.) What’s been the most fun aspect about writing this novel so far?

Everybody say it with me now…

THE CHARACTERS!!! (I’m so predictable.)

Midas amuses me endlessly because he’s got such a quick temper and can be a total brat, but at the same time he really does mean well. Korinna both breaks my heart with the pain and fear she lives with everyday, but also inspires me with her heart for people and strength of never giving up. And then there’s my preciousest, softest, cinnamon roll-y-est child Syram who keeps pulling Midas into crazy schemes and I adore him.

They’re fun individually, but what I really like is the dynamics between each of them. Their growing friendship has been a blast to write, and it just makes me happy.

I’m also really enjoying the magic system, and how it has to be used with blood and gold. I’ve never written anything like that before. It’s been a super fun concept to play with.

Also dragons. Because DRAGONS.

I’m kind of loving all the aspects??? I guess that’s a good sign!

 

3.) Has your novel surprised you in any way?

My characters have actually surprised me! Like…all of them. Which is a surprise in and of itself, because I usually know my characters pretty well before they even hit the page.

I’ve already mentioned in a previous post how much Midas is surprising me. Because I was expecting a jerk, but instead I’m getting a charismatic, kindhearted guy who’s just bratty and immature because, well, he’s a teenage prince who can turn anything into gold. Obviously that's gonna cause some repercussions on his character. I also had no idea he’d have such a temper. And it amuses me greatly, even though it’s getting him in a loooootttt of trouble. Eheheheh.

Korinna’s character is far more complex than I realized (which I’m not complaining about). Every time I peel back one layer of emotions, there’s yet another underneath. It’s actually been fascinating.

Syram is even more precious than I expected, but I didn’t realize just how quiet he was. So far he hasn’t had an excess of lines, and when he does speak it’s usually short sentences. I kind of thought he may be a rambler, but nope. He’s a quiet one. But it makes sense. He internalizes everything and has a lot going on inside his head that he usually isn’t too keen on sharing. Naturally he’d be a quiet little dude. Isn’t it crazy how your characters just become there own? Writing is weird. And the best.

Then I have a couple of antagonists who also aren’t turning out like I thought. I won’t say much because #spoilers but I thought I had their motives pinned but now? I’M QUESTIONING EVERYTHING.

I seriously think this is the most surprising cast I have ever written. But…I kind of love it. It’s been so fun getting to know them and having all these unexpected surprises pop up. Goes to show, even if you write a 16k-word outline, do a lot of worldbuilding, and create ridiculously detailed character bios, you really never know what’s going to happen until you get those words on the page.

 

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

Lololol. Oh look, another excuse to squeal about my character! *griiiins*

I guess technically I’ve already answered this in question #2. I’m basically in love with all my characters. I feel closest to Midas because the majority of the time we’ve been in his POV, but, I mean…Syram. *cough*

Again, though, I really like their dynamics. Midas and Syram have formed a delightfully fun bromance, and Midas’ and Korinna’s relationship is complex and beautiful and painful and yeah wow. It’s giving me feels. Iloveit.

 

5.) 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?

Why would I even ask this absurdly hard question?

Ugh. I don’t know. All the characters are so wildly different from my personality. It’s kind of hilarious how rarely I make my characters anything like me.

Normal Writers: “I put a piece of me in all of my characters.”
Me: “Eh. They just popped in my head and do what they want. I have no claim on any of my wild children.”

Honestly, out of my main three—Midas, Korinna, and Syram—I relate to Midas the most…which is probably bad, but yeah. Would I do anything differently? Mmm…I think I'd be way too frightened to constantly yell and challenge the ferocious dragons who could swallow me whole. I’d be a coward, but I’d be a smart coward, instead of a brave fool like Midas. He’s seriously so stupid sometimes I can’t even…

Also, if I was Midas I’d cry every day over the fact that I could never properly pet a cat or dog ever again since, ya know, everything he touches turns to gold.

Kittens > Infinite Riches

 

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

Oh, gracious. The writing is an atrocity. I keep thinking about sharing snippets on social media but…mlgh. Let’s see if I can find something that’s not totally embarrassing.

Here’s the opening scene:

“Midas patted the top of the gold encrusted head of his younger brother.

“One fortnight, Nikolas. Just one more fortnight and I’ll be eighteen. Then I can take my place on the throne and after that…” He grinned just thinking of all the excitement ahead. “Oh, there are so many things after that. Chrysafel is going to be the most powerful kingdom in history. Just you wait and see.”

Of course, the boy didn’t reply. Gold statues in general weren’t prone to talking.

 

One with Korinna:

“You really are a prince, aren’t you?”

He glanced over to find Korinna watching him, a curious look in her gaze. “Well, yes. But why do you say that now?”

She shrugged and focused back on the path ahead. “You have a knack for getting people to do what you want them to.”

He pressed his hand against his chest, and pulled in a mock gasp. “Are you saying I’m pushy?”

Though she kept her eyes ahead, a hint of a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “Maybe. But it’s more than that. You know how to take charge of a situation and get things done efficiently—all things needed in a good leader, I would think.”

“A good leader?” Hearing the words come from her lips stirred something in his chest. That had always been his goal, to be the best leader Chrysafel could ever ask for. He thought he was doing it too, but now… He cleared his throat, shoving away those thoughts. “Well, there’s really nothing to getting people to do what you want them to. You just have to not let them shove you around. But the main thing is to give them a reason to take action, a motivation more than just being told what to do. I’d say not being eaten by a bunch of overgrown lizards is a pretty good motivator.”

