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Writer's pictureCait Marie

Adventures in Writing: Part 1

As of January 31, 2019, I have officially finished the first draft of my first full-length novel! Hence this series. I thought it would be neat to not only document my journey but share what I learn along the way. I’ll also share sneak peaks of my work and things that have inspired me along the way.

It all started with a dream. I know, cliché, but it’s completely true. I have always had the most random, usually-weird dreams. Back in mid-October, 2018, I woke up from a dream of pirates and cursed fae. It was somewhere between A Court of Thorns and Roses and Pirates of the Caribbean. The fae were stranded on an island and I was traveling with pirates to find and save them. I told you–super random. I woke up, wrote down the names and details I could remember in my phone, then fell back asleep.

I got up and went about my day, forgetting about the dream until much later. By the time I remembered, a lot of the dream was fuzzy, but the key details were still there with one particular name sticking out: Nihryst. This was the name of the fae, though I also referred to them as the Night Court in my dream because the ACOTAR obsession is so real, my friends.

With the help of the barely-comprehensible notes in my phone, I began writing. I started and I couldn’t stop. I wrote 31,000 words in a week. There was an excitement I had when writing this story that I’d never felt before. The story felt more original and creative than my others, and I was proud to have come up with such an idea.

And I’m still proud! It has grown so much since I began. There are now two POVs and a whole subplot that didn’t exist during those first two months of writing. I had this vague plot for the main character, but once I started focusing on another, the story deepened and really took off. The original story is still very much there as the focus, but with the other characters and stories added, the whole thing is rounded out more.

I really love my story, and I hope others will, too. I was advised to “step away” from it for a while after finishing the first draft, but I’m eager to jump back in. It’s been about a week and a half and I already want to start editing.

There is a long road ahead of me, but I’m hopeful and excited. Never in a million years did I think I’d be here. I plan on writing about my experiences, dilemmas, and accomplishments here along the way. Maybe we’ll learn a few things together!

Without further ado, a working synopsis of The Nihryst:

Throughout her life, Princess Adalina grew up hearing stories about the legendary group of immortal warriors, called the Nihryst, who were cursed and abandoned by her ancestors on an unknown island over a century earlier. As an adult, Ada overhears a plot that threatens her kingdom and their treaties with allying countries. After hiring a crew of sailors, she sets off in search of the Nihryst with hopes that they might be able to help save her people and that she can keep her childhood vow to break their curse. The sailors don’t know Ada is the princess or what exactly she’s looking for, and she doesn’t know that they are actually pirates. Together, they fight against their secrets and each other as time quickly dwindles, threatening everyone she loves.

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