Tag: updates

Posted in NaNoWriMo, updates, Writing

NaNoWriMo – the Story so Far

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

We’re day two of NaNoWriMo and so far, I’m on schedule. A couple of times yesterday I found myself wondering if I was describing a library ‘the correct way’. Now, I have no clue what ‘the correct way’ is but that’s what I thought. I had to perfectly describe my main character’s workplace. It didn’t take me long to realize that I needed to stop overthinking those sentences. The point of NaNoWriMo is to write. I haven’t found anywhere that says those 50k words have to be the best words in existence.

When I realized this, I left a comment on the document; ‘take a look at this later’ and kept writing. It was as simple as that even though it felt like the hardest thing I had to do. I have put this into practice before – leaving a comment to myself – in other works and, for some reason, it bugged me that I had to for this one. Maybe I’m overthinking this because I want my novel for NaNoWriMo to be perfect, but I know that deep down, these 50k words aren’t going to be perfect. I know that and it’s still hard to keep that in mind.

The one thing that has been working for me is the notecards that I wrote up to help me figure out my plot and where I want the story to go. I haven’t planned everything out yet and I’ll do that gradually. However, I don’t want to be solely focused on one way of writing this novel. I want to allow the story to take unexpected turns because if everything is predictable and ‘on one path’, it’s not fun to write anymore. I like to discover new things in my story that I didn’t know before. Plus, sometimes, it’s good to make things up as you go along. You never know what might work.

One thing to keep in mind is to let the characters lead the way. It follows along the lines of ‘what would this character do in this situation?’. In the first drafts, my characters aren’t always developed enough but that’s okay for me. I often tend to develop my character during the very first draft. There are instances when, even though a character isn’t developed, I can tell when a character isn’t acting quite right. In my first draft of Clan of Ash (book 1 of the Half-Blood series), I went through this with my main character.

When I rewrote that draft, I had to take out an entire scene because I knew that this wasn’t how my character would act. Did I know that from the start? No. However, I knew that this wasn’t how I wanted my character to be. Once I figured that out, developing her further was easier. I had an idea of what the character isn’t like and from there, I started to figure out her personality.

Nothing is going to be perfect at the start. At least, it won’t for me. I have a process and it works for me because of all the trials and errors I’ve had along the way. Especially for NaNoWriMo. It is trial and error. It’s a way to discover what works and doesn’t work. In the end, I’m doing what I love and I’m having fun. That’s all that matters. Having fun writing.

 

 

Posted in NaNoWriMo, updates, Writing

Consequences and Plot

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

In my last post, I wrote about consequnces. In this post, I’ll expand on what I mean and what that means going forward with writing the second installment of the Half-Blood series.

I’d like to think that the ending of the first book set up the premise for the second book. Not only did an authority figure die, our heroes were saved – if you consider eternal servitude as saved. Nonetheless, their actions have drastically changed their lives and the lives of many more people. Their actions have consequences and I’m excited to write about those consequences.

Without giving too much away, a successor rises up to uncover the truth of his predecessor’s death and enact revenge if need be. He has a purpose and his investigation interrupts the main character’s lives. Now I have tension and conflict that I can build up through the story. Now, this isn’t the entire plot. This is a subplot that will run through the story.

The true plot of the story is to discover who’s behind a deadly virus infected certain people and finding a cure. For now, that’s what I’m going with. NaNoWriMo will give me the opportunity to play with this idea a bit more. Now, my main characters, Renelle and Alastair have to join forces again but they aren’t on friendly terms.

And all of this comes from all the events of the first book. Renelle saved Alastair and now they both serve the people who wanted to kill Alastair (that’s the shorten version). There’s a lot of bent-up feelings going around.

I plan to start the story by placing the characters in their new words. E.g. Renelle under servitude. The successor looking into his predecessor’s death. The term “domino effect” applies here perfectly. One action leads to an outcome and that to another so it’s all connected. You can’t really pinpoint where it all started. Because of the planning I did beforehand, this is all playing into a larger story arc that spans across the series. This is all leading towards the end.

While I forsee a lot of agony and frustration, I am excited to continue expanding the story and world that I have built.

Posted in NaNoWriMo, updates, Writing

NaNoWriMo Approaches and a Few Updates

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

There’s only a week and a half left before NaNoWriMo and I still haven’t started planning and plotting out my story yet. Before, I wanted to write the second installation of the Half-Blood series (I’m trying to publish the first one) but now, I’m not so sure. Mostly it’s because I have another story I’m working on and continuing to work on that one through November seems like a really good idea. Then again, knowing myself, I’ll probably be working on two stories at a time.

