November | A Month for Celebration and Firework Gifs

Happy, almost the month of Christmas, Wordlings!
How was NaNo for all of you who participated? How's university for all my fellow students? For everyone who attempted both, I feel you're exhaustion.
Despite the crazy month, November was actually insanely productive for me and even more rewarding. I'm on a writing high right now which I hope to ride all the way into the new year like a majestic horse (or a motorcycle—we'll see how it goes).

Onwards to the summary! 

My Victories 

1) I won NaNoWriMo! Woohoo!

I officially won on the 18th by sprinting and writing 5k in one day which was pretty tough since that was a school day for me; not to mention that the coming Friday I had two midterms and I paper due. It just goes to show though that it's always possible to find a time to write. On the day I finished, I literally wrote every second I got the chance.
Considering this was my first year of NaNo, I'd say that I did pretty darn well :)

2) Remember that secret project I mentioned? Well I completed that too!
I've only been able to tell a few friends about it so far but I assure you, I'll mentioned it next month since that's when it's been presented.
Currently the project is going through a few people for editing and I'll be attending a meeting regarding it's presentation in the next month. I'm beyond blessed to have this opportunity and can't wait to see how it comes together.

3) Guess who bought herself a daily agenda? This girl! I'm using it specifically for the sake of writing so that my blog and my novels don't fall behind. While it may not seem like a victory, for a procrastinator, it totally is! I'm actually putting money into scheduling and that's a pretty big deal ^ ^

Isn't it cute? And it has little spots to write monthly goals! It's perfect. 

4) Probably the biggest victory of all is that I finished the first draft of "Living City" at 95,310 words :D

This is the first full draft I've actually completed so it's a massive accomplishment and is probably the reason I'm on a writing high right now ^ ^

Nerd Stuff

1) I finished watching Red Data Girl. It's not one I'd recommend to people unless they've run out of decent animes to watch. It was a neat concept but I think there was a lot that needed to be explained that wasn't. Unless of course I just wasn't paying attention XD

2) I'm in the process of reading "The Power of Ten" still. NaNo made it difficult for me to read. Hopefully I can catch up on my reading in December when I finish finals.

3) Currently, I'm following "Norigami Aragato", the second season "Norigami". My friend, Kendall and I are watching it together every week and I love it ^ ^ I'm a huge fan of Norigami and my OTP resides in this anime. There's a lot of squealing and hugging and re-watching clips ^ ^

Upcoming Battles

1) After much debate, I've decided that December will be the month to begin working on the first book of my Crec series. Many people have told me that a change of headspace will be good for me while I wait six very long weeks to beginning my macro edit on "Living City".
So I'm in for some plotting and more writing!

I'm genuinely excited to get back to a story. I feel a little like a lost child in Walmart now that I'm not actively working on a project!
I've begun a little bit of plotting and am finding this story already to be more of a challenge. I'm up for it though. 

2) The completion of the secret project with the meetings and such that I mentioned above will be a battle. Not because I don't want to do it but because it's a project that means a lot to me. I don't want to get so caught up in it that I forget it's meaning. 

3) Final exams. I need to start studying for those right about now....
While my course load isn't a large as most people's I know for a fact that the whole writing thing may pose as a distraction to the whole studying notion. Hopefully I can push my novels aside long enough to care about my GPA.

Future Nerd Stuff

1) Finishing "The Fate of Ten" for sure!

2) At the bookstore I work at, Chapters, the staff all got a book for an early Christmas gift. I got Rick Riodan's new book, "The Sword of Summer". Do you know how excited I am to read this thing!? So freakishly excited! I'll definitely be writing a review for it either in late December or early January.

Can we take a moment to admire this amazing cover? Sometimes I just stare at it...no lie XD

While not a lot happened this month, the stuff that did happen turned out to be pretty big and definitely worthy of all the fireworks! I'm beyond excited to take on the next month and then after that, the next year and the year after that and—well let's just start with December for now ;)

Thank you to all my readers and a special thanks to the commenters who make my day :) 

I hope you all had a great month and that you're next month is great too! 

One last set of fireworks just because this month rocked!

What were some of the highlights from your month? Have any goals for next month?

Keep being awesome, Wordlings! 

