#novel prep

CHARACTER RELATIONSHIPS NOTION: “RELATIONS”

a highly customizable, simplistic but detailed notion template for writing and creating characters' relationships & dynamics based on curated writer advice. perfect for exploring a character's growth through others while keeping their information aesthetically-pleasing to look at. use this both as a template and a guide to develop your characters' dynamics while working on your wips! made to guarantee higher muse and motivation to finish works-in-progress.  to download / copy, click “duplicate” top-right to copy it to your notion. 

features:

overview of all characters for a wip (including their personality and physical traits)

dynamically synced relations tracker

duplicatable section for start, middle, and end of a character dynamic

tag systems and pre-filled options

A how-to for this outlining method. All links to Eva Deverall and more on this method will be down below! 

set-up: this outlining method requires one piece of paper and a pen/pencil, and some scissors if you want to turn your page into a little booklet!

you want to divide your page into 8 sections. fold your paper in half down the middle then fold it into quarters horizontally. you should get 2 columns running vertically down your page, with 4 sections on each half. 

on the left side of the paper, going from left to right, title the four boxes:

resolution

stasis

trigger

quest

now flip your paper around. going left to right (so starting with the box opposite your quest box), title the other four boxes:

bolt

shift

defeat

power

if you want to check your set-up, i have a picture of mine in my bujo which you can see here for reference!

the stages:

the stages will be explained in the order that you should plan in. examples of what to write in each stage will be included in the links down below, they can be used as a general template to fill out each stage!

resolution: - the final state of your story! a ceremonious stage, but can be bittersweet, or a cliffhanger if you’re planning for a book in a series (or for a chaotic standalone.) imagine how you want your world and character/s to be once all this is over. write down two ideas for this stage. the resolution is so important for the story! (and if you’re worried about planning your ending first, don’t be! you can always come change it later)

stasis: - the start! the beginning state of your book! you want this to be the opposite of your resolution. really, just invert the ideas you wrote down for you resolution. again, write down one or two ideas for this state. 

shift: - this is the next state in your story after the stasis, where your character/world starts to change somewhat. this is a bad state, where problems arise that your characters/world will have to solve or fix in some way to then get to the resolution state. write one or two ideas down for this as well. it’s important to note that this is usually when an internal shift happens with your main character, where they change, so make sure to write an idea around that down.

trigger: - the inciting incident! the event that gets the story going! your character meets that one person, or finds that one object, or finds themselves in a situation that will change them and lead them to start taking actions. write down one idea for this, two if there needs to be.

quest: - this is the main chunk of action in your book! after the inciting incident, plans are made and things start happening, your character sets out on their journey for love, money, fame, achieving their goals, restoring balance to the world, whatever! write down a few ideas for this one, as many ideas as you feel necessary! 

power: - the ‘inverse’ of the quest of sorts. this is again more of an internal state, but this is when/how your character finds it within themselves (and/or the world around them) to complete the quest. this is a good shift, a change that will allow your story to reach the resolution. write down a few ideas for this stage.

bolt: - this is the setback in the plans. this stage comes after the quest, so take the ideas you wrote for that stage, and think of how the plans are going to be stalled, set-back or stopped. write a few ideas down for each point you wrote in your quest stage. 

defeat: - when all hope is lost. the lowest point of your book. a sacrifice of some kind is usually made at this point, whether it be internal or external or large or small. the worst happens and your characters aren’t sure how to move on... write one or two ideas for this.

scene order:

with the ideas in your stages, you can go ahead and start planning scenes out! this time in a more straightforward order

stasis

trigger

quest

bolt

shift

defeat

power

resolution

this is the order your story will go in! if you’re writing on a loose piece of paper, at the end of the video linked below Eva shows how you can make your paper into an easy to follow booklet!

i think this is such a great approach to outlining and getting ideas flowing! you can make it as simple or as detailed as you like, and you can use any sized paper you wish. definitely look at the links below to get more ideas of how to utilise this method. Eva Deverall also has a one page character planning course, which could be interesting to check out as well! She also has genre-specific plot ideas that fit this outlining method i believe! she definitely has a lot of resources that could be worth checking out. all credit to her for this technique!

