What’s Your WIP? Blog Tag

Today I have the privilege of being part of the What’s Your WIP? blog tag created by Katja @ Little Blossoms for Jesus. Thanks so much for tagging me, Katja!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term WIP, it stands for Work In Progress—the book you (the author) are still in the middle of creating. I think this is the first time I’ve done a behind-the-scenes post for a novel that was still in its first draft. I hope you enjoy this sneak-peak preview!

Here’s a quick rundown of the rules for the tag:

THE RULES:

• Thank the person who tagged you & link to their blog.
• Link back to the creator, Katja @ Little Blossoms for Jesus, & add the tag graphic.
• List the rules.
• Answer the questions.
• Feel free to add snippets!
• Tag as many or as few people as you wish & let them know they’re tagged.
• Add a clean copy of the questions at the end of your post for the “tagged.”

1. Has your WIP a working title? If so, tell us! If not, have you any idea of what it might be?

My working title is Till Christmas Comes Once More.

It’s a sequel to my still-in-editing Civil War novel, The Hearthstones of a Continent.

2. Have you a synopsis for your WIP? If so, give it to us! If not, can you give us a blurb on what your WIP is about?

Facing the choices of your own mistakes is one thing. Choosing to rebuild a world you never helped to destroy is another.

Fifteen years after Lee’s surrender, a new generation of Elliott children are grappling with the stark reality that their futures have been shattered by a war they weren’t even part of. Are bitterness, heartache, and despair the unavoidable heritage of the Elliotts’ past? Or will courageous love prove enough to bring Christmas back to Carter’s Grove?

This story explores the long-term impact which the Civil War had on everyday homes, both North and South, while challenging readers of today to become the heroes who are willing to build a better future—even when it means accepting a past they didn’t get to choose.

3. Have you a working/mock cover for your WIP? If so, show us! If not, have you an idea in mind?

I have to admit, I don’t have much of an idea for the cover yet! I’m going to guess it will have some red and/or green colouring, because of having Christmas in the title. And I’d love to include someone in a historical costume, because I just happen to be passionate about 19^th century clothing!

4. How did you get the idea for this story?

The short answer is, it tumbled together one Saturday morning and demanded to be written!

(Am I the only author who gets random fiction ideas on Saturdays, when it’s supposed to be my day off?)

The theme of having the courage to redeem the circumstances we never chose was something that I had thought about some during the past six or nine months, and was certainly part of the original inspiration. Other than that, some character ideas popped up and felt like they would work. My previous work in progress wasn’t going well, and I decided to try rolling with the new idea.

My opening scene was written the same morning, my basic outline came together in an incredibly short time, and I suddenly found myself embarked on a sequel I had never planned to write!

5. How long do you think it will be? Is it longer or shorter than you thought it would be?

My outline is for sixteen chapters (although my general experience is that I will probably gain a chapter or two in the course of writing it!)

The Hearthstones of a Continent is sitting at 95,000 words after the first draft, and I’d like Till Christmas Comes Once More to be about the same.

6. Who’s your favourite character so far?

Vaughn, the main character in the opening scene, is my favourite of the new characters created for this story—both because I love him for who he is, and also because I always like characters best when they have a little bit of originality to them, and I feel like Vaughn does.

I love getting to interact with the old characters from Hearthstones as well. They are definitely my favourite characters of all time, so getting to bring them back has been so much fun!

7. What’s your favourite memory related to this WIP?

Probably the way everything came together so fast and so satisfactorily right at the beginning. As I settle in for the hard work of writing (and face my fair share of days when I doubt the value of the entire project!) it is comforting to remember that I definitely felt at the beginning like this was meant to be—and I will probably feel that way again once it’s finished.

8. Any special person(s) who helped create it?

My sister, as always! Despite our firm-set conviction that we both hate washing dishes, I don’t know if any of my stories would ripen to maturity if it weren’t for the brainstorming hours we’ve spent together over the kitchen sink!

9. What’s your favourite scene so far (if you can tell about it without spoilers!)?

Either my original “pilot” scene from the first chapter (because I was writing on pure inspiration at that point!) or the scene at the end of chapter three between Vaughn and his mother. I have met with one critic already who says she doesn’t like Vaughn’s mother. And maybe I sort of agree with her, because Mrs. Clarke is way too caught up in her own grief and insecurities. But I LOVE the dynamic between her and Vaughn.

10. Can you give us a snippet?

With the preface that this is a very un-edited first draft, here goes:

“I wonder—” Vaughn hesitated a moment. “I wonder what he was like—really like, you know, in the way photographs, and letters, and other people’s memories can’t really tell one. I wish—” and his voice grew suddenly thick, “—I wish I could help wondering, whether there is the faintest shadow of a hope, that I shall meet him, someday.”

“Vaughn, my man, you wonder entirely too much for your own health of mind,” remarked Arthur Elliott, coming through the front door in a flurry of snowflakes, in time to hear this last sentence. “I’ve a great mind to forbid thinking, altogether, upon my premises. Dangerous exercise, for which I don’t care to be responsible!”

“I’d better take another sort of exercise, if I mean to catch up with the boys before they get down to the little stone house,” said Vaughn, laughing again. “Goodbye, sir! Goodbye, Mrs. Mother-darling! Only mind, an’ you value my head, that you tell Araminta it was YOU who invited me!”

