Know The Novel | Part Three

EEP! HOW DID I MISS THIS???

*Ahem*

Going back through my blog posts, I realized I never filled out Part Three of Christine’s NaNoWriMo series. Oops!

So, even though NaNo is long past, and the link-up is closed, I’m going to do it anyhow, if for no other reason than so my blog archives will be complete, LOL.

QUESTIONS

1. Firstly, how did writing this novel go all around? Overall, pretty well. I was able to write a little every day, which was the idea of this contest, and while that was a bit exhausting, it was worth the hard work.

2. Did it turn out like you expected or completely different? And how do you feel about the outcome? As I said before, the “filler” between main plot-points had a mind of its own, but on the whole, the book was great fun to write.

3. What aspect of the story did you love writing about the most? (Characters, plot, setting, prose, etc.) The characters, as always. The more I write, the more I realize my greatest strength is character interaction and development, especially via dialogue. The scenes between Liam and Starflower were so sweet, and I loved working with them.

4. How about your least favorite part? Not sure there was a “least favorite” part, exactly—although I do regret not including some of the lore/worldbuilding I intended for Ardonia in general, and the Star Queen in particular. Perhaps I can fit it into the next draft....
The part where the Rat King died was a bit hard to write, I will admit. I do try to keep the violence to a minimum in my writing, but sometimes it’s unavoidable.

5. What do you feel like needs the most work? As I said before: The worldbuilding. I want to explain why it is that Humans can learn magic in this world (considering it’s forbidden in some of my other worlds), why the Forest of the Night has such an evil name among the people, and add a bit of lore to the Star Queen’s character. I also want to give Herr Weisskopf (the “Droselmeier” character) a larger role. He kinda got shoved in a corner by all the StarLiam cuteness. :-P

6. How do you feel about your characters now that the novel is done? I love them dearly. Not, perhaps, as much as some of the cast from Prince Nácil or the Peanut Gallery, but I enjoyed working with them, and look forward to polishing up their story a bit more in the near future (Lord willing). Who’s your favorite? Liam and Starflower, for sure. These two are just so sweet—but in a “root for them to have their Happily Ever After” kind of way. Starflower has just enough temper to balance out her sweetness—

Anton Argentos:Which is another way of saying, She’s not another Elsie Dinsmore. XP

(Well, I wasn’t going to say it....)
*Ahem*
—and Liam is...well, he’s the type of Hero I find myself writing a lot: Tender-hearted, sensitive and caring, observant and thoughtful, kind and gentle but also valiant and protective. A gentleman through-and-through.Least favorite? Don’t think there was a “least favorite” character, per se. Frau Ratzenburger felt a bit two-dimensional...but then, villains are my weak point, especially female villains, for some stupid reason.Anyone surprise you? Give us all the details! It’s been so long since I wrote the book, I don’t remember if anyone in particular surprised me...although the Magic Mirror’s prophecy was totally a spur-of-the-moment thing, but I really like it, and it ended up an important part of the finale.
Actually, on further thought, Kürt Ratzenburger being the jolly joker character, and a musician/actor, was a surprise...but then, I find I always have to have at least one character who tries to lighten the mood with snark and/or wise-cracks. :-P

7. What’s your next plan of action with this novel? My goal is to go back and polish up PS a bit more—move one scene so the plot flows more smoothly, perhaps add a bit more worldbuilding/background, etc. I also want to develop Starflower’s six other cousins (Fritz’s younger brothers) better, as they end up being rather important at the end, and I want the readers to be connected with them by that point. I don’t want to change or expand it too much, as I want to keep it in the children’s/YA category, but I feel there’s more to the story than what I’ve written, so God helping me, I intend to add it in as best I can.

8. If you could have your greatest dream realized for this novel, what would it be? Isn’t the greatest dream of any author to have one’s work published? That’s my goal (Lord willing), anyhow. I would love for my little “expanded Faerie-tale”/mashup to be read and enjoyed, and for it to be a blessing to those who read it...and perhaps have it inspire other writers to try combining stories they previously thought too dissimilar.

9. Share a snippet of one of your most favorite scenes! I feel like I’ve already shared my top faves already (one or two of them twice, oops), but I’m rather fond of this bit, too:

Thoughts came into the Nutcracker’s head—knowledge of how to save Starflower and the Dwarves. His heart constricted, for with that knowledge came the realization that the old witch was right; this quest might just cost him his life. But if I can bring back Starflower and the Dwarves to the Land of the Living, he thought, then...then I shall die happy, knowing they’re safe.

