Beautiful Books 2016: Ever Lost Update

Gooooooood morning, Cyberspace! Today is a wonderful, bright and shiny Saturday!

Wait–what?

“Kenzie,” you say, “don’t you normally post on Tuesdays, and when you procrastinate get busy, sometimes on Thursdays?”

Why yes. That is correct. (And I can read that strike-out, by the way. Who do you think you’re fooling??) However, today I’m not doing a normal post, and Tuesday is reserved for my NaNoWriMo Week 3 Inspiration and Recap, and basically I’m just procrastinating writing my book by writing a blog post instead.

#logic

Anyway, as you might recall from a few weeks back, I recently participated in the spectacular Link-Up called Beautiful Books, which is hosted by Cait and Sky. (Check out their blogs, okay? They are positively wonderful! [I can wait…])

 

(Click here to be launched through a mystical portal…[maybe… Last time it didn’t work.])

The last time I participated in this Link-Up, I introduced my NaNo novel, Ever Lost. Now, Cait and Sky have posted even more wonderful questions, and so here I am with the official…

Ever Lost Update

(Beautiful Books Edition)

So, without further ado, let’s jump to the questions!

1. Overall, how is your mental state, and how is your novel going?

Let’s start with the mental state, shall we??

ALDKFJ ALDFKJA LOADKJSF ADKLJFN APOWEIFJN LDSKANJ L;KDFJADLKFJ

And now on to my novel:

It’s actually going rather well… I’ve got 22k words down already, so that’s pretty nice, but that’s largely in part to actually having an outline, which, had I known this would actually be a huge help to me in November, I would have finished it, instead of quitting halfway through.

So I have about four chapters left before my outline is out.

#helpme

2. What’s your first sentence (or paragraph)?

Miriam was late again.

Oh the suspense. It is killing me.

3. Who’s your current favourite character in your novel?

Ooh… That’s a toughie… I love all of my main characters for differing reasons, but I think if I had to pick between the four of them, I’d have to go with Adaline. She’s the very main character, she’s adorable and amazing, and she’s just so loveable.

There’s really nothing to not love about her. Except for…well…some stuff.

4. What do you love about your novel so far?

Probably my characters. I mean, they’re pretty much what’s driving the entire story right now.

And also, I’m discovering that they all have really weird quirks. Like how Peter keeps having his research smashed.

Seriously. It’s a problem.

5. Have you made any hilarious typos or other mistakes?

Well, in one scene, Peter and Adaline were face-face.

Yeah, not really sure how that one came about…

Oh. And then there’s the small problem of how I completely forgot about my outline in chapter two and veered so off-course that one of my main character’s are now suffering from a deadly illness.

#hilarious

6. What is your favourite to write: beginning, middle, or end — and why?

Ooh… I don’t know… Probably the beginning.

I mean, that’s usually how far I get before quitting and starting a new beginning for another story. Middles always lag for me like a soggy napkin, and endings are just myths that I hear about, yet have never personally experienced.

7. What are your writing habits? Is there a specific snack you eat? Do you listen to music? What time of day do you write best? Feel free to show us a picture of your writing space!

I’m actually a very unpredictable writer, however, there are a few rules that I live by:

1. I sometimes always write as soon as I wake up
2. Skittles.
3. Music either helps me write or slows me down, and I never know which one it is until three hours have passed and I’ve done absolutely nothing
4. My writing location must always be changing. Sometimes it is a cramped little corner of the staircase, sometimes it is sprawled out on the living room couch, sometimes it is tucked away in an armchair that quite literally eats anyone who sits in it alive

8. How private are you about your novel while you’re writing? Do you need a cheer squad or do you work alone (like, ahem, Batman)?

*slams iron door in your face and secures all 72 locks*

Uhhh… Okay, so sometimes I love encouragement, and other times I’m just like, “GO AWAY YOU KNOW NOT WHAT I AM GOING THROUGH”.

So yeah. Good luck figuring out which mood I’m in.

9. What keeps you writing even when it’s hard?

*screams incoherently*

Ugh… I’m not really sure. I guess quotes from famous and dead people usually work. Pinterest has a whole boatload of them, and Anna over at Swords And Quills posts extremely encouraging quotes every Wednesday, which I absolutely love reading. I mean, what’s better to keep you motivated than reading what famous people have to say???

10. What are your top 3 pieces of writing advice?

Uh….

1. Write for yourself. Do not write for your family. Do not write for your friends. Do not write to become famous. Do not write to be published. Do not write for any other reason other than because it is what you love to do, and a life without writing for you is like a life without breathing. Write for yourself. It is your art. Your creation. Your words. No one has a say in it other than you. So write it for yourself.

2. Writing is hard. We all know it. We’ve all felt the pain, the frustration, and the anger when the words just won’t come, but you cannot give up. You are a writer, and just because writing is not easy does not mean you can quit. By all means, take a break. Go for a walk, eat some candy, browse the Youtube, eat more candy, do something other than fry your brain over a keyboard, but do not give up on your dream, your story, or your future as an author because it does not come easily. Nothing worth having comes without hard work and effort. Remember that, young one.

And finally,

3. Be yourself–don’t mimic someone else just because their thing worked. Comparing yourself to other people is one of the most natural things in the world; however, when you force your writing to sound a certain way, just because it worked for that other famous person, you begin to lose something so beautiful and magical, it can never be replaced.

Yourself.

Now, your writing is going to naturally take on certain tones and qualities from your favorite authors, or bloggers, or whatever, but it’s when you begin to mentally try and force your work to sound a certain way that you lose your own, beautiful writing voice. Your voice is unique to yourself. Maybe you think it’s too weird. Maybe you believe that it’s not as good as the next enchilada’s, but here’s the catch–

Do you like your speaking voice? When you hear it on a recording, do you just thrill with excitement and think, “Oh my word, I love the way I sound!”

No. The answer is no. And if you give any other answer then you are a lying bean. No one likes the way their voice sounds, and the same goes with your writing voice. You may not like it, but you can bet your salsa that there is someone out there who will fall in love with it, and, quite possibly, wish that it was theirs.

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I’d like to give a huge thank you to Cait and Sky for hosting Beautiful Books! I absolutely love the questions, and it is so much fun to participate!

 

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now! How is your NaNoWriMo project going? Are you even doing NaNoWriMo? Are you ahead? Behind? Do you need a friendly reminder of just how awesome you are??? Are you hungry? I’m starving… I think it’s all that talk about enchiladas and salsa… Anyway, leave a comment below! (I’m handing out virtual enchiladas today, so make sure to bring a fork! [okay this just keeps getting weirder…])