(the way I typed that post heading initially as 2002 wrapup hahahahaha help)

I struggle SO much with wrapping up years at this point--they feel infinite and yet like a matter of seconds. I've aged a lot, and my life no longer wraps up neatly into a nice little bow. But I'm going to share everything anyway, because I miss the days when we all did this.

Music of 2022

Books of 2022

THIS TRILOGY. Haven't read book 3 yet but GOODNESS 4.5 stars overall to the first two. I love mysterious mystery-type mysteries and this one DELIVERED

WESTERN FANTASY WITH MOTORCYCLES???? YES PLEASE

Buddy read with Brooke, and it's actually another mystery? I do NOT read this many but Caroline George can write any genre and I'll thank her for it

Sometimes, when you've spent your entire life asking why, you need a book like this to smack you in the face and send you back to your senses. Wow.

Writing

-Okay I actually wrote a lot this year? Surprise?

-Spring was basically nothing because I took too many classes but I wrote a 40-page paper on billionaires and historical corruption

-I also wrote a paper on Virginia Woolf that I absolutely loved 

-Over the summer: A short novel called Wanderess and the Winged which needs heavy edits before it can see the light of day but IT EXISTS

-Fall: I wrote Knife in the Back which I'm sure you're all sick of hearing about but it exists also

-Lots of planning for next year!

-EDITING A MAGIC STORY THAT'S A LOT OLDER BUT I'M SO EXCITED 

Life

-JANUARY: College was a thing, yes, yes, yes

-FEBRUARY: Financial problems! Exhaustion! 

-MARCH: the way I remember NOTHING from the spring semester is deeply concerning

-APRIL: My 19th birthday! Going home! Sleep! The Concussion!

-MAY: Became an events assistant and started working full time 

-JUNE: The Concussion 2.0 and I remember nothing else

-JULY: Traveling through the entire American West. Cooking on a budget! Writing!

-AUGUST: SO much crazy

-SEPTEMBER: Gray Havens concert! School! 

-OCTOBER: New boss! School! 

-NOVEMBER: SCHOOL

-DECEMBER: *long, drawn out deep breath*

All in all, it's been a year of all over the place. Huge life things have happened, many of which I continue to hold close to my chest. But God is still good. And my reminder to all of you, as to myself, is this: God will hold us fast.

Tell me about your year in the comments!

 there is a king. the Lord is come.

Lord on high, help us to remember that you are here

Help us to recall your coming

and not to be apathetic,

because this is not a small thing that has happened

you see only a baby

you smile at the fuzzy christmas card, at the bright and shining star, hanging soft and mellow in a dream-filled night sky

the animals are so happy

the world is so peaceful

but lift up the veil, and remember

remember the war waging on the other side of our reality, the shock of the forces of darkness, the rejoicing of the angels

everyone who saw that king knew something was different 

what was it? 

no bright star pointed straight down

but they sensed it

and not only did those who loved him rejoice--

those who hated him felt it too

and they felt the cold shudder 

so REJOICE, beloved

remember who has come, remember what has been done

Emmanuel--God with us

Sound it out

remind yourselves today, and every day--

God IS with us and he has not left 

Jesus Christ, our Savior

Rejoice, Rejoice

Emmanuel shall come

to THEE

 HELLO EVERYBODY!!! I am here to share once again about my book from the fall, Knife in the Back, and this time I've got the very exciting update of FINISHING IT. This book has my heart, so I'm super excited to share more about the WRITING PROCESS ACCCKKKK.

Without further ado, let's jump into the Know the Novel tag! This is part three, where we celebrate the end of a writing challenge (NaNoWriMo-ish for me, but I was trying to write 30k...which I did ;))

The Tag

1. How did writing this novel go all around?

It was honestly so. Fun.

I don't usually write much during the school year, but prioritizing my books made it go SO much better and I'm thrilled with how it turned out. Absolutely thrilled. This is the most fun I've had writing a book in a LONG time. 

Granted, I did have a lot of mental breakdowns over this story--it's the opener to a six-book series, which will be spanning about 10 POV characters and a global conflict. This series has gotten HUGE and I suspect it will only get bigger as I figure out conflicts for my side characters. However, I'm finally on the road to figuring all of that out and I can't WAIT to jump into the next few books and explore my characters' minds more thoroughly.

