Beautiful People - Danica

So when I asked my beta readers who I should interview, everyone said different characters. (I love you girls but you need to get better at agreeing.) Two of the characters already have painfully awkward and outdated interviews, so we're going with the other one - Danica! She is my sweet little INFJ genius made of stardust and quiet comfort, and I love her dearly.
   As usual, I'm joining Beautiful People, a linkup hosted by Cait @ Paper Fury and Sky @ Further Up and Further In, who are both wonderful people that you should follow right now. I mean it. Go follow them. I'll wait.

   So without further ado, let's get to know Danica!

1. What’s their favourite book/movie/play/etc.?
   Well, she's from a fantasy world, and her family is far too poor to own any books. But if she lived in our world...
Book: Jane Eyre, The Raven Cycle, Harry Potter(duh)
Movie: Beauty and the Beast, Labyrinth
Play: Phantom of the Opera

2. Is there anything they regret doing?
   She regrets being awkward and bad with people, because that makes it hard for her to fit in and have friends.

3. If they were sick or wounded, who would take care of them and how?
   Danica is usually the one taking care of the sick or wounded, but if she needed someone to take care of her, she'd trust Egin and/or Allorie. 

4. Is there an object they can’t bear to part with and why?
   This isn't exactly an object, but she'd hate to cut her hair. It's very long and thick, and she's able to do a lot of cool braids. She considers it her most attractive feature.

5. What are 5 ways to win their heart (or friendship)?
- Pay attention to her (she was a neglected little child)
- Have philosophical discussions with her
- Treat her ideas, thoughts, and feelings with respect
- Let her be her own person and don't try to control or confine her
- Take the initiative in social situations*

   
   *Danica is an shy introverted child and appreciates when she doesn't have to make the first move

6. Describe a typical outfit for them from top to bottom.
   Some kind of braid, a simple dress, and during the colder months, well-worn shoes.

7. What’s their favorite type of weather?
   Clear days where the sun is bright but the air is still cool. Or nights when there are no clouds and you can see all the stars.

8. What’s the worst fight they’ve ever been in?
   She's probably gotten into some nasty fights with her stepmom or her oldest half-sister. Neither of them are very fond of Danica.

9. What names or nicknames have they been called throughout their life?
   Her siblings and the mean kids from her village have probably given her some nicknames that she'd prefer not to hear again.

10. What makes their heart feel alive?
   Stars. Late-night talks about anything. Hugging the people close to her. Stars. Learning new things. Taking time to herself to just think. And did I mention stars.

   And that's all the questions! I love participating in Beautiful People and I look forward to it every month. Thanks for reading!

   What did you think of Danica? She's pretty great, isn't she? Do you have any characters like Danica, or characters she'd get along with? (hint, she has a secret weakness for "bad boys" when they aren't actually terrible human beings.)

#WIPJoy Character Takeover

   Okay, so I literally missed all of February. I've been lazy and sick and working more than normal. I'm doing my best, okay? And I have a super cool post planned for next week. Anyway, on to the post. 

   On Twitter, author Bethany A. Jennings created a hashtag for celebrating your work in progress. Every few months, she has a daily prompt so that we writers can ramble about our WIPs. Well, as much as you can ramble with a 140 character limit.

   I love participating, but I lost momentum about two weeks into January and kinda just....stopped. But there was a week I really wanted to do—the Protagonist Takeover week! So, I'm just gonna do it here.

   The thing is...I have six protagonists. So this will be interesting. I'm not sure if I'll have all of them answer each question, but they'll all answer at least one. We'll see what happens.

   (Click the links on the characters' names if you're new to Children of the Nameless or you just want a refresher.)

Describe yourself in five words

Kaleth: Courageous, strong, a good leader.

Danica: Um...quiet, thoughtful, peacemaker...tired.

Barrow: Loud. Obnoxious. An irresistible charmer. *hesitates, then winks* Recalcitrant.

Allorie: I'm gentle, selfless, and...hopeful. *feels unconfortable praising herself*

Katria: ...no.

Egin: I...um...I like trees?

One thing you'd change about your past?

