Know the Novel: Part Three

By Courtenay December 12, 2022 Behind the Scenes, Good and Great Books, SAWPublications

It’s finally time for the third part of Christine Smith’s Know the Novel linkup. And yes! I do have a completed novel to report on!

After starting draft one on November 1, I typed THE END twenty-nine days later.

The theme for Know the Novel: Part Three is Words Written, with ten final questions to bring you up to date on In Quest of a Nameless Sea.

How did writing this novel go all around?

I think it went well! I was delighted that I got the entire first draft written in November. I think the rush to get 30,000 words down in one month was a good motivation, and kept me from having time to get really stuck at any point. I had to keep going, whether I felt like a particular scene was coming well or not.

Did it turn out as you expected or completely different? How do you feel about the outcome?

Broadly speaking, In Quest of a Nameless Sea turned out more or less as I was expecting it to do. The traitorous fellow-explorer ended up being more of a villain, and impacting the climax of the plot more, than I was picturing, but I’m happy with how that replaced a few elements from my original outline, gave some more drama, and also I think some more continuity to the end of the adventure.

What aspect of the story did you love writing about the most? (Characters, plot, setting, prose, etc.)

Hmm. That’s a harder question. I think I maybe enjoyed most the scenes that came together vividly after being only rough sketches in my outlines. Because the outlines weren’t incredibly detailed, I knew the general direction of the plot, but had a lot of details to settle as I went along. And the places where those came together really well were fun to write!

What was your least favorite part?

Navigating the balance between an outwardly-focused adventure plot and my own personal preference for a plot that takes place entirely inside the characters’ heads. External conflict is not my thing, so it took an ongoing effort to keep writing danger/adrenaline scenes. Weirdly enough, they feel like an awful lot of effort for the return, even though I know they’re necessary for this particular genre.

What do you feel needs the most work?

I think I’ve mentioned my square brackets before. When I’m writing (especially with a hard deadline on my word count) I put all the details I don’t have time to research in brackets.

Here’s an example from In Quest of a Nameless Sea:

Philip looked down at the rushing, beckoning river beneath him. He looked at the dense, rich woods, wrapping like a benediction across the land. He looked back at the [material] canoe—tiny, as a toy, on the riverbank below. He saw [Name], [doing common task].

So all those square brackets—side character names, cultural details, map work, and fact checking—need to be filled in before the story will “read” like a normal book.

How do you feel about your characters now? Who’s your favorite? Least favorite? Anyone surprise you? Give us all the details!

Philip is definitely still the character I relate to the most, but Ottaniack surprised and delighted me with his backstory. Refrains from giving more details due to spoilers.

Least favorite character is decidedly Master Humphrey. He turned out more of a traitor than I expected, as well as grumpier than I expected. (Although some of his grunts and grumbles were kind of fun to write.)

Sir Trinian disappointed me a little by playing less of a role/connecting with the other characters less than I thought he would. We’ll see what happens as I edit, though!

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

As mentioned above, research for the square bracket passages is the next step. I never know whether to call that process draft two, or just the second half of draft one.

Either way, it’s going to be the next step.

And while my sister complains that I always come down to lunch with glassy eyes and my head in the clouds, researching to resolve the square bracket issues is something I actually really enjoy doing!

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

Ooohh! Well, if the sky is the limit, then my biggest dream for this series would be to have it become a staple history-course-add-on for homeschoolers studying American history. The kind of series where everyone has heard of it, and looks it up as a matter of course when they’re doing their school planning.

That feels like a presumptuously big dream. But you did ask!

Share some of your favorite snippets!

Okay, this is a somewhat long one, but I didn’t want to cut it off before it was finished. It picks up just a little after the snippet I shared last month. (And yes, you’ll spot another square bracket in there, too!)

“It’s here! Everything’s here!” Philip cried, as he rummaged through the contents of the bag. Each item was just as he had packed it, that very morning, when they broke camp. Had he expected that they would not be? Ottaniack’s caution was making him nervous.

Master Humphrey gave a half-grumbling grunt of relief. Sir Trinian’s congratulating smile beamed across at Philip.

“We must press on,” was all Ottaniack said. Once more Philip gave him a puzzled look. And then, all at once, a question sprang into his mind.

Why hadn’t Ottaniack seen that instrument case, on the way down?

Sir Trinian, and Master Humphrey, and Philip himself had all been too intent on the ground, where they thought the precious tools had been dropped. They were not woodsmen. Even Master Humphrey, for all he had lived and worked in Virginia for a decade or more, had only made the occasional expedition away from the nucleus of the infant colony at Jamestown. But Ottaniack ought to have known better—oughtn’t he? Would have know better, if his attention had been even mostly on the trail, instead of fixed in the depths of the forest?

They had reached the top of the rapids by now. Master Humphrey was lowering the canoe into the water.

“Stay,” said Ottaniack. “We cannot embark.”

“We can’t?” Master Humphrey straightened with raised eyebrows.

Ottaniack’s eyes turned back from the depths of the forest, and scanned the curve of the river briefly. Then he raised his eyes to the sun, a crease forming in his forehead.

“This place,” he said briefly, “is not in your picture.”

“In our picture?” repeated Sir Trinian.

Master Humphrey frowned, clearly mystified, but Ottaniack’s meaning flashed over Philip with a sudden jolt.

They were, by this time, at least [number] miles up river. They were, or at least, they believed they were, still on the Potawomeck. But they had come to a place that was not on the map.

(End of Snippet)

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

I discovered that I really do not like leaving my characters hanging!

You’re supposed to be kind of sad, when the adventure comes to an end. But I found myself breathing a sigh of relief that these crazy characters were finally back to safety again.

I think that’s more of a personal writing-style thing, rather than a life lesson, but it was definitely something I noticed, finishing this story.

And Now You Know the Novel!

Can you believe this is actually the last post of the series! Well, not really the last post. Lord willing, you will certainly be hearing more about In Quest of a Nameless Sea in the future.

Thanks for joining me on the journey for the first draft!

If you missed the earlier posts, you can check them out below. And as always, I’d love to hear your questions and comments.

Don’t forget to hop over to Christine’s linkup, to get to Know the Novel from tons of other authors as well!