My apologies for that very confusing and obnoxiously long title.
Well, ladies and gents, we’re getting close to the end of October, which means that November is coming up, which means that National Novel Writing Month is almost upon us.
Scary.
I’m so PUMPED for NaNo this year!! I’ve attempted it twice in the past couple years and I failed both times. One more so than the other…. But I have a clear goal for this year and I know what I’m doing and I’ve been preparing for this for a long time. You guys’ll see what I mean in a bit.
ALSO, this is my second time participating in Christine Smith’s Writer’s Linkup. Last year, I did the first part and then……didn’t do the rest of it?? So I will do all three parts this year LOL
Okay, that’s enough yammering from me. Let’s get this done with!
So First, A Little Background. . . .
I’m not starting a new project for NaNo. In fact, I’m going to be writing the first book in the series I’ve been plotting for about two and a half years now. I started writing this book in April of 2020, shortly before I joined the Young Writers’ Workshop. After I joined YWW, I realized that there were a LOT of things wrong with my novel. After I got burnt out on it in June or July of that same year, I decided that I would scrap the original draft and try plotting. I took all the ideas I’d had for the series when I first was inspired and figured out how they would work and what book they would happen in etc.
So, for the past two years, I’ve been plotting this five-book series, making sure everything is consistent and makes sense and works. I’m at the very end of the plot for the fifth book as I write this, and once I finish it, I’ll do one last macro edit of my plots and make sure all the threads are tied and everything makes sense. And then, I’ll be ready to write!
The Questions:
1. What first sparked the idea for this novel?
Well, the very first version of this project was inspired by a Minecraft fanfiction series called “Diary of an 8-bit Warrior”, specifically the sixth book. Something about that book made me want to write something like it. So, I wrote down some of the aspects I liked about the book (things like plot twists and character details that I liked), and started brainstorming. And the rest of my inspiration came from Lego Ninjago. Specifically season four. That was where a lotttt of my ideas came from. Especially the whole “elemental powers” thing. Actually, the main reason I scrapped the original draft was because it felt like a cheap knock-off of season four of Ninjago, even down to some of the scenes. I changed things, sure, but any fan of Ninjago could tell that it was uncannily similar.
Now, when it comes to the current version of this series, I actually don’t remember where my inspiration came from. I know that a lot has changed since I wrote the first plot point, but I don’t remember how. But it has been fun watching this project fall into place (or be forcefully shoved into place in some parts), and I’m so attached to it at this point, I don’t know if I’ll get burnt out LOL
The title I came up with was Masters of Fate. My reasoning for this title was, the characters were called “Master of _______” (whatever their power is), and, at the end of the book, they were going to break free of the force controlling them and become masters of their own fate. After I scrapped the original draft, I figured that title wouldn’t work anymore, but I kept it as a placeholder until I came up with something new. And then…..I didn’t come up with something new. I kept Masters of Fate, BUT it takes on a whole new meaning for the reboot. I can’t share that meaning because it is laden with spoilers, but yeah. That’s the title for my series (:
2. Share a blurb (or just an overall summary)!
Here, have something that I wrote just now.
Violet Blake is different — but she’s not ashamed of it. That is, until the special thing that sets her apart, her power to grow plants with just the flick of her hand, ends up killing her best friend and forcing her and her father to move across the country to start anew. Afraid that another accident might happen, Violet hides her powers — until provocation from her archnemesis, Rebecka Beauregard, pushes her too far. Violet explains away the sudden vines surrounding Rebecka, but she knows her secret it out. So, she isn’t too surprised when a talking, sarcastic, purple squirrel shows up on her doorstep. The squirrel promises her things she’s been searching for, and Violet can’t resist following out of curiosity.
After stepping through a portal and finding herself in the strange land of Brillyntr, Violet discovers that she, and other people like her, are the only way to stop the war-hungry tyrant, Voro, from changing the entire world as they know it. The quest is not without pain, betrayal, and danger, but, with the help of her friends, family, and allies, Violet discovers secrets, truths, and promises she could have only imagined.
3. Where does the story take place? What are some of your favorite aspects of the setting?
I’m having trouble just thinking in relation to the FIRST BOOK. I’m so focused on the latter books, I keep forgetting these questions are just for the first book 😂
The story mostly takes place in the forests of Brillyntr, at a hidden base, although there are some scenes on Earth (where? I haven’t quite figured that out yet. I’m thinking somewhere near Connecticut, but idk). I think what I like most about it is how often my main characters are going to be able to interact with the side characters. I put a lot of time into developing the side/background characters, despite the fact they don’t do too much, but I am looking forward to incorporating fun scenes with them. Of course, not fluffy scenes, the scenes will serve a purpose, but they’ll be fun for me to write and fun for my readers to read. At least, I hope LOL
4. Tell us about your protagonist(s).
Alright, my main main character is Violet Blake. The story is mostly told from her perspective, although it does switch around more in the latter books. She has brown hair, emerald eyes, and a narrow face. She can grow and wither plants with just the flick of her hands (well, not that easily because her powers have limits, of course, but you know what I mean), and can be kind of shy. Her birthday is March 11 (I have decided just now) and she is 14 years old at the start of the book (because that was how old I was when she was created).
