Beautiful Books Linkup #2: How's the Writing Going?

I'm doing the second Beautiful Books linkup with The Notebook Sisters! 

1. Be honest: how is your writing going? 

It's going really well! I've surprised myself: I didn't think I would be able to maintain hand-writing six pages a day, but so far I have been able to. Today I wrote ten pages. The first week was hard because my hand would get really sore. Now, however, the muscles are used to the strenuous workout they are receiving, and don't hurt so much at the end of the day anymore.

2. What’s your first sentence/paragraph? 
(This is from chapter 36, by the way, since I didn't start at the beginning.)

"This is how this torture will work," the man said to Mr. F, "I will start with your toes, then move on to your feet, and then your legs, and I will continue up your body until you are so burned you will be unrecognizable."

Mr. F's brain wasn't working. Burn...? He was still trying to figure out what that meant when he felt warmth on his big toe. It slowly permeated his calluses and then his toe started to burn.

Fire! Of course! Mr. F grit his teeth and prepared for the pain.

3. Do you have a book cover, and/or pictures that reflect your book?
I don't even have a name yet... so definitely no cover... Here are some pictures, though:

This picture cracks me up. :P

 

4. Do you have pictures of each of your characters? If not, describe them for us! (Be as descriptive as you can.)

Rozella, the Princess

Mangle, the Bard

Alonzo, the Cat

Inspiration for Mr. F.

Hag is my other main character and she is a warty, ugly old woman. But I couldn't find any pictures of ugly old women online, so you'll just have to do with that description. =)

5. What scene are you most excited to write?
The scene where one of the main characters is shot with an arrow. Heh heh...

6. Share a snippet or a scene that you really enjoyed writing. 

Uhh...

"This is how this torture will work..." 

Just kidding. I'm not sure. And I'm watching The Scarlet Pimpernel so I don't want to go searching through my notebook for a good scene.

7. Now that you're writing, have any of the plot details, or the process itself, turned out different from what you planned or imagined?
Hahahahahahaa... yes. I've been writing this story for the whole year and you'd think that by now I'd have all the characters figured out. Nope, a new character showed up a few days ago and demanded to join my main characters on their quest. This rarely happens to me and it threw me for a loop. I had no clue what to do! For now I'm letting him tag along.

8. Is there a character or aspect of your plot that's difficult to write?
Well, this surprise character is making himself difficult. He's toying with me. He won't tell me whether he's twenty-two or nineteen. He's condescended to let me know that he comes from a large family.

9. What’s your favorite aspect of this novel so far? Favorite character?
My favorite aspect is the potential for this novel to become something great; that through copious edits I can craft something with only words that will be a masterpiece, even if I'm the only one who knows all its secrets.

10. Have you drawn off of any life experiences or people you know to create your novel and your characters?
Mangle the Bard is based on my piano teacher and his wife, my choir director. Sometimes I catch glimpses of myself or my friends and family in my characters.

11. Do you have a playlist or certain song for your novel and/or characters?

Not really. To inspire the fantasy setting I listen to the Peer Gynt Suites by Edvard Grieg and The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Paul Dukas. Otherwise, I've been mostly listening to Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, and Vince Guaraldi. Strangely, A Horse with No Name by America is strangely fitting right now. Haha.

12. Let’s have some fun for a moment: imagine you are somehow transported into your book’s world. Which character are you most likely to be found hanging out with?

We haven't been having fun already? :P

I'd probably be found hanging out with Draegond because he's epic, or Mangle the Bard because he's epic too.

13. How do you keep yourself motivated to finish your daily wordcount? (Pinterest? Internet breaks? Chocolate?)

My story is actually keeping me pretty motivated right now! I really want to finish it before year's end!

14. What your favourite writing quote or piece of writing advice?

Not only young authors, ANY author.

15. How does this book make you feel so far? Are you laughing? Crying? Frustrated?
This book is making me feel excited about writing. Today, while researching Iambic Pentameter for my book, excitement thrilled through my heart; not an excitement I commonly feel. Actually, I can only remember feeling this excitement once before, when I was reading about outlining. Is this how you know that you're meant to do something, when you get a deep excitement through the core of your heart? That, or I'm weirder than I thought... do you know anyone else who gets excited about outlining essays with sub-sub-sub-sub points? I don't.
It's the little parts of writing that make me excited... Knowing the "rules" and utilizing them to my advantage. There are so many more than you'd think... I didn't fully know how much there is to writing until I started my writing class. It's fascinating and exciting and it makes me want to spend eight hours a day just molding sentences!

Well, we're just coming to the climax of The Scarlet Pimpernel so I shall end now.

Sink meh! 'Tis the end!