Kaleth: I wish I'd known the truth about my father sooner, so I could have helped even more people.

Danica: I... *looks down* If I could, I would have my father marry someone kinder.

Barrow: *folds his arms defensively* My past is none of your business.

Favorite way to relax?

Kaleth: ....talking to Allorie or Danica, I guess.

Danica: I like going out on my own, somewhere peacful and quiet where I can just think. Maybe braid my hair or pick flowers.

Barrow: Reading. It's always been an escape for me.

Allorie: *smiles shyly* I like when Danica braids my hair.

Katria: Bein' with Conryn*. 

Egin: Being alone in the forest. Practicing my magic.

Egin spending time in the forest

*her best friend

A line you were proud to say*

Kaleth:

ah, my brave son

Danica:

technically she didn't /say/ it but it counts, man

Barrow: 

the sassy problematic fave

*I'm just including lines from the current draft. the first draft is huge and embarrassing and I am too tired to scroll through 70k+ to find good lines. You'll get snippets from the others eventually, I promise

Tell us about where you live

Kaleth: I was raised in a small village in Iyon, but now I'm traveling to world to find the other Nameless.

Danica: I lived in a village a few day's walk from Kaleth's. There are big green fields, and we're surrounded by a forest. It's beautiful.

Barrow: Most of my life was spent in the city of Reoun, a city near the edge of Frayn. But like most Fraynics, I've traveled much and spent time in other parts of the country.

Allorie: I spent my entire life in the capital city of Daglen.

Katria: Tsuki. Born an' raised. Only ever left for... *twirls knife between fingers* jobs.

Egin: I lived in the badlands between Skovia and the territories until I was six. It was just me and Lisbet* and Ma. Then she.... *trails off* Then Lisbet and I lived in Skovia.

The forest surrounding Kaleth's and Danica's villages

*Lisbet = Egin's little sister

Do you sympathize/relate to the antagonist?

Kaleth: *frowns* Absolutely not. Just because I'm Iyonian doesn't mean I agree with what my former countrymen did.

What are you self-conscious about?

Kaleth: My mistakes.

Danica: ...everything? I have all these thoughts inside my head but I can't seem to get them out. It makes me feel stupid.

Barrow: Nothing. *winks*

Allorie: *sheepishly* My hands. They're rough and calloused from working hard...I wish I could have soft hands.

Katria: No point in being self-conscious. Ain't gonna help anythin'.

Egin: I, um...not being normal.

   Well, I hope you liked this little character interview thing! I really enjoyed getting to talk about my babies. Who was your favorite/least favorite? Have you ever participated in #WIPJoy? Comment below so we can chat!

Beautiful Books ~ 2017 Writing Goals

   If you're one of the few people who frequently reads this blog, you already know this, but I'm SUPER EXCITED about it so I'm gonna say it again. For my birthday, my parents are paying for me to go to the Minneapolis Young Writers Workshop this summer! Which means I'm going to meet Aimee, Katie, Hannah, Caroline, and Olivia!! I am beyond thrilled to meet you* girls, as well as all the authors who will be at the conference(including Shannon freaking Hale oh my gosh).

*"you" because you're really the only ones who read this blog

   The only problem with this is that I have to have a draft ready way sooner than expected. Which is scary. So instead of actually writing, I'm going to blog about my writing goals for 2017 by joining the Beautiful Books linkup!

1. What were your writing achievements last year? 
I actually did a lot of writing last year, including the beginning of a few stories that I'll post about later. And, because I'm sure you want to know everything I did, I'm going to make a list.