He rose to his feet, squaring his wooden shoulders. “I must also touch the Crown,” he explained, “and enter the Dream World, and bring her and the Dwarves back by sunset.”

The Star Queen laid a dainty hand on his shoulder. “God protect you, dear Liam, and grant you success.”

“I have much more I would say to you, young man,” the Moon King stated, “but it shall keep until you return.” He shook the Nutcracker’s hand and clapped him on the shoulder. “Godspeed, my son!” Then he and the Star Queen took a step back, holding hands and looking at him expectantly.

The Nutcracker took a deep breath to steady himself, bowed to them, and faced the sleeping Starflower. He patted her hand gently and whispered, “Hold on, Princess; I’m coming.”
Then he reached out and touched the Poison Crown.

10. Did you glean any new writing and/or life lessons from writing this novel? Not particularly, but it was good for me to have that deadline and motivation to write a little every day. However, I don’t think I could keep up that pace on a regular basis—I’d probably burn out after a while....
But I did have fun, and it still kind of amazes me that I finished an entire book in three weeks. Sole Deo Gloria!

Based on advice from both my mother (who might be a wee bit biased, LOL), and Kendra (who is an actual Published Author and therefore ought to know), I’m thinking of publishing Princess Starflower and possibly one other “expanded Faerie-tale” before launching the Ýdära Multiverse...Lord willing I can figure out the mess that is getting published these days...but that’s another kettle o’ fish entirely....

...the rationale being that PS and the other story*, being on the shorter side, will give people a sample of my writing without overwhelming them right at first. Plus it’ll (theoretically) give me a bit more time to get Prince Nácil and its sequels ready for publication (Lord willing...).

* Tentatively entitled The Woodcutter’s Children at present, although I’ve also considered The Dragon’s Candlestick or The Magic [or Enchanted] Candlestick. Any suggestions are most welcome!

Please pray for me as I slog through this new endeavor—that God will show me what route to take in publishing the stories He’s put in my head, and all that entails.

Please pray for Inspiration as I work on the sequels, and the other series I have planned—my timelines are a bit of a mess, and I’m still figuring out certain plot points and other elements in this series (Children of Light/House of Othniel) that set things in motion for the other series (especially the Heirs of Dunsmüir Saga).

Until next time, Gentle Readers,

God bless, and take care of yourselves!

~ℛ~

Know the Novel | Part Two

And here’s Part Two of Christine’s fun writing tag, Know The Novel. The tag originates on Christine’s blog, Musings of an Elf. Check out her post for more details.

So this time, I get to yak about how the actual writing is going, gush about my Characters, and sundry what-nots like that.

AntonArgentos:

Characters who, oddly enough, haven’t made it to Peanut Gallery* status.

Perhaps because I didn’t intend to get as emotionally involved with them as with you lot? :-P This *was* going to be a “nice little bit of fluff to play with while I take a break from Prince Nácil,” after all. *Eyeroll*

OK, enough rambling. On to the Tag!

* Peanut Gallery = The various and sundry Voices in My Head/facets of my complicated psyche, whom I’ve personified as several Characters from my many WIPs.

QUESTIONS

1. How’s the writing going? FINISHED!!! I got to the end of the book on November 23^rd with an official wordcount of 32,231 words (62 pages in Open Office). It was kinda weird, finishing an entire book in a little over three weeks. It’s also a little sad that I didn’t make it to the 50,000 words goal...but I’ve told all of the story I wanted to tell (that would have fit without feeling dragged-out or shoehorned in), so continuing to write woud just be so much excess fluff at this point. I think my brother said it best: “It’s just not a 50,000-word story.” Besides, my main reason for doing NaNo this year was to get into the habit of writing each day, which I’ve done, so that’s a win, aye?
As far as the actual process went, it felt like it took me f o r e v e r to progress the plot (especially the Party Scene, ’ikes!), yet writing basically all day, every day got me to the end of the book before the month was out. Crazy! But cool, too.

2. What’s been the most fun aspect about writing this novel so far? Combining two very dissimilar “fairytales” into one story, and weaving in dances from the Ballet, plus bits of live performances I’ve seen over the years.

3. Has your novel surprised you in any way? Mainly in the area of organic development. Despite writing out a list of main/important plot-points I wanted to include in the book, detailing how those events unfolded within the story just...had a mind of its own still. :-P
On a pleasanter note, the Magic Mirror spouted a pretty cool Prophecy out of the Blue (see snippets below), which I think gave the story a bit more depth.