Beautiful Books | The Process of Writing "Living City"

Hello, Wordlings! It's the second month in Paperfury's blog link-up, Beautiful Books and this time it's all about the process of writing the books was slave over in this crazy month some of us refer to as NaNoWrMo. 
Speaking of which, I've won NaNo! I completed it on the eighteenth and on that same say, I also finished the first draft of the novel at just over 95k. 
This post now seems incredibly fitting since it will kind of be like I'm looking back on my writing process as well as looking forward to what writing the next book will be like. 

So let's get to it. Onwards to the questions! 

Is the book turning out how you thought it would be, or is it defying your expectations? 

As of the completion of the first draft, it's defied my expectations but in the best way possible. I definitely thought it would have a slightly different tone to it and I imagined a lot of the scenes to turn out differently than they did—some scenes just sort of happened, too! It will obviously need some editing but overall, I'm super happy with what I've written.

Super, duper happy. How could I not?
This is my first ever completed draft!

What’s your first sentence (or paragraph)?

My first paragraph is only one sentence but here it is: 

              “Kyla, you’re late.” 

Are you a plotter or a pantser? Have you ever tried both methods and how did it turn out?

I'm kinda a mix between the two so a plantser I suppose. I can't seem to do just one. I've tried just planning and I became stressed and suffocated by my own outline. I need be able to let the story flow. At the same time, whenever I tried just pantsing, my lack planning lead me straight to some pretty big moments of writer's block. The combination gives me direction without holding me back.

What do you reward yourself with after meeting a goal?

Web-camming sessions with my friend, Tori, new music, watching anime with another one of my friends, Kendall, watching some Good Mythical Morning or buying myself a slurpee. Sometimes I'll combine a few :) To reward myself for bigger goals, I might buy myself lunch or a bigger slurpee ;) 

A slurpee my sister brought me as a reward. 

What do you look for in a name? Do you have themes and where do you find your names?

Assuming this question means the name of my characters, I look for ease of pronunciation, if it's similar to any other characters I have in that book, if it fits the time period and genre of the novel and generally if I think it feels right. I don't usually have themes for names but I often gravitate todays 'A's and 'J's for some reason...

I usually find my names just by surfing around the internet. If I like a name, I put it in my document I've called 'Name Bank'. When I need a new name, I'll go through it and see if anything stands out. I think I have about 400 names in there by now. I'll never run out! 

What is your favourite to write: beginning, middle, or end — and why?

I love writing the end. I love bringing things full circle, tiring up lose ends and having my characters ask more questions. There's something incredible about writing the end of a story. 

Kim using her ability

Who’s your current favourite character in your novel?

Kim, my protagonist is still my favourite. It could be a biased answer though since I'm writing from her point of view and have basically spent the last while living inside her head. She's got a clever sense of humour, is a little impatient and is definitely determined. I love her ^ ^ 

What kind of things have you researched for this project, and how do you go about researching? (What’s the weirdest thing you’ve researched?!)

I've researched a lot about the Bermuda Triangle. I've watched documentaries and read articles about people who claim weird things have happened to them around the triangle and about the Atlantis conspiracies. 

Basically my researching is composed of a simple google search which then leads me to more google searches, YouTube videos and pictures. I don't usually write a lot down. Instead, I'll bookmark sources. 

The weirdest thing I've researched for this project...hm...I researched a lot on drug tolerance and overdosing. You may not think so but I'd even say that researching the conspiracy theories was pretty high up on the list. It lead me to learning about a lot of pretty strange stuff.
I also researched what a dead body looks like for one of my writer friends....*coughs* moving on.

Do you write better alone or with others? Do you share your work or prefer to keep it to yourself?

I write best alone. The movement of people around me is distracting. I'm working on it though. I've managed to generate words on the bus to school which is a total plus. 

Ironically though, all my highest word counts come from warring with friends. Then again, those wars are over the internet so maybe that doesn't count. 

I share snippets but I like to keep it to myself. When a draft is finished though, I'll let a few people read it. I won't make the story completely public though until it's published or I've polished it enough for it to be published. 

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!

Music is a must. I listened to a lot of HDSoundi on YouTube and "The Scorch Trials" soundtrack for this novel. As for snacks, I like to eat grape tomatoes and bell peppers will I write. For drinks I for a slurpee if I'm rewarding myself or tea and sometimes Coke if it's early but I still need a caffeine boost. 