• Children of the Nameless draft one (72,739 words) This is the first first draft I've ever finished, so I'm understandably thrilled. I also won Camp NaNo(the first NaNo event I've ever won) while writing this draft. Those 72k words were actually written over a two-year period of time, but I still finished in 2016 and I'm really proud of that.
• Children of the Nameless draft two (17,546 words) Draft two is a thing, guys, and I love it. I have wonderful betas, the plot is coming together, and the writing is infinitely better. And yes, some of that 17k was written in 2017. Sue me.
• Unnamed NaNoWriMo novel (10,695 words) I obviously didn't win NaNo, but it was really nice to focus on something other than CotN for the first time in 2 years. And, when I reread it the other day, it was a lot better than I remember. So perhaps there's hope for the future for this story.
• Rust, Blood, and Stardust (2125 words) This is a lovely sci-fi about three best friends that has aBSOLUTELY NO PLOT but I love it so much.
• We Are The Summer (3456 words) I normally don't write contemporary, but when it's a novella, I actually trust myself to finish. Also it's very fluffy and cute and summery(obviously) and I kinda love it.
• (also there was some fanfic, some of which I'm actually really proud of)

2. What’s on your writerly “to-do list” for 2017? 
Finish draft two by April 15 and then edit the first few chapters for the conference in June. I plan on finishing draft three as well, possibly working on one of my other projects, and writing more fanfiction because gosh dang it, fanfic is really fun.


3. Tell us about your top-priority writing projects for this year!
I kinda already answered that? I have several projects I might work on after CotN, but I won't decide until the time comes.


4. How do you hope to improve as a writer? Where do you see yourself at the end of 2017?
I want to get more consistent at writing. I'm coming to terms with being a slow writer, but my inconsistency is annoying and detrimental. By the end of the year, I want to be writing every day and have draft three(or maybe even draft four) of CotN finished.


5. Describe your general editing process.
This is kind of a complicated question, because the beginning of CotN was so messed up that I'm having to completely rewrite it in draft two. Draft three will probably be tightening up loose plot stuff. After that, I want to print it out so I can make notes on the actual manuscript like a cool person.


6. On a scale of 1-10, how do you think this draft turned out?
Honestly, 6-7. Draft one was such a mess, but it has lots of good parts and lots of potential and I'm SO PUMPED.


7. What aspect of your draft needs the most work?
The beginning of both drafts need some work. Draft one has a lot of plot holes and I'm working on fixing those in this draft.


8. What do you like the most about your draft?
Well the fact that draft one exists is pretty spectacular. And honestly I really like the kissing scenes, even if the romances were rather abrupt. *sighs at myself for not planning better*


9. What are your plans for this novel once you finish editing? More edits? Finding beta readers? Querying? Self-publishing? Hiding it in a dark hole forever?
More edits! Take it to a writer's conference for people to look at! (*screams*) Even more edits! More betas! Repeat cycle until published! 

I couldn't get away with not using a gif in this post

10. What’s your top piece of advice for those just finished writing a first draft?
For the love of all that's holy, take a break. You won't want to, but you need to. Also, it's not as bad as you think. I promise.

   How did your writing go in 2016? What are your plans for 2017? Would you actually be interested in hearing about my many plot bunnies/future projects? Also, it's not midnight for be yet so this totally counts as posting two weeks in a row. #virtualskittlesforme

Beautiful People — Kaleth

   At the risk of sounding really conceited, I'm gonna say right now that I really like Children of the Nameless. It's a bit of a mess, but it's getting there. It has great potential, and I think it's pretty beautiful.
   There's just one problem. And his name is Kaleth.

   I love Kaleth. I really do. He's the first character I came up with(more on that later) and he has an incredible character arc that I'm so excited to write.
   Sorta.
   I just have such a hard time writing him! I don't know exactly what it is. Maybe it's because we're very different. or because I'm trying to hard to portray him the way I want him to be seen. But he's difficult. So I figured that doing a Beautiful People post for him could help.
   (Click here to learn more about Beautiful People!)

The Questions

1. How did you come up with this character?

   When I was imagining the start of CotN(find out more here), Kaleth kinda just popped into existence. I didn't know anything about him, but he was there and (sorta but not really) ready to tell me all about him.

2. Have they ever been starving? Why? And what did they eat to break the fast?

   I don't think he's ever been starving, but he's definitely been very hungry. Farming doesn't always go well, especially when the Feor are going around destroying crops and stuff. But there's always hunting and foraging when things get rough.

3. Do they have a talent or skill that they’re proud of?

   A better question would be if there's anything he's not proud of. Kaleth's a pretty prideful dude, but he's definitely very proud of his swordfighting skills.

