Sooo, here we go!
1. Firstly, how did writing this novel go all around? The writing this NaNo went better than it ever has before. Which is funny because I was still behind the entire time (oops), but I was still writing consistently and the story was going pretty smoothly. (Minimal stopping and panic-planning.) And although I haven't actually finished this novel yet, I still have a good feeling about the rest of it.
2. Did it turn out like you expected or completely different? And how do you feel about the outcome? Pretty close to how I expected! It really hasn't veered off from how I imagined it at all, which is kind of nice because I was able to stick to my (vague) plan. I think it turned out pretty well so far.
3. What aspect of the story did you love writing about the most? (Characters, plot, setting, prose, etc.) I loved writing a character who has such a turnaround from when you first meet him. Archlan has to learn and go through so much and helping him make the right decisions and figure out what's really important.
4. How about your least favorite part? All those parts where the characters are just TRAVELING and there really isn't that much to say. I'm not Tolkien, guys. I can't get away with narrating every step they take.
5. What do you feel like needs the most work? Besides the overall yuckiness of first-draft syndrome? Probably the length. I know I should be focusing more on the just telling the story than just making it longer, but my books tend to come out a lot shorter than I'd like them to be.
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 done done, and there aren't really a whole lot of characters to choose from. So I would have to say that Archlan is my favorite, with Quinard coming in a close second. They became such good friends so fast and Quinard came in at just the right time, when Archlan really needed someone to be there for him. As for least favorite, it would have to be Rian, Archlan's girlfriend. She pretends to love him and maybe she does have some kind of feelings for him, but her band of thieves and basically everything else come before Archlan and she's just really not that great of a girlfriend. Or person.
7. What’s your next plan of action with this novel? Finish it, first. Ha. Then I'm not sure if I'll start editing (just because I'm so stoked about how this novel went) in January, or put it on the back burner for a little while and work on something else. (I'm missing my other babies.)
8. If you could have your greatest dream realized for this novel, what would it be? To see it get published and eventually made into a movie that makes people cry.
9. Share a snippet of one of your most favorite scenes! Well, it's pretty atrocious (remember first-draft syndrome?), but here's a short snippet from right after Archlan and Quinard met:
With frustration he let out a cry, and all the trees around him began to tremble as if a great wind had just blown through. They lifted their roots out of the ground, not moving from their spots but merely shifting their positions. The ground around Archlan and Hil shook as if an earthquake were touching everything but them.
After releasing his frustration and emotions for a minute, Archlan took a deep breath, and all the trees grew calm again. There was a minor upset in the soil, but nothing too tragic. He looked around, took another deep breath, and was about to ride on.
But he jumped when a voice cut through the silence. "Ho there, friend Archlan!"
Archlan looked in alarm toward the direction the voice came from. There, riding toward him, was Quinard, looking a bit confused and quite awestruck. "What was that that just happened, pray tell?"
10. Did you glean any new writing and/or life lessons from writing this novel? Honestly, I think it would just be that the more I write, the better I'll get.
Well, there it is! Thanks so much to Christine for making this fun linkup and I hope we get to do it next year! ;)
And thanks for reading! Stay tuned, because I'm planning some Christmas posts I'm excited about!
Did you participate in Know the Novel this NaNo/year? Or any other linkups? Let's chat!
I, too, did Christine's linkup! When I answered the part about my least favorite part, I couldn't remember exactly what it was only that there were some, but your answer triggered my memory or at least clarified it for me. I totally get the traveling between places and how hard that can be to not get bored. That might have been my least favorite in my last book. This book though I think my least favorite has to do with introducing characters or whenever they meet, having to go through the formalities.
ReplyDeleteYour snippet! I'm so intrigued. What exactly happened? Whatever it was, it sounds like a cool bit of magic. I hope the rest of your writing goes well.
Yes! I get what you're saying about the formalities, too-- it can be so hard for meetings and things like that to come across as natural.
DeleteThank you so much! I'm so glad it's intriguing. ;D