Know the Novel Part 2—Dead Magic

Well, well, well, would you look at that! November is ALMOST OVER. It’s been a blur of words, and I missed my usual Saturday update last weekend. But to make up for that, here I am with Know the Novel Part 2—a frabjous linkup by the darling Christine Smith! (You can find Part 1 here and find out what my current work-in-progress, Dead Magic, is all about.)

Before we get started, I must confess: I WON NANOWRIMO.

But you shall not get those details until THIS Saturday, when I post my final NaNo log. #suspense For now, we shall pretend we’re in the past and talk about only week 3 (November 15^th-21^st). Good? Good.

1. How’s the writing going overall?

It’s a total mess, but I love it! Things are shaping up to be a little different than I imagined. I started out with the intention to write something lighthearted and humorous, and while there’s plenty of that, there’s also more heart and more danger simmering underneath than expected.

I’m really happy with the writing progress in terms of wordcount too—in fact, Sunday the 17^th was my BEST DAY EVER. After a week of slogging through a plot that wasn’t really going anywhere, I brainstormed my way out and wrote 5k in one afternoon! It definitely hasn’t been that productive every day, but that was a FUN time. Exhausting too. I’m about ready for a good, long nap.

2. What’s been the most fun aspect about writing this novel so far?

See above. 😉 But it’s also been pretty cool to have a project with zero expectations placed on the end product. I’m not that worried about the mess on the page, because I know edits can fix everything—and that I don’t even have to think about edits yet. There are no plans for this story right now, and I think my task-driven self needs that permission to play around now and then.

3. What do you think of your characters at this point? Who’s your favorite to write about?

It’s been a lot of fun being in Tami’s head! She’s snarky and vocal sometimes, doubtful and terrified other times, and totally underestimates what she’s capable of. Plus, she has spent half the novel wearing Little Red Riding’s hood and turning invisible when needed, so it’s great.

And OSCAR, my precious boy. I got to write one of my favorite scenes with him and Tami having a Bonding Moment™, and I think maybe there’s a light romance beginning to thread its way into the plot! Mwahaha.

Then there’s Uncle Seb. I just love him for who he is.

AND ORION. He’s barely been on the page at all (something else that edits will fix one day), but whenever he does show up, I start typing faster. He’s deliciously devious and I can’t wait to write the climax and see what he has planned.

Let’s not forget Cass, either—I JUST introduced her recently, and I think she’s going to click with Tami in a really special way.

So basically all of my characters are my favorites.

4. Has your novel surprised you in any way?

Oh yeah! Every time I need to add a new fairytale/magical element, it surprises me. The possibility of romance between Tami and Oscar surprised me. I’m 100% sure Orion will surprise me by the ending, too. And now that I’m in the no-man’s land called “I Ran Out of Plot Points and All I’ve Got is a Vague Ending in Mind,” basically EVERYTHING is a surprise.

5. Have you come across any problem areas?

First drafts are never perfect, NaNo first drafts least of all. You should see the pacing in this one, though! (Actually, don’t. It’ll hurt your eyeballs.) The beginning is too long, the middle somehow manages to meander and be too fast, and it looks like the ending will be rushed.

The foreshadowing is mostly nonexistent, too. And the consistency problems, yikes! I find myself forgetting about injuries, losing track of revelations that Tami should spend more time reacting to, and writing as if a major piece of backstory doesn’t exist. I think it’s the sheer speed of NaNo that’s keeping me from holding all these story threads more tightly—and like I’ve said a million times, that’s OKAY.

6. What’s been your biggest victory with writing this novel at this point?

The fact that I’ve written every single day this month so far! And that I’ve been able to make forward progress despite the voice of my inner editor. Sometimes you just need to practice shutting her up in the corner and getting words down, no matter how ugly they are.

7. 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 see half of myself in Tami and half in Oscar, to be honest. If I were in Tami’s shoes, though, I’d ask Uncle Seb twice as many questions before agreeing to any kind of quest to stop Orion. And if I had to take Oscar’s place, I think I’d have offered to be the Guy in the Chair (*cough* Spider-Man reference) instead of actually going along on this hare-brained adventure. You know, stay at home, do the research needed, and keep everyone in the loop via texting. Much easier.

Which, come to think of it, wouldn’t even work. Orion has a habit of killing electricity and technology, you see. So I guess it’s a good thing Tami and Oscar are doing what they’re doing.

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

Yessss, I’ve been wanting to share some a bunch of snippets with you all! Here’s how the story opens…

The door of Sebastian’s Magickry opened with a tinkle of the bell, precisely fifteen minutes after closing time.

“Can’t you read the sign?” I asked without glancing up from the beans I was sorting on the back counter. “We’re closed.”

A floorboard creaked. Something shifted in the atmosphere, like the faintest current of electricity firing between dust motes. “Even for a paying customer?”

…

Uncle Seb pulls me to his chest and wraps his arms around me, scruffy beard snagging my hair. He holds me as I sob into his t-shirt. I’m such a baby, but with every racking breath, I realize that I’ve been holding more than questions inside. Fear has been bubbling up like a volcano, and something had to erupt. I don’t know what is happening or what’s coming next. I don’t even know who’s hugging me right now. There are things he knows, things he has done today that don’t make sense, and I don’t know what to make of it.

…

Finally, the rumble of Seb’s motorbike approaches outside and mutters to a stop. Moments later, I hear his key in the lock as he lets himself inside.

