The Shared WIP Tag {Week 1: General Questions}

I am so stinkin' excited to do this!! I missed it when they did it in March (?) 'cause I was gone for lent and when Julian said  that she was doing it again I was like

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

This Nano, I'm working on The Scroll of Wisdom. It's the first book in the Kingdoms of Ilia series. Here are the blurb and cover! (taken from my WIP page)

Prince Kile of Ilia Scriptura knows that he will never be king, that boring job is left to his brother. But when a strange turn of events happens and Kile is made the Crown Prince, how will the prince who has lived in frivolity all his life govern the wisest kingdom in Ilia?

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

So the story goes, I originally started The Crown of Light (which I did last year) and I was also working on another book called Courage For Those Who Have None. I decided to link the two books, even though Courage For Those Who Have None came several hundred years before the Crown of Light. I then changed some stuff in the worldbuilding and added a WHOLE buncha things. Turns out, Myragi and Zirrith (the two countries in Courage For Those Who Have None) used to be one country, Ilia Couragis. I didn't give much thought to it but I did keep thinking this: Why? Why did they split? How did other countries influence them? At the same time, I had decided that I wanted to make a series, each book about one country. And then BOOM it all fell into place (sorta)

As too what came first......Setting, because I already had the world, then premise, then theme, and then characters.

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)?

Um....................

I watched a video on how women would dress in the 12th century.......

Besides that.....

I gotta admit that I did nothin'

What made you decide to write this particular book for NaNoWriMo?

I think it was because I knew that this book was gonna be long, and decided to use Nano as a motivator

(I'M SORRY THESE ANSWERS ARE SO BORING)

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?

If I'm writing a historical fiction, then I'll usually research before. Going on a complete tangent here, when I was researching for Colm, I had to research what it was like to live in Ireland at that time, how the immigration journey/process was, what the wages were like, and other stuff. All that I researched before. Sometimes though, I'll come across a small detail that I'll need to research for.

Since this book is fantasy, I haven't really researched......But I did look up what different biomes there were (worldbuilding) and what people wore in the 12th century.

And I norrrrmally use Google (but I always try to find more than 2 sites that say the same thing)

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! Or else I'll end up with a major roadblock in the middle of Nano. And we all know that THAT is lots of fun...

I outline in three steps: General Synopsis, Bare Bones Outline, Outline

So the general synopsis is where I write basically all the major plot twists and some other little things down. If the book is broken up into sections I make sure to do that too here to see which section of the book falls under which section. The bare bones outline is basically how many chapters there gonna be, with around one sentence per chapter. Then the outline is where I go back and fill in all the details in each chapter.

Do you hand write or type your first draft?

It really depends. For the Scroll of Wisdom, I'm typing my first draft. I usually do that for stories I'm "more serious" about and handwrite stories that are not that serious.

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

Um....sortanotreally. I have this one friend and we just sit and talk about our books. That helps a lot cause she understands when I go off on tangents and confuse myself and honestly nothing is better than going, "SADHAODFHDFDFASD I KNOW WHY THEY DID *blank*"

How did you come up with your characters’ names?

It varies really. None of the characters names really mean anything, and I just picked names that I like. I knew I wanted to use the name Kile, and it's pronounced exactly the same as Kyle, but Kile seems more "magical" than Kyle. And I found Zoe's name first and wanted her twin to have a somewhat similar name so I named her twin Zelia.

OHHH

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OKAY SO I DO HAVE SOMETHING COOL TO SHARE.

So each person of royalty has a special name. And if they're male, then they are a "Protector" and if they're female, they are a "Jewel". For example, Kile's full title is: "Polaris, Protector of Ilia Scriptura, Prince Royale Kile of Ilia Scriptura", and Zoe's full title is: "Tamara, Jewel of Ilia Couragis, Princess Royale Zoe of Ilia Couragis".

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 I do. I'm pretty sure my theme is that you can change for the better. For example, Kile goes through a very low moment where he thinks he can never change, but then he is shown that he can.

I love the novels that show the struggle of a character who wants to be a better person and doesn't believe that he can be but then becomes a better person slowly yet surely.

This ends week 1 of the Shared WIP Tag!! Be sure to join me next week for protagonist questions!!

Also, check out the answers of the other people doing this tag!

Julian @ Saver of Memories

Nicole @ Legend of a Writer

Lisa @ Inkwell

Gray Marie @ Writing Is Life

Julia @ Lit Aflame

Jem @ Jem Jones, Writer

Melissa @ Quill Pen Writer

Brooklyne @ Shower of Blessings

Ariel @ Scribes and Archers

Keturah @ Keturah's Korner

Sarah @ Pen of a Ready Writer

How is your Nano going? Have you fallen behind yet? What are you most excited for this Nano?