I have a problem. I want to do too much at a time. That’s my flaw as a writer. And you know what they say, the first step is to realize you have a problem. Saying that I will focus on the second installation of the Half-Blood series. Luckily for me, I do have some part of the book planned out and I know where the book is headed. Granted, I don’t know how it’s going to end but  – actually, as I type this I just figured out how the second book is going to end – it shouldn’t be a problem. Am I going to say what it is? No. I am not. That scene can change and I don’t want to be restrained to only one possibility.

On another note, there are a few exciting things that have happened. Well, one isn’t entirely exciting. I got another response to a query I sent out . . . my manuscript was rejected. I’m not exactly discouraged but I can’t help but question my ability as a writer. I’m not the greatest and I strive to improve because that’s all I can do.

All I have to do is keep finding other agents and go back to my manuscript. Sure, I thought about the possibility that I might have to abandon this story and query something else. Yet, I want to be stubborn and continue to send out queries.

I’ve been working with Sarah Pesce and I’ve gotten really helpful comments on the first twenty pages of my manuscript. I still have those 8k words to send her and maybe I’ll even have her take a look at the entire manuscript. There are possibilities. At this point, all I have to do is keep pushing forward and hope for the best.

Posted in Methods, updates, Writing

Writing Admiration

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

While rewriting a portion of Crimson Queen, I came to a realization that the relationship between the main character and her deceased father wasn’t good enough. Sure, I had some flashback moments added before said point, but it was only at that moment when it really hit me. The relationship between the two is the reason that the main character won’t escape even though she’s on death row. She can’t abandon the people her father protected and yet, looking back at the previous chapters, I didn’t get that feeling between the two.

I might need another set of eyes on this but, for the most part, I think it is safe to say that their relationship needs work. My main character, Lucinda,  admires her father but I’m afraid I might have not shown enough. It’s one of those things that I just have to go back and add more information to but, at the same time,  I’m not sure if that will be enough.

Yesterday, I took to the web to try and find some tips about how to go about doing this but it seemed like I didn’t get anywhere. All I came across was sample letters of how to write a letter of admiration. However, it wasn’t as unfruitful as I thought it would be. One thing I notice about the letters was that they contained examples of deeds/actions.

That’s something I could take to my writing. It’ll need to be casual, has to flow well with what I want to write. Plus, the flashbacks are short so they need to be concise but informative. Of course, this is a draft so there is always room for improvement. Heck, I might receive a ray of inspiration and write a perfect flashback. I’m not counting on this but it might happen.

In the meantime, I’ll keep writing the story and move forward with my realization. At least, I notice this issue early on so I can keep that in mind while I write.

On a sidenote, the free editing services I got is turning out well. I’m waiting for Sarah to get back to me with the first 20 pages of my manuscript. She provides this service for all new, potential clients. After this, we’re going to move forward with my 8k words.

I’ll keep you guys posted. Until next time,

Kassandra

Posted in updates, Writing

Queries

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

a58df5bb744a7b9f0c5ce07695698dcb-bow-quotes-nice-quotes

I have taken the next step to getting published. I have sent out six queries and, even though I have done this before, I was still nervous and excited. A part of me is glad that I finally sent them out and the other part of me wishes I could rewind and fix my query a little more. Honestly, I’m glad that I can’t do that simply because if I could, I don’t think the queries would have been sent out any time soon. It’s a good thing that’s over and done with.

The surprising this is that I got a response almost immediately . . . but it’s not a response I hoped for. One of the agents I queried “turned me down” because they weren’t interested in my manuscript. I do have a few words . . . that was fast. At least I can say is that they read my query and they weren’t looking for my project. After some thought, I’m okay with that. At least they responded and read my query.

I don’t want to give it too much thought if that was a polite email to say that my query wasn’t good or not. I’m taking it as my project wasn’t something the agents were going to represent. Luckily, I still have a couple of more places I’m waiting on. Waiting is a good thing and a bad thing. Good thing is that I won’t get rejected soon and I still have hope. Bad thing is that there’s never going to be a response and I’m rejected either way. Of courses, there could be that lucky break but – I’m not going to finish that thought.

Sure, I never know. My manuscript could get picked up and that would super exciting and awesome. It’s not like I don’t have hope but I’m also being realistic about it and trying not to get my hopes up. Even if I don’t succeed this time around, I’ll keep trying. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy. Sure, I would be sad and disappointed but I won’t quit. My goal is to get my books published and tell my stories to the world if I can. So, I won’t quit.

In the meantime, I’m going to keep writing. Keeping creating stories and playing around with ideas. Keep reading, that’s for sure, until my career as a writing (or even as a side job) takes off and even then, when it does, I’ll keep doing what I love doing.