ONCE UPON: Know the Novel Part 3!!

Hey guys! Remember when I said I only had one post planned for December? Well, this is it, because of course I had to do the final part of Christine's Know the Novel linkup. I'm sure you all know all about it, so I'll save the details. (And if you don't know, you can hop on over to Christine's post, where she'll explain it much better than me.)

As I'm sure everyone knows by now, NaNoWriMo 2019 has ended. And honestly? It already feels like FOREVER since I won. I finished on the 21st, and didn't write anything else in my story for the rest of the month. So at the beginning of December, it was really strange to think that some people had finished NaNo only a few days ago.

NaNo feels like a dream. I wrote so hard for those 21 days, and then just stopped cold turkey. Now I can't believe it actually happened. Is that weird? xD

Well, anyway, I'm excited to be answering these questions! Onto the linkup! (wow, Emily. seamless transition as usual.) Also, I'm going to sprinkle some aesthetics throughout for your viewing pleasure! (photos are from Pinterest!)

1. Firstly, how did writing this novel go all around? 

PRETTY WELL. There was minimal I-don't-even-know-what-to-write (although it was still there, BELIEVE me). The pantsing was real, though, and we had our struggles. HOWEVER, it all worked out! (So far. The thing's not done yet, so I can't say too much. xD) The writing went pretty smoothly, even if I did make everything up as I went.

2. Did it turn out like you expected or completely different? And how do you feel about the outcome? 

Well, I wasn't expecting anything, because like I said, I made it up as I went along. xD But as far as the atmosphere, the feel of it, I think it was pretty close to how I expected it. And I'm loving what I have so far.

3. What aspect of the story did you love writing about the most? (Characters, plot, setting, prose, etc.) 

I think I keep saying this over and over... But I loved the characters and the setting. I've already
flailed a good deal enough about Trentley and Jynnia and how I love them so much, so I'll spare you that today. But I love the setting because of the simple magic, the fairy tale-ness of it, and the
FAIRIES, guys.

4. How about your least favorite part?

Umm... none of it? Except maybe the fact that I'm not a hundred percent sure how everything's going to wrap up, so writing certain scenes was kind of like unlocking a black hole.

5. What do you feel like needs the most work? 

What I just mentioned. A lot of this story is still a big mystery to me, so that planning I probably should have done before I started is going to turn into lots of rewriting and rethinking.

6. How do you feel about your characters now that the novel is done? Who’s your favorite? Least favorite? Anyone surprise you? Give us all the details!

Well, like I said, it's not quite done yet. But it's mostly done (hopefully). And I love everyone!! Of course you know I feel about Trentley and Jynnia. But then there are the fairy sisters, who have attitudes bigger than they are, so they've been kind of a blast to write.

My favorite is for sure my precious Trentley. He's so sweet and adorable and I would like to marry him, please.

Least favorite? Probably one of the aforementioned fairy sisters. Not that I don't like her, but she's super bitter about something that happened involving one of her sisters, and she really just needs to get over it because said sister is a sweetheart and doesn't deserve this treatment.

Who surprised me? HOW ABOUT EVERY ONE OF THESE SEVEN FAIRY SISTERS I KEEP TALKING ABOUT. (the ones I've introduced so far, anyway) I didn't even know they were going to exist until I wrote their first scene, and I DEFINITELY didn't expect their personalities to be what they are.

7. What’s your next plan of action with this novel?

FINISH IT. I don't really know how much I have left, but I think I'll be able to finish it pretty quickly if I really crack down on it when I start writing again. I'm not sure when that will be... either the week between Christmas and New Year's, or in January. I'll probably try to finish it the last week of the year, because I really wanted to finish it this year, and there's another project I really want to work on the new year. BUT we'll see how it goes. xD

8. If you could have your greatest dream realized for this novel, what would it be? 

Of course, step one would be to have it published. (And, y'know, a bestseller would be great.) It will be the first book of a series (although I don't know how many books there will be), and eventually, of course, it will be made into a movie. Or maybe a series? I don't know, since it's the first book of a series it might be better as a Once Upon A Time-esque TV show. One season per book. ;)

9. Share some of your favorite snippets! 

THIS IS SO HARD GUYS. Partly because I feel like I've already shared so many, and partly because most of this draft is so bad that I don't WANT to share most of it. xD But I'll try. (And yes, there will probably be some snippets I've already posted. Shh.)

Covered up a mild spoiler xD

So, I realized as I was collecting these that there are some typos. Whoops. Sorry. And also that I have no idea why their bodies don't get tired but their wings can?? That makes literally no sense and is a perfect example of my first drafts. xD But I hope you enjoyed Trentley and Jynnia's adorableness and the fairy sisters' sassiness. Basically the whole book.

10. Did you glean any new writing and/or life lessons from writing this novel?
One-- I can write 50k in a month!! Which I already learned last year, but this year I learned that I can do it AGAIN.

I also learned that I can indeed make time to sit down and write even when I might not think I can. November was no less busy (or more organized xD) than any other month, but with the pressure (in a good way) of NaNo, I made time for my story. I hope to take those responsible writerly habits into the new year. ;)

And that's it for Know the Novel this year! It's weird to think that NaNo was so long ago now. xD I haven't touched my story since November 21st, even though I'd kind of hoped to finish it this year.
But I'm kind of glad I decided to just take a break this month. I've mentioned not a few times that this NaNo left me pretty exhausted. So I'm thoroughly enjoying this rest!

BUT I'm also looking forward to next month (next YEAR!!), because I'm hoping to really get back into writing and accomplish big things in 2020! (Like finishing at least one first draft. Because I'm tired of being stuck in the first draft stage of so many projects.) I'll definitely have a post up sometime soon with my 2020 goals, so stay tuned for that if you're interested!

