Beautiful Books #2: The Venice Novel Again

  Well.

It's November 30th, so I should be at 50,000 words by now, right?

Yeah, about that. I'm still where I was when I left you a week ago. 15,418 words.

Okay, so this NaNo was a bit of a fail, that's certain. But hey - college has been a success, at least so far! I've got three more exams and two more papers, and then I'm done with an eighth of my undergraduate career.

And I've learned so much about myself as a writer this NaNo, even when I wasn't writing for these past few weeks. This winter break (my first ever winter break when I am absolutely free of all my studies), I am going to work on three different WIP's, and maybe even give my darling Venice novel a break.

BUT I am still going to talk about it here for Beautiful Books! The link up closed, but it's still November 30th here, so I'm going to post it anyway. HA. And so, we commence with the questions:

1. Be honest: how's your writing going?

I guess I sort of talked about this above, but what about outside of NaNo? Writing is going decently. I've come a long way from when this story started back in June, and my characters have developed most pleasingly. However, if you look at my post-it-note-story-plotting-wall, you will notice a huge blank space between the beginning scenes and the end scenes. I've got about 1/3 plotted out, I'd say, but I don't exactly know how to get from there to where I want to be at the end. So that's where I am right now.

2. What's your first sentence/paragraph?

The beginning of the prologue:
She twirled her little childish fingers through the golden sequins and watched, enchanted, as the moonlight reflected onto her hands. It was the time for fairies.


3. Do you have a book cover, and/or pictures that reflect your book?

Cover:


Though the title might change.

Also, see my pinterest board for more Venice awesome pictures. :-)

4. Do you have pictures of each of your characters?

YES.
First, Zaneta Soranzi, our MC, as a young adult, and a child.

   

Nicolo Dolfin.



Angelo da Vale



Zaneta's friends, the siblings Giovanni and Angelina:

   

5. Which scene are you most excited to write?

I really like the scene where Zaneta and Nicolo meet (I've written this one already). Because it's both dashingly romantic - and super awkward. Simultaneously.

But I'm also looking forward to the scene near the end, where da Vale must judge his father. And he doesn't exactly like his father.

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

I liked writing the prologue and Baby Zaneta:

"Come dance with me, cuore mio," exclaimed Bartolomeo, clasping Besina in his arms and twirling her around his workshop. Zaneta, enchanted, leapt around, arms twirling, in the sort of graceless yet perfect dance that only children are capable of. Besina, with a mother's mind, gasped out, "Don't break anything!" but Bartolomeo only cried, "Dance with me!" and care was tossed to the wind. 

Laughing, twirling, and gasping for breath, the trio made their way out into the fresh and cold air of the Venetian autumn. "Don't catch cold," Besina said, still smiling, and draped her shawl over her daughter's tiny shoulders.  

"The canal drowned the moon!" Zaneta shrieked, awestruck, gazing at the reflection in the water before them. The little canal lapped onward, unknowing of its great misdeed.  

"The the moon isn't drowned," Bartolomeo laughed. "Look, the canal is only its mirror. It wants to see how fine it looks on such a clear night." He knelt down to Zaneta's eye level and pointed towards the shining moon in the sky. "Don't you think it looks fine?" 

"It's a fine moon," Zaneta agreed, soberly. "Moon! You're looking quite wonderful tonight!" 

She knelt down on the cobblestone and peered into the canal before her. "Ohh," she sighed, "I'm looking quite wonderful too."

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?

Da Vale is a deeper character than I could ever have planned. I have to plot out backstory for him, not just regular story!
Also, Zaneta is extraordinarily stupid sometimes. Seriously, girl! It's messing with my plot.

8. Is there a character or aspect of your plot that's difficult to write?

Not in particular (da Vale is intense and multifaceted, but really fun to write), but I have found that it's becoming a bit of a mystery story. And those are always hard for me to write. Middles, people! I've got my beginning and my end, but I can't make them connect!

9. What's your favorite aspect of this novel so far? Favorite character?

Da Vale. Hands down.

10. Have you drawn off of any life experiences or people you know to create your novel and your characters?

What, you mean other than the fact that this whole thing was inspired by my trip to Venice?

But otherwise? No. Da Vale is inspired by a few fictional characters, but no one real.

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

No, not really. I don't do playlists or music when noveling.

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?

Oooh. Maybe Zaneta? We might complement each other nicely. She's more chatty than I am, though not quite so chatty as Angelina. But actually, I might be found hanging out with Nicolo. No, not just because he's handsome and dashing - WHAT ARE YOU IMPLYING - but because he's sort of quiet-ish like I am. He might not compliment me the best, but I gravitate towards people like myself.

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

I... um... don't? At least not this November, since it's been such a writing flop. But usually I motivate myself with the idea of that shiny new novel. Confession: I've never gotten a novel to the point where I can actually write a second draft. So my motivation is the desire to reach that.

But chocolate helps too.

14. What is your favorite writing quote or piece of writing advice?

"Fool," said my muse to me, "look in thy heart, and write."

~Sir Phillip Sidney

15. How does this book make you feel so far? Are you laughing? Crying? Frustrated?

Right now? FRUSTRATED. Which is why I'm probably going to take a break from this WIP for a bit.

How'd your NaNo adventures go? Did you win? And - more importantly - did you write something you're happy with?

~Sophia