 

Annnd one with Syram, because Syram:

“Midas, Midas. Wake up.”

“Crlmblgh.”

“Miii-daaas. Come on!”

The sing-song voice dug into his groggy brain and he dragged his eyes open. Syram’s grinning face hovered inches from his own. He cried out and scrambled up so fast his head smashed into the rock wall above.

“Syram!” He mentally cursed the man as he rubbed the forming bump on his head. “Don’t startle me like that. Or get so close! What if I had accidentally touched you?”

The redhead, now leaning back on his heels at the foot of the gold cot, merely shrugged.

“What are you even doing here?”

This brought out his grin again. “I wanted to show you something.”

“Now? It’s the middle of the night.”

“Exactly. They’re only awake during the night hours.”

“What are?”

“Will you two shut up!” someone hissed from one of the lower concaves, followed by multiple annoyed agreements.

“The things I want to show you, of course,” Syram said, as if he hadn’t even noticed the shouts.

Midas groaned and massaged his eyes. “I don’t know, Syram. I’m really tired.”

“Oh.” The excitement in his voice faltered. “I just thought it might cheer you up. You’ve seemed…quieter lately. Sadder.”

He pulled down his hand at this to study the man before him. Syram had noticed his change in mood? Not only that, but he was making an effort to help him. He blew out a long sigh. “All right. Let’s go.”

Instantly the grin returned, and he scooted out of the concave, hopped onto the ladder, and was already halfway down by the time Midas had untangled himself from the blanket.

 

7.) Have you come across any problem areas?

Well, there’s the fact that it’s. so. massive. Remember how I decided to make this just book #1 of a duology or trilogy instead of a standalone? I thought that decision would make it shorter but AHAHAHAHAH. Nope. I’m like 93% sure I’m going to have to continue writing it through some of December if I want to finish it, which is kind of depressing. But here we are. Maybe one day I’ll write a short book for NaNo… (Why are you laughing?)

I’ve also been suddenly having the hardest time finding clever action beats. I feel like I’ve said “she smiled” like 48 times. I don’t know where my brain is, but it sure ain’t here. Thank goodness editing is a thing!

As far as the actual story. Mmm… I guess I have found a few holes in my plot that will need fixing, and I’m not sure I’ve elaborated well on some backstory and how certain things work. Mainly because it’s so complicated, and weaving it organically into the story is hurting my brain. One of these days, not only will I write a short book for NaNo, but it’ll be a simple story. (Seriously, why do you keep laughing?)

 

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

Hitting 50k words was certainly a happy moment!

I was also really pleased when I fiiinally nailed Midas’ character down. Now I’m so deep in his head (being as how I spend hours there a day), it’s funny to even think about those first days where he was a mystery to me.

And I’m ecstatic to have made it to the big halfway point moment. I’ve been loving the story, but I was anxiously waiting to get to this part. I seriously can’t wait for all the upcoming scenes!

 

9.) Be honest, have you killed any characters off yet?

Aherm…her…herm…hem.

People maaay have already been dying by chapter 2. And if that doesn’t indicate what kind of book this is, I don’t know what will.

 

10.) Take us on a tour of a what a normal writing day for this particular novel has looked 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!

LOL. I basically write everywhere with no exact pattern to speak of. Every day has just been a mad dash of words every chance I can get.

Usually I don’t really get started until after lunch. I get some coffee and start writing, and don’t stop much until I’ve gotten 2k words written. I pretty much never let myself update my wordcount on the NaNo site until I’ve gotten in that first 2k. Once I reach that, I update my wordcount, take a bit of a break, then dive back in (after the first 2k, I’m allowed to update my wordcount every 1k words, it’s the little things that keep us motivated, amiright?). And I just…write. I write in the big comfy chair in my room, I write on the floor, I’ve been going out to sit on the porch a whole lot. And yes, I’m drinking coffee, lattes, and tea allll throughout the day.

I mostly write alone, though my sister and I have been writing together some because she’s doing NaNo too. And I definitely play music, can’t write without it. I’m always either listening to my Kings Bleed Gold playlist or songs from the Skyrim soundtrack.

I often end up writing all the way up to midnight, but that’s my cutoff line. I hate updating my wordcount after midnight because then it’ll count as the next day’s words and, er, I’m a little OCD and can’t stand that. But then, once it’s midnight, I usually end up checking all the social media and things I completely ignored during the day because I was too busy writing, and don’t end up in bed until 1 in the morning (I usually go to bed around 11:30 during non-NaNo months). Then I get up and do it all over again.

It’s a mess, really. But hey, I’m getting words in, so that’s what counts, right?

 

And there we are! Overall, it’s been a very successful and fun NaNo so far. I am kind of completely exhausted and overwhelmed, but what would NaNo be without sleep depravity and questioning life’s choices?

But it’s always worth it. I’m having a good time and, by the end of all the insanity, I’ll have another finished draft under my belt. I’ve still got a bit of a road ahead of me, but I hope to take it all the way.

Now excuse me while I go make another pot of coffee…

Don’t forget you can answer these questions yourself and join the linkup HERE!!!

 

TALK WITH ME!

YOUR TURN. Tell me some victories you’ve had this NaNo! Can you believe we are over halfway done with November??? How has your November been so far? And I do hope all my fellow Americans have the happiest of happy Thanksgivings! <3