Hey all! Wow…so November is almost over already? I don’t know how that happened…but here we are I guess. This is a little late getting out, but I thought I’d still join in the second part of Christine’s Know the Novel anyway, because why not? Let’s get into the questions!
How’s the writing going overall?
I’d like to say it’s going great, but…that would be a lie. 😂 I jumped on board to participate in Christine’s FallFicFrenzy and I was super excited and pumped about it! The first week was pretty smooth sailing. Me and my family went up north for a weekend retreat and I even brought my laptop and got a decent amount of writing done up in the boonies! 😂
But things started to happen. Life started changing for me. I quit my job, namely, which was creating a lot of stress. I don’t even know why it felt like there was no time for writing. I probably should’ve scheduled my time better during that early period, but it just didn’t happen and by the time Nov. 15 rolled around, I had only gotten a small part of my initial goal finished. Which I was still happy with, and I’m still working on Mr. Awake and it’s going well. It just didn’t quite work out for me to fully participate in FallFicFrenzy how I wanted to. But I’m excited about future writing challenges the FicFrenzy Discord group is thinking up!
What’s been the most fun aspect about writing this novel so far?
It’s really been the characters for me so far. I just love these characters so much. Their interactions. Their quirks. Their backstories. It’s just been so fun exploring that and discovering more about them, going deeper than I thought I would, delving into these characters lives.
What do you think of your characters at this point? Who’s your favorite to write about?
Daryl is a blast to write. He’s my main character, and I’ve just been loving his ‘can’t-leave-well-enough-alone’ spirit. He just wants to help people and the world is trying its darnedest to make that difficult for him. But he’s working against the odds!
Has your novel surprised you in any way?
Oh, for sure. There was one character in particular (I won’t say because spoilers 😉) that I had NO IDEA had such an interesting backstory. So that was fun to figure out.
Have you come across any problem areas?
I think the better question is: are there any areas that aren’t problem areas? 😂 But actually, yes, there have been quite a few problem areas. Some huge, gaping plot holes (like, hey, I need to decide what the conflict of my novel’s going to be, whoops), and other subtler, less-noticeable-but-still-there issues (like, why is that even happening, what was the purpose of that scene/interaction). Editing this one will be a blast…
What’s been your biggest victory with writing this novel at this point?
The fact that I actually have made decent progress on it! I haven’t worked on another novel in so long since the publishing of Imprint, it feels like I’m stepping into a totally different, new, scary world with this story. But I’ve been loving it and it’s been coming along very nicely.
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?
Ooh, that’s a tough one. I’d like to say I’d be as cool as Daryl, but I’d probably be more like Serena, a woman Daryl meets early on in the story. She’s pretty level-headed, smart, and picks up on things really quick.
I don’t know that I’d take any different courses of action, honestly. I don’t really like books where the characters make dumb decisions. Obviously, there can be other factors at work that play into decisions made, like high emotions, etc., but I’m talking about purely dumb decisions. It’s so frustrating watching characters flounder about not because of the actual things at stake in the story, but because of something dumb they did. It feels like a stupid way to force conflict.
End rant. 😂
Give us the first sentence or paragraph then 2 (or 3!) more favorite snippets!
Here’s the first few lines:
The suddenness of the red splatter on his coworker’s lab coat made Daryl feel dizzy.
He steadied himself against the smooth white wall of the lab hallway. “What happened?” Daryl said breathlessly, swallowing back his disgust.
Stacey’s eyes were wide. “I-I didn’t have a choice.”
Annnnnd some other fun snippets:
The phone rang.
That would be Jason. Please no, Jas. Not now.
Daryl ignored the ringing, holding his face in his hands.
This is the last thing I needed.
I never should’ve gone on that stupid cruise. What good did that do me?
Absolutely none.
Flopping miserably on his couch, Daryl shut his eyes, willing his phone to shut up.
He groaned as his brother’s voice came through the voicemail. “Daryl, if you don’t pick up the phone right now, I swear I will personally drive to your apartment and confront you in person.”
Tony sat up, fiddling with his glasses. “You have the heart of a hero, Daryl Meredith. It’s a shame you’re powerless.”
“You’d best watch your back, Tony. Now that Starry Eye has seen what you’re doing, you won’t get away with it.”
Tony smirked. “I already have.”
Daryl turned to leave.
“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” Tony called.
It took all of Daryl’s strength not to burst in and destroy Tony’s entire office. He glanced back with a look of warning. “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
“Quoting the Bible to me? I hadn’t realized you were religious, Daryl.” Tony raised an eyebrow. “I can do that, too; judge not, lest ye be judged.”
Disgusted, Daryl marched out of the office, a fire burning in his chest. Control yourself.
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!)
I feel like all of these happened just within the first week. 😂 As for typos, not technically a typo, but apparently looking back, I totally forget to finish a scene I was in the middle of writing. Just. In the middle of it. Literally mid-question. I was outta there. 😂
I haven’t derailed too much from my outline, but there have been a few relatively big changes that I think will affect the story going forward. It’s always fun figuring out chunks of your outline have become virtually useless. 😂 And no dead characters! Yet, anyway.
And, funny you should ask, I almost did change to a different project. But not a project I’ve had planned or anything. I had a plot bunny come up mid-FallFicFrenzy that would. not. leave. me. be. I couldn’t get rid of it. It hung out for nearly two weeks before I hastily scrabbled some notes down in hopes that it would stay away while I tried to work on the actual, fleshed-out, ready to write project I’m working on. It’s still lurking around, unfortunately, but it is an idea that I want to explore more eventually…
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!
So, I usually write in my bedroom at my desk or on my bed in the afternoon. I’ve had great writing sessions at night, but afternoon is my main time of day. I love the idea of writing with others, I should try it sometime! I usually just write by myself, though. I don’t usually eat or drink when I write, except for maybe water or occasionally tea. I’m currently infatuated with candles, so I have been lighting candles when I write, or just whenever I’m in my room.
Music is a staple when I’m writing, but sometimes if I’m having a hard time focusing, I’ll go without for a bit, and that usually gets me back on track. When I set out to write, I try to ignore all possible distractions. I don’t use my phone, but I do leave my internet on on my computer so I can listen to YouTube music or “quickly” look something up…which, if I’m being honest, I get way more distracted looking up very specific facts I need to know for a throwaway line than browsing social media. I will spend a good twenty minutes trying to find the information when I could’ve been, you know, just moving on with my life and continuing writing? 😂
Short & Snappy 
I love hearing from you! ^_^