Hello Survivors of NaNoWriMo!
First of all: CONGRATS TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED! If you won, I hope you celebrated. If you didn’t win, I hope you had chocolate anyway because you definitely still deserve it.
As you know, we’re taking a break from the Beautiful People linkup (interviewing book characters) for a series focused on our books. HUZZAH. Sky and I made this version more book directed (since a lot of us participated in NaNoWriMo).
Beautiful Books is a three part series and we’re up to PART 3. (Although there is news in the forests about the January edition being more author centred.)
You can find Part 1: Let’s Talk Books and Part 2: How’s The Writing Going.
(Also notebooksisters.com is actually me! I’ve changed my blog name and we’ll update the buttons….later.)
What is it Beautiful Books exactly!?
Beautiful Books is a three-month-long blog event linkup focused on three different stages of writing: plotting, writing, and editing. It was designed with NaNoWriMo in mind. NaNoWriMo is a writing event where you write a 50,000 word novel in a month. Because a lot of writers will be participating, we decided to help get your juices flowing! We’ll be focusing on plotting in October, writing in November, and editing in December. See how organised we are? Super cool.
Do I have to be doing NaNo to participate?
Nope! Just pick a work-in-progress and you’ll be good to go. If you don’t have a novel that works for the entirety of the blog event, you can feature different ones. The point is, you absolutely don’t have to do NaNoWriMo to participate, and we really want you to join! We also want your friends to join, so if you have writing groups…spread the word!
The Questions for Round #3: Let’s Talk Editing
1. On a scale of 1 (worst) to 10 (best) how well do you think this book turned out?
2. Have you ever rewritten or editing one of your books before? If so, what do you do to prepare yourself? If not, what’s your plan?
3. What’s your final wordcount? Do you plan to lengthen or trim your book?
4. What’s are you most proud of? Plot, characters, or pacing?
5. What’s your favourite bit of prose or line from this novel?
6. What aspect of your book needs the most work?
7. What aspect of your book is your favourite?
8. How are your characters? Well-rounded, or do they still need to be fleshed-out?
9. If you had to do it over again, what would you change about the whole process?
10. Did anything happen in your book that completely surprised you? Have any scenes or characters turned out differently to what you planned? Good or bad?
11. What was the theme and message? Do you think it came across? If not, is there anything you could do to bring it out more?
12. Do you like writing with a deadline (like NaNoWriMo) or do you prefer to write-as-it-comes?
13. Comparative title time! What published books, movies, or TV shows are like your book? (Ex: Inkheart meets X-Men, etc.)
14. How do you celebrate a finished novel?!
15. When people are done reading your book, what feeling do you want them to come away with?
The Buttons
The Linky
Alright my writing friends! TIME TO SOCIALISE.
You’ve worked hard all month. So let us talk about our books now! We had 51 linkers the first time and 54 the second, so who’s with me for the final round?! HUZZAH.
Oh my gosh I just realized I completely forgot to do the second Beautiful Books likup! SO SORRY! (Here I am, apologising again…) I think I was just to burnt out after finishing NaNoWriMo aha. xD I’ll definitely be linking up for this one, though–at the moment I’m currently editing my high fantasy novel (more like rewriting it entirely) so this has come at a perfect time. ^_^
DON’T BE SORRY. xD I can completely understand being burnt out (plus you don’t have to feel obligated to do it! It’s supposed to be fun too, don’t forget. xD) Ahh, I hear you with the editing = rewriting entirely. I often end up doing that. -_-
Ooh, definitely going to do this one. I have a sinking feeling that this month’s Beautiful Books is going to shine a light on the ugliness of my book unfortunately though. And here I was blissfully attempting to trick myself into thinking that it was already perfect. You just couldn’t let me be happy could you? Still, it’s been three weeks I supposed I should come down off the chocolate induced celebratory high and be honest. Thanks for hosting these. They’re ever so much fun.
YOUR BOOK WILL ALWAYS BE BEAUTIFUL THOUGH. *nods* <-- see how encouraging I am? I'm really being super good here. But when I do this I'll cry in despair. XD HEEEEHE. I'm still on a high too.
