Beautiful Books – in which I talk about my NaNo novel

Beautiful Books is hosted by Cait @ Notebook Sisters and Sky @ Further Up and Further In.

Be honest: how is your writing going?

IT’S GOING QUITE WELL. I just want to finish it at this point, though. November is a CRAZY busy month.

What’s your first sentence/paragraph?

Caution: swearing.

It’s weird how many F-words I’m using in this novel. I don’t even say it in real life.

Do you have a book cover, and/or pictures that reflect your book?

I DO NOW.

Okay so this is the worst thing ever created, but it’s got a bear, so that’s nice. Actually, I’m not even sure why I called it Grizzly.

That’s what second drafts are for, though, right?

 

 

 

 

Do you have pictures of each of your characters? If not, describe them for us! (Be as descriptive as you can.)

I’m going to refer you to my Pinterest board.

What scene are you most excited to write?

The end one. Mostly because I want it finished.

But weirdly enough I like writing the sad scenes. And also the scenes with Crispin (who is hilarious).

Share a snippet or a scene that you really enjoyed writing.

I’ve shared SO many snippets, and I’m running out of funny parts, but if you insist.

Now that you’re writing, have any of the plot details, or the process itself, turned out different from what you planned or imagined?

Yes, lots of things have changed. For instance, I had no idea a particular person was going to die. Every NaNoWriMo is a new experience – last year I wrote about a girl who got homeschooled by her granny, and for some reason there was a talking spider (I DO NOT KNOW WHY SO DON’T ASK). This year I’m staying to the structure, for the most part, but there are still big changes.

Is there a character or aspect of your plot that’s difficult to write?

All the sad stuff is really hard. The old “write what you know” thing has never been as applicable – a lot of it is really personal and that’s difficult, but hopefully it’s more truthful because of that. I don’t think I’ve ever been as invested in a group of characters as I am with writing this one.

What’s your favorite aspect of this novel so far? Favorite character?

I really love Crispin. He brings humour to it when it’s severely lacking. I also love Molly and Winnie’s relationship – they are just SO cute together, seriously. I ship it (is that allowed?).

Have you drawn off of any life experiences or people you know to create your novel and your characters?

Yes! And I’m not saying who or what those people/experiences are (people I know IRL read this blog, guys…I would be killed). But yes, there is a lot of my life in this book, more so than any of the others I’ve written.

Do you have a playlist or certain song for your novel and/or characters?

I do! One word: Birdy.

Her songs fit SO well with what I’m writing that it scares me.

This is the playlist I listened to if you’re curious.

Let’s have some fun for a moment: imagine you are somehow transported into your book’s world. Which character are you most likely to be found hanging out with?

Crispin. Have I said it enough yet? He’s a combination of a couple of characters from manuscripts I’ve shelved, as well as some of my friends in real life. But right now he’s still a bit flat, so in my next drafts I’ll need to work on that.

How do you keep yourself motivated to finish your daily wordcount? (Pinterest? Internet breaks? Chocolate?)

Chocolate for sure.

And also Twitter. Twitter is a BIG help. But I think chocolate helped more.

What’s your favourite writing quote or piece of writing advice?

The fact that THIS guy is a New York Times bestselling author gives me hope.

Also the quote “I give myself permission to suck” (in relation to writing). That’s always been really helpful to me.

How does this book make you feel so far? Are you laughing? Crying? Frustrated?

There have been some almost-tears. Lots of laughter. Some frustration when parts don’t go right. But I just have to keep reminding myself that it’s a first draft – that I can make it better.

And ultimately, first drafts remind me why I love writing, and that’s been a really useful thing for me this month.

How’s NaNoWriMo going for you? Or if you’re not participating – what’s something you’d love to see more of in YA (that maybe NaNo novels this year will provide)?