4. List 3 things that would make them lose their temper.

   1) Disregarding his advice/authority
   2) Hurting someone he loves
   3) When his plans go wrong

5. What is their favourite type of weather? Least favorite?

   His favorite is hot sunny days, and he hates humidity

6. What is their Hogwarts house and/or MBTI personality?

   Kaleth is an ESTJ Gryffindor.

7. Are they more likely to worry about present problems, or freak out about the unknown future?

   He definitely thinks about and plans for the future, but he sees no point in freaking out. It's better to focus on what he can do now.

8. What is their favourite thing to drink?

   Water? My worldbuilding has not yet extended to food and drink.

9. What is their favourite color? Least favorite?

   Green might be his favorite; it's one of the colors I always associate with him. And I've got no idea what his least favorite is.

10. What is a book that changed their life?

   I don't know if he's ever seen, much less read, a book in his life.

   Well, that did seem to help a little. If nothing else, now you guys know more about Kaleth! My life is pretty crazy right now, since my family just moved and I'm in college now, but I'll try to keep posting consistently! I have a bookish post planned for next week, so keep your eyes open!

What do you think of Kaleth? Do you have a character you struggle to write? If you did Beautiful People too, share the link in the comments so I can check it out!

Beautiful People — Appearance Edition

   Greetings, kids! I kinda talked about this in my soul-baring post last month, but I finished the first draft of Children of the Nameless in April!

actually me: happy, proud, utterly exhausted

  

   Now I'm working on the second draft, with the help of my lovely betas Katie, Hannah, and Anna. Love you children. <3 The beginning of the first draft was absolute crap so I have to completely rewrite it but that's okay. It's so much better already.
   And since I've been thinking about CotN so much, and since I want to post here more often, here's a writing blog meme about my children! Go check out and/or join here!

(I'm doing this for all six kids, so forgive me for the long post.)

1. Give a brief overview of their looks. (Include a photo if you want!)

Kaleth

Basically, just combine Lucas Till, Alex Pettyfer,
and Bradley James.

Danica

Not perfect, but it's one of the the best pictures
I've found. Her hair should be longer.

Barrow

His hair should be a little more red. Honestly his
face/expression is so hard to capture.

Allorie

She also looks a lot like blonde Kristen Stewart.
(that's a real thing, I swear)

Katria

I've only found 3 pictures that even come close to looking
like her, and this is one of them. Finding POC pictures is hard.

Egin

He's basically just a short Eddie Redmayne.

2. Share a snippet that involves description of their appearance. (Okay, I'm the kind of writer that gives people a basic idea to start with, and then adds more detail as the story goes on, so I'm just going to include the first description of their appearance. Also, only Kaleth and Danica have been described in the second draft. I apologize for my first-draft writing.)

Kaleth: "the yellow-haired boy with the strong dark eyes and bright smile"

Danica: "Danica could imagine how she’d look, the pale flowers standing out against her dark hair. She imagined her face a little less plain and her grey eyes a little less dull."

Barrow: "A boy with dark red hair and a smirk"

Allorie: "tall with golden hair"

Katria: "the girl with tan skin and a murderous glare"

Egin: "one with eyes like the forest in spring and freckles like the stars in the sky"


3. What is the first thing people might notice about them?

Kaleth: how attractive/confident he is (I'm sorry but it's true)

Danica: her eyes; they're gorgeous and you can see a lot of her personality in them

Barrow: how freaking tall he is and/or his smirk

Allorie: her height; she's rather tall for a girl

Katria: her constant murderous glare; it makes up for her short stature

Egin: how small and soft and reserved he is

4. What are their unique features? (Ex: freckles, big ears, birthmark, scars, etc.)

Danica: grey eyes

Barrow: scars on his arms and chest

Katria: she has lots of scars, but I don't really know where/what they look like

Egin: lots and lots of freckles

5. How tall are they? What is their build? (Ex: stocky, slender, petite, etc.)

Kaleth: 6'1", with a broad chest and strong arms

Danica: 5'3", slender and delicate with small hands and feet

Barrow: 6'3", very lean and muscular

Allorie: 5'10", curvy and muscular

Katria: 5'2", small but incredibly strong

Egin: 5'5", pretty delicate for a boy but has strong arms from archery

6. What is their posture like? How do they usually carry themselves?

Kaleth: shoulders back and standing tall, very confident and self-assured

Danica: shy and nervous, shoulders curved in and head down

Barrow: usually slouching a little, but in a "I'm so cool and casual" way, unless he's trying to one-up Kaleth