I’m so tired I can’t even remember what day I finished NaNo on…but I did finish early. Last year I finished the novel at about 11:50pm on the last day of November, so THAT was stressful. I somehow forgot that 12 was the start of a new day…interesting. BUT ANYWAY, these are great questions, and I can’t wait to see your answers 😀
I’m sooo tired too right now. I did a LOT in November. 0.0 I feel like I need all of December to just recover.
Hello there, Cait!! I haven’t got the chance to tell you this yet, but NICE NEW BLOG!!!
And… I’ve won NaNoWriMo with half an hour before the end! Writing is tough and I’m loving it! And actually I’d love to edit and polish my book just as much as I can. I am quiten fond of this sweet little part o’ myself. I’ve got no idea when or how I’m going to edit it, but I will… one day!!
Hugs and cheers!!!
HELLO LAVINYAA!!! YAAAAAY I AM SO GLAD YOU LIKE IT. Omg, that’s so cutting it fine SUCH A GOOD JOB! Go you! *showers you with congratulatory confetti*
Ohhh I’m so glad to see this. YOU KNOW I ADORE THIS LINKY MORE THAN LIFE. Though not more than cake because LOLIMPOSSIBLE.
I didn’t win NaNo this year buuuuuut I’m SO proud of what I achieved. I wrote 45K and that’s good enough for me 😀 And I’ve still been writing non-stop since and *gasp* I have one more chapter left before I finish the entire thing. *Faints*
What could possibly even be better than cake? Like, come on. That’s just hilarious even supposing about it.
OH 45K IS STILL AWESOME. GO YOU!!! But, like, you totally don’t get a full piece of cake. *stuffs most of cake in mouth* You like only get crumbs, Allie, just ‘cos. I have to be mean. It’s like, my job as evil overlord.
Wooh! Another Linkup! So doing this! Like Right now! 😀
To be honest I am quite happy how my book turned out and I am planning to eventually finish/edit it. But that might not be until later in the New Years. I am working on outlining a fantasy novel to write over Christmas Break though and I am quite excited for it. Its a book with dragons and dragon riders…can’t get much better than that 😛
YAY! I’m so glad you’re happy with your book. That is the Best feeling. Usually I absolutely hate mine when I finish, lol, but this time? I’m actually okay with it. I AM. Hopefully that doesn’t wear off before I get a chance to edit. 😉
Another beautiful books! Hooray. I’ll be looking forward to answering these questions. I was actually about a week ahead for the majority of the month. Then family came and my computer starting going nuts, so I ended up barely finishing the day before the deadline. It was a great experience that I’m looking forward to reflecting on further with this link up.
I can’t wait to read your post then!! Gosh, lucky you were ahead for the beginning then, right?! Scary when computers go nuts just at the worst possible moment. -_-
Ehhhhhh, as a first year participant, my actions didn’t exceed my plans. I had this AMAZING idea for a book…and then 7k words later, my flare died… well, I’m still going to continue with my story (because it is super amazing – if I do say so myself – and it deserves to be written!) but I’m just going to write it at my own pace…even if it takes 5 years, bahaha!
Gah, don’t you hate that?!! I totally hear you! I have a few manuscripts hidden in the dusty depths of drawers (computer? hehe) that never got past 10K. It’s sad, but hey, maybe they’ll grow into real books later?!!