Time of day has jumped all over the place. It used to be eight and then it was three in the afternoon and then eleven at night. I think it depends on my current sleep pattern and the wakefulness of my muse XD 

This is my living room where I make my home while writing. Here you can see the remnants of a reward, my journal, my fuzzy blue blanket, my blue English binder from school and my backpack because I'm also trying to balance that right now, and a glass of Coke over ice because it's just one of those times XD

So that's the link up for this month. If you missed last month's post where I talked about "Living City", click here. 

I'll be doing one of these next month too so make sure you follow me on my Facebook, Bloglovin' or subscribe to me with your blogger account or email so you don't miss it :) 

How's NaNo going for everyone? Do you have a few quirky things about your writing process?

Keep on keeping on, Wordlings! 

The 777 Tag | Excepts From My Novels

This week's post was supposed to be Beautiful Books with with university, I never got around to putting it together. So instead, I'm going a tag! Beautiful Books will be next week :)
I got tagged in this way back in May by my good friend, Tori at Stori Tori's Blog and was recently reminded to do it. With NaNo going, I thought it would be a fitting time to do it.

How it Works

It's easy! All you have to do is go to the seventh page in your work in progress (whether it's editing or writing), scroll to the seventh line and then post the next seven lines. After that, you tag seven bloggers to do the same thing. 

Since I have two works on the go, I'm gonna share an excerpt from both. I wrote this part of "Crec" last year so I'm a little hesitant to share this but why not, right? 

"Living City" is my NaNoWriMo novel that I'm working on currently. So far, so good, everyone! I'm surviving :D 

Onwards to the excerpts! We'll start with "Crec" so that we finish with the better except ;) 

"Crec"

“There.” Piper handed her the loose end of the rope. “Do you want me to thread your grigri too?” 

Masara shook her head and took the rope. She could take it from here. She wouldn't let Piper do everything for her. 

Piper thrust some gloves into Masara’s line of sight. 

Masara pulled them on. “Thanks.”

She tugged at the rope connecting her to the support beam. It would hold her, right?

To learn more about "Crec", head over to the Writing Dimension *points to the top bar*, or check out Masara's Beautiful People 1, Beautiful People 2, Beautiful People 3.

"Living City"

The chilling memory of the crash came rushing back. She gasped, her body lurching. Panic as cold as the water itself gripped her entire being. 

“It’s...it’s okay,” Andrew’s familiar voice breathed heavily. 

A rolling wave lifted them up and dropped them back down. Kim’s stomach sunk. She caught her breath. This would be it, would it? She would drown out here and her body would never be found just like in all those stupid documentaries she watched before the plane ride. 

If you'd like to know more about "Living City" or the characters in them, head over to the Writing Dimension or you can check out Louis's (the antagonist) Beautiful People, Matt's (a main character) character interview or my recent Beautiful Books post. 

As for the 7 bloggers, I always hate being selective about this so instead, anyone reading is welcome to take the challenge! Just comment below and let me know if you're gonna do it cause I'd love to read what you're writing :) 

How's NaNo going for everyone? Any excerpts (7th line or not) that you'd like to share?

See you all next week, Wordlings!

6 'Must Haves' to Survive NaNoWriMo

Alright folks, the month is upon us! NaNoWriMo is only in it's early stages but if you're anything like
me, you're already feeling the effects of marathon writing. In the midst of work, all my classes and the looming assignments before the final exam rush, I've discovered a bunch of things that have been helping me survive the beautiful chaos we writers willingly through ourselves into.

1) Writing Music

An absolute must. I went out and bought myself a $25 iTunes card so I could stock up on some great writing music to motivate myself. If you're on a budget, Youtube has some fabulous playlists for full movie scores or just a big jumble of epic, emotional or wondrous instrumentals.
If you haven't already discovered them, HDSounDI has some of my favourite writing playlists on the internet. Check them out if you're looking for some new tracks!

2) Notebooks and Pencils/Pens

Sometimes I'm in the middle of a scene and suddenly I have an idea to write down. Could be a piece of dialogue, a title for a future chapter or a reason why character X did action Y. Whatever it is, I like to have my notebook and a pencil next to me while I write so I don't miss any of my strokes of genius. For those of you that have scrivener or another writing program, I'd suggest having a file open specifically for your random ideas. Keeping organized during this time is super important.

Three of my favourite writing journals

3) A Writing Buddy

For me this is an absolute must. I'd trade writing music for a buddy during these weeks. Why? Word wars! One of my best friends, Tori, and I can easily get three thousand words in about two hours. It makes NaNo much less daunting to have a buddy to do it with. Plus it's a lot more fun to do with a friend. This is only the first time I've done NaNo but I can't imagine doing it without a buddy. I've already got of 15k words in this first week! I credit that to having a buddy to war with every night.

