Book in a Month Pt 5: When Your Story Speaks, Listen

Revelation Station #3

Kora: I want to be a mermaid.
Andrea: no, this is a contemporary story.
Kora: I'm a mermaid, deal with it.
Andrea: thats not fair!
Kora: what can I say, sometimes life's a beach.
Andrea: Ok fine, but I want the story to be sunny, fun loving and witty.
Kora: This is gonna be a dark YA paranormal romance.
Andrea: But-
Kora: talk to the fin!
Andrea: hehe, ok that was funny.
Kora: If you start listening to me, this will go a LOT easier for the both of us!
Andrea: Alright fine. You win, fin-girl.
Kora: Good. Now listen up, here is how the story is going to be..

Damn. It sucks when a main character is so demanding.

*Question for You*

Since its getting all mermaid up in here, do you think Wishing On Daisies still fits as a title? Kora thinks a new title would be better and its hard disagreeing with her. Any suggestions for a different name would be appreciated! Thanks :)

Book in a Month Pt 4: Tips for Succeeding with Writing a Book in a Month

Thanks to Robin from Robin Writes for honoring me with The Versatile Blogger Award. Woots! If you haven't already check out her great blog.

Tips for Succeeding with Writing a Book in a Month

Be prepared, have an outline and character info handy

Set daily goals: divide everything up into bite sized chunks

Share your goal with others

Set your boundaries

Stay focused on what you want to do next 

Think positive, believe in yourself, and stick with it

If you get stuck skip over it and write the next scene

It’s OK to suck. Embrace the suck.

Revelation Station #2

I started out with the idea I would be writing my memories from joining the swim team in high school and falling in love for the first time. It wouldn't be too difficult to turn that into a story right? WRONG.

The more I worked on this story the more I realized that I couldn't make it a memoir, it just want to be that story. Wishing on Daisies took on a life of its own. It wants to be something else! It doesn't even care for the name Wishing on Daisies anymore. hehehe.

So, I am following my gut here and letting the story grow into what it wants. Memories were great for inspiration, but it turns out they were just a springboard for this journey.

"Steadily aim for your goal unswervingly. That is dedication." -DeMille

Interview with McKenzie McCann, Author of Tread Lightly

Today I have the honor of interviewing  McKenzie McCann from The UbiquitousPerspective. McKenzie is the author of Tread Lightly, her debut YA Fantasy novel. 

Here is a brief description:
“2000 years ago, St. Patrick and his Catholics chased Norah's people out of Ireland. They landed on the island of Hy-Brasil and have lived in isolated peace ever since.

The occasional shipwrecked outsider is no surprise to the island, and as the chief medic's daughter, Norah is prepared to care for these strange, ship-wrecked outsiders. But Oliver is a bit different, and he's brought something with him that's about to place the secrecy of the island in terrible danger.”

After reading two chapters of this novel, I was hooked. She has created a magical world populated by interesting characters, and  Norah is a very likeable and strong heroine.

My Interview with McKenzie:

Could you tell us more about Tread Lightly and what inspired the story?
You know, this story went on quite a journey before its publication. The root of this tale is based on two things: the St. Patrick's Day massacre and the island of Hy-Brasil. When I found out that St. Patrick's Day is the celebration of bringing Christianity to Ireland, and St. Patrick murdered all of the Celtics in the process, I thought to myself, did any of the Celtics escape? Where would they have gone? Hy-Brasil is sometimes also called 'the other Atlantis,' and is rumored to be not too far from the U.K.

Book in a Month Pt 3: Tough Questions Every Writer Should Ask

Revelation Station #1

I thought I would be OK with writing Wishing on Daisies as a YA Contemporary Romance but something about it didn't seem quite right, I was excited but not totally excited.

I think I missed the magic. You know, shape shifters, witches, spell-casters, something. I love fantasy and the paranormal so much.

Amandini from Abbso-fraggin-lutely suggested that I think about adding some magic in, even if it was just an element of the imagination in the character's minds.

Then it hit me.

Book in a Month Pt 2, Using A Plot Skeleton

For the last two days I've been working on a basic plot for Wishing on Daisies. At the same time I'm also working on the characters. It seems like plot and characters go hand in hand, doesn't it?

Here is the plot structure I am using, it is a mash of different ones I've found: 

The Three Act Plot Structure for Romance

Act 1

1. Intro/The inciting incident
2. Conflicts introduced
3. Cute meet with the love interest

 Act 2

1. Beginning to fall in love
2. Conflict added/intensified
3. The final confrontation is foreshadowed
4. First love or intimacy scene
5. Stakes are raised for the dark moment

 Act 3

1. Dark moment, they break up or love seems doomed
2. Final confrontation and resolution
3. Happily ever after! Woo Hoo!

What is the overall Mood/Tone?

Is there other sources of inspiration for the story?

• Myths or legends 
• Artwork
• Music

Some Great Books:

The Everything Guide to Writing a Romance Novel

By  Christie Craig and Faye Hughes

Excellent for different plot structures and general advice, this is an all-around great guide for writing romance.

You Can Write A Novel

By James Smith

A simple, quick to read book for turning your dream into a reality. It also has plenty of advice for making your novel more salable.

Do you have any go-to resources or books that you like to use when developing a story?