Random Book Of Randomness

Finished Drafting my FIRST Novel! How it Feels-

Ah, hello again people! Long time no see, huh?

(sorry, I'll be updating this book on whim now, so keep it in your reading list to know when it updates!)

You probably know I've been working on a story for the past few months (I've blabbered about it EVERYWHERE so-)? Well, I completed it!

*screaming*

Well, didn't really 'complete' it, it's a FIRST draft. So it's really messy and there are lots of issues to fix, but this is my first NOVEL that I completed (and didn't give up on, yay!). I'll need to do a few edits before posting it up here (hopefully by September 30th!)

So today I'll talk a bit (uh, no a LOT)  about that. 

FEEL FREE TO TALK ABOUT YOU STORIES (completed/ work in progress) here!

How the Story Was Born

I started this story on April 14nth, and finished the first draft on June 18nth (2 months and 4 days). The draft is 150K words.

I was working on another story before this (Sylvia the Whales- as my little bro calls it!), and I worked on it for over a YEAR, but had to stop at 200K words because I realized I wasn't prepared to right this story. I wanted it to be 'perfect' and that was really holding me back, because that story was that 'book of my heart', which I wanted people to love. So a few months before the wattys, I gave up on it (momentarily) to write a new story (the story I'll be talking about!). 

I wanted this new story to be SIMPLE (unlike Sylvia The Whales, which had 2 magic systems and WAY too much worldbuilding), and wanted to concentrate more on creating good characters, because I realized characters really are the heart of a story. 

Also, my goal was to enter the story for the Wattys. I wanted to complete it, edit it properly, then post it for the competition. 

So I chose a pretty popular genre, which would involve least complications and be more character focused.

I chose romance people-

-and I didn't tell my mum I'm writing a romance because she might assume... the wrong things.

Heck I felt really weird telling people that I wrote a romance because I felt like they would assume I was desperate to get laid or something- but then I thought- heh, does it matter what people wrongly assume? After that I told my friends the truth and my siblings as well. They were all very supportive (thank you guys I love you so much!).

About the Story:

In fact, the story idea came to me some time ago, while writing the other story. I already knew who the MCs would be, the ending and plot twists, the POV and some side characters. So I was pretty excited to write it, and hoped I wouldn't scrap it like usual. I even did some outlining for it, to make sure I don't give up on this project.

I called the story The Disease Called Lovesickness (but might change it later-). 

Let me know if you guys think the title is good or not. Would you ever click a book with this title? Feel free to tell your true thoughts, because even if it's a no, you're helping me make a better decision!

The story takes place in a fantasy world, in a country called Danvier (based very loosely off France/ french culture). It's a YA romance with a fantasy subplot (because I'm a hoe for fantasy and can't write anything without putting SOME magic in it-)

Characters:

My MC is Renaeta Ventresca, a girl on a quest for 'true love' and happiness. She thinks her school's hot bad boy, Devon Xavier, will change for her and become her Prince.

Her life gets complicated when she befriends a new, foreign student, Eruvan Huang, who's a singer- just like her. He might be talented- but he's also socially awkward, soft and ugly.

When her best friend gets a girlfriend, and Eruvan is infected with feelings for her, Renae's friendships suffer and she grows more desperate for Devon. Ignoring all the red flags, on Valentine's Day, Renae confesses her feelings to Devon.

Only for her delusions of love to shatter in her face.

MUHUHAHAHAHAHA.

If you have any predictions for the book, feel free to comment it!

What I WANT from this book:

I've never experienced romance. And a lot of authors say 'write what you know'. But then I thought, heck, people don't know about dragons but still write them, so I tried writing the romance anyway.

What I wanted to do with this book was take Wattpad's popular tropes (love triangles, bad boys, the 'gentleman' character) and twist them to how I like it. I'm tired of the bad boy winning the love triangle when a perfectly nice ( but not 'hot') guy also likes the MC. I also tried to make both my characters flawed, which sacrifices some of their likeability. This was perhaps not a good choice for a romance book, where you want your readers to root for the characters. I hope readers will still be convinced that my MCs were in love, even though I had to imagine what it feels like.

Through the book I wanted to explore the topic of 'true love' and how people judge others' partners harshly if one is average looking and the other is ugly. I also wanted to create a diverse cast of compelling characters, which didn't feel forced. It's a pipe dream, maybe, but I also hope that a teenager will someday pick up the book, realize that 'bad boys' won't change, don't need to change, and only need to be stayed clear of (and not cringe while reading it lol). 

Although I am going to put this book into the Wattys, I doubt it will get anything. If it gets longlisted I'll cry, probably-

But even if the book wins no awards, I'm still SO glad I wrote it. Of course I want other people to love it too, but I loved writing it so much, it feels worth it. 

I want to thank @WoolyMammoth58, @MFOshin, @Habiba-Sejuti, @Prithya-Chan for all your support!

@Habiba-Sejuti: Your art improves fast! Love them!

@MFOshin: I hope you get to edit and complete your book too! Your Random books are SO much fun to read.

@WoolyMammoth58: Your descriptions are so beautiful! Can't wait till your book, is complete!

@Prithya-Chan: Girl where is the update for Eh Ah Sou? 

People who are my friends on wattpad, just remember: I read your books because I LOVE them. You don't have to feel any pressure to read my book at all! If it doesn't interest you, it's totally fine. If you start reading it and don't like it, don't force yourself to continue. (I would love it if you could tell me WHY you don't like it, though). I'm very grateful to people who said they are excited for my book, but I hope you never feel obliged to read it simply because we're friends!

 Nevertheless, I hope I'll be able to write a book people will love. Right now I'm on a writing break, and will get to editing soon! Thank you so much for all the love and kind words, LOVE you!