Why am I writing a novel anyway?

~ Prologue~

If you've taken a dive into the past of this blog, you'll see that it got started right before November 2014. You guessed it - I started blogging right before National Novel Writing Month hit last year. I was super excited and a little bit nervous to attempt writing a book for the first time in my life.

And since I'm such an organizer and planner, I thought I should "take notes" on my writing experience. What better way to do that than start a blog? Then if I actually learn something useful, perhaps I can pass it on to other first-time wrimos (<-- that's the cool term for people that write during NaNoWriMo. Ching!)

Now some time has passed and I've just finished up a smaller event that took place in April (which I totally won - booyah). Camp NaNoWriMo is just to get reconnected to writing, maybe plot out a new story buzzing in your head, or take the time to edit your November draft.

So. It's taken about six months-ish for me to realize that I never really...explained...what my novel is about, my characters, or what the heck is supposed to happen. I guess that's because I didn't really know myself. Until now that is!

"Princess of Tragedy"
Click image to find author on deviantart

Super Cool Novel Stats:

Title:          "Recreated"

Genre:         Sci-fi / Fantasy  

Audience:    Young Adult (YA)

Wordcount:   59,227
Nanowrimo profile:   theoneawaited

<---- Cover image I used for NaNoWriMo 2014

Summary:
Originally starting their quest to discover a friend's lost family, a close group of heroes soon discover a whole new realm which has existed alongside the human world for centuries. This parallel realm gives substance to things unseen, an unstable breeding ground for both darkness and power. Our group learns how to gain the help of good spirits, and battle the evil that is spreading through the world. Time is counting down as the planet breathes its last. Can our group of heroes find a way to save their world?

~ How did this story come to be? ~

So basically, I grew up wanting to develop video games, namely role-playing games. I loved getting wrapped up in the characters and virtual story-telling that I could experience through the gaming media. That led me to take some "Game Design" classes as a minor during my college years and I LOVED developing game ideas, along with the story and characters to support the game worlds. 

So while I spent all my college years learning how to design and develop video games, I never really thought I was any good at "writing" the stories. My brainstorming capabilities ARE legendary, mind you, but actually plotting and finishing a story so it made sense? I didn't think I could do that. 

Of course all things seen are subject to change :)

During my last year at Full Sail University, we needed to make a game project as our "thesis", so to speak. I worked in a team to make a game, but it also got me thinking about the ultimate RPG I wanted to make for myself. With characters I liked, a little romance on the side-lines, tons of boss fights, and an epic battle against fate itself. 

I held onto that story since 2007. 

In my own mind, I wanted to turn it into a game and that's all it was good for. I developed the story as much as I needed to in terms of gameplay. But...life takes over, you know?

Developing a game on your own takes a lot of time, effort, and cash. 

And my story just sat there. 

It was only during October 2014 that I even heard of NaNoWriMo. And the challenge of writing 50,000 words - a FIRST DRAFT OF A NOVEL - was something I instantly wanted to do. No questions were asked. I signed up for that contest and I was determined to write what used to be my dream role-playing game into a novel. 

~ Six months later and I've learned a lot ~

...and unfortunately I haven't finished my first draft yet. But I'm helluva lot closer than I used to be.

Let me tell you - changing a game document into a book is hard work. I wrote three chapters of what I thought to be cool events until I realized...I just wrote a game tutorial. Like...it made no sense to the book. It just "happened" because that's how it happens in games.

Seriously, normal people just don't pick up a sword and decide to battle monsters they've never seen before. Then afterwards they totally know three sword techniques, how to side-step and roll to the left to avoid enemy attacks.
>_>

But participating in Camp this April has really helped me to cut all the gameplay scenes in my novel and replace them with actual storytelling. I feel more in touch with my characters than I ever have before. The coolest part is that writing my story as a book has revealed more plot twists and conflict than I ever could have planned out myself. I'm so happy where the story is going.

That's about all I can ramble on today about my novel writing. The next blog I'll get into some world-building and more story-specific information.

Until then, happy Monday and write on!