4. What do you think of your characters at this point? Who’s your favorite to write about? ’On the whole, I like them. They’re basically how I envisioned them. Princess Starflower is sweet and encouraging, with just enough initial bashfulness around Liam to be believable. Liam himself...wow, what a sweetheart. <3 Herr Weisskopf ended up with a smaller role than I intended, but perhaps I can fix that in the next draft. Fritz is the perfect fop that you love to hate, and the Queen of the Night turned out deliciously crafty and...well, evil.

5. 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? I’d totally be Princess Starflower. When I myself was twelve years old, I still enjoyed games of Let’s Pretend...and was horribly shy of boys! (Still am, actually, although it’s gotten a bit better in recent years.) Don’t think I’d do anything different than Starflower does in the story—nothing positive, anyhow. I’d probably sulk the rest of the evening after Fritz broke the nutcracker, and my twelve-year-old self for sure wouldn’t get over being afraid of Liam that quickly! >_<

6. Give us the first sentence or paragraph and then 2 (or 3!) more favorite snippets!

First sentence: The Kingdom of Ardonia had enjoyed many years of peace and prosperity, ruled by the wise and fair Moon King and his beloved Star Queen.

~Favorite snippets~

The Queen jumped and threw a saucy grin at her husband. “Ah! My lord, I did not hear you approach. Fie, for shame, to startle a woman with child.”

“I’m certain you shall come to forgive me in time.” He kissed her tenderly. “As for our Small One yonder”—patting the Queen’s belly—“I would be very much surprised if it looked aught but how you’ve described, considering our own complexions.” He gave her dark locks a playful tug and pinched her rosy cheek as he spoke. “The real question will be whether God shall bless us with a fair daughter to inherit your soft curls and dark eyes, or a strapping son blessed with my manly physique.” He struck a heroic pose, meriting a laugh from the Queen.

[Author Intrusion: In which the Moon King suddenly channeled Anton Argentos. XD]

Fritz looked a bit foolish, turning the lever over in his hands. Then he gave a nervous laugh and shrugged his shoulders. “What a lot of fuss over a silly toy.” He dropped the lever and began to walk towards Starflower. “Come, now, Cousin Starflower; let’s finish the dance.”

Starflower glared up at him. “I don’t want to dance with you, you great bully.” A tear slid down her cheek, and she hugged the nutcracker to her heart.

Fritz began to reply, extending his hand to her in a way that made her anxious.

Liam stepped protectively in front of her. “The Princess says she doesn’t want to dance with you,” he growled.

Fritz stopped short, eyes wide in astonished outrage.

Liam gulped, but stood firm.

“Hold your tongue, little man,” Fritz sneered. “You forget yourself. Or do you not realize whom you are addressing?” He looked down his nose at Liam, head held high, his whole being radiating hauteur.

Liam lifted his chin. “I may not be of noble birth, mein herr,” he retorted, “but I’m more of a gentleman than you are.”

“Magic Mirror,” she intoned, “tell me if there is any danger to this plan of action, and how I may prevent it.”

Again the Mirror growled and turned black, answering in the same low tones:

“True Love’s Sword shall be thy bane,

True Love’s Call shall wake the slain,

True Love’s Kiss shall win the fight,

And Love United sets it right.”

The Mirror showed an image of a young couple in splendid clothes, with crowns on their heads, facing each other with clasped hands. A bright light shone behind them, and a kind of fog shrouded the image, so Frau Ratzenburger couldn’t make out their exact features or any other details that might point to their identities. She asked the Mirror to tell her more about them, but it only repeated its previous answer. To Frau Ratzenburger, it sounded like a prophecy of doom....

7. Have you come across any problem areas? Mainly figuring out how to incorporate the dances from the Ballet and make them interesting. Too little detail, and it’s like, “What does this even accomplish?” Too much detail, and my readers might as well just go see the Ballet, LOL. I also had a spot of bother fitting in the Magic Mirror...until I realized Frau Ratzenburger/the Queen of the Night’s reason for hating Starflower wasn’t jealousy of her looks....

8. What’s been your biggest victory with writing this novel at this point? Besides finishing a whole book in three weeks? ;-P Probably the fact that the two stories really did mesh pretty well.