4) Caffeine

While NaNo has been productive and I don't stay up super late every night, there have been a couple nights were I stay up just a tad past my bedtime trying to push for extra words. Other times I'll use caffeine to boost me when I've had a long day at school or work and haven't started chipping away at my word count. (or still have a long way to go)
For those of you that write in the wee hours of the morning, I suggest green tea; and if you're Canadian, Iced Caps from Timmies.

Three of my favourite writerly mugs :) 

5) A Fuzzy Blanket

I'm not sure why but I can't seem to write well without setting myself up on the couch by the fireplace with my blue fuzzy blanket. I think this says something about getting comfortable before you sit down to write like the wind. If you have a spot in the house or even out of the house that you find helps you to write, I encourage you take advantage of that space. Writing is always easier when you're comfortable or in a creative atmosphere.

6)  Sanity Items

I'm realizing that NaNo has the potential to be consuming and stressful. Somehow I'm managing and it made me wonder as to why that may be. 

The first one is music. Not writing music, just music by artists that I enjoy listening to. Of Monster and Men, Florence and the Machine, and Imagine Dragons are a few groups I listen to when I'm not writing. 

I've found that taking walks when it's nice out is also refreshing. Getting a little fresh air into my system often helps with writers block. 

Friends are great too. I'm making sure that I go for coffee with someone or see a friend outside my own house at least once a week during NaNo. It ensures that my mind isn't only thinking about my writing (or homework for that mater!)

Lastly, when in doubt, watch an episode on Netflix. It's always a great way to just escape the world of writing for forty minutes. After that though, it's back to writing!

How's NaNo going for you? Do you have any survival tips for NaNo? 

Good luck on NaNo, Wordlings! And if you aren't participating, have a great November :)

October | I've Become Motivated

Never before have I done a monthly summary but one of my writer friends (who you may know as Stori Tori) encouraged me to start doing them. So here I am, tapping away at my keyboard about the busiest, most productive, most game changing month I've had in my writing life in a long time. I owe a lot of it to Tori so a huge thanks to her!  *lots of cheering*

Onwards to the summary! 

My Victories 

1) I made a commitment to my writing unlike any commitment I've made before: 10k words a week, people!
So far those words have been dedicated to my novel but in the future, they'll be counting towards other things.

2) I rebooted my blog and vowed to keep a schedule. My wonderful friend who the minions are cheering for is keeping me accountable. I hope that once I get into the swing of things I'll be able to write posts without a weekly remind from my phone XD
Also, in the realm of blogs, I've remodelled mine in case you haven't noticed :) What do you think?

3) I've booked flights and reserved a spot at the Florida Christian Writer's Conference! I'm so excited to go this year for a few reasons. One: I get to see all my writer friends from last year and two: I'm pitching my book to publishers and editors :D :D :D
While I'm nervous, I think the excited butterflies are stronger ;) This is a dream I've had since before kindergarten and I've finally built up the courage and confidence to put myself out there. (and the extra writing practice certainly didn't hurt anyone) Florida, here I come!

The amazing people I got to write with last year

4) Through countless conversations with my wonderful friend —who apparently I can't stop talking about!—and my mom, I've started a very basic pre-marketing strategy for this coming February when I head to the conference. One of those things has been starting a Facebook page. :D
If you're a follower here, I'd love to see you over there too! It means that I get to interact with you and get to know you better. Plus I'll be posting lots of geeky and writerly material :)
There's already over 100 likes so you'll be among friends!

5) I've named the books in the Tholus Trilogy! Book 1 is "The Living City", book 2 will be "The Sunken Sky" and book 3 will be "The Buried Core".  However I am considering dropping the "The". From a reader's point of view, what do you think? Does the "The" catch your attention or turn you away from the title?

6) I attended my first ever Webinar hosted by Michael Hyatt. It was called "Your Platform Roadmap" and it was incredibly informative. Since I'm working on my platform right now, the information I got really helped. My notebook was well used today :)

Nerd Stuff

1) I final saw "The Scorch Trials"! While it was pretty different from the book, they did quite a few smart things. As a stand alone movie, it was fantastic. If you're only following the movies and haven't seen this one, I encourage you to go.

