Know the Novel Part 2

Today I’ve got with me, Part 2 of Know the Novel.

And yes, When the Stars Shine Again is technically a novella, but I’m still doing it. 😆

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1. How’s the writing going overall?

Decently. This has been one of my harder to write projects, but in the past week or so it’s started to pick up speed.

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

The sad scenes.

A few people can attest to the fact that I’m quite mean to my characters… and this story is full of places where I can break their hearts.

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

I love them all. They’ve all definitely grown a ton since I started writing them, and I hope they’ll grow some more as I’m hitting the climax of the story.

My favorite hops back and forth between Zandier and Ronan, and has probably landed on Ronan for right now. They’re both really fun to write, but Ronan’s scenes are soooo cute. I can’t help myself from adding more.

4. Has your novel surprised you in any way?

Yes.

It was originally going to be a short story.

Now the finished draft will be edging into 40,000 words.

5. Have you come across any problem areas?

A few of the bridging chapters have bogged me down, because they are the spots I never have ideas for. Thankfully, I’m past them now, but they did give me a run for my money.

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

Yesterday. I wrote two and a half chapters in almost one sitting, and actually liked them. 😂

7. 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?

That’s hard… 🤔 I’m not as outgoing as Zandier or Ronan, but I’m not quite as withdrawn as Wren. I can definitely see a few parts of Wren and her actions in myself, and quite a few of Zandier’s as well.

I would definitely differ on one or two of the choices they have made. But… I cannot expound. Spoilers.

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

At the dawn of time, there was said to be nothing but darkness…

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Unfortunately, my favorite snippets are packed full of spoilers. But here’s one or two I could find that are fairly free of give-aways.

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“Wait!”

Ronan’s squeaky shout stopped her in her tracks, and before she had a chance to turn fully towards him, his small body crashed into her legs.

“Please don’t go.” He whimpered, grabbing her arm as his lip began to tremble. 

Wren winced, glancing towards the edge of the alleyway before kneeling down beside him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, gently touching his shoulder. “I have to. But… I promise I’ll come back.”

Ronan threw himself at her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Really promise?”  

Wren nodded, returning his embrace and letting herself sink into his arms for one short moment.  Her voice caught, choking as she buried her face in his curls. “I really promise. I won’t leave you here.”

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The Man chuckled, turning slowly and pointing towards the six spires towering over the rest of Ailnirha. “You both remember the Fifth Guild, correct?” 

Wren echoed Zandier’s nod, digging deep down into her memories to bring back the honored names. “The Physician Guild?”

The Man nodded. “And what does a member of the Physician Guild do?”

“They treat the sick.” Zandier ran a finger over his own Guild medallion, furrowing his brow. “They heal those in need.”

“And do they ever go about healing the elves who are perfectly healthy?”

Zandier shook his head with an incredulous snort. “That’s nonsense. The healthy would never allow it.”

The Man nodded again. “It is so with Ailnirha. They are so consumed by their supposed perfection that they are blind to the darkness eating into their souls. They think they are healthy, and why would a physician treat someone who has no ailments?”

Wren frowned, the words slowly sorting themselves out through her head. It made no sense, yet all the sense in the Countries. But what did the Man mean by all of Ailnirha being ill with the darkness? The Mist hadn’t touched them. It was here. In the Unwanted. Tainting her. 

The Man met her eyes, almost as if He had heard her thoughts. “The Mist is not merely a physical darkness. It is an evil that infects the very soul, like an illness would the body.” He gave her a warm smile, His eyes piercing through to what felt like her own soul. “I have come for those who are sick and desperate for healing. The world is ill with the greatest of diseases, and I am the Great Physician.”

9. 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!)

An interesting tidbit…

A few days ago I had some extra time on my hands, so I pushed hard and wrote a full chapter in one day. (A pretty rare occurrence for me.) But… I messed up something when saving the doc, and ended up loosing the entire chapter. 2,000 words and multiple hours of work.

That was absolutely horrid, but it did give me the motivation to push harder. I rewrote almost the full chapter the next day, and almost passed my all-time record for most words in one day. And… of course… after that, I naturally needed to break that record.

So, yesterday, I officially did what I once thought would be impossible, and wrote over 4,000 words in one day.

10. 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!

I usually write in the late afternoon and evening, before and after supper. I love being with people when I write, but if they’re sitting next to me and can see into my doc, the doc gets turned off. 😂

I… get distracted by everything. If I’m not racing myself for a certain word count, I’m most likely not even in my doc anymore. Which… I am working on. 😂 I’ve gotten better at staying focused lately.

And I can’t write without music. Most things distract me, but I need some sort of music in my earbuds if I want to remotely concentrate on my story.