“Hey, Tam,” he calls. His keys clink onto the hook by the door.

“Hey, any idea how to cool off a witchy marble?” I call back.

“A what?” He strides into the kitchen and takes in the scene. Me, face flushed from standing over boiling water, and green light pouring from the pot. He peers into it. “Where’d you get this?”

…

The person standing on the front step is tall and lanky, and his angular face is carved with worry.

I swing the door open. “Oscar? What are you doing here? It’s…” I look over my shoulder to check the analog clock on the wall. “Six in the morning?!” And it’s then I realize I’m standing here in Red Riding’s hood and my Minnie Mouse pajama pants.

Oscar doesn’t even look at my clothing. “Is your uncle here? I need to talk to him right away.”

“He’s asleep.” I curl my cold, bare toes and cross my arms to keep in some body heat. “What’s going on?”

“Have you seen the news?” Oscar’s shoulders are hunched around his ears, which are very red, and his breath is coming in deep gasps.

I look past him, but there’s no other vehicle in the drive besides our pickup. Not even a bicycle. “Did you run here?”

“Have you seen the news, Tami?” he presses.

…

My chest feels cramped, like I’m standing on a diving board, about to jump. But this time, I’m not sure there’s any water in the pool.

…

I don’t know what to expect when we drive into Ellington, B.C.

The dark windows of houses aren’t so noticeable in the mid-afternoon light, even though clouds have moved in to cover the sun. The dead traffic lights are exactly what I saw in Thatcher, although there are more of them.

I did not expect, however, to see a scarecrow waltzing down the street. It has a lurching, swinging gait, its plaid shirt flapping over its skeletal frame. Bits of straw rain down from its sleeves. But the most uncanny of all is its head—a jack o’ lantern pouring black smoke from its crescent moon eyes and jagged toothed grin.

…

“You know I haven’t seen Alice in Wonderland in about eight years.”

“Tam, we’ve got to get you reading more books. The movies are great, but the books are closer to the real thing. The real magic.”

…

“The only reason I could even get out of the cornstalks was because you told me I could.”

Now I finally look up properly, and I find his gaze intent on me. I must look like a mess with my scraped, sweaty forehead and snotty face, but for some reason, I don’t squirm. “No, I didn’t.”

“Sure you did. All you said was, ‘Oscar, you’ve got this.’ But the way you said it… it sounded true. I believed you.”

I look down at his leg. “Well, you shouldn’t have.”

“What, this?” Oscar pats his leg and grins at me. “Just a battle wound. It’s kinda cool, actually. I mean, it hurts like the dickens, but it’s going to leave a wicked scar.”

“You say that like it’s a good thing.”

His grin widens. “I’m a hopeless romantic. This is my ticket to knighthood, okay?”

I shake my head and wipe my eyes with my knuckles.

“There’s something in you, Tami,” Oscar says, his tone growing serious again. “I don’t know you that well yet, but you… I don’t know to explain it except you see things. That’s how you liberate magic, and that’s what you do for other people.” He heaves a breath, as if now that he’s said something heavy, he can breathe again. “Now. We’ve got a big problem. The truck is dead, I can barely move, and your uncle is the size of a pixie.”

If I wasn’t so worried about Uncle Seb, I would’ve snorted at the mental image of tattooed, bearded Sebastian Muller as a pixie.

9. Share an interesting tidbit about the writing process so far! (For example: Have you made any hilarious typos? Derailed from your outline? Killed off a character? Changed projects entirely? Anything you want to share!)

Typos? Probably more than I’ve caught, but here are my favorites that I shared on Instagram:

Also, I keep writing the title as Deaf Magic.

As for derailing, there’s not much left of the outline to derail from, so in that sense, I guess I’m totally off the rails.

Other than that, I will say that I’ve been noticing interesting things about my writing process—but I imagine there will be some questions on that in Know the Novel Part 3. If not, expect a Nano wrap-up post sometime in December!

10. Take us on a tour of what a normal writing day for this novel looks 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!

Weekday:

• Tracey tries to brainstorm her next scene on the drive home from work, but usually ends up cranking the music and thinking about nothing.
• Tracey eats supper and says hello to fellow humans and procrastinates on social media while she scrounges up the motivation to write.
• Finally, around 7pm, she cracks open her document, opens her Spotify playlist, sets a timer, and writes.
• Pretty soon, she forgets about not being motivated and gets lost in her story for an hour or two.

Weekend:

• Tracey clears chores and things out of the way and then spends HOURS in front of her laptop, trying to make the free time count for a whole lot of words.
• Sometimes she remembers to take breaks to stretch or take a walk (hahahaha like once this month) or check Instagram or maybe even tear her aching eyes away from a screen to read a physical book.

All the time:

• Tracey wants more sleep.

This was super fun! Thanks for all the great questions, Christine.

And in case you were wondering about week 3’s word counts (I’ll pretend you were), heeeere they are:

Day 15 // 1,261 words

Day 16 // 2,010 words

Day 17 // 5,054 words (!!!)

Day 18 // 1,204 words

Day 19 // 733 words

Day 20 // 554 words

Day 21 // 1,337 words

Week 3 Word Count: 12,153

How are you holding up, writer? We’re SO CLOSE to the end, and I’m cheering you on! Any highlights from your month so far that you’d like to share?