Yep, that’s me!
As I mentioned yesterday, I’m particpating in NaNoWriMo this year with the intention of finally winning. I write books pretty fast it’s just that for some reason or another writing a book in one month, particularly November, never seems to work out for me.
I wasn’t sure I was going to do NaNoWriMo. I went on a writing hiatus earlier this fall and though I’ve written a few short stories and chapters, I’ve pretty much still been on that hiatus, or in that funk I suppose. I had started about three manuscripts and stopped writing all of them not to mention my computer crashed so while I still have most of my writing I lost a lot of other things that put me behind academically and in terms of my fiction writing (I would be the one to back up most my manuscripts but not my essays, LOL).
However, toward the end of October I was like this is going to change. I started using all the resources I’ve ever found helpful to plot the story but most of all to figure out who the characters are, what are their goals, their motivations. Plot wasn’t as important as I’m pretty good with plot to the point where I sometimes create great plots that lead the characters rather than the other way around. I also worked on setting, Pinterest was a great resource for that:
Follow Patrice’s board HEIRS OF FIRE AND ICE on Pinterest.
And in the end, I came up with two characters who have been in my head for a long time. However, now, I don’t just know their names, I know who they are as people, what they want and what they’re willing to do to get it.
That led me to this:
Just exceeded my #NaNoWriMo day one goal of 2,000 words. Calling it a night (for now), woohoo!! Good luck to everyone still writing!
— Patrice Caldwell (@whimsicallyours) November 1, 2014
And in honor of accountability, getting my groove back, and of course my fellow YAB Bootcamp writers who have always been there to cheer me on, here’s a bit more about my WIP that’s, for now, titled HEIRS OF FIRE AND ICE:
“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king (or queen).”
-JRR Tolkien, LOTR
Told in dual POV, HEIRS OF FIRE AND ICE is the story of two young women, Zahra, a trader of items of questionable means, and Aaliyah, a princess without a crown. Set in a land where magic is strictly forbidden these two young women are forced together by unforeseen circumstances and must journey to uncover their mysteriously linked pasts and save their empire.
Vague, I know. I’m working on it. The world is based on this lost city and other medieval African civilizations, but it also includes elements of cyberpunk, mystery, and, of course, romance because genre-bending is what I do best. The story was inspired by my love for Avatar: The Last Airbender (TV series always) and Star Wars, but I believe it should appeal to fans of Malinda Lo’s Huntress and The Fire Wish by Amber Lough, two other (amazing) dual POV (diverse) YA Fantasies (I really like comp titles, LOL).
- Genre: YA Fantasy with a Sci-Fi twist
My goal is just to keep frontloading and write as much as I can every day so that hopefully toward the end of the month, when life gets busier (e.g. finals) I’m already ahead & ready to win NaNo!
Also, if you’re in need of a little pep (talk):
Also, this #NaNoWriMo pep talk by @ChuckWendig hit the spot: http://t.co/PPjQzgTgwN #LeaveYourMark
— Patrice Caldwell (@whimsicallyours) November 1, 2014
It truly brought me to tears (then again, a lot of things do, I’m an emotional person but that’s how I know something resonated with me)
Good luck fellow writers whether you’re NaNoing or not! But, if you are, share a bit about your story below!! Also, my NaNoWriMo username is whimsicallyours if you want to connect.
Whimsically Yours,
PnC