Allorie: stands very straight because of her soldier's training

Katria: confident but guarded, always has a weapon close at hand

Egin: slouching and doing everything he can to be invisible

7. Your character has been seen on a “lazy day” (free from usual routine/expectations): what are they wearing and how do they look?

Kaleth: I don't think he understand the concept of laziness

Danica: something loose and comfortable; her hair is either very fancy because she has time, or simple because she doesn't have to take the time

Barrow: something casual but still attractive

Allorie: loose and casual hair and clothing; basically the exact opposite of her soldier uniform

Katria: loose pants, her chest binder, and a sleeveless shirt; her hair is pulled back so it doesn't get in the way while she trains

Egin: barefoot, not wearing his cloak's hood because he's out in the forest, away from everyone watching him.

8. Do they wear glasses, accessories, or jewelry on a regular basis? Do they have any article of clothing or accessory that could be considered their trademark?

Danica: she always has very pretty/elaborate braids in her hair

Katria: she keeps knives in her jacket/boot/literally anywhere she can hide them; does that count

Egin: his cloak, he almost always wears it with the hood up

9. Have they ever been bullied or shamed because of their looks? Explain!

Kaleth: nope, everybody likes him too much

Danica: she was never bullied but she was definitely ignored by most boys because she's a little plain

Barrow: only by other boys who were just jealous of his ability to get all the girls

Allorie: most of her country is short, thin, and dark-haired, and she's the opposite, so she got mocked for being different

Katria: being mean to her will result in great pain, so no

Egin: he's been teased for not being very manly

10. Are they happy with how they look? If they could change anything about their appearance, what would it be?

Kaleth: he's perfectly happy with his looks

Danica: she wishes she were prettier

Barrow: he's hot enough for the girls, so he's good

Allorie: she's never really had time to worry about her looks, but she's ashamed of her scars and bruises

Katria: she'd be happier with a more boyish figure (don't hear that often do ya)

Egin: he wishes he was stronger and less of a twig

I swear I meant to post this before the very very end of August. Sigh. At least I tried. My life is incredibly insane right now, so posting will probably be sporadic. I still love you though, I promise! <3

The Miscellaneous Post

   Sorry to leave you guys for so long! With school, my little sister's birthday, and sickness(which I'm just getting over), life's been pretty crazy. But I'm back, with lots of random things to talk about.

Survey Results

   Thank you, everyone! It really means a lot. More people took it than I'd expected. Some of the results were unexpected, too.

Apparently Children of the Nameless is more popular than I thought.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! I'll get to these as soon as I can.

   My blog design isn't super popular, apparently. I really like it, though, and I spent a lot of time on it, so you're just going to have to deal with it. I got some tips about following options that I'll definitely be trying, though. If I ever figure out what Blog Lovin' is.
   Also...if you were one of the two people who didn't know who Twenty One Pilots are...tell me and I will fix this. Immediately.

Happiness Tag

   So the lovely Aimee tagged me in a happiness tag. I really like happy things, guys!!

books:  the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull // Havard by Aimee Meester // the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling // Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare //

films:  Tangled // How to Train Your Dragon(1 and 2) // The Force Awakens // Rise of the Guardians // Inside Out // Harry Potter // Lord of the Rings // The Hobbit //

words:  vibrant // enthusiasm // adventure // wanderlust // brave // daring // universe // wonder //

scents:  In-N-Out // the ocean // rain // popcorn //

songs:  Holding On To You, Twenty One Pilots // When Will My Life Begin, Tangled soundtrack // Every Teardrop a Waterfall, Coldplay // I Lived, OneRepublic // Shut up and Dance, Walk the Moon // Crazy Beautiful, Andy Grammer // Life In Color, OneRepublic // Aaron Burr, Sir, Hamilton soundtrack // Chasing the Sun, Sara Bareilles //

random:  Twenty One Pilots // concerts // music // collages // bright colors // combat boots and Converse // painted nails // art // retellings // playing the bass //

   I tag Hannah, Katie, and Caroline. :)

Big Exciting Thing

   I'm thrilled to announce that I've got something...well, exciting, coming up on the blog! I've never posted much about general writing, but that's going to change in the beginning of March. I can't wait to share this with you guys.