@nerdygirl-0 i hope this helps somewhat!

tagged by @quilloftheclouds​! thank you :D

Decided to do this for Pirate’s Bane, since it isn’t finished yet :D

(So this is the third time I’m trying to write this stupid thing, since apparently, changing window size closes the post---and, of course, a draft isn’t auto-saved.)

Rules: Answer the questions below, & tag some people!

tagging: @aslanwrites​; @firesidefantasy​; @klywrites​; @theguildedtypewriter​; @inherentlywritten​; @jc-shay​; & @marie-writess​! (no pressure! anyone else is also free to hop on :D)

WIP: The Ave’s Egg

Thanks to @urbanteeth, this is extremely long so I will put a keep reading! 

(let me know if anyone made it to the bottom of the post!)

First Look

1. Describe your novel in 1-2 sentences (elevator pitch)

Lania, a young princess, and her family must mediate a treaty to end a war, but it seems not every side wants peace to settle over the waring countries. Lost and confused Lania finds herself right in the middle of the conflict and must fight to get her way home under life threatening conditions.

2. How long do you plan for your novel to be? (Is it a novella, single book, book series, etc.)

I plan on making this story as one part to a four part story. Lania is not the main protagonist in each of the books but she is there and plays a very pivotal point to the greater plot. So If all goes well this series will be a quartet! The Ave’s Egg itself should be in the range of 50,000 to 70,000 words as it is a young adult book. Although, since it’s still barley starting in the rough draft stage we will have to see. 

3. What is your novel’s aesthetic?

Long travel, earned sweat, constellations, russet reds, brilliant blues, wide dunes, sea stained clothes, coastal views, warm lights, jungle, empty cups, bells, blood, muddied feet.  (mood boards to come dearies!) 

4. What other stories inspire your novel?

All of Tamora Peirce’s books because she is my favorite authors, also she writes  about many themes that i highly value and wish to address as well. The Golden Compass, and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. Each have very diverse stories about young women in their childhood and really inspired me as I grew. 

5. Share 3+ images that give a feel for your novel

Main Character

6. Who is your protagonist?

Lania is my main Protagonist. She is a princess in the realm of Trenear. She is well trained in culture, language, trade, and for formal duels in the name of her family. She is 14 years old and the daughter of the Empress regent. Her great grandmother marked the beginning of the Age of the Dragon, Lania and her siblings age has yet to be named or spoken for. 

Wasn’t tagged by anyone, but decided to give this a go!

Rules: Answer the questions and then tag as many writers as there are questions answered (or as many as you can) to spread the positivity! Even if these questions are not explicitly brought up in the novel, they are still good to keep in mind when writing.

I’m doing this for my current WIP, like all things out of season. 

FIRST LOOK

1. Describe your novel in 1-2 sentences (elevator pitch)

A gatekeeper is tasked with the responsibility of finding out the reason behind rebellious stirrings in the afterlife 

OR

Even after having passed away, death isn’t easy. Souls have to grapple with the reasons on why they cannot seem to move on, while enduring the persistence of ‘life’ after dying.

2. How long do you plan for your novel to be? (Is it a novella, single book, book series, etc.)

One book with a companion novel.

3. What is your novel’s aesthetic?

A little bleak throughout.