My other main characters include Ryan Dinsmore III (Violet’s crush), Harmony Sharp (Violet’s best friend), Evan and Reese Cane (siblings and I love them), and Maple doesn’t-have-a-last-name-because-it-is-spoiler-ridden (she is pivotal and has red hair). I have never loved a batch of characters more than I love the 80+ characters I have for this series, and these knuckleheads are some of my favorites. (My other favorites come way later in the series.) I literally cannot WAIT to write them. I’ve loved plotting their scenes.
5. Who (or what) is the antagonist?
Voro. An evil elf who is hoping to wipe out the humans in Brillyntr and anyone who sides with them. I mean, he’s not quite as shallow as that, he has good reason, but SPOILERS GUYS. He also has two sidekicks, R (SPOILERS) and G (MORE SPOILERS). I think I like those two more than I like Voro himself. They’re crazy, in any case.
6. What excites you the most about this novel?
Everything????? I’ve been plotting this for THREE YEARS I’M READY TO WRITE ITTT!!!!!! Plus, all the crazy banter and happenings between my characters is going to be *chef’s kiss* I think this series is mostly character-driven (although the plot is very much important), and character development is one of my favorite things ever, so I guess that’s why I’m so attached to my charries. I love them.
7. Is this going to be a series? standalone? something else?
Series. With five books. And I’ve already started planning three spin-off serieses. Yeahhh, that might be overkill, but just in case MoF blows up, I have three other serieseses to publish afterward, featuring familiar characters *winks* And if it doesn’t, I’ll be content with just writing these novels. I think that’s one of the reasons I’m so excited to write this. I’m hoping to publish it one day, but even if I never do, I’ll still have it to read. And let my family read. And let my friends read. I’ve based several characters off of my friends, and I want them to read the series and see…..how I see them, I guess.
8. Are you plotting? pantsing? plansting?
PLOTTINGGGGGGGG
This is the first time I’ve ever really plotted in-depth, and it’s been great. I’ve always struggled with motivation to write, but I really feel like having everything already laid out for me is going to be a huge help. And it will definitely help with consistency with the little technicalities later in the series.
9. Name a few unique elements in this story.
Hmm. . . . I’m actually not sure. I’ve pulled inspiration from so many places, I don’t really have anything “new” per se. I’m not, like, plagiarizing or anything (at least. . . . not for this version of the story XP), but I also don’t have anything super brand-new. Although, I do really like the history of how humans came to be in Brillyntr. Basically, the Brits found this portal back in the olden days when they were like. . . . invading everything, and they, predictably, invaded Brillyntr. Because that’s what the British did back then. *shrugs*
Anyway, I haven’t seen any stories with that sort of history, so I think that’s pretty interesting. I was lowkey quite proud of myself when I came up with all of it. And surprisingly, it all came from when I named Brillyntr. I had to come up with a backstory for the name. So I did!
10. Share some fun “extras” 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!).
Hm. . . . most of my stuff is kind of personal to me, as in, it won’t make ANY sense unless you’re inside my head, but I do have a map that I can share.
Let’s just hope there’s nothing too. . . . spoiler-y in there. Also, I know some of it’s confusing. Like I said, it won’t make sense unless you’re inside my head. . . . and I hope none of you are inside my head????
Anyways, I made that map so I could have an image inside my mind of what the travel scenes would look like, because I kept getting the distances ALLLLL confused. Obviously, it’s not the best, but I’m proud of it (:
Especially because all those tiny islands took two hours to get just perfect 0.0
I also have a bunch of drawings of my characters towards the end of this post, if y’all haven’t seen it yet. I put a lot of personality into the little sketches I did, which was also surprisingly helpful in figuring out my characters.
Anddd, if you want to find out more about the old version of Masters of Fate, you can check out this ancient post which I forgot existed until today. Most of it is very outdated, but it does have a lot of information about Violet so *shrugs* that’s something.
So ya.
I guess it could be a little dangerous to write my big project during NaNo, but Marissa Meyer wrote Cinder during NaNo and she’s done pretty well for herself. I do hope to publish this book one day. I just love the world and the characters too much to not! So I guess we’ll see what happens. I have to make it through the rest of Preptober before I can even start to think about that sort of thing.
I am a little worried about how my motivation is going to hold up. I’m going to be taking four college classes all during NaNo, not to mention holidays and get-togethers and work and just. . . . stress. I’ve been having a time lately. But I’m hopeful that it will all work out and that I’ll finish out November with something. It may be. . . . a mess of a something. . . . but it’ll be a something nonetheless!
Anyways, that’s all I have for now. Toodles!
🎵 Natural by Imagine Dragons (I can’t remember if I’ve recommeded this song before but it works for my novel so. . . . here) 🎵
Windows 