Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Quote, Unquote!

I’m back this week with part three of Christine Smith’s NaNo linkup! Although I didn’t win NaNoWriMo this year, I definitely made enormous leaps and bounds in my story and overall mentality. The lessons I learned during NaNo are helping me now, and I’m so glad I did it, even if I didn’t get the full 50K.

Anyway, more on that later. Let’s jump into the questions!

1. How did writing this novel go all around?

Surprisingly well! I did pretty well for the first three weeks or so, because I had a schedule and it worked for me, but then I went to Cincinnati for a weekend to visit my grandparents and it derailed. I tried my best to get back on track, but things just got crazy during the last week and a half of November. Honestly, if NaNo was in any other month (except maybe December) I would do so much better.

2. Did it turn out like you expected or completely different? And how do you feel about the outcome?

It turned out basically how I was expecting. There were a few things that I was totally surprised by (where the heck did the Romeo and Juliet names come from?), but for the most part, it was aligned with my intentions.

3. What aspect of the story did you love writing about the most?

I really liked writing Waverly’s internal monologue. She thought and reacted a lot like me, and I saw my own thought process coming out in her a lot. It was fun to see how I normally think there on the paper.

4. How about your least favorite part?

I’m not sure, honestly. I don’t think I even had a least favourite part! Maybe the fact that some scenes are really repetitive? That definitely annoyed me while I was writing, but I know I can fix it, so it’s not really a big deal.

5. What do you feel like needs the most work?

All of it. Literally–just–all of it.

I know, I know. You’re probably telling me not to be so down on myself, but seriously, it’s true. It’s bound to happen with NaNo in general, because you’re writing an entire novel in such little time. But it just needs some editing and plot-hole-filling and just general fixing up, and then it’ll be good to go. Maybe.

6. How do you feel about your characters now?

The same! My respect for them definitely grew throughout the novel, watching them develop. It was kind of like watching my children grow up. My favourite character is probably Juliet (don’t tell the others!). She’s very wise and kind, and I just like her a lot. (On an unrelated note, do you ever wish your characters were real…?)

7. What’s your next plan of action with this novel?

I just want to finish it. I’m hovering around 31K words right now. My plan was to get the full 50K words, but it just didn’t happen. So I want to get the full 50K like I intended, then maybe do some editing.

8. If you could have your greatest dream realized for this novel, what would it be?

For this novel, I’m really hoping I can just complete the process I would take to get it published without actually publishing it–finish it, edit it, get feedback on it. I will not be publishing this novel, but I just want to act like I am so I can get some practice.

9. Share some of your favorite snippets!

Do I have to?

Okay, okay. Here goes.

From Chapter Two:

I get in my car and peel out of the parking lot. I feel so claustrophobic here. The suffocating glances, the heavy blanket of whispers…I can’t. I can’t.

I’m nothing but “the girl whose sister died.”

I can’t come back.

But I have to.

For you, Quinn, I think grimly. I’ll keep coming back…for you.

From Chapter Seven:

Juliet’s so easy to talk to. She’s funny and real, and we discover that we have a lot in common: we both have little brothers and love Harry Potter. I find myself connecting with her so easily in a way that I never have before, not even with London. When break is over, I’m almost sad that we have to stop talking. 

The rest of the day is much easier to bear now that I have someone I feel comfortable with by my side—if not literally then figuratively. She and I joke throughout the rest of the day, testing the waters to figure out each of our senses of humor. There’s a lot of laughing involved, and at the end of the day, we swap numbers, promising to text each other.

When I get in the car, I’m smiling bigger than I ever have. There’s something about Juliet. I feel like I’ve known her for years and years, and I feel like I should have known her years ago.

And from Chapter Ten:

It’s a pleasant evening. After we clean up the kitchen and have some ice cream, Mom puts Baxter to bed, and the three of us watch a movie together. Just like old times.

Except in old times, Quinn would be here too, remarking on witty dialogue and character arcs. She would love this movie—there are all these clever quips in here.

I look over at Mom. Her face is crumpled and her lip trembling. Evidently, she’s thinking the same thing.

It doesn’t take long before she bursts into tears and runs upstairs. Dad sighs, pausing the movie. “You okay, kiddo?”

“Yeah,” I lie. I’m not. I miss Quinn just as much as Mom does, but I can’t show it. I have to stay strong to counteract my mom’s emotions.

As I think that, I feel a twinge of guilt run through me. She’s not overreacting, is she? She’s just grieving.

Dad stares off into the distance. “It’s hard, isn’t it.” It’s not a question, not really. It’s more of a statement than anything.

“Yeah,” I say again, my voice barely audible. “Hey, I think I’m going to go to bed.”

He sighs again. “Okay. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” I hug him, then all but run upstairs to get into my pajamas.

I can’t believe I’m going to put these on the Internet for anyone to read. First drafts are just…ugh. Well, don’t mock me too much. Please?

10. Did you glean any new writing and/or life lessons from writing this novel?

There were two very important lessons I learned this NaNo.

One: Schedules! I work very well with schedules. I had all my wordcounts planned out ahead of time and more or less stuck to them each day, and it worked great until I derailed. I think I need to put together a schedule so I have some accountability.

Two: I learned not to be so hard on myself when I didn’t write exactly what my schedule called for that day. A few days, I had planned to write two thousand words, but I only did maybe a thousand before I just felt like I couldn’t go on–and I didn’t beat myself up over it. (For context, 2020 NaNo Liesl would have dragged herself through a pit of guilt and broken glass.) I learned to listen to my brain and my body and figure out where to go from there, and I think that that’s a very valuable thing to learn.

That’s all for now! Thanks again, Christine, for this linkup! It was so much fun to participate.

If you did NaNo, how did it go? Let me know! I’d love to hear about it.