4. What other stories inspire your novel?

Well it’s not other stories per se but concepts. There’s a German concept that I learnt in university called Vergangenheitsbewältigung about post-WWII anxieties, which is basically about needing to understand the past in order to make sense of the future.  There’s also a concept in Hong Kong filmmaking in the 1990s that stem from the uncertainties of the future regarding the British handover of HK to China, which talks about HK’s existence as a city of transients, whereby sudden interest in HK’s culture and identity takes place only because there’s a threat of it disappearing. There’s a recent 2015 HK film called 10 Years that tackles these anxieties through a series of short films about a dystopia HK in the year 2025, after HK has officially become a part of China. (I think the reading I had to do for this was called ‘Culture in a Space of Disappearance’, if anyone’s interested!) The first concept is what drives the main plot of the book, while the second concept doesn’t really play out in my story itself, but was just an interesting concept that got me thinking of the setting of the book as a transient port where the souls were never meant to settle down in, but had to because of circumstances. 

5. Share 3+ images that give a feel for your novel

I’m terrible at moodboards (don’t know how to begin them) so... I don’t really have any so far, even though I have vague images in my mind. I’ll try to make one someday??? but no promises! 

MAIN CHARACTER

6. Who is your protagonist?

I guess it’s Shou. (this is my first time introducing this character and look how casually i’m bringing them up HAHA)

7. Who is their closest ally?

Zhen, I suppose. She was the first person he’s ever met who took him in and brought him back to society, so yeah. 

8. Who is their enemy?

It’s the same for everyone in the story really -- themselves. 

9. What do they want more than anything?

He really wants to figure out why they can’t move on (honestly, I’ve already given away the entire plot as to why in my response above). 

10. Why can’t they have it?

Because he doesn’t know??? HAHAHA. Most of the other characters have figured it out, but he takes a little longer. It’s also generally because no one’s telling him anything.

11. What do they wrongly believe about themselves?

This is more of a humour point actually, but that he is more observant / analytic than he really is.

12. Draw your protagonist! (Or share a description)

He’s rather tall and pretty-looking, with long hair and an angular jawline. People mistake him as a girl from the back.

PLOT POINTS

13. What is the internal conflict?

He can’t seem to remember his own past.

14. What is the external conflict?

That he’s still stuck in the afterlife tumbling around and trying to move on.

15. What is the worst thing that could happen to your protagonist?

It’s already happened. 

16. What secret will be revealed that changes the course of the story?

HA there are really no plot twists in my story. It’s just an introspective study.

17. Do you know how it ends?

Yeah. But there’s the companion novels -- which will be a series of stories about the actual pasts of the characters -- that I haven’t really thought through.

BITS AND BOBS

18. What is the theme?

Friendship and family and acceptance and understanding and (dun dun dun) the past. The terrifying past.

19. What is a reoccurring symbol?

Water / water-like substances, twilight, spring, winter, things like that.

20. Where is the story set? (Share a description)

A fantastical setting of an afterlife. It’s just a pretty plain, rather old town that has some modern devices (courtesy of whoever’s motivated enough to invent them when they’ve already passed on).

21. Do you have any images or scenes in your mind already?

I have the first draft down, but it needs extensive editing.

22. What excited you about this story?

THE JOKES THAT I GET TO WRITE!! Like seriously, okay so Shou is this major goofball of a character. Because he’s been isolated for so long (I really feel like I need to explain the context better...) he’s used to overthinking everything and entertaining himself and so when he’s reintroduced back into society, he’s dramatic as HELL and overthinks too much and jumps from one thought to another pretty quickly. Most of his inner thoughts are just monologues and deep thinking that are actually just really ridiculous and lame.

23. Tell us about your usual writing method!

I try not to read back on what I’ve previous written, and just keep on going!!

Tagged by the lovely @drist-n-dither a rather long time ago :) This took a while, but was great in getting some more depth out of my WIP.

WIP - The Undulating Lands Book One: Stillcity.

First Look.

1. Describe your novel in 1-2 sentences (elevator pitch)

The very ground, the Mother beneath, shifts and ripples in response to an act lost to time. Life has evolved and adapted to the turbulent environment of Asharia (name not confirmed lol), but war as eternal as the Mother herself rages. The turning point in a centuries old struggle may hinge upon something as small as a kiss or as sweeping as a revolution.