9. Be honest, have you killed any characters off yet? Anyone who’s read Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and at least seen the Nutcracker Ballet knows there’s at least one death involved. Anyone who’s actually read E.T.A. Hoffmann’s Nutcracker and Mouse King knows there are at least two (we won’t count Snow White and the Nutcracker because they either weren’t really dead or came back to life).
I did kill off one other character besides the villains...but...ehehe, spoilers, sweetie.

10. Take us on a tour of a what a normal writing day for this particular novel has looked 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! A typical day of writing for R.R. Goodwill generally began around 10:30 or 11:00 a.m., after I’d done the usual morning things and what-not...and OK, yeah, gotten distracted by YouTube videos, e-mail checking, Pinterest rabbit-holes, and/or jewelry projects that suddenly decided to inspire me. :-P I have my laptop (affectionately christened “Batman” due to its black and silver exterior) set up in my room, where I can shut myself away from the rest of the house for a while.
No coffee for this little monkey (can’t handle the Caffeine Buzzzzzz), nor tea (too expensive to drink casually), nor cocoa (don’t have mix, and I hate making it from scratch because it turns out bitter)...however, I did nosh on at least a roll a day of Smarties (leftover Trick-or-Treat fodder) while writing this book. Oddly appropriate, actually....
And while I generally don’t listen to music while writing, I found it helpful to play parts of the Nutcracker Suite and Waltz of the Snowflakes, to help get a feel for the mood of the scene I wanted to write.

I don’t tag anyone, because the only two people left on the Blogosphere that I actually know have already done it. :-P Eagerly awaiting Part Three!

Until next time, Gentle Readers,

God bless,

~ℛ~

Know the Novel | Princess Starflower

Taking a break from NaNoWriMo to participate in this fun little tag, which my friend and fellow “scribbler”/NaNoite,* Melody Muffin, featured on her blog recently. The tag originates on Christine’s blog, Musings of an Elf. Check out her post for more details.

Sadly, the link-up for this part of the tag is now closed, but Christine says she’ll post Part Two this month.

* NaNoite = Participant in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo/NaNo)

Below, I’ll share tidbits about my current NaNo WIP, Princess Starflower. I had already started jotting down some notes and a couple snippets (which I will be re-writing word-for-word to keep my project “legal,” LOL) a year ago, but not much. I chose it as my NaNo projects because it seemed like something I could write a bit less intensely than Prince Nácil or any of my other Ýdära books.

Shout-out to Shawn P., a long-time friend who suggested (last Summer, but hey, better late than never, wot?) that I participate in NaNo . It was kinda cool he even remembered I write books, so...here we are. 😊

OK, enough rambling. On to the Tag!

QUESTIONS

~All photos via Pinterest~

1. What first sparked the idea for this novel? A dream I had in November 2017, which was a mashup of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs but also featured a live Nutcracker. It seemed like a cool basis for a novel, so I started jotting down ideas and snippets. I know it’s kind of a strange mix, but it totally works!

2. Share a blurb! *Suddenly realizes she stinks at thinking up blurbs* Um...y’all can read the one I wrote for my NaNo page....

3. Where does the story take place? In the fictional Kingdom of Ardonia, ruled by the Moon King and Star Queen.
What are some of your favorite aspects about the setting? *Sheepish* I...actually haven’t given much thought to the setting, apart from the fact that Our Heroine and her family live in a Castle, and there’s a creepy wood at the border of the kingdom called the Forest of the Night. As usual, I’m focusing more on the characters and the interactions more than the world they live in. *So lame*

4. Tell us about your protagonist. Princess Starflower, AKA the “Snow White”/“Clara”-character of this story. Our Heroine is a bit shy and prefers quiet activities like reading, embroidery, and playing Let’s Pretend with her toys, but she can be friendly and outgoing with people she knows.

Oddly enough, the male lead in this story—Liam, the character inspired by Drosselmeir’s apprentice—gets quite a bit of POV, too, so I guess he’s the secondary protagonist. I hadn’t intended it, but...well, it just felt right. ;-P Liam is quiet and thoughtful, a bit shy, but kind and empathic. He has a highly-developed power of observation and justice. (Really, so many of my “boys” are such sweethearts!)

(LOL, this reminds me of Diana Rigg's
portrayal in the Cannon MovieTale film!)

5. Who (or what) is the antagonist? Starflower’s aunt, Frau Ratzenburger, a bitter, scheming woman with ambitions for setting up her eldest son, Fritz, as Moon King...no matter what it takes.

