Know the Novel Part Two (My Writing Progress on One Forgotten)
Updated: Aug 3
National Novel Writing Month is nearly over! (Can you believe it?) I had such a blast sharing about my current writing project, One Forgotten, in October. I'm happy to be back with Part Two of the Know the Novel linkup hosted by the lovely Christine Smith. This time around, I'll be sharing more of my process and progress with my sci-fi novel, One Forgotten.
You can read Part One of Know the Novel here. 😉
about One Forgotten...
1. How’s the writing going overall?
It's rather slow, to be completely honest. I'm taking NaNoWriMo easy this year, and I've been having a lot of fun with it! Being very self-competitive, it was really hard to release the notion that I had to win again (because, if we're being truthful, I wanted to).
No, I am nowhere close to 50k. But, I have drawn much closer to the Lord and rediscovered my love for writing after a long season of burnout. I have a greater understanding of my project, of where I'm at as a writer, and how I need to grow. I've also been hard at work on my new author brand, which you can learn more about here.
So overall, I guess you could say the writing is going well... slow, but I'm grateful for this season. Rome wasn't built in a day, after all.
2. What’s been the most fun aspect of writing this novel so far?
My characters! Ahh. I adore them. Just thinking about them gives me so much joy. This month, I've had fun exploring their relationship dynamics with one another. My personal favorite is the sibling relationship between my protagonist, Lyra, and her older brother. And the friends-to-lovers romance between Skylar and Lyra is always a favorite. Of course. 🥰
3. What do you think of your characters at this point? Who’s your favorite to write about?
I love them. Even when they want nothing to do with the plot whatsoever.
It should be stated that asking an author to pick a favorite character is similar to asking a mother to pick a favorite child. It's simply impossible! I love them all. However, I don't think I could get tired of writing Skylar. This character had been living in my head for so long that I decided he needed a story... and here we are.
4. Has your novel surprised you in any way?
This novel has surprised me in every way possible. Which is ironic considering how intensely I outlined it. Pretty much everything has changed (and been revised) from my original premise. Not to mention my characters kept derailing from the plot line as I developed them. If you're a writer, you'll understand...
5. Have you come across any problem areas?
*Hides in hobbit hole*
I... don't want to talk about it. 😂
6. What’s been your biggest victory with writing this novel at this point?
Writing the climax/plot twist, for sure. I've been visualizing this scene since I first received the idea for this story, and it felt so good to finally get it down on paper in a way that made actual sense. Since it takes place near the end of the story, I can look back and see the general arc of the story and how the characters have changed as a result of their journeys. It's quite satisfying.
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?
I love this question! I can truthfully say that I would be Lyra. I've found that each of my characters carries a distinct part of me (it usually happens subconsciously), but I relate the most to Lyra as far as personality and inner conflict go. We see the world through a very similar lens.
We're both Enneagram Type Fours (which I didn't purposefully plan for... it just happened). She's an artist. I'm a writer. We're both dreamers, and we both struggle with the feeling of never truly belonging somewhere. We think in a more poetic, abstract way than in a logical way; and we both love nature and philosophical conversations. I've intentionally infused many of my past experiences into her character, so writing her makes for a lot of soul-searching on my part.
I don't know if I would take different actions than she would... I'll have to think about that more.
8. Give us the first sentence or paragraph then 2 (or 3!) more favorite snippets!
I came up with the first line in the shower, and I'm quite pleased with it:
"Often, it's the walls we build for protection that end up becoming our prisons."
Out of context snippets...
“What are you running from, Skylar?”
Her voice is soft now, but the inquisition in her gaze makes my skin crawl. I hate how she sees right through me. I turn away, gritting my teeth. “Myself.”
I finger the ornate scars that lace my arms. “And what is to say will keep us on task, should we have reason to subvert the mission?”
Archon’s smile stretches wide over his wrinkled face, razor teeth gleaming under the overhead light. He leans across the table, alive with glee. “How about a bite of revenge?”
"There are few foods I refuse to eat, but oatmeal is one of them."
“Are you certain they haven’t left us for good?”
“Certain.”
“But it’s dark, Gage. Too dark.”
“Oh, Lyra, they never leave,” he turned his gaze on me then, as if I was starlight to him. As if he knew I would be taken from him the next morning. “Just because you can’t see the stars doesn’t mean they aren’t there.”
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!)
Ugh, I made a hilarious typo the other day, but I can't remember it! I also decided it would benefit the theme to give one of my characters a tragic ending instead of a happy one. *Evil cackle*
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've been writing in my room after dinner where I light all my fall-scented candles and consume copious amounts of pumpkin tea. I'm able to stay pretty focused during writing sessions! I did get distracted listening to Christmas music the other day, though...
LET'S TALK
Are you participating in NaNoWriMo? If so, how is it going? What is YOUR most hilarious typo? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!