2. How long do you plan for your novel to be? (Is it a novella, single book, book series, etc.)

From the start I planned for it to be a trilogy. Book Two is pretty much planned out (apart from any changes that might come from Book One’s rewrite), but Book Three is still forming.

3. What is your novel’s aesthetic?

Winding streets, towering stone walls, tiered city, isolated city-worlds, landscapes that shift and change each night, roaring of moving earth under the moon. War, sweat and blood, flashing swords, red stains on turquoise tabards. Mist and forests, sun and rocky canyons, a different vista each day visible over the walls. Warriors fighting shoulder to shoulder, sword-brothers drinking together on their free day. (Okay, gotta stop now).

4. What other stories inspire your novel?

So I was originally inspired by the movie Epic. I also read a lot of David Gemmell and Raymond Feist. Not saying my writing is anything like those two titans of fantasy, but I can dream.

5. Share 3+ images that give a feel for your novel

6. Who is/are your protagonist/s?

In a generalized sense, the Ryxian people are the good guys in my story. Not to a man though, I have bad guys everywhere. Torin O’Cáthain and Ciaran MacDiamarda are my two protagonists. Torin is a young Royal Guard, mentored by Dorrell MacDiamarda, skilled in both swordwork and unarmed combat. He is twenty at the start of the story. Ciaran is Dorrell’s son, growing up in his aunt’s care as his mother died in childbirth and his father lives in the Royal Guard barracks. At the start of the story he is seventeen.

7. Who is their closest ally?

To start with, Torin’s closest friend and ally is Dorrell. He has other friends in the Royal Guard, but no one really close. He also has a friend from childhood called Cait who is like a sister but they don’t get to see each other often. Ciaran’s closest ally is his aunt Edana, Dorrell’s older sister. She has his back no matter what.

8. Who is their enemy?

Due to things that happen Torin and Ciaran gain enemies that are revealed as the story progresses. Technically the Nentar people see Torin, Ciaran and all of the Ryxian people as their enemies, so there is that too.

9. What do they want more than anything?

Torin is primarily motivated by the need to be good enough. Good enough to deserve the comfortable living situation afforded to him as part of the Royal Guard. Good enough to deserve the people who care about him. Good enough to stop his world falling apart like it did when he was a child. Ciaran wants more than anything to protect the people he loves. He lives to see his family and friends happy and healthy and will sacrifice anything he has to to make that happen. A secondary but strong motivation is that he needs to feel accepted and fit in.

10. Why can’t they have that?

War screws up lives and takes away any certainty of safety and security. Also, being in the Royal Guard does not make anyone immune to making enemies.  Aaaand also I write angst. So much angst.

11. What do they wrongly believe about themselves?

Torin believes that he is responsible for the death of everyone he has cared about in the past and that when push comes to shove he just won’t be enough. He also believes he has complete control over his previously explosive temper. Ciaran believes that he is abnormal and that he probably deserves to die for simply who he is. Like Torin he blames himself for bad things happening to the people he loves.

12. Draw your protagonist! (Or share a description)

Torin was beautifully drawn by @erupan when I won a contest :)

Torin’s description -  Short spiky bronze-ish brown hair, green eyes that change with his moods, high cheekbones, square jaw and a scar stretching from above his left temple to his cheekbone. One black Claíomh-Sciath tattoo on his right arm, two on his left arm and one green tattoo on each leg.

Then the wonderful @esoteric-eclectic-eccentric offered to draw characters when they reached a great follower number and Ciaran’s image appeared :) This, to me, is young Ciaran at the start of the story.

Ciaran’s description -  Slightly shorter than Torin but more muscled (though not as much as Dorrell was). Short black hair with hints of red in the sun, purple-tinged eyes. Delicate features, pointy nose, heart shaped face like his mother. Acquires a scar that goes from below his ear, round his throat and ends on his collarbone. Gets green and blue Claíomh-Sciath tattoos on each forearm upon Initiation. (When I finally get a world description up I’ll explain Claíomh-Sciath).