Character Quiz

   I'm a little surprised that I haven't shared this with you before. A few months ago, I made a "Which character are you most like" quiz, and since I'm busy with the Big Exciting Thing, I figured this could appease you until I can post normally again (because you aren't totally used to going weeks without hearing from me). Comment below and tell me who you get!

In which I return from the deep dark hole that was November and talk about NaNo again

   Yes! I have returned. After a month.

   November was wild. The first half of the month was consumed with being sick, NaNo-ing, and packing. The second half was driving from Texas to Utah(a very long drive let me assure you), visiting family and friends, finding out that my dad's cousin is also a writer and getting to read her first chapter, and having almost no wifi for two weeks. That last part was not so fun.
   But I'm back now, and I'm all ready to tell you about what happened with NaNo by linking up with Cait and Sky's Beautiful Books meme.

1. On a scale of 1 (worst) to 10 (best), how did the book turn out? Did anything defy your expectations?

   Ha.
   Hahahhahah.
   Word count wise, it was awful. I got 11k instead of my goal of 25k. So that was lame.
   HOWEVER.
   I got to write some freaking awesome scenes that I've been wanting to write for foreverrrr. Including, but not limited to: kissing, almost-kissing, backstory revealing, and risking your life to save your friend.
   So I'd say seven.


2. Comparative title time: what published books, movies, or TV shows are like your book? (Ex: Inkheart meets X-Men.)

   THIS IS ACTUALLY REALLY HARD, GUYS. I've been thinking about it for dayyyssss and can't really think of anything specific. Just, any generic fantasy story meets a generic coming-of-age YA story. That makes it sound way lame but I swear it's not.


3. Do you enjoy working with deadlines and pressure (aka NaNoWriMo)? Or do you prefer to write-as-you’re-inspired?

   Give me alllll the deadlines, precious. I really like the tracking-my-progress part of NaNo too. Which is why I use myWriteClub during the non-NaNo months. If I just wrote whenever I felt like it...I would never get anything done.


4. How do you go about editing? Give us an insight into your editing process.

   When I find out, I'll tell you. I've actually....never made it to the editing part? But I'm getting there, which is terrifyingly exciting.

Actually me right now

   I do have a plan though.
   1. Get critiques from my alpha readers(hint hint, you guys)
   2. Read through Children of the Nameless after a break and take note of things I need to change/fix/get rid of
   3.  Change/fix/get rid of those things
   4. Cry
   5. Wonder why I'm writing this stupid thing
   6. Remember how much I love it
   7. Send it to my betas
   8. Panic
   9. Get their critiques
   10. Repeat steps 2-9 until I find it satisfactory


5. What aspect of your story needs the most work?

Also me. All three expressions. Me.

   Lots of things. All the things. It's my first book ever; what do you expect? To be honest, though, the characters and storyworld really need to be fleshed out more, and I need more character development. I have most of a plot (read: most), so I'm pretty good on that aspect. But all in all I'm terrified excited to fix this.


6. What aspect of your story did you love the most?

   The fact that it exists? The fact that people like it? The fact that I'm 71% done?
   Okay but in all honesty, I think I love my characters most. Because in the end, that's what matters most. If someone loves the plot but hates the characters, they probably won't like the book. True, a lame plot can't really hold awesome characters, but to me, characters are the most important part of a book.

7. Give us a brief run down on your main characters and how you think they turned out. Do you think they’ll need changes in edits?

   Speaking of characters. Ah, my babies. I can never talk about them enough. I apologize in advance for the length of this section.

