(Giveaway at the bottom of the post!)
*****
As I was sitting down to write this blog
post, I got to remember some past special things about writing War of
Loyalties. I think what kept War of
Loyalties simmering for the past seven years, apart from the grace of God, was
the fact that it found its heart very early on. In another author interview (joy-live4jesus.blogspot.com)
I said that I struggled with logic and plot early on in the book. But from the
first serious draft of it in 2012, I never struggled with the heart of it. The
characters showed up on set, and even though they morphed over time, I had a
bond with them from day one. All of this effort to bring the book to print has
really been the drive to publish characters I deeply, deeply love.
Each draft of War of Loyalties underwent
extensive rewriting. But the pulsing heart remained. I had the core of the
story down. I knew the people inside it, even though I did not always have
words to express them yet.
So today, I’d love to share with you four
things that captured the heart of War of Loyalties for me.
1. The Handwritten First
Draft
I will never forget the
joy of crafting the first draft. It was just me, a bunch of loose-leaf lined
paper, some regular pens, and a variety of folders the story kept growing out
of. I generally wrote on my bed, or in our living-room recliner, and my most
guaranteed time was snatching the 15 minute break we had mid-morning between
our school subjects. The finished draft was 386 pages, I think—a far cry from
the 750 it is now! While there wasn’t nearly enough espionage in it, it had
some of the sweetest family times with Terry’s family interacting with Ben, and
Ben and Jaeryn’s friendship was a lot simpler and closer than in the final
draft.
I now keep the handwritten
draft in a shoe box. I also have character profiles written with gel pen on
cardstock, along with pictures pasted on. The first draft has little plot notes
on the side, along with occasional random notes like “wash sheets” for myself! J
2. The Music Playlists
Music has always been a
huge part of the process since draft two. There are certain songs that still
mean War of Loyalties to me. “Now and For Always”, from the Lord of the Rings
musical, was something I would listen to while I exercised and thought about my
book. The journey of Frodo persevering with the ring always felt like writing
WoL, and that song will always bring back good memories. “I Vow to Thee My
Country”, sung by Libera (the version with the violin opening) was a piece of
theme music for the entire novel. I was finishing the third draft of the book
in 2014, and as I worked on the last chapter, I listened to “I Vow to Thee”
along with Billy Boyd’s “The Last Goodbye” to capture the nostalgia of what it
felt like to work on something I had loved so long. Ryan Kelly’s lines in
Celtic Thunder’s “Caledonia” capture Jaeryn to me. I think Terry’s personality
is just about perfectly expressed with “Me and My Cello” (PianoGuys) and Charlotte
and Ben’s relationship is “Dancing in the Minefields” (Andrew Peterson). I like to joke that if nothing else, I
supported Celtic Thunder on Spotify while I wrote this book. J
3. The Pinterest Board
The heart of War of
Loyalties has always been on my Pinterest board. It’s secret. (My apologies to
anyone reading this!) But it has the photos that inspired the heart of this
novel—the actors and objects that made me think of each character. It’s a
heart-record online of the journey that I took when I was writing the second
draft in 2013. There is so much memory on there that I wish I could download it
to save.
4. The Rush of a Deadline
Another one of the
heartbeats of the book was trying to get a chapter a week done for beta readers
in 2013. (Kaleigh prayed for and encouraged me constantly during these
chapters!) At first the chapters were sent early on in the week, but as my
writing rhythm shifted, I ended up sending chapters on Saturday night just
before midnight (I wouldn’t let myself go after midnight because that was
Sunday, and I didn’t want to write WoL on Sundays.) It was always a delightfully
angst-filled rush of adrenaline, wondering if I would get it done on time. Somehow
WoL has always coincided with big occasions. I finished the first draft on New
Year’s Eve, and the second draft on Christmas Eve. The third draft was finished
the day before Easter, and the final upload onto Createspace happened on the
night before Thanksgiving.
While the timing wasn’t
always convenient, it was always super helpful. I found the weekly
accountability of sending the chapters invaluable. I always got to look forward
to encouraging feedback, and every week I had to think about what plot threads
I needed to continue. This helped me get the core of the final book started,
even though it would need a couple of big rewrites before it was in its final
shape.
Thank-you so much for
having me on your blog today, Kaleigh! It was so fun to think about these
things, and you were such a huge encouragement in the War of Loyalties writing
process. This book wouldn’t be here without you. J
Giveaway
First
Prize Winner:
-Paperback
copy of War of Loyalties
-“Jaeryn’s
Vow” 8x10 poster
-Custom
War of Loyalties mug
Second
Prize Winner:
-Ebook
of War of Loyalties
-Real
vintage Folkestone postcard (this is a postcard that has actually been posted
in 1917.)
Third
Prize Winner: (open to international winners)
-Ebook
of War of Loyalties
Wordpress Giveaway Link:
US
residents only for 1st and 2nd prizes. Accounts
created solely for giveaways not eligible.
Schuyler McConkey is a writing teacher, book reviewer, and ministry leader living half of her life in happy fellowship with her family and spending the other half in angst-filled fictional worlds. She is passionate about classic, Dickensian stories and characters who encounter deep struggles touched by grace. Irish music, British movies, and chai lattes provide the fuel for her dreams.
Aww, I LOVE this post & the list of things that helped keep your novel pulsing and alive throughout the years of writing Schuyler!! <3 What a delight. I love all the music pieces you had going for the characters!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the lovely hosting, Kaleigh :).
P.S. I am pretty sure Schuyler's reference was to my blog Fullness of Joy but alas the blog url is slightly different than the title (joy-live4jesus.blogspot.com) Would you mind if you could edit that?
Thanks so much for the comment, Joy! Sorry about the blog url. Should be fixed now! :)
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