I finished a week early (give or take)! It was really weird because November seemed to be flying by so fast and then, once I’d finished, time moved so slowly. I hated my book for the majority of the time that I was writing it (it was fun the first time I wrote everyone’s POV, then it became a case of dragging it out and ploughing along), but I’ve read bits of it over since and I think there’s potential…if I actually bother to plot when I rewrite it. The characters were fine though, and I found it easier to get a grip on my world whilst I was writing rather than beforehand (improvisation apparently beats world-building every time 😉 ). Over Christmas, I’ll still be working on my other project- I want to have the final draft done by summer at the latest 😉
AGREED. The first week of November was a completely blur. 0.0 And then…gah, it really did drag for the last week when I was on holidays. Not that the holiday was bad, lol no, I just really rather be home and I missed my internet. >-< I'm 100% your book has glorious potential. HUZZH FOR FINISHING TOO. You're writing over christmas?!! You incredibly good thing. I...I...I'm so lazy and probably won't write until, like, next year sometime. Probably Feb, but I do have an idea I want to write in January so we'll see, right?! 😉
Can’t wait to do Beautiful Books #3! My NaNoWriMo novel turned out to be a total flop. As in, I didn’t win and there was WAY too much going on in my life at the moment that it was impossible to squeeze in an hour of writing without neglecting other very important stuff. Man. Definitely learnt my lesson though! I’m going to plan, plan, plan! And also try and avoid important life todos until the daft month is over. 😀
I have a list of fifteen or so “book” ideas, some nurturing over years and although I love my NaNo novel Passing Phase (well, I love the 13,000 words I got down) I think it’d be great for me to show some love to all my story ideas, give them all an outline and then pick one to get serious with. And although I’m really planning to save Passing Phase for the future there are tons of ideas that I have that’ll make my life as a writer easier. Although the challenge of Passing Phase is addictive…trying to write a “hard” book as a newbie(ish) writer is stupid. Hah. Christmas break is going to be my coffee sipping, journal writing, story developing time! (Fingers crossed).
Aw, I’m sad for you. But hey, if planning works better for you at least you know for next time, right?!! Omg, 15 book ideas?! YOU ARE liKE ME!! I have 20+ books that I’d like to write but…distractions and also no time and also, meh, not feeling like it this second. There are literally SO MANY BOOKS TO WRITE. 0.0 *crosses fingers with you*
So excited for this blog link up. ^ ^ These are so fun. I slot an opening for them every month in my blog schedule. I won NaNo and I’m pretty happy with how this novel turned out. 🙂 And I plan on writing to complete the 100 for 100 challenge on GTW up to the 23rd then I’m taking a break until after New Years.
Stori Tori’s Blog
Congrats for winning NaNo!!! WOOOOT. *showers you with confetti and cake crumbs* And you’re still on track with 100×100?! YOU ARE ON FIRE. You will definitely 100% deserve your break. x)
It’s so great to hear people talk about their challenges! Ironically I wrote more since December started. Life is weird. =/ These BB memes have been so good. They take so long to write because I have to really think about my novel! What a great idea. I’ve seen the most wonderful posts on this linkup, everybody seems to be working so hard. It’s really encouraging.
To answer your queschuns, yep I have linked up. -whispers- Nope, I didn’t win Nano. I technically didn’t even participate. I both want to take a break from the book, and feel determined to finish. I will make myself finish first. I do feel fond of it (think I always will.) I’m not really the type of person who takes ‘breaks’! I write all the time, all year round. Don’t get me wrong, I WANT to! But usually on my break when my mind is free, is EXACTLY when I get inspiration for something else. Then I think in a panic ‘What if I forget? I have to write it down!’ And so I end up cutting my week-long break down to like one day and get back into writing.
How about you, Cait? How’s TDBatPC novel? (btw I remembered to take a picture of my cake and was wondering how I could virtually send you a slice. It’s a simple cake. Very tasty.)
Life is weird. Seriously. It is so weird and it never does specifically what it’s told. What’s with that anyway?
Ohh, I’m glad they make you think, though! ME TOO. I spend like hours on mine. Seriously, last month, I wrote like 5K in a few hours and then spent ALL JOLLY NIGHT writing my BB post. I think a lot of that was procrastination, though. 😉
If you write all year round you should have like a ginormous medal. Or cake. I can do either/both. Breaks give me ideas too!! Ever since NaNo finished I’ve been super inspired for 3 separate books. Now I have to decide which to tackle. >.>
Ohhhh, TDBATPC is feeling good. IT IS. It’s sitting quietly for now, but I’m thinking January I might even haul it out for an edit?! Usually it takes me like like a year to edit, but I have a good feeling about this book. x)
Tis true. My BB posts takes AGES. =/ Well worth it though. I’ll take the cake over the medal =D Oooh but I like the feeling of choosing out of a selection of ideas! Then I get really revved up to write the next thing. Okay then, good luck with your editing! :3
I’ll do up my (first) link-up Monday. The book I wrote for NaNo isn’t quite finished – I won NaNo, days early and with 14,000 to spare, but the book still need about 20 to 30 thousand more words, and I hope to get them done in the next few weeks. I did lose a bit of my momentum when I got sick the last week of NaNo, but I think I’ve found the groove again and should start accumulating words again.
