Finding the write words #3
Hi all! I’m back with another installment of my writing series, Finding the Write Words! I know, it’s been a while. I don’t really have an excuse at this point, although I did start student teaching (so I guess that is a pretty good excuse, ha!).
Since my last writing post, I’ve made progress on the novel, for sure. As it stands right now, the word count is around 23,000 words. My ultimate goal for the novel is 70,000 - 80,000 words, which equates to 200 - 300 pages in a “normal” sized book. To me, that felt like the length this book is supposed to be. It means I have about 46,000 more words to go. I know, that seems like so many, but I have a feeling the words will start coming to me easily as I make my way out of Part 1 and into Part 2, the latter of which will be the longer part. Oh, I also have a working title: The Philosophy of Love.
I’ve also endeavored to revisit an old story I wrote in undergrad with the thought of turning it into a fantasy novel to be potentially published after The Philosophy of Love. I won’t talk about this too much, though, because in all fairness I don’t want to get too invested in it just yet. I want to dedicate most of my energy to this current novel. But it is in the prelimiary stages. I am working with it, for sure. Take that for what it’s worth. *wink*
Anyway, back to TPOL.
I’ve been focusing a lot of my energy on planning, more so than writing, these past few months. I realized that I didn’t really have a solid plan for how I wanted this book to unfold, and that gave me so much stress. I discovered a site called Milanote, and it has truly been a lifesaver. It allows you to plan out your book, or any project really, in a sort of “moodboard” format. You can add pictures, background info, a plot outline, character profiles, etc. It was so helpful for me to put all my ideas into a cohesive space and be able to look at everything more holistically. The combination of the written out bullet points, pictures, character color palettes, and links has felt like a sigh of relief for my brain. Now I can start to focus more on the actual writing even more than I was before.
As I mentioned in the last installment, Aphrodite narrates the first half of the book, about the first protagonist Anna. This was strategic on my end, of course. Aphrodite and Anna mirror each other in a lot of ways—they feel the same way about motherhood, love, and are both consistently dealing with things like self-doubt. Both are incredibly courageous. It has been wonderful to watch their characters unfold onto the page and interact with each other. Anna cannot see Aphrodite, but Aphrodite can very much see Anna—in fact she can insert herself into Anna’s thoughts (it’s a goddess thing). I have found the insights Aphrodite muses about to be really interesting. She is wonderfully fun to write.
The second half of the book will be narrated by Athena, about the secondary protagonist Helene. She is Anna’s daughter, which makes this book a generational tale about not just love and war, but mothers and daughters. Athena was the perfect narrator for Helene, because like in the first half, narrator and protagonist mirror each other. Helene is very headstrong and opinionated, but reserved and elegant. She believes that knowledge is power, and that books say more about society than politicians ever could. She is intelligent and wise, just like the Goddess of Wisdom. I am so excited to really get into this half of the novel, because I have important, bold, and exciting things in store for Helene’s character. She really is so interesting.
Here is a small, spoiler-free excerpt that includes a lot of foreshadowing for Helene’s future. Aphrodite narrates the scene where Anna gives birth to Helene:
“I watched as my sister materialized in the corner of the room, her demeanor the paragon of control and her coiffure as perfect as ever. I would’ve asked her right then and there why she felt the need to intrude on my assignment, my Anna, so unexpectedly if I’d thought she’d register my words at all. But it was clear, really, why she was here. Upon closer inspection of Athena, I could see that her eyes were fixated on the child—tracking it’s every cry and movement with the attention of a doctor or, well, a mother. I would’ve laughed at the absurdity of Athena being maternal in any sense had I not noticed the way those eyes of hers also shined liked diamonds as she beheld the small girl against Anna’s chest. It was obvious she could see something I couldn’t.
All at once, Athena was in my head.
Isn’t she beautiful, Aph?
Of course she is.
I sensed her the second she took her first breath. Wisdom…it drips off of her like honey.
It was suddenly very clear to me why Athena was there. This child, Anna’s first daughter, was her newest assignment. Before I could decide what to think about this, my sister continued.
And to be born on such a special day, at that.
What do you mean?
Oh Aph, use your brain for once. Today is the Vernal Equinox.
I hadn’t realized. I chose to ignore the mocking undertones of the comment as I mulled it over in my head. A child, born on the Vernal Equinox. No wonder Athena was so enchanted by her. This day, of all days, was particularly telling. It represented rebirth and new beginnings. It meant that this small girl was destined for great things. Just as I predicted all those years ago at her parent’s wedding. This child, her own way, would help change the world.”
Fun, isn’t it? I think so too. Stay tuned for more updates to come, I’ll have more soon! As always, thank you for reading.
Fashionably yours,
Hanna