NaNoWriMo 2021: The Idea

This book is mostly the fault of James Gunn. 

In 2014, like so so many others, I was enamored by Guardians of the Galaxy. I left the theater in that glorious excitement from a great movie, which I miss oh so much. I loved every bit of that movie and spent the night gushing with my friends. Soon after, I went to see it again. 

But this time...something bothered me. More than bothered me. One scene, just a few seconds, had me angry. The motley crew of heroes has brought the Power Stone to the collector, who explains how dangerous the Infinity Stones are. Then his slave Carina (whose name I had to look up on IMDb just to verify since it's only used once) approaches the stone. She claims it for herself, to free herself from his cruelty. But the stone rips her apart with its power. She's then immediately forgotten for the rest of the movie since the Guardians have other villains to deal with. 

Carina is sacrificed purely to show the audience how dangerous the stones are, and how much of a big deal it is that Quill can hold it without dying. There's been an issuing with "fridging" women for years, especially in superhero movies. But this scene really stuck with me. I wanted more of Carina, more of her rebellion and desire for power. I wanted to her to rise up and fight back. So I tried to tell that story. 

I tried quite a few times. I wrote multiple versions of my heroine claiming items of power, being consumed by their power, ravaging chaos in their wake. But these stories just weren't working. They were filled with nothing much anger and death, violence and hate. My heroine kept becoming a victim or a villain. It wasn't ever really HER story. But like any good writer, I saved those rough ideas and turned them into something else. But I still wanted to tell that story. 

Then, this August, I watched The Suicide Squad. Again, I was enamored by it. The movie managed to blend violence and anger, but with so much fun and heart. James Gunn did it again. However, I will make an important note that he built off the amazing work Cathy Yan did with Birds of Prey, which I watched right before The Suicide Squad. By watching these two movies, something just clicked in my head. All the disjoined pieces of the story that had been living in my head for years finally came together.

I had her story. 

It's the most wonderful* time of the year!

*hectic

NaNoWriMo is coming closer and closer. I'm in preparation mode over here. Working on edits for one book while preparing to draft another. It's actually helpful, letting Editor Brain work on one thing, and Creative Brain work on something else. 

I'm so excited about this new idea. I think it's going to be well over 50K, maybe in the 100k range. Hopefully it'll be finished by the end of the year, but this hasn't been the year for things going according to plan. 

And there are plans aplenty! First of which, is trying to get this blog back in motion. I want to chronicle this year's NaNo since this book has a special meaning for me. Not that my other books aren't special, but this one has been brewing for some time. 

When The Writing Process Tries to Evolve

 Sometimes, you want to try something new. You try to write a new book in a new style. And you're excited about the challenge in something new. 

But it doesn't always work out the way you wanted it. 

I find myself completely stuck after trying to do something new and different. I'm reluctant to call this a failure, since I still think I have a good story and a good idea. But the Muse has fallen silent. And I honestly think it's because I tried to change my entire process for writing a novel. Doing so in the middle of a pandemic certainly did not help matters.

New outlining process and new writing software kept causing my brain to stall. I was so distracted by all the "work" on creating the story, that I was hardly writing the story. When I did manage to write, it was an impossibly slow pace and I ended up deleting half of what I wrote anyway. 60,000 words isn't terrible work, but it wasn't the right work. I wasn't happy with this book, and I don't want to write something if it doesn't make me happy. 

So I'm taking a break from that story, which never feels good. But it's necessary. In time, I'll return and start over. And no more experiments with the writing process for now. If you have something that works for you, why mess with it? 

The Writing Process

I personally find the writing process fascinating. I love learning how all my favorite authors craft their books. Not everyone does it the same way. And after all these years, I finally figured out my best method.

1. The Rough Draft: I find that handwriting has been immensely helpful for my writing process. There's less pressure when you're just writing ideas and scenes in a notebook. Plus, it lets me use up the literally hundreds of notebooks sitting around my house. 

2. The First Draft: Then comes the only downside to handwriting a novel...typing up about 100,000 words. It may seem like a huge amount of time rewriting what you just spent months writing, but I like it. First, it lets me do a quick edit while I'm writing. I can see which sentences need work, which scenes need to be expanded or cut. The time between first writing a scene and then typing it also allows you a little perspective to see if it's awesome as you first thought. So while a lengthy part of the process, it's well worth the time. 

3. The Second Draft/Edit: This is just a quick read though of what I've just typed up once the book is completed. This hopefully catches any of the big plot issues, typos, or earlier scenes that need changes for continuity. (I'm actually at this stage right now, which is where I found I have the same painting in three different places. Which could be a fun plot, but not for this book)

Usually, somewhere between Steps 2 and 3 is when I have another person take a look at the book. My main reason for this is because by this point I'm the process I'm stuck in the mental loop of thinking my writing is both brilliant and garbage. Having another person's input really helps me here. My Critique Partner is an absolute genius and always knows exactly what will push me and my writing in the right direction. Since I'm still in the beginning of edits and revisions, I can ask her questions about what is and isn't working, along with what to possibly add or cut to make the book better.

