Know the Novel: Within The Kidnapping of Prince Ferdinand

Hullo my good beans! (Yes I know I just posted. I'm sorry for the influx but I promise I'll disappear again shortly. I think it's gonna be feast or famine over here for a while.)

'Tis November, and with November comes Part II of Christine Smith's fantabulous link-up Know the Novel, which is all about the writing process. For last month's questions I cheated and talked about a comic instead of a novel, but this month I am switching gears to talk about my current WIP, The Kidnapping of Prince Ferdinand. 

This is Book 1 in the Comic Space Opera which has been around approximately forever. 

For the sake of keeping things fresh, I'll try to focus these questions on the current round of redrafting, which started maybe in August and is projected to last at least until the end of this year. (Like...I will most definitely not be done by the end of this year, but the hope is that I can be mostly editing and not redrafting by the time the New Year rolls around.)

1. How's the writing going overall? 

It's a fun time!

It's not consistent, it's not smooth, it's not without major setbacks and struggles, but it's a fun time.

In the last 4-5 months my latest Official Document has grown from 0 words to 60 pages. Maybe half of that is new material while the rest is copied and pasted from old stuff. 

Considering I didn't expect to get any serious writing done this fall? I'm a very pleased muffin. 

2. What's been the most fun aspect of writing this novel so far?

The CHARACTERS, of course.

Specifically, talking about the characters with my friends, especially my sisters. Discussing the lives of these fictional people is a huge part of our sibling dynamic, which is kind of crazy, but also it makes perfect sense since this is OUR world that we've created together over the last several years. 

3. What do you think of your characters at this point? Who's your favorite to write about?

I love them. So much. More than any cast of characters I've ever written about before, bar none. Sometimes I think about writing other stories someday and it's just DEPRESSING to know I'll have to build another cast from the ground up.

Let's see, I won't bore you with all of them but I'll pick out some of my favorites. I can't pick ONE favorite. 

DAR BEAUREGARD 

[child. you need a shrink.] 

So when I invented Dar the charming celebrity criminal, I thought his character arc was all about realizing that stealing is wrong. Ha. Haha. HAHAHAHAHA. Dar's spiritual issues go SO MUCH DEEPER than that. He is a prideful self-enamored narcissist and I'm seriously worried about him sometimes. And he NEVER SHUTS UP. Suffice it to say, we have a lot of work to do. 

PRINCE FERDINAND 

[baby. come here and let me protect you.] 

Ferdinand the 17-year-old kidnapped prince is delightful. Sweet, sincere, naive, and disaster-prone. Also incorrigibly optimistic. It's been great to go back to the beginning now that I finally understand who he is and where I want him to be by the end. 

CAROLINE SUMMERS 

[girl. calm down.] [just kidding keep it up i love you.] 

You know I didn't set out to write a story where there's one girl surrounded by a cast of guys? It's a favorite formula of mine but I didn't mean to do it? But at least in the beginning of the story she definitely is the one central spot of JPII's "feminine genius." She had this moment where she was all "we're going to visit this person in the hospital because they're lonely and they're human and it's the rIgHt ThInG to DO." And I was proud of her. 

RAFF SUMMERS 

[sir. why are you so hard to figure out. also when are you going to make us French toast?] 

I feel like every time I make major changes to the Comic Space Opera Raff undergoes a major transformation. And every time it takes me a little while to figure out how exactly he's supposed to be. In this round of edits, Raff has gotten years younger and is apparently quite single (as opposed to having a serious girlfriend), and he's a little more of a jock, and he waffles between being as hot-tempered and expressive as Caroline and as calm and cool as you please. But it's fine. He'll make sense someday. 

JUDE SUMMERS 

[mah man. i love you so much. if you were real i would want to marry you.] 

Poor Jude JUST WANTS TO LIVE HIS LIFE IN PEACE AND QUIET. IS THAT SO MUCH TO ASK? 

MARIUS STRIKE 

[bruh. chill out.] 

Behold the villain of the piece. I actually really like him. 

JEREMY THE PIZZA MAN 

[honey. chillAX.] 

Jeremy is a maniac and that's kind of all there is to it. Hence he is very fun to write. 

UNCLE BRETT AND AUNT VERONICA 

[yes, king. yes, queen.] 

They are a power couple. But in a very domestic way. And that's kind of all there is to that.

There are other longstanding favorites (like Dick, Christina, Java, & the Festerlonians in general) whom I have yet to spend much time with and am a little afraid won't get sufficient screentime in this version? But. We'll get to them eventually.

If we don't I'll have to lodge a formal complaint with the universe. 

4. Has your novel surprised you in any way?

I'm surprised that I'm still writing it 8 years later?

Connected to that, I didn't fully realize until this fall how comforting it is to have this story in my life. It's like...a piece of home that I can take with me wherever I go. 

And because of that, I really don't care where it ends up as far as publication goes. I'm happy it exists. And I think it's worth pouring more work into just because. 

5. Have you come across any problem areas?

It's so BIG. It's such a BIG UNWIELDY TASK to try to smoosh 3 books into one. Especially since much of Book 1's plot (as it was written in 2019) really has NO BEARING on the soul of the story as it exists today.

6. What's been your biggest victory with writing this novel at this point?

For the Fall 2022 phase of the project? I feel like I had a breakthrough recently when I was trying to sort out the issue described in question #5 above. It was just this moment of, "Oh, Book 1 was a mess, but I've figured most of that out and all that really remains is salvaging the bits of Book 2 and 3 that I really liked. This is maybe totally doable after all."