(Wow. Moment of reflection here. I just referred to 20 to 30 thousand words as basically nothing … my first book was 25,000. It took me nearly two years to finish it. It was the sequel to my NaNo this year.)
However, I’m also currently up to my neck in edits for a book I plan to release on Valentine’s Day, so I’ll also be linking up with it. That post should go up on Monday if I get it written. I am … busy this winter.
I had to write extra for my book to be done too!! Some books just don’t wrap up at 50K, right?!! Got to tell that whole story. *nods* losing momentum sucks though. I hope you’re feeling better. 😐
Heh. I think my first books were like 10K and they took me months and I was convinced I was going to be published with them. 😉
The book is currently 95,000. I started NaNo with 30,000 words. I still have 30,000 to go. I just need to finish editing this other book so I can send it out to Beta Readers, and then I can dive back in. I’m almost done. (I just have a ball to throw and a war to pull off. That’s it.)
I can’t wait to do this link-up! I didn’t finish my NaNo novel, 23,000 words was as far as I got, but I’m still chopping away at it! With all the wonderful link-ups happening, I probably won’t be writing my own posts for a while!
KEEP GOING I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!!! *pegs small amounts of chocolate at you* There are a lot of linkups going around at the moment, right?! I’ve got like a backlog of about 6 to do. Ahhh! Need to work on that!
GEE THANKS CAIT WAY TO REMIND ME OF WHAT I’VE BEEN AVOIDING
Teehee. I’m hoping that if I ignore my story long enough, maybe it’ll just edit itself? *groans* I always like the end result, but I HATE starting to edit. It always makes me feel like a dork because I write some very weird things in first drafts.
*glares at own book in the corner* I’m sure if I glare long enough it’ll edit itself, right?! RIGHT? Editing is hard. >.>
I didn’t do NaNoWriMo. 🙁 One day I want to, but November is crazy for me. I thinking about doing it over the summer. The coming summer or the next, depends on school. But I do plan to jump on Oddball the Sequel over Christmas break. It won’t get finished. But I’m going to dive in as much as I can before Spring semester. And I’m stoked about it!
I think I’ll have to join the link for Oddball the First.
November IS crazy isn’t it?! I almost always don’t do NaNo because of that but this year I was like RIGHT GOING TO DO THIS. I’m really glad I did. The community is aaawesome. x) I hope you have a good time with Oddball then!!
Omg this is my first time on your blog and let me just say it’s AMAZING! I love the layout and design and yOUR HEADER JUST SLAYS. I can also see you have a lot of followers and blog traffic; that must rock 😉 Anyway, I just wanted to say congratulations on your awesome blog–seriously, though, because you probably had to work really hard and long to get to this level 🙂
OHHH THANK YOU! *hands you welcome cake* I hope you enjoy the, er, *cough* craziness here. 😉 I do put a lot of work into it, it is my baaaby. (And I’m a totally obsessed blogger. lol) XDXD
I managed to get 15,000 words for my NaNo, which I’m pretty happy about.
Of course, this means it is nowhere near finished, so I’m not participating in this link-up 🙁
I’m probably not going to write much in December…I’m going to focus more on blogging and reading, but come January I’ll definitely try to get some writing done.