6. What excites you the most about this novel? Finally making a literal dream into a reality!

7. Is this going to be a series? Standalone? Something else? Standalone.

8. Are you plotting? Pantsing? Plansting? Totally Plansting. I wrote out a basic outline/list of plot-points I wanted for the story, but actually writing the actual story between the plot-points has proved...*interesting.* “Filler” always seems to have a mind of its own....

9. Name a few things that makes this story unique. Probably the fact that it’s a mash-up of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the Nutcracker Ballet, with nods to E.T.A Hoffmann’s original story. I’m weaving in bits from the live performances of the Ballet my family have seen, and scenes inspired by them (the interaction between Our Heroine and the Nephew/Apprentice in particular). Also, the Evil Queen in this retelling is the protagonist's aunt, not her step-mother, and the Fritz-character is her eldest cousin, not her brother. (Fun fact: In my dream, the Evil Queen/Queen of the Night actually was Starflower’s stepmother—she tricked the King into thinking the real Queen was dead so he’d marry her—but I decided that might be a bit...awkward...for a children’s story. And I just realized I gave y’all a spoiler. Aw well. ;-))

10. Share a fun “extra” of the story (a song or full playlist, some aesthetics, a collage, a Pinterest board, a map you’ve made, a special theme you’re going to incorporate, ANYTHING you want to share!). My Pinterest board for this book: ~Click Me!~

The Nutcracker Suite.* I listened to this several times while writing the Royal Christmas Party scene. I usually don’t listen to music while writing—the images conjured up move more quickly than my fingers can type!—but it was necessary to get the “feel” of the dances, and their basic chronology.

* We actually have this on CD, but I didn’t want to lug the player u pto my room. Plus my headphones have better sound, LOL. My only beef with this version is that it omits several of the Party Dances and the Waltz of the Snowflakes.

Enjoy some of my favorite snippets so far:

The Queen jumped and threw a saucy grin at her husband. “Ah! My lord, I did not hear you approach. Fie, for shame, to startle a woman with child.”

“I’m certain you shall come to forgive me in time.” He kissed her tenderly. “As for our Small One yonder”—patting the Queen’s belly—“I would be very much surprised if it looked aught but how you’ve described, considering our own complexions.” He gave her dark locks a playful tug and pinched her rosy cheek as he spoke. “The real question will be whether God shall bless us with a fair daughter to inherit your soft curls and dark eyes, or a strapping son blessed with my manly physique.” He struck a heroic pose, meriting a laugh from the Queen.

“But she’s so pretty, Uncle,” Liam protested. “That is—well, they do say she’s the fairest maiden in the kingdom. She’d never even look at a plain fellow like me.”

“Pish-posh!” Herr Weisskopf chuckled. “You’re not so plain as you style yourself, my boy, and in any case, you’ve not done growing yet. Remember; every majestic oak-tree was once a spindly little sapling. Like them, you’ll soon grow out of your awkward stage and rise to become something better. Just keep telling yourself, ‘I am an oak-tree.’”

Starflower glared up at him. “I don’t want to dance with you, you great bully.” A tear slid down her cheek, and she hugged the nutcracker to her heart.

Fritz began to reply, extending his hand to her in a way that made her anxious.

Liam stepped protectively in front of her. “The Princess says she doesn’t want to dance with you,” he growled.

Fritz stopped short, eyes wide in astonished outrage.

Liam gulped, but stood firm.

“Hold your tongue, little man,” Fritz sneered. “You forget yourself. Or do you not realize whom you are addressing?” He looked down his nose at Liam, head held high, his whole being radiating hauteur.

Liam lifted his chin. “I may not be of noble birth, mein herr,” he retorted, “but I’m more of a gentleman than you are.”

The air around her and Liam seemed to sparkle, and a blueish light shone about them. Liam suddenly jumped up and extended his hand, and to Staflower’s astonishment, she found herself taking it. She and Liam skipped and spun across the dance floor, waltzing in unison as though they’d been taking lessons together all their lives.

“Princess!” Frau Ratzenburger’s sharp voice scolded.

The blue light disappeared. The sparkles vanished. Liam and Starflower halted in mid-step and stood looking at each other in confusion.

I don’t tag anyone, because the only two people left on the Blogosphere that I actually know have already done it. :-P Eagerly awaiting Parts Two and Three!

Until next time, Gentle Readers,

God bless,

~ℛ~