4. The Third Edit: Now, I print out the book and scribble all over it in red pens. Here is where I'm completely brutal. Scenes get cut, others get entirely rewritten. Not a single page is left unscathed.

5. The Fourth Edit/Draft: I'm not sure if I'd call this a full edit, since it's just typing up all the changes from the print out. But changing mediums again still lets me catch things I missed before. Typos hiding in the shadows, characters changing names, those sort of things. Sometimes I find that things I cut while being brutal can still work. It's all about perspective here. This is also the stage where I might ask for another reading from outside eyes. Usually this request is focusing on specific issues or scenes that I still have doubts with. But for the most part, this is the stage where I feel best about my writing.

6. The Final: Final is actually a retaliative term here. I give the book another complete read on my computer. Really, its doing that "final" read several times until I think the book is in the best state I can get it. Some books only need one more detailed reading for edits, while others need a lot more.

Then comes the really hard part. Querying...

A Slow and Steady March

Writing is a curious endeavor. On one hand, it looks as if I've accomplished absolutely nothing. My writing career hasn't changed status in the slightest. But that's not what I should focus on. In reality, I've done a great deal recently.

I've written, edited, revised, and queried "The Lost Letters of Benjamina Baneridge". It was my first ever attempt at writing an entire book in first person, and finally let me write the "Gothic Governess" story that every Victorian author wants to add to their collection. That novel was a little over 100,000 words when I first finished, but it's been trimmed to a neater 98,000. It's a book I'm immensely proud of, and I'm going to do my best to get it published. I've been querying it all year, and it's gotten some good feedback.

I also started and finished writing "The Ruin of Dunrose Castle" this year. It's at 105,000 words so far, but I expect it to grow as I edit and add in footnotes. I've always wanted to write something with footnotes, so I just went for it. And why not! It's both tricky and fun.

Now, I'm 20,000 words into a new book for NaNoWriMo. It's turning into something interesting, but I haven't quite worked all the details out yet. But that's for after November.

So not including all the "started and quickly abandoned" projects, that's a minimum of  225,000 words in less than two years. Doing all that during the insanity of "Real Life" is impressive, for me at least. I think it's important to focus on what successes I do have. One of these days, one of these books is going to get out there.

Another Retrospective

Life never seems to go according to plan, does it? But we're still here and we're still pressing on. Plenty of new projects to keep focusing on. Although my goal for this year was to work on one manuscript at a time, in reality I've kept it down to two at a time. I suppose that's progress?

A friend teasingly pointed out my fondness for writing about thieves, rogues, killers, and the detectives pursuing them. I won't deny some similarities in my writing. Keeping this in mind, I do work to make sure each story has its unique differences. But, a question popped into my mind.

What is a Marissa Priest Story?

They are about young ladies, fighting against a world set against them living as their true selves. I think that's why 19th century appeals to this theme so well. Everyone already has these preconceived notions about repressed Victorians. History shows a much more interesting story. And I want to take that and tailor it for my lovely ladies.

I cannot think of a single lady I've written who is entirely happy with her life in the beginning of the story. They all have to work for their "happily ever after", and often literally fight for it. I'd have to say that not all of them have the same anger in that fight as the others. A few rely more on their wit, while others use weaponry.

As every writer I know can agree, nothing comes easy. You have to work every day, no matter the obstacles. Of course my characters are going to be in the same place. They are part of me after all.

Tea And Tomes: An Introduction

Who doesn't love curling up with a good book and hot tea? Obviously, everyone does. My favorite times are when I can lose myself in a novel, come up for air, and then be inspired for my own work. I know I've found an excellent book when I finish it with a sense of awe and a new drive for my own writing. I tell myself, keep working and you can join your heroes one day!

Today, I want to share a little bit about one such hero. As I'm sure the entire world knows by now, I love Middle Earth. So, when I say that I have read Gail Carriger's work almost as many times as Lord of the Rings, you should get an idea of how much I adore her.

In all honesty, I wouldn't be the same writer without her. In college, I was stuck in a bit of a hole with my writing. I wanted it to be a fantastical mystery, but the words weren't complying. It didn't help that I was receiving critiques that said it was "too much genre". I decided to put my random ramblings aside and focus on the core mystery that would eventually turn into Our Fathers. Through my research, I stumbled upon steampunk. This genre had everything I ever wanted. I was in heaven.

A blog was running a promotion for a new book, Soulless. I was captivated by the description, and the interview with its illustrious author. As fate would have it, I actually won a copy of Soulless in that blog's raffle. I waited with bated breath for it to arrive. I read it in less than a week and proceeded to lend it to my friends.

Since then, she's written three incredible and successful series, and is now self-publishing novellas. Miss Gail is, as one of my favorite Hamilton songs says, NON STOP. Each novel is incredibly fun, and deeply touching. While I have been praising her here and on every other form of social media, I want to take the next few entries to delve deeper into these incredible stories.

 For today, I am settling in with a big cup of English Breakfast and her first novella, Poison or Protect. This will be my fourth (maybe fifth) re-read of it. I'll be back with my thoughts once the cup is empty.