2. Did it turn out as you expected or completely different? How do you feel about the outcome?

The outcome of this book was about what I expected--I set the climax up from the beginning and NOTHING could stop it from getting to that point, no matter what my characters tried. However, some things have worked out differently. A pair of characters I thought were absolutely going to end up as a couple have now drifted in opposite directions in life, and I'm...not as mad about it as I would've expected. Just MORE space to develop all of this as the story goes along *mysterious smile*

Additionally, one of my characters needs to get his act together and be at least a LITTLE likable. His fate isn't the smack in the gut I want it to be unless the reader cares about him, and...currently no one cares about him, not even me. Haha. Help.

3. What aspect of the story did you love writing about the most? (Characters, plot, setting, prose, etc.)

I LOVE my setting and storyworld, but it needs a LOT more work before it can be an actual story. It's not quite working as well as I was hoping, but I really love it, and I think I know how to fix it all. 

My characters, though. While their arcs need some strengthening, I am in LOVE with all six of my POV characters (well, five of them at least), and I am a huge huge fan of their arcs.

4. What was your least favorite part?

Probably never being sure how the arcs were going to end up >.< It's hard to write when you don't know much! And my characters kept shifting their outcomes. But I'm almost as stubborn as they are, and I decided I WAS going to get them there, no matter WHAT it took.

5. What do you feel needs the most work?

Probably setting. I really want this storyworld to feel like a real place--a city built on a canal, divided into five sectors, each with its own distinctions. I did almost nothing with that this time, and edits need to make that a much stronger distinction.

6. How do you feel about your characters now? Who’s your favorite? Least favorite? Anyone surprise you? Give us all the details!

My favorite is probably Aver. He's my small bean and he just does not want to be here--but he's turned into the secret piece that will propel the entire series forward. He's into the sciences, health, and medicine--and his explorations will, quite literally, spur on the entire rest of the plot. He's my little sarcastic Done wonderboy and I love him with my entire soul.

Least favorite: Annie, at this point, because it's just so hard to nail her POV. Her scenes are probably the closest to correct in terms of what happens in them and where they fall, but I somehow don't think any of them will stay, because I need to get her voice right if I'm going to sell her as a character. She's a strange little thing, but she's also my villain, so I need her to work.

7. What’s your next plan of action with this novel?

I'm going to let it stew for a little while and then I am going to LAUNCH edits like missiles. Just kidding. But also...this is a book I want to see DONE, and I want it to work. I'm going to be spending a lot of time in 2023 editing, getting this sent to my critique partner, and writing new scenes. 

Overall: Writing this whole thing has been really hard, but I'm so excited to figure it out and write it in a smooth, complete way.

8. If you could have your greatest dream realized for this novel, what would it be?

Publication! And in a way that allows me to do the series in EXACTLY the way I want it to be ^_^ It's a complex web but if I'm allowed to do it the way I want it to go....ooh BABY it's going to be epic.

9. Share some of your favorite snippets!

Aver shook his head and started up the stairs.

Years ago, he’d graduated from this institution with honors and an invention that could save lives… if he could only prove that it would work. He just hadn’t done it fast enough. Most people didn’t finish until they were twenty-two; he’d finished at nineteen, and he’d done everything he could. The stack in his room of top marks papers haunted his every moment.

All the knowledge in the world lurked in the books kept in this place. All the knowledge in the world, his to consume—but it hadn’t been enough. None of it had been enough. He clutched his notebook closer to distract himself from his thoughts.

The doors were heavy. He jerked it open with his free hand and entered the main hall. No one in the room knew who he really was. He was nothing but a student in here, another face in the crowd. His discoveries weren’t special to anyone but his professors, and he didn’t have many friends in here.

Two perfect worlds. One of perfect anonymity where his accomplishments were honored by only the people he wanted to know. Another world where he was everything and his job was to be the perfect backup to a perfect man. Friends of a certain kind. He’d built up two different families for himself.

10. Did you glean any new writing and/or life lessons from writing this novel?