   First off, we have Kaleth. Pretty boy, courageous, protective, strong Kaleth. I struggle with writing him a lot, despite my love for him. I want him to come across as a strong, fearless, calculating leader, but in my efforts to make him seem like that, he became....one-dimensional. And, with help from some awesome friends(looking at you, Emily and Sierra!), I'm realizing that I need to stop panicking. He's barely seventeen! He's human! Let him write himself! Leaders can still have fun and joke around with their friends! Especially when they're teenagers!

   And then there's Barrow(who does not look or dress quite like this gif, but it's adorable and something he'd do and I wanted to use a gif). He's a player, a flirt, and an obnoxious jerk. But oh how I love him. He's gone through hell, and hasn't quite come out of it, but he's getting there(with help from *cough*certain people*cough*). He's got issues. He's destructive, and caring, and annoying, and brave. He's a jumbled mess, and I'm really proud of how he's come through in this draft. I just need to make his friendships/crushes more gradual and less out of the blue.

Why do I only have one gif for her. I need to fix this.

   Ah, Danica. My lovely precious child. She's brilliant but doesn't believe it, beautiful but can't see it. She's incredibly smart, caring, and gentle. She came across as a bit of a pushover in the beginning, instead of just shy like I'd intended, so I need to fix that. I'm also sad her genius didn't make its appearance as much as I'd want it to(mostly due to my fear/hate of writing planning meetings). I'm still struggling to figure out how exactly to write her POV, but all in all she did quite well in this first draft.

   Allorie is Cinderella. Seriously. She's had a super sucky life(sorry darling), has a nasty mother, is forced to live and work wayyyy below her station, but through it all, she's still one of the kindest, sweetest, most selfless people ever. "Have courage and be kind" is pretty much her life motto. I understand her really well...in theory. When I'm not writing. I haven't quite found her voice, or how she works, but I'm getting there. I love the child to bits, though.

   This is Katria. Sort of. She doesn't dress or look quite like this, but it shows you how gloriously kickbutt the girl is. She's violent, sarcastic, anti-social, and easily angered. She's a quick thinker and loves a thrill. She's in love with her childhood best friend, but no one(not even she) knows it. Somehow, despite the fact that she's almost my complete opposite...she's one of the easiest to write. It's weird. But I love it. I love her sass, her knife obsession, and the way she thinks about said best friend all the time(resulting in me screeching "WOULD YOU HURRY UP AND FIGURE IT OUT AND JUST KISS HIM ALREADY" despite the fact that they're hundreds of miles apart). She did really well this draft.

   And last but not least is Egin. He is a "Beautiful Cinnamon Roll Too Good For This World, Too Pure". Literally. He's got asthma and really bad social anxiety. He can do a little magic, mostly just making pretty things to calm him down when he has panic attacks. He loves his family, especially his little sister, who he'd do anything for. But...he came across as really really really whiny. He's only had a few chapters but he has a panic attack in each one. Yeah, he's not as brave now as he will be in later books, but I don't want him to seem like an obnoxious wimp. And the traditional writing structure kinda goes out the window when I'm writing from his POV, and I'm afraid that'll annoy people. So, Egin as a character is perfect. The way I write him is not.

8. What are your plans for this novel once you finish editing? More edits? Finding beta readers? Querying? Self-publishing? Hiding it in a dark hole forever?

   Edits! All the edits! I wanna get this baby published eventually(in which case I might actually cry).


9. Share a favourite snippet!

   Oh boy. I shall attempt to find something not full of spoilers.

#Ishipit

I got to write an entire chapter of her daring stunts. It was glorious. 

10. What are your writing goals and plans for 2016?

   Originally, my plan was to finish the first draft of Children of the Nameless before the end of 2015, but I don't think that's going to happen. Sadly. I want to finish it as soon as possible, and then get started on edits before I start writing the second book at the end of next year. Someone hold me I can't believe this is happening.

   So there you have it! A basic rundown of my November. I am so ready for Christmas break(which will hopefully translate to "lots of writing time").

Did you do NaNoWriMo? How did it go? Are you excited for the holidays?