Plot Points

13. What is the internal conflict?

I feel like too much info on this could be spoiler-y... I have trouble figuring out what to share and what to clutch jealously to my chest while making hissing noises.

14. What is the external conflict?

The war between the Ryxian and Nentar people is the overriding conflict. But within Stillcity itself are many factions of people struggling for power. Despite being ruled by a monarchy there are those in Stillcity who have ambitions that could turn the world upside down.

15. What is the worst thing that could happen to your protagonist?

The worst thing that could happen (apart from violent death in battle) is being banished into the Undulating Lands with no spelled-stone, to die horribly as night falls on the Mother of Many Faces.

16. What secret will be revealed that changes the course of the story?

Uuuurgh spoilers. Sorry. And I know it’s probably predictable enough to not really be spoiler and I’m getting all possessive over things that everyone’s probably guessed... Don’t care :P

17. Do you know how it ends?

I know how The Undulating Lands - Book One finishes, but I am having issues with where to finish Book Three. I have probably too many ideas at this point and I’m really trying to focus on rewriting Stillcity before worrying about anything else.

Bits and Bobs

18. What is the theme?

I’ve never really sat down and thought about the theme of my writing... Looking at it now I think I’m a total romantic because the theme is something like ‘Love can sustain people through anything’. Or ‘Searching for acceptance requires accepting yourself’. Blurgh, that sounds so cheesy. And going for maximum cheese, my last thought on theme is ‘Home is where the heart is’.

19. What is a reoccurring symbol?

Swords - Conflict and fighting (whether it be external or internal). Also Stone - Symbolizing links to the past, safety and stubbornness. Oh yeah, and The Mother of Many Faces - Change, uncertainty, sins of the past. Probably more, but I’m finding it hard to analyze my own writing lol.

20. Where is the story set? (Share a description!)

Primarily set in Stillcity, a tiered city that holds a kingdom. Stillcity is built from spelled-stone, a magic-imbued stone that acts as an anchor, holding a piece of the Mother in place. I picture the stone as being a reddish-orange, but as I write that I realize I haven’t said that in the story. Sigh. The king’s palace and the barracks and training areas for the Royal Guards are in the highest tier, merchants and upper/middle classes in the centre tier and poor people and everything else in the lowest tier. The palace is close enough to an outer wall to have a gate that opens into the Undulating Lands.

Thanks to the Mother’s changing face I get to write a lot of different terrain and landscapes for my characters to play in, so there is everything from a misty to forest, to dusty, rocky canyons and everything in between.

21. Do you have any images or scenes in your mind already?

I can play the whole story in my mind like a movie up to the end of the first book. I’ve been thinking about the second one too long though, and I’ve gotten a bit muddled while I try and rewrite Book One to get to where I can start writing Book Two.

22. What excited you about this story?

First of all was the character relationships. But very quickly afterwards it was the world-building, working out the mechanics of a world that moves and changes each night.

23. Tell us about your usual writing method!

Hah, I wish I could. When I started this story I had the outline in pretty good shape, decent detail and an idea of where I wanted it to go. But once I had the rough draft done I put together a list of significant changes that had to be done and that led to spotting plot/world-building holes that needed more thought and development. I’m a ridiculously solitary writer, but what I did find helpful once I finished the first draft was hiring a friend of mine who is an editor/publisher (and who describes herself as honest but kind) to do a read through and get an outside view on the story. It was tough to take on board some of her constructive criticism, but I got over myself and I’m trying to get my groove on for the rewrite. Lol any suggestions for helping me get stuck into the rewrite will be gratefully received by the way.

In this episode of Omakase: Turning your smartphone into a dumbphone. The best font to write in. How I prepare to revise a novel. And, last but by no means least, a prompt about a stranger who claims to be something fantastical.