I hope you guys are having a lovely December!

Soo how's everyone's December going? Can you believe Christmas is NEXT WEEK?? And there are only less than two weeks left of 2019?? EXCUSE ME WHILE I PANIC. Also, are you guys doing any writing this month? Or maybe taking a break? Let's just chat all the things!!

NOVEMBER 2019

And just like that, November is over and December is here. CRAZY, right?!

Yes, it is crazy, because I've apparently lost control of everything and am just now getting this November wrapup up four days into December. Ignore this. :D

This November went by in a weird whirl of writing, coffee, and not nearly enough sleep. (Wait... did I just describe my life?) One big plus of the month was the weather! In the past few years our falls have been really warm, so I've gotten accustomed to not expecting cold weather in November. But this year there was quite a bit of chilly weather, rainy days... even a little snow! Perfect writing weather. Which is maybe why I had such a good NaNo. But I digress.

Anyway... onto the monthly wrapup!

Reading? What's reading?

So, funny story. Every year around this time I read the Christmas books from each set (that I or my sister has) of the old American Girl books. They're so nostalgic and I never get tired of them. And every year I tell myself I'm going to read all the books from all the sets, because I haven't done that in forever.

And every year I don't do it because it takes too long. This year was no exception.

So, all I read this month was the Kaya American Girl series. Could I have read every one of the series this month? Yes. Did I? Not even close, because writing was taking over my life. And on that subject...

Do I even have to say it? No, but I will: This month was NaNoWriMo!! And it was a good one.

If you somehow didn't know by now (even though I've been yelling about it since October), I was writing my fairy tale story Once Upon this month. And I just had a really, really good feeling about this NaNo. Last year, while not my first NaNo, was my first win. So I went into this NaNo knowing for certain that I had the ability to win. Even though I had absolutely no idea whatsoever how my story was going to progress, I just knew I was going to make it.

And yes, you read that right. I MADE THIS STORY UP AS I WENT ALONG. ALL MONTH. And it went pretty well. I don't know, I might go back and read it and realize that it's absolute trash and needs completely rewritten. But for now, I got it written down, and I'm excited about my story. That's
all I can ask for.

It's not finished, and to be honest I don't really know how much longer the story's going to go on. I'm not sure if I'm going to try to finish it in December, or one of my other WIPs I really want finished. Or maybe I'll just totally bomb and not write anything because of Christmas and everything. Either way, it's fine. xD

Also in the writing department, I had a story on Havok this month! I forgot to post anything about it because it went up on Thanksgiving and I was busy. But it's still there for you Havok members, so if you missed it, go hit up the Havok website and search for Careful What You Hunt For. ;)

The first week of the month contained a very exciting day for my nerdy bookish little soul: November 5th, Guy Fawkes Day! Which means absolutely nothing to me except pertaining to Fawkes by Nadine Brandes. xD This was my first November 5th since reading the book. And I'm really only mentioning this at all so I can share this super dorky story with you: I was hanging out with my brother and sisters a day or two after the 5th, and my brother the history buff asked my sisters if they knew what Guy Fawkes Day was. When they said no, this little voice inside me said, "CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!" (Parker Rooney voice) and jumped up from my seat and very, very dramatically recited the "Remember, Remember" poem. My siblings looked on in disbelief that this was happening. I took a bow and sat back down, very proud of myself.

Thank you, Nadine Brandes, for introducing me to this poem and therefore allowing me this amazing
moment of my life. xD

Of course, later in the month was Thanksgiving. Which I kind of can't believe has already passed now? But that's the story of my life, so. No surprises here. Anyway, I had a lovely Thanksgiving. It rained, but that was okay. I had a lot to be thankful for, starting with the fact that I had a flat tire earlier in the week, but I was able to get it fixed and it didn't cost much. Also, we had a bad storm a couple nights before Thanksgiving, but no real damage.

The happenins':

There was also my Q&A vlog: click here!

And there it is! I can't believe it's December now and the Christmas season is officially here. I want to say that I'm hoping to be more productive and organized this month now that NaNo's over, but in reality I'm 97% sure that the season is going to completely override that. So I'll try to do my best, but also not get too discouraged when I'm not as productive as I'd like. The new year is almost here (!!!!!) and I can make up for lost time then. (Which miiight actually be a terrible idea?? Don't take advice from me, please.) The end of the year is just so chaotic and I can already tell you that I'll be more than happy to have that fresh new slate.

Also, did I mention: THERE'S ONLY A MONTH LEFT OF 2019???!! What is this?? How is it almost 2020??? What's happen-- how do I-- where's the--

Ahem. Well, anyway. Hopefully sometime in the next few weeks I'll also get back in a good blogging schedule, because that's been pretty rough the past few months. By January I hope to be back in the swing of things and not scrambling to finish up every single thing in existence that I do because I procrastinated. But y'know. We'll see.

Aaand on the subject of time management and craziness and all that jazz: I'm taking sort of a little blogging break. Not a hiatus, exactly. But in December I only have one post planned (plus my end of year wrapup), and I have no idea when I'm going to put that up. So, no schedule this month and maybe not more than a couple posts, either. We'll see. I'm going to try to use this month to write some blog posts without the stress of needing to get them up on time, so I'll have a headstart on posts in the new year.

Basically, November ate me and I need a month to recover. xD

I hope everyone's having a lovely December so far! Happy Christmas season!

(and yes I used this gif last year for my November wrapup but I'll use it again because I want to and
White Christmas is a classic)

How was your Thanksgiving? And did we survive NaNo? (No, seriously. I need you to tell me if I'm still alive.) Are you still writing in December? Editing? Taking a break? Just lying around in complete shock?