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!!