You can still participate if you didn’t finish! (But totally only if you want to OF COURSE.) I won’t write in december either. I have to focus on a) Christmas food and b) Puppy. Loool. Kidding. Christmas food doesn’t take that much concentration. It happens. JANUARY IS FOR WRITING. Actually, not for me. >_< I usually take the whole month of and claim it as birthday holiday or something. #mybad
I… did not win. I failed, quite epically, ending it throwing in the towel during a fit of rage somewhere around 10 days in. Hold your applause. I think I got close to a thousand words in before I decided I hated absolutely everything I had written. I then tried again, but I was so frustrated by that point, that it just wasn’t happening.
I have plot problems. In that, I don’t really have one. I had like, some plot points, but then huge, gaping holes of nothingness where chunks of plot needed to be. I do like the characters, and maybe someday I will get around to writing about them. I sure hope so, anyway! I really think I shouldn’t have tried (I know that sounds negative but it isn’t meant to be!) at this particular time, it was just too hectic, too busy, and I think I kind of set myself up for a bit of disappointment. It’s okay though, there’s always next year, or you know, whenever the mood strikes me!
Oh, and the gif? Makes me chuckle a lot, because I am picturing these writers all locked up in dungeons, coming out in December with claws for hands, feeling blinded by the light 😉 I hope this was not the case for you, though you were in Sydney, so likely not!
*holds applause*
Hey sometimes the time isn’t right for writing, right? <-- Epic "write/right" usage right there. <-- loool again!! (Okay I'll STAHP.) I totally picture that's how NaNoers look afterwards, like crazy green monstery-grinches ready for socialisation again. Not me, of course. I keep my greenness to a minimum and I also never ever socialise anyway. *nods*
Can’t wait to do this! Love the Beautiful Books linkups.
I finished NaNo on Nov. 30 at 12:46 AM. Yes. I stayed up late on Nov. 29. [My parents don’t know, though, so shhh.] And I didn’t fall asleep until 2. Bleh. 😛
I love my little bookie, but it needs a lot of work. I am planning to start editing this weekend. But I also have to edit a monologue for school, so we’ll see how that goes.
I love your new blog! WordPress is really awesome; I like it better than Blogger.
I’m so glad you like them!! THAT IS REALLY ENCOURAGING. Ohh, wow, cutting it close and congrats!! I will attempt NOT to, you know, tell on you. *duct tapes mouth*
my book will need a LOT of work too. *nods* EDITING HERE WE COME. (WordPress wins the internet.)
I won NaNo on the 29th. I sat in shock for about five minutes after validating, then went to sleep. xD I love my story, even if it’s a monstrosity of a thing. I’ll tell anyone who asks about it and they’ll just smile and nod with a blank look on their face. xD I’m too happy to be brought down, though. I linked up, because I need to do some serious editing and your questions helped me think.
I’m actually planning to edit and start a new story for winter break. Writing waits for no one! Except sleep. Sleep is the master of all.
CONGRATS ANAH!!! Lol that’s totally how I celebrated too = sleep in. x) It’s really the best reward, hehe. I need to do serious editing too! I’m hoping these questions kind of sort out some stuff for me too. 😉
I may not be linking up, but I did write Nano and win it! It was the hardest year for me to ever complete it really (because school was trying to strangle me the whole time I was writing, and then blogging) but it was a lot of fun. I’m not done with the novel, I am only at the beginning of part 2 of three. I am also set at a word count of 50,242, but I will pick it up again in the Christmas break. I just… need a writing break for now xD
I didn’t participate in NaNo, but I wrote a large portion of my novel in November with plenty of 2K days and finished it at 50K before the end of the month, so almost…? Anyway, these questions look fantastic and I hope to definitely participate in this link-up! Although the comparative-titles thing might be difficult. But! I shall do my best. I also hope we see a Beautiful Books from YOU, Cait, because I’d love to hear more about your NaNo novel! It seriously sounds AH-MAZE-ING. I already love Thomas and Moxie from the snippets you posted last month. <3 I SHIP IT.
Okay, I actually wrote this post before the end of the month (applaud me), and it’s going up sometime next week. Though I do like my Venice novel and all my darling characters, I’m glad to be taking a break from it for some time. I need to play with fresh new plot bunnies. 🙂
*applauds copiously* GO YOU GO YOU. I…haven't done mine yet.