Introduction
Drumroll, please!! Today, you all are being punished rewarded by getting another KTN post!!! (If you didn’t read the other ones, this might be a good time – they kinda build on each other… 😛 Part 1 is here and Part 2 is here!)
So! I am so excited to finish this out and answer these seriously swaggy questions. Let’s dive in, shall we?
(Kudos to Christine Smith for coming up with this, BTW.)
The Questions
(Notice: I still haven’t actually started writing this – yet. (2022 resolution? Write ATOTB. :P) So… most of these questions were really hard to answer and have nothing to do with the actual writing. XD)
1. How did writing this novel go all around?
*coughs* If you didn’t read that notice up there, I haven’t actually written yet, other than the journal entries I’ve been posting for Story Day – if you can count those, that is. Otherwise, things are going pretty smoothly. Characters are becoming easier now (especially Myra – FINALLY!!), the worldbuilding is almost done, and the one plot hole I found is in the process of getting filled. (I have several solutions for said plot hole, I just have to decide which one I’m actually going to use. XD)
2. Did it turn out like you expected or completely different? And how do you feel about the outcome?
READ NOTICE
I love the outcome still, despite a few struggles I’ve had as I’ve learned more about my characters. A few things have changed like Gilead now has a sister he really loves who teases him pretty much nonstop that will make the climax a bit more challenging, but hey, that’ll make it even better, right?
Right?
3. What aspect of the story did you love writing about the most? (Characters, plot, setting, prose, etc.)
OOOOHHHH HOW DOES ONE DECIDE??!!?! I’m not sure how I feel about my prose, but my setting is THRILLING (especially ’cause I haven’t put myself into any gravity conundrums like I did with the Keepers of the Nine… sheesh), my plot is SO. COOL, and my charries are… *chef’s kiss* I kinda doubt it’ll become a bestseller (go figure XD), but it will totally be worth it ’cause I cannot WAIT to actually dive into this and write all of it. The joy is worth the cost, totally. *grins*
4. How about your least favorite part?
Hm… worldbuilding. I really enjoy coming up with laws of nature and developing some parts of culture, but I’ve been working on it for so long it’s becoming a chore to go back and finish out those five sections I have left. (For those of you wondering, I’ve been using Story Ember’s Worldbuilding Questionnaire to help me out – it’s really cool, you should check it out!) Other than that, it’s been a blast!
5. What do you feel like needs the most work?
You mean besides my procrastination?
Oh, right. Um… probably my worldbuilding. I’m going to have to go over it once or twice more to tighten everything up and develop some aspects a bit more. 🙂 My plot should also get reworked, mostly ’cause I haven’t looked at it since I wrote it and there’s bound to be plot holes I haven’t found. *winces*
6. How do you feel about your characters now? Who’s your favorite? Least favorite? Anyone surprise you? Give us all the details!
Y’ALL. MY TWINSES. THEY ARE SO AWESOME.
Ok, short little spiel here about how this novel came around: it was originally from a dream, and Irad was orginally going to be the main antagonist. And then I decided that Irad had no reason to be the antagonist, so I had to come up with another. And lo and behold, here comes Irad’s backstory, which makes me do the whole *squeals and clutches at heart ’cause I’m dying of pain for my poor charrie* most writers I’ve seen do. *winks* It honestly really fleshed him out as a character and I should really give him chocolate after all this is said and done, due to what I’m going to put him through. *gives my poor boy a hug*
AND GILEAD. He hasn’t changed much from my original plan for him, although he’s got a bit more of a teasing side to him nowadays. In a gentle kind of way. After all, if there’s one word that would describe my Mr. Blind Dude, it would be gentle. *melts* He kinda deserve chocolate too, though – he’s got no clue what I’m going to put him through. *grins*
As for least favorites… does the villain count? I know, I know, an author should love all of their characters – and if they love the villain that tends to make the villain more relatable. But… ok, I’ll probably get burned for this later, but I don’t really want my villain to be relatable. It seems like a lot of authors these days focus on their villains so much that they forget about the protagonists – the ones that we’re supposed to be looking up to. Now, don’t get me wrong, this can lead to some pretty epic plots with epic villains and absolutely epic redemption themes, but I’ve seen that it also tends to leave the protagonist feeling like a cookie-cutter character. *frowns* ATOTB isn’t supposed to be a story about redemption (though there’s an element of that in there) – it’s about hope and perseverance and using your talents. I want my readers to root against my villain, and not because he’s shallow. I want them to stand against his deeds and his motives. I don’t want them to relate to him. Feel pity for him? Sure. Understand why he’s doing what he’s doing? Go for it. Relate to him? No. This story isn’t about the villain – it’s about the protagonists. So I want my readers to relate more to my protagonists than my villain. Maybe I’m wrong in thinking that. *shrugs* Feel fee to tell me your thoughts in the comments!! 😀
*coughs* So… that ended up being a lot longer than I’d anticipated. 😛
7. What’s your next plan of action with this novel?
Step 1: FINISH WORLDBUILDING. Seriously, that’s at the top of my list.
Step 2: Develop characters and their families a bit more.
Step 3: Write, write, write. I’m going to need a lot of chocolate from those of you who know me to get me through that process, but it’s going to be nonstop blazing ahead. *winks*
8. If you could have your greatest dream realized for this novel, what would it be?
To have one kid pick it up and love it to pieces. Just one. One who gleans the lessons from it and applies it to their own lives – be it learning to be brave despite the circumstances, like Irad; learning to sacrifice for the greater good, like Gilead; or learning to accept who you are and work on shaping that person instead of perfecting your mask, like Myra. I want to inspire the to great deeds. (Sound familiar? ;))
9. Share some of your favorite snippets!
Gonna skip this one, since I’ve been sharing snippet of sorts for Story Day. 😉 But here are some faceclaims my favorite Rebekah and fellow author made for me via Artbreeder:
Gilead
Irad
10. Did you glean any new writing and/or life lessons from writing this novel?
Hm. I suppose I’ve been thinking about my themes a lot more, which I suppose you can call life lessons. And I learn new writing lessons with every single project. XD One I learned with this one is the glory of reverse plotting, how helpful character journal entries are, and how fun settings can be. 🙂 There are so many things writing can teach you, though. Which may be why I love it so much… 😛
Wrap Up
*wipes forehead* Phew! That was a whirlwind. Again, thank you Christine for coming up with this, and thank you to all you faithful readers who have been so enthusiastic about this! Your excitement gives me the energy I need to keep working on it – thank you so so so much!
But, as I tend to say too often, that’s a wrap! Another three-part series has been completed. Congratulations on reading it all! *shakes your hand*
And remember, take courage, pursue God, and smile while you still have teeth!
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