2) I re-watched my current favourite anime: Psycho-Pass. A lot of my writing was done to the soundtrack too :)

3) I reread "Scorpia Rising" by Anthony Horowitz. He was my favourite author in junior high. Since I work in a bookstore, I thought it would be good to review some of my favourite kid's books. It makes recommendations easier.

Upcoming Battles

1) Nano begins on Sunday so I've got a lot of writing to do—a lot. 50K total for the month of November to be exact. If I thought 10K a week was ambitious, this is even more so. I'll be writing 2K every day so I can stay ahead. You know—cause a university GPA is a thing I need to care about too. No big deal.

2) Speaking of school, I'll be wrapping up my first university semester. *starts to throw grad hat in the air, record scratches* No? Not yet? Okay, fine...seven semesters to go still. 

3) I'll be working on a very special project that I have no idea if I'm allowed to make public yet. I'll have to ask so I can find out if it's mentionable for next month's summary. 

4) If all goes well, the hope is that I can plan "The Sunken Sky" or start reworking "Crec: Book 1". But you know, finals, and NaNo, and the special project might turn this into a battle I'll have to face in December. 

Regardless, it's on my mind and I'm looking forward to taking it on :) 

5) Maybe the biggest battle of all will be surviving the start of Christmas Season at Chapters (the bookstore I work in)

I'm totally kidding. I love Christmas and Christmas music. But something tells me a loop track will get on my nerves. I think I might be one of the only ones in my store who's looking forward to the Christmas season at work. Likely cause I'm a greenie ;) (three cheers to anyone who got that reference) 

Future Nerd Stuff

1) I'll be starting to read "The Fate of Ten" by Pittacus Lore. I bought it right when it came out but haven't read it yet. It's staring at me from my bookshelf. Every time someone comes through the till at Chapters with it, I always comment about how it's a great series. Usually my praise is accompanied by weird looks...mostly cause the readers are teenaged boys. Come on! A female adult can read about aliens too!

2) I'll be finishing the anime "Red Data Girl". It's pretty good so far but also pretty typical XD The art is nice though. 

3) I think I'm gonna continue with "Pretty Little Liars". Yeah I know...it's stereotyped as a 'white girl show'. I actually enjoy it though. It's got some good mystery elements in it that I take note of for writing. The kissing scenes—and for that matter, everything romantic in the show—have me rolling my eyes though and I just skip the next thirty seconds. 

My favourite character, Spencer, being all epic

So that's my month! I'm pretty happy with the productivity if I do say so myself. Thank you to all my readers and a special thanks to the commenters who make my day :) 

I hope you all had a great month and that you're next month is great too! 

What were some of the highlights from your month? Have any goals for next month?

Keep up the awesomeness, Wordlings! 

Archetypes | The Many Heroes

It's been awhile since I wrote about Archetypes...a long while. 
With NaNo coming up, I know a lot of people are in the middle of planning their novels—unless you're a brave Pantser in which I applaud you *claps*—and so I thought I would bring back the archetypes in order to help some of you along. Even if you know your story inside and out already, I encourage you to see if you can spot your character among the archetypes below. *points down*

Keep in mind that archetypes aren't cliches, they're patterns that naturally occur in stories. When I write, I often include archetypes without even knowing it and that's not a bad thing! To get a little more background on what an archetype is, follow this link.
That being said, make sure that as a writer you're still being creative. Look for your character to fit into an archetype rather than looking for an archetype that can become a character.

The Warrior

The warrior is often characterized as someone who faces physical obstacles and faces external forces. The forces don't have to be human—they can be monsters or even extreme conditions like snow storms or crossing a sheer ledge in the pouring rain. The warrior isn't the underdog—he/she is already trained or is born with the abilities that will theoretically help him/her to achieve their goal—they're the 'chosen one'. That doesn't mean it's easy going for them though. Think James Bond or "The Last Samurai".

The Lover

Pretty self explanatory. The lover is motivated by love. Prince charming is probably the most obvious of heroes we could choose for this one but personally I think that any character who's motivated by love for their family can also be classified as a lover. Maybe other archetypes will fit them better but who said you can have more than one ;) 

The Scapegoat

Seems like an odd type of hero right? This hero will stir up a lot of feels with your readers though. Why? They endure suffering all for the sake of other people. Usually it's for a large group of people—think of a rebel who's trying to stop the oppressive king from hurting his villagers. He endures public torture, humiliation and death threats all while trying to save the people. See? FEELS! 

