5-Part WIP Special// Part One: General Questions

AHHHHHHH!!!! It's that time of year again! Jules's WIP Special is now a go and it's all about our NaNo projects! The participants (who you'll see listed at the end) spent the entire month of October brainstorming questions for this round and now we get to answer them over the next five weeks!

~Introduce the story: blurb, maybe a cover or anything else!~

For this one, I'm using my second dystopian novel, which I'm both excited and nervous about. And as you've all been waiting on the edge of your seats for me to announce what it is since I haven't introduced it to y'all yet, I figure now is a good time to give you the title.

Simon Says

And yes, it is based off the game! It's a dystopian based in Michigan, where a dictator named Simon (wow, no kidding, Sarah), believes that anything he says becomes law if he follows the order with the words Simon says.

Here's a cover and blurb!!

It used to be a game for children. Now it’s a nightmare-- two words that bring about chaos and death: Simon Says. 

Dictator Simon Chamenos believes the game was meant for him. Anything he says, if followed by those two words, becomes law. Apparently the world thinks the same thing. Or else, they’ve just turned a blind eye to his tyranny. That is, until the TV screens showed his face and called for the teenage boys. Then the sleeping monster of rebellion raised its ugly head.

With her brother gone and family in ruins, Ive Ryes sees only one option: join the rebellion and kill Simon. If anyone ever could, it would be her. After all, she was his right hand: a choice he wouldn’t live to regret.

~Where did you get the idea for your story?  What came to you first: your theme, character, premise, setting, etc?~

I can't remember where I first came up with the idea. I think it was a Pinterest prompt thingy, but I'm not 100% sure. All I know is it was last year in October because I actually considered putting aside the story I wrote during last NaNo for this one, but decided against it because I hadn't spent enough time thinking about it (besides, I really wanted to write the other story as well). So now I've had a year to muse over it and I think I'm ready now.

But I thought it might be cool to take something cute and fun and take all the fun out of it put a dark twist to it. 

The idea came to me first. The characters trickled in afterwards (naming was a royal pain in the butt). Finally, after months of head bashing, I decided on a location. 

~What have you done to get experience for your story (like watching knitting YouTube videos)?  What did you put into the book because it’s something you know about (like if you’re a martial artist, and put that in)?~

I didn't do a lot to gain experience, really. I did more of this kind of thing for The Herbalist's War.

But, I did add a linguistics nerd into the story because I loved studying Latin in school.

And this is the first time I've written a mentally ill character. I'm really nervous about this because I want to do a good job. Mental illness is something that burdens my heart and I want to represent it with respect and accuracy. But I feel like, if I stay true to my own experiences, I should do all right. So yeah, lots of prayers will be going into this thing.

~What is your story world based off of (made up, or contemporary)?~

It is based in Detroit, MI, and the surrounding area. I'm super pumped about this because my mom is from there and I love visiting Michigan, though I discovered how little I actually know about it while I was planning. A lot of the stuff I found online was targeted towards tourists instead of people living there. I needed to know what it's like living there. So, I sent off an email to my family members still living in MI asking for help. I'm still waiting to hear back from some of them, but what I did receive was invaluable. 

~Do you research before, after, or during your first draft writing process? Have you done any research for this particular book? How do you usually research?~

I do a bit of research beforehand. Just enough to get me started. I work off of instinct during the first draft, then I fact-check it later. 

I did research for Michigan. I needed to know basic details that would be important to someone living there. Didn't get too far.

I also looked up Latin sayings and what degrees Harvard offers for one of my characters. That was something I never thought I would have to do, but it was fun.

As far as how I research, let's just say I will forever be in Google and Pinterest's debt and leave it at that. 

~Do you plot or plan your book in any way before you start writing? What methods do you usually use and what did you do this time?~

I do a simple outline and a conflict chart. Both help me with pacing. I wrote a post about this last year. You can check it out here.

I wrote my outline back in April, during Camp NaNo. That was fun, even though I still didn't have a huge grasp of the story. It did get me pumped up to write it, though. 

~Do you hand write or type your first draft?~

Type. When I first started writing books, I would hand-write all my stories. But once I started on the journey that is NaNoWriMo, that wasn't an option for me anymore. I just couldn't write fast enough. So now I type my stories.

Though, I might have to hand-write something again. Maybe just some stuff that no one will ever read.

~Do you have a brainstorming buddy and if you do, who was it this time and how did they help?~

Like the jerk that I am, I decided to keep this under wraps until now, so I didn't have a brainstorming buddy for the planning portion. But for any issues moving forward, Jules, Evangeline, and my younger brother are always my reliable brainstorming buddies. 

~How did you come up with your characters’ names?~

Well, Simon's was pretty obvious, but I have no idea where I came up with the rest. I just kind of threw some ideas out and snagged ones that fit. Mostly, I just did a bunch of throwing letters and sounds together until something stuck. 

~Do you know what your story's theme is? If you do, how did you find it, and if you don't, how do you plan to find it?~

I think one of the underlying themes is understanding the difference between revenge and justice and knowing where the line is. There's also the theme of family and its different aspects. Love and redemption is also something I try to put in all of my books.

Well, there you have it! I hope you enjoyed getting to know what I'll be working on this November. I'm really excited to get down and dirty with this one. I'll do my best to keep you updated throughout the month!

Be sure to check out the rest of the participants' posts! They have some amazing projects and I just can't wait to read more about them! I'll do my best to update the links as the posts go active.

Jules
Nicole
Ceci
Lisa
Gray
Julia
Jem
Melissa
Brook
Ariel
Keturah

What do y'all think? Are you excited to hear more? What are you writing this November? I want to hear all the details!!