Beautiful Books: The Pieces of Us

(Beware: This post contains a lot of formatting issues that came up out of nowhere, and they are not cooperating with me no matter how many times I edit this post. XD)

There is less than half an hour before NaNoWriMo 2016 officially starts, and I have a test tomorrow, but I’m writing this instead of studying, because I’ve never participated in a Beautiful Books linkup before and I am so excited about NaNo that I can hardly wait to start typing. This year is off to an exciting start. The first surprise was that I was actually going to participate (because how can one face these things while in college?!?!), and the second was that I came up with a plot four days ago. The characters are just screaming to be written, they have a pretty interesting story to tell, and I am so excited to see where this month takes us.

Beautiful Books, if you're interested, is a lovely linkup hosted by Sky @ Further Up & Further In and Cait @ Paper Fury. So many people participated in the linkup this month and I might or might not have been stalking so many posts to see the incredible things people are writing. I can already tell this NaNo will be great. I hope all of those books get published so I can hurry up and read them. XD

Anyway, without further ado, I shall introduce The Pieces of Us!

1. What inspired the idea for your novel, and how long have you had the idea?

Well, as I mentioned above, I’ve had the idea for about four days now, and we’re still going strong. Two of the main characters, Ivan and Dani, have been in my head for about five days, though, because they were really what got the ball rolling with this plot. As far as inspiration goes, I was actually more inspired by pictures this time. I have a board on Pinterest devoted to faces for unnamed/uncreated characters, and I felt like writing that night, so I picked a photo, and I wrote about the guy in it. That was Ivan, and the same thing happened with Dani. So I guess you could say Pinterest pinspired me to write this novel (oh my gosh, not puns; I should really be studying right now).

2. Describe what your novel is about!

Dani Whittington knows that girls like her don’t get happy endings; that’s just how it works. Her foster brother, Ivan O’Direk, knows that life isn’t fair, but he’s done with the system. Soon, Dani will be eighteen, and they can finally get away from their foster father and Arkdale, Alabama as possible. 

Enter Levi Han: a reclusive introvert making a last-ditch effort to graduate high school. In order to graduate, he has to spend an entire summer working on a project, getting to know one of his classmates personally. There’s only one catch: The student the school placed him with is one mistake away from expulsion or - worse - juvie, and it’s up to Levi to keep her out of trouble. 

But wherever Dani Whittington goes, trouble follows, and before he knows it, Levi is embarking on a journey across the country to attend the funeral of a man he has never met. As their stories intertwine and what was supposed to be a simple trip becomes a murder investigation, Levi, Dani, and Ivan find themselves caught in a web of deception and danger with no way out.

3. What is your book’s aesthetic? Use words or photos or whatever you like!

4. Introduce us to each of your characters!

Oh my gosh, okay. There are only three (four if you count Alexander, but all he has is a name; there's also an inkling of another female character in the back of my head, but she has yet to reveal herself). Let me tell you, these three characters listed below are monsters. Once I started writing about their personalities and backstories, I couldn't stop. I'll try to condense everything into a few sentences if I can, but I make no promises.

Levi Han, ladies and gentleman. I'm not sure that I've ever had such a mischievous adorable character before. Despite the fact that he is the main character and the story is in his perspective, I found it hard to get to know Levi. He watches the world, but there is not much he wants to reveal about himself. UNTIL TODAY. So, I was just minding my own business, attempting to form some sort of outline this morning, when all of a sudden, Levi casually throws in something about him not being some easy going, only child, who wants to graduate high school.

Apparently, something serious happened a year ago by the time the story starts, and I still don't know what it is. But it is serious, and he isn't telling anyone about it. Also, there is a more recent conflict with him, too, and I am just like, "Okay, kid. Why are you so messed up? You were supposed to be the GOOD ONE." But no. He isn't the good one. Not even close.

I'm not sure what else to say about him. He doesn't know how to swim. He wants to be a filmmaker. He's a little brat but I love him.

This is Dani Whittington. Her picture is even sideways out of spite for those who want to tell her who to be. I didn't know much about Dani when I first started writing, only that she wasn't the person everyone seemed to think she was, but it wasn't until I began delving into her character more that I realized she had a lot to say. She has grown up in the foster care system since she was eight years old, and it has had a detrimental impact on her life.

Moving from family to family, constantly facing uncertainty and instability, Dani learned to rely on only herself, though in her heart, she longs to trust others. The only person she has remained close to for an extended period of time is Ivan, her foster brother, and although she'll never admit it aloud, she has an enormous soft spot in her heart for him.

She also has a "get-the-bleep-out-of-here" fund and she eats strawberry poptarts for breakfast.

Meet Ivan O'Direk. He was the first character to pop into my head, and also the first (and last) to be quiet so the others would have a turn to talk. I decided to just type whatever came to me the night Ivan was created (instead of obsessing over the smallest of details, which is my usual forte), and this was the second sentence I wrote about Ivan: "He was the kind of guy you could count on to bring you Sour Patch kids at two o'clock in the morning, but the kind of guy who would leave you stranded at a bus stop in the pouring rain because he thought it would make for a great story later."

I don't know what that means, to be honest, but I couldn't continue writing at all until I wrote that down, so I think it's just Ivan. He's kind of quirky, rough around the edges, but when he cares about someone or something, he is loyal and dedicated. He's a weird mixture of a bad boy and a teddy bear, and I still don't understand how that works, but it does. It's Ivan, my quirky little baby.

5. How do you prepare to write? (Outline, research, stocking up on chocolate, howling, etc.?)

I've been attempting to outline lately, mainly because I know that I'll be busy with school and papers and tests, but I have a feeling it might be more howling as the month goes on, because I'm writing 50,000 words on top of school and papers and tests. Chocolate sounds nice, too (let's face it: I'm not prepared).

6. What are you most looking forward to about this novel?

I am definitely looking forward to all of the surprises my characters have in store for each other. I think they're all quite similar, but simultaneously so, so different, so it will be interesting to see them work together and get to know one another. I'm also looking forward to the storyline. It is more focused on crime than any of my other books have ever been, and I think it will be fun to write about that side of things.

7. List 3 things about your novel’s setting.

A town too small to hold wild dreams, a car too small to hold wild teens, and a church too small for a fist fight.

8. What’s your character’s goal and who (or what) stands in the way?

Levi's goal is obviously to keep Dani out of trouble in order to keep him from failing his project. Dani is the one who stands in the way of that, as always. Dani's problem is that she wants to discover who she is, but she is so far disconnected from the life she might have had that she can't quite figure out where she fits into everything else. I'm not really sure what Ivan's goals are yet. He's still being quiet.

9. How does your protagonist change by the end of the novel?

I'm thinking that they'll all have changed drastically by the end of the novel, mostly realizing that there's nothing they have to face alone.

10. What are your book’s themes? How do you want readers to feel when the story is over?

Trust, adventure, crime, friendship. I'm sure these will evolve into other things as the story goes on, but for now, those are the book's themes. I hope that readers will feel encouraged, maybe a little sad (in a good way). I hope this book will cause them to reflect on their own lives and relationships more.

Voila!

Well, that is all! I managed to (barely) finish this before the clock strikes midnight! I'm so excited about this NaNo, and I can't wait to see where these characters will take me!

What about you guys? What are you writing for NaNo? How are you getting along with your characters? How do you prepare to write? I can't wait to hear all about your stories!