Beautiful Books: This is What I Shall Do

NaNo time is almost upon us, and therefore all the good little writers are busy plotting away at the novels they're going to write this year. Am I doing the same? OF COURSE I AM!!

And of course I'm going to link up with the Beautiful Books thing that Cait and Sky host!

Also, for those of you who are on NaNo, my username is Kendra E. Ardnek. Feel free to befriend me. I'll probably friend you back when I get the chance.

1.How did you come up with the idea for your novel, and how long have you had the idea?

The first version of this story was born of a desire to write a better version of the Narnia movies. I've been working on it for nearly ten years, as such.  (And yes, I will be throwing a party come the ten-year-mark, everyone will be invited. There will be cake. And Pommela Cider)

2. Why are you excited to write this novel?

Because this is the novel I've been working on for TEN STINKIN' YEARS!! I'm ready to be done with it and have it in the hands of my readers.
3. What is your novel about, and what is the title?

In case you didn't notice from the fact that this is the book I've been working on for TEN YEARS!!!, and the mentions of my plans that I have posted around the internet, yes I'm doing Lady Dragon, Tela Du this year. Yes, it's a rewrite, and yes, this draft is already 10% of the way done (and I'm hoping to have it pushed to 20% by the time NaNo starts), but I need this book written, and I can't spare the NaNo oomph to any other story at the moment.

What's it about? It's about the Lady Dragon, also known as Amber, who is bent on world domination, and the Tela Du, also known as Petra, who is the girl prophesied to bring Amber down, and who wants nothing to do with her fate. 

This is a fancover that one of the readers of WPFP made. Gorgeous, isn't it?

4. Sum up your characters in one word each. (Feel free to add pictures!)

I have a lot of characters. This may take a while.
 

via Pintrest

Petra(She needs glasses, though): Perfectionist

Amber: Entitled

Via Pinterest

Reuben: Adventure

Granite: Steady

Via Pinterest

Laura: Journey

Via Pinterest

Summer: Free-spirit

Tyler: Hardworking

Via Pinterest

Ashna/Ashley: Alone

And there are other characters, but that's a fair enough representation for now.

5. Which character(s) do you think will be your favourite to write? Tell us about them!

I can already say from experience that there are a lot of fun characters to write with in this book. But I'm going to go with Laura, because, as a friend and I were discussing last night, she can make any scene awesome.

6. What is your protagonist’s goal, and what stands in the way?
Petra's goal is not to defeat Amber. Petra's goal is to find her sisters that disappeared with no trace except her memory and Reuben's. Also, to have a normal life. She thinks that this whole adventure into Rizkaland and quest to kill a Dragon is what stands in her way. Actually, it's more of her own stubbornness. 

7. Where is your novel set? (Show us pictures if you have them!)

The main setting is Rizkaland, Rizkaland proper this time, in Loray Castle, though we will be spending time back at the Kastle, getting to meet the many-greats-granddaughter of everyone's favorite Water Princess and Fire Prince. Also, in Amber's castle, which can become a frightful maze of passageways and traps. (I'm rather looking forward to writing part 4...)

On earth, the setting is mainly an old house that I probably ought to name, but haven't yet. It was Arden Orphanage for a long time, but it's no longer an orphanage. Anyways, it's an old house that also has a lot of passageways and hidden rooms, and is also a lot of fun to explore.

8. What is the most important relationship your character has?
Petra has a number of incredibly important relationships in this book: with Laura (which is, granted, one of the most important relationships in the series), with Ashna, with Amber herself...

But I'd say the most important one in this book is with Reuben. He's been her best friend her whole life, and he's also her love interest. Something she's not happy about because does not think of him like that at all. He loves her though, and even asked her to marry him when they were five and seven. She told him to wait until they were older (she's incredibly romantic like that. Not.) Now that Rizkaland has taken over their lives, they are caught by the same Rizkan law that required the Union of Clara and Andrew in the first book.

But, as annoyed as she is with the change in their relationship, he's still the sanity in her life, he's still the person she goes to when she thinks everything is falling apart.

Also, they gain really cool telepathic powers over the course of the book, and watching them use them to strengthen their relationship is going to be fun to write.

9. How does your protagonist change by the end of the novel?

She'll learn that sometimes life doesn't happen the way you want it to, and that's okay, because oftentimes, it's better that way.

10. What themes are in your book? How do you want your readers to feel when the story is over?

There are a lot of themes in this book, some of the most important being unconditional love, forgiveness, courage, dedication, letting go and trusting in God.

And I know I'm going to be emotionally exhausted when I finally finish writing this book, and it'd be nice if my readers felt the same. ;)

11. BONUS! Tell us your 3 best pieces of advice for others trying to write a book in a month.

1. Keep putting words on the paper, and don't stop.

2. But make them your best words. Otherwise things aren't going to look pretty once NaNo ends. (You want to be able to salvage your work, after all)

3. Don't get distracted by the forums.