The Transcendent Hero

Also know as the tragic hero. The only reason why we get to call this hero 'the transcendent' is because they have a groundbreaking, heavenly light shining, light bulb momenting, discovery or piece of wisdom at the end of the novel...and their lives. Usually they die. Yep. More feels. *sobs* 

This hero has a fatal flaw that results in their downfall throughout the novel. Think of Hamlet. Or Macbeth. Or Romeo.

Alright, let's just go with all Shakespearean tragedy heroes. 

The Romantic/The Gothic

Different from the lover but sometimes this character is also propelled by their love. This hero has a undeniable dark side to their moon. 

I'm gonna use our dear Dr. Frankenstein from Mary Shelley's novel, "Frankenstein", as an example. He's definitely the protagonist in the novel—well some would argue that—but as the novel goes in, it gets harder and harder to defend him and his so called 'humanity'. 

Also, DEATH NOTE!!! *clears throat* That is all. 

The Apocalyptic Hero

This hero faces the destruction of society as their main apposing force. This isn't a post-apocalyptic hero so Katniss doesn't count. This hero is in the midst of the destruction. Cassie from "The 5th Wave" would be closer to matching this description.

Anti-Hero

This hero is a failure for a living. Was that a little harsh? 
However this hero isn't the anti-hero you're thinking of. They're coming up. 
Instead, this hero is usually humorous and while he/she has a goal, no one actually expects him/her to succeed. Think of Forrest Gump. He's an underdog, you can't help but laugh at certain things he says or does but in the end, you only want him to find the reach the top. 

Defiant Anti-Hero

Anyone seen Code Geass? Defiant Anti-Heros like Lelouche go against society's model for what it means to be a hero. Depending on what your story world is like, this hero could be almost anyone. Robin Hood comes to mind and then so does Tally from "Uglies".

The Unbalanced Hero

There's always that one hero who's a little bit crazy. They're unstable emotionally or psychologically and despite their quest, they usually can't break from it. Hamlet fits into this one pretty darn well. Also, Roderick from "The Fall of the House of Usher" is definitely unbalanced. 

The Denied

The protagonist here has some sort of status or 'otherness' that makes their heroism possible. Maybe they work for the government of a corrupt society so they have inside information? Or maybe they're the opposite. Maybe they're an outcast and so no one expects them to be the hero they turn out to be. This hero could also have some sort of ability. Think of the show, "Heroes". If it weren't for the abilities of the characters in the show, they wouldn't have been able to save New York.

The Superheroic

Cue the "Superman" theme song! 

This one is rather easy to understand. Your hero here doesn't belong to society. They're set apart because of their ability. However, society needs them. If it weren't for this hero, New York would be destroyed—again—and everyone would die in a blazing inferno of Smaug fire...not necessarily in that order. 

Seriously though...could you imagine Smaug in New York? 

There you have it! What hero is your protagonist? And as a fun bonus question, if your villain was the protagonist, what type of hero would they be? 

Write on, Wordlings! 

Beautiful Books | The Tholus Trilogy: Book 1

Guess what everyone? Beautiful Books is back! And by back I mean it's back on the Paperfury blog (an all time favourite blog of mine). I haven't done Beautiful Books yet but I'm really excited to!
This time of year they halt Beautiful People and doing Beautiful Books for the sake of all people doing Nanowrimo and even for those people who're just writing and want to talk about their work of art.
I'm participating in Nano for the first time this year as an attempt to become more disciplined with writing. For one thing, I need to have a book ready to pitch this February as I'll be making my first attempt at publication of a novel!
My amazing friend, Victoria from StoriTori has been helping me with every procrastinator's worst nightmare—*whispers* scheduling. One of those things on the schedule is blogging more frequently. Beautiful Books will help me with that. 

I'm choosing to do the first book, which is currently unnamed, from my Tholus (the 'h' is silent) Trilogy. It used to be called "The Dome" but because of confusion with Stephan King's "Under the Dome", I had to get creative ;)

But enough of that. Onwards to the questions! 

How did you come up with the idea for your novel, and how long have you had the idea?

I came up with the idea while sitting at the kitchen island with

my mom and my friend, Kendall. I was staring at the picture over there *points to picture* and said out loud, "How cool would it be to write a story about a flooded city? Or a city that's about to be completely flooded? What if all the people have to escape before it floods?" The questions came from a recent article I read about underwater hotels that were in development. 