With which Vaughn caught up his hat, swung himself through the broad doorway, and was soon loping off at a brisk pace down the hill in pursuit of Archie, Alfred and Alexander—whose wheeled chair was to be seen wherever his brothers’ sturdy limbs could drag it.

“Arthur,” said Constance, standing still, despite the chilly wind, to look after him.

“Well?” returned Arthur, coming to look over her shoulder.

“He won’t put off thinking, forever.”

“Connie, my love, I never told him to do so. I only said I wouldn’t be responsible for his indulgence in that unquestionably dangerous habit on my property! What would his mother say, if she knew half the questions and puzzlements that are rattling around in that uncommonly keen brain?”

“That is just it,” said Constance, closing the door with a sigh. “Arthur, we can’t escape the fact that sooner or later, those questions are going to need answers.”

11. Is the story still what you thought it would be or has it thrown you a couple curveballs?

I have to admit, I do feel like my outline and I have been running in parallel courses at some moments, although we have not yet radically departed from one another.

Probably the biggest curveball I’ll been struggling with through this book is that my outline is not a detailed one compared to what I usually write with. That does leave room for the book to grow, but it also means you have more space to get off track. Hopefully, I’ll strike the right balance!

12. Is there a Bible verse, poem, hymn, picture, or quote that helped shape this story?

Because “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” was a key piece in both the title and the plot of The Hearthstones of a Continent, I wanted another Christmas carol to be part of the sequel. “O Little Town of Bethlehem” is one I’ve been familiar with all my life, but like “I Heard the Bells” it has a soul-stirring message I never took in until I consciously paid attention to the words.

The title is taken from the little-known fourth verse:

Where children pure and happy
Pray to the blessed Child,
Where misery cries out to Thee,
Son of the mother mild;
Where charity stands watching
And faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,
And Christmas comes once more.

13. When and where have you done most of the writing so far?

At my pine desk, in my bedroom, in the morning!

(That sounds like a game of Clue.)

However, it’s the when and where for just about all my fiction—and no, it is NOT because I’m a morning person! But my brain does seem to work better, and I have more emotional energy, for the writing that gets done before lunchtime, and (after a number of years of trial and error) I have learned to tailor my schedule to those weird but indisputable facts.

14. Where do you get inspiration for this story?

That’s a good question. With some books, I’ve had a playlist or a poem that embodies the inspiration I’m trying to capture. Till Christmas Comes Once More hasn’t really been like that.

I think what is inspiring me most at this point is the characters who carried over from Hearthstones. I love them so much, they are so vivid in my mind, and amazingly their dynamics have gone on working (with one or two exceptions) in the second book. So I would say they are probably the biggest inspiration to keep writing at this point.

15. Are you a plotter or a pantser?

A plotter, although I suspect many if not most authors can’t answer that question without putting an asterisk beside it!

I do plot—everything except short stories. I even plot my blog posts inside a fairly structured template, usually filling in the headings before I work on the main body of the post. When it comes to novels, I have worked with incredibly tight outlines (where I literally knew what was supposed to fall on every page, or quarter of a page). I have also worked with pretty loose ones, where I only had a three-point guide for each chapter.

I write best when I have a fairly clear idea where I am going, but still have room to be creating, instead of just re-telling, as I write the first draft.

16. Do you have a little ritual before you start writing?

I feel a tiny bit shy sharing this, but yes, I try to pray before I start writing every day. And I definitely feel like my writing goes better because of it!

17. Are you thinking of publishing this story?

Yes, yes, yes!

It’s probably a couple of years down the road at this point, and there are certainly books ahead of it in the queue, but Lord willing, Till Christmas Comes Once More is definitely intended for publication.

18. What things have you learned while writing this story?

Inspiration and self-doubt are the natural cycle of writing. Just because you finish your third chapter, and feel like the story is hopeless, doesn’t mean you can’t go on writing—and it doesn’t mean the story won’t keep coming together as you go along.

You felt like that last time, and you will probably feel like it next time, but persevere and the rewards will be worth the effort!

Get Ready to Join the What’s Your WIP? Blog Tag!

I am tagging Rebekah @ Read Another Page as well as any other writers who are ready to give this tag a try!

You’ll find a clean copy of the questions below. Don’t forget to let us know if you take on the challenge!

THE CLEAN COPY:

1. Has your WIP a working title? If so, tell us! If not, have you any idea of what it might be?
2. Have you a synopsis for your WIP? If so, give it to us! If not, can you give us a blurb on what your WIP is about?
3. Have you a working/mock cover for your WIP? If so, show us! If not, have you an idea in mind?
4. How did you get the idea for this story?
5. How long do you think it will be? Is it longer or shorter than you thought it would be?
6. Who’s your favourite character so far?
7. What’s your favourite memory related to this WIP?
8. Any special person(s) who helped create it?
9. What’s your favourite scene so far (if you can tell about it without spoilers!)?
10. Can you give us a snippet? 😉
11. Is the story still what you thought it would be or has it thrown you a couple curveballs?
12. Is there a Bible verse, poem, hymn, picture, or quote that helped shape this story?
13. When and where have you done most of the writing so far?
14. Where do you get inspiration for this story?
15. Are you a plotter or a pantser?
16. Do you have a little ritual before you start writing?
17. Are you thinking of publishing this story?
18. What things have you learned while writing this story?

If you started a WIP today, what would it be about? Would it be fiction or non-fiction? Tell us about it in the comments section below.

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