Whether it's ACTUALLY totally doable after all remains to be seen. There are a loooooot of words to pare down in Books 2-3. Lots of darlings in need of killing. 

But yeah. 

Maybe a more clear-cut victory is just being able to articulate to myself what the story is about at its core. The conflict is a separation. The solution is a homecoming. It's all about relationships being ruptured and restored. 

Which is all super archetypical and basic? But it's nice to be able to put words to it. 

7. If you were transported into your novel and became any one of the characters, which one do you think you'd be? Would you take any different actions than they have?

I think I'd be Caroline. Even though she's way more extroverted than I am, I've always related to her passion for little things. We're both coffeeholics so there's that. And I dig her musical preferences. Also I would not object to owning a flying convertible someday. 

And I totally use Carrie as a mouthpiece when it comes to correcting the boys' faulty worldviews. *cough*DarBeauregard*cough* (someone needs to give that man a piece of their mind. any mind but his.)

8. Give us the first sentence or paragraph and then 2 (or 3!) more favorite snippets!

Ooh that's not fair the first sentence is one of the things I know needs changed!! Right now it focuses on Dar, you see, but after I picked out a title for the book I realized it has to start with Ferdinand. 

Oh well here's how the opening stands now. 

Before the events of this tale occurred, Dar Beauregard was a very successful thief. As a matter of fact, he was the most successful thief in Solar System 7.

Actually, to tell you the embarrassing truth about Solar System 7, he was something of a celebrity.

Scratch that—I have to stop making it sound better than it was.

I’ll tell you the whole ugly truth. Dar Beauregard, age 20 years five months, curly-haired, brown-eyed, and silver-tongued, had an unofficial fan club of screaming swooning females that spanned a continent. His wanted poster was the #1-selling bedroom décor item for girls aged twelve to nineteen. His tally of heists and bank robberies was impressive. His tally of art thefts and jewel capers was legendary. The best and brightest filmmakers were clamoring for the film rights to his career. The man was a national treasure. And since this story tells how he fell from such dazzling heights, you might be tempted to classify it, I suppose, as a tragedy. But if it’s a tragedy, I promise it’s a comic one.

That's the current opening. Let's see if I can find some more stuff that's relatively new. 

Here is my beloved Jude:

            Jude’s jaw worked helplessly for a moment. It was his bedtime. He was already in pajamas. He was already cozily tucked into bed. And Democracy in America was getting really good. All he wanted out of life at this moment was a solid eight hours of sleep and a well-oiled morning routine, was that so much to ask?

            “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” he said. 

And here are the other Summers siblings, with a cameo appearance by Jeremy the Pizza Man:

“Young Raphael, my friend!” cried Jeremy as [Raff] walked in. “What kind of pizza can I get for you today?”

            “Just get me a large soda pop with a straw in it, Jeremy,” muttered Raff, kind of collapsing against the counter.

            “No pizza?” gasped Jeremy.

            “No,” said Raff heavily. “Just pop.”

            While Raff was drowning his sorrows in soda pop Caroline walked in.

            “RAFF,” she said. “It’s about time you showed up, I’ve been so bored the last twelve hours. Where’ve you been?”

            “Jail,” said Raff.

            “WHAT?!” said Caroline. “And you didn’t tell ME?”

            She ordered a pizza and insisted that Raff sit down at their corner booth (as opposed to leaning against the counter like a depressed gunslinger in an old Western). He told her all about it and after she got done scolding him for not letting her break into the palace with him (because that’s what best friends are for, they go to jail together) she sat with her chin in her hands and looked glum.

            They looked glum together for a few minutes. (Which is another thing best friends are for.)

9. Share an interesting tidbit about the writing process so far! (For example: have you made any hilarious typos? Derailed from your outline? Killed off a character? Changed projects entirely? Anything you want to share!)

Did I ever tell you about how, in the early days of this novel, Prince Ferdinand used to not exist?

There was a character named Ferdinand, but he wasn't a prince. He was a fighter pilot of some sort and Raphael Novarex's best friend, and his nickname was Captain Grin because the only memorable thing about his face was his smile. And he died tragically in the war because I guess I needed Raff to have that kind of emotional baggage or something?

Also in that same draft there was a prince, but his name wasn't Ferdinand. His name was Alphonse. The whole plot of the book culminated in him dying tragically and leaving the kingdom to Raphael Novarex. In whose arms he tragically died. Because I guess I needed Raff to have more emotional baggage or something. Also the reader.

It was a very melodramatic book back then. 

I'm heartily glad that that version no longer exists. 

In my defense I was 14. And I'm not sure 14-year-olds should be allowed to write novels. 

10. Take us on a tour of what a normal writing day for this novel looks like. Where do you write? What time of day? Alone or with others? Is a lot of coffee (or some other drink) consumed? Do you light candles? Play music? Get distracted by social media (*cough cough*)? Tell all!

There is no normal writing day. But in general my writing happens on the weekends. The living room of my house is a very pleasant atmosphere for just sitting and doing nothing, especially when we have scented candles burning and soft music playing. Some Sundays (or Saturdays) when I'm feeling all peopled out and inspiration strikes I'll just sit down on the couch or at the table and write. And it's lovely. 

Another of my favorite writing spots is the laundromat. 

I should really try the local coffee shop one of these days because there's a delightful one nearby. 

I forgot to address the coffee question.

Of COURSE there is coffee consumed. Caroline would be ashamed of me if there were not. 

Sometimes it's tea. 

What does writing look like for you this November? Are you doing any writing challenges? Are you doing Know the Novel? DO TELL ME ALL THE THINGS.