I shelved the idea since I was working on another project but brought it back the next week when I entered a novel writing contest. Even though I pulled out halfway through, the time I spent on it was enough to solidify a premise. 

It's been about three years since that happened. Now the idea is being revisited for a makeover and complete drafting :D

Why are you excited to write this novel?

The Bermuda Triangle and other pseudoscientific conspiracies have always fascinated me. To fictionally explain one of them makes me a little giddy. I can't wait to complete my own explanation of why the planes and boats keep disappearing. Plus, my characters have been staring at me for some time now, begging me to write their story. *glances at them*

What is your novel about, and what is the title?

As I mentioned above, my novel is about the Bermuda Triangle. Kimerly Hayes, my MC, boards a plane bound for Bermuda that's pulled down into the ocean. There she discovers a city—not Atlantis, but Tholus—where superhuman abilities are part of how the city functions. However Kim isn't interested in abilities or underwater cities. She wants to go home. As she searches for a way out, she uncovers secrets and conspiracies about Tholas's history and very existence that threaten her life and the lives of ever citizen. 

Three cheers for coming up with that description in five minutes. Not too shabby, eh? 

As for the title, it's currently title-less. Thanks a lot Stephan King. *shakes fist at him* Oh well. More creative brainwork for me. 

Sum up your characters in one word each. (Feel free to add pictures!)

I have a pretty large cast so I'll just focus on the five main protagonists and one of my antagonists.

Kimerly—Quick-witted

Matt—Assertive (His Character Interview)

Isaac (he has shorter hair though)—Skeptical 

Colton—Level-headed

Rynn—Observant

Louis—Apathetic (His Beautiful People Post)

Meet Erik

Which character(s) do you think will be your favourite to write? Tell us about them!

I love Kim. She's my POV character and I love her. She's got a little bit of sarcastic sass that makes her interior monologues really fun to write. I also love her inner journey and can't wait to see her blossom as a person. 

Louis is my next favourite to write about. He's my twisted scientist. Any of my friends would agree that twisted is a good word to describe him. Despite his...experiments, he's somehow a character you can't help but love. 

Lastly, there's Erik. He's not super important in the first book but I can't wait to introduce him. He's another villain of mine who has a mansion in the forrest. He works in the museum and is infatuated with art from 'Up There' (land). 

What is your protagonist’s goal, and what stands in the way?

Kim wants to go home. However first she needs to find out if that's even possible. 

Because she skips class to find out some important tidbits, she gets in trouble with Louis and also the Council. 

Internally, she has some confidence issues. While she covers them up with her pride, her lack of self-confidence often gets in her way and prevents her from finding things out that could help her. 

On top of that, she's not the most sociable person. This is a pretty big obstacle since getting out of Tholas isn't a one man job.

Where is your novel set? (Show us pictures if you have them!)

Tholas is positioned at the bottom of the ocean in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle. It's protected by a large dome that has a city, lake and forrest that loops in a ring around the edge of the dome.

City skyline I modled Tholas after

What is the most important relationship your character has?

This is an interesting question. I think I'd have to say the one she has with her parents. While you never see them in the book, she thinks about them a lot in interior monologue. When she thinks of going home, she often thinks of her parents. It's a driving force in her journey. 

How does your protagonist change by the end of the novel?

Kim isn't totally sure of herself yet but she's beginning to gain a bit of boldness. She's also got a group of friends around her that she's starting to love. She wants to protect them and would risk her life trying to save them. Also, her independence is still there but she now has learned to lean on others too. 

What themes are in your book? How do you want your readers to feel when the story is over?

Still trying to figure this one out. I think it will come more to me as I write. So far my thematic ideas are friendship and trust, how society and people masks their flaws, fear vs. love as a driving force, the dangers of curiosity, and where and how a person finds their worth. 

Some of those themes are themes for the whole trilogy and they'll be more prevalent in the sequels than in the first book.
I want my readers to be left thinking but I'm still trying to figure out what type of thinking. 

BONUS! Tell us your 3 best pieces of advice for others trying to write a book in a month.

1. Write

2. Write

3. Don't stop writing

Even 500 words is good. And also, word war! Find some writer buddies to word war with. 

As a university student, I squeeze in 250 words on the bus to school and 250 back. Then if I try to get up to 1k or 2k depending on homework.

Write on, fellow writers! We got this! If you did Beautiful Books, let me know! If not, feel free to tell me about your novel in the comments below. I'd love to here about it :)