Pacing Your Book!

@whalekeeper ooh love those points!! I don’t have a blurb currently (I probably have old blurbs stored away on my computer, but the story has changed so much they probably aren’t quite as relevant? Though most of it remains the same.)

Essentially this is what happens-

This takes place a few weeks (or a month or so) after the events of the first book. Ara and November, (spoiler alert) at the end of that first book, were removed from their home (you could say by magic, but whatever lol) and are not allowed to return until the evil Ara was “sealing away” from A’Grend is destroyed.

Ara knew she was making this sacrifice when she did it, (and the ability to do so shows her growth in that first book.) November went with her, hitching a ride at the last second lol.

Since then….things haven’t gone well for them, so they already aren’t in their “status quo.”

As of rn, their status quo is running from place to place searching for any semblance of “Normal” or what to do next, with no home, no family and no idea what to do, or where to go.

Theyve never been outside of A’Grend before (at least November doesn’t remember this) so their status quo isn’t very normal rn.

The book (at this point in time) opens with them having stowed away on a ship, just trying to escape their last place, where they ran into trouble. But now they’re in trouble again, as stowaways.

This ship is headed for Cirque, but they don’t even know where that is, etc.

So honestly? I’m not entirely sure what Ara and November’s inciting incident is.

I know for sure that Lyn and Nyx’s is either

1. The idea that Cirque may not be all its cracked up to be (pre-murder)

2. Zolten’s murder, which continues the previous thought as well.

But Ara and November? I dunno! Is it escaping the ship and arriving to Cirque? Meeting Jocelyn and Nyx? Finally finding a “friend” in this upside down world? Or maybe being threatened by Zolten?

I can’t quite pinpoint it…

@whalekeeper true, true (love having a brainstorm partner lol)

So…in this book, Ara is still struggling with past mistakes/decisions. She’s grown a lot since the first book (this is a series so there is growth in each book, wether it be good or bad growth) but nothing is fully gone yet. Now, though, she’s struggling mostly with the fact that she’s separated from her home and her family for…well…she doesn’t know how long. She’s in this unknown world, unknown place, and she struggles with fear. A fear of the unknown is a big deal for her, and she also second guesses her decisions. So while she knows she did the right thing, in saving her kingdom, she just wonders if there wasn’t another way.

She also can’t help but feel as though she’s dragged November along for the ride (even though he chose to come and had no real reason to stay in A’Grend) some of this is compounded though she because she blames herself majorly for an injury he received (in her place) in book 1.

Ara’s on the journey to becoming a leader, though she doesn’t really know it yet, and at this point…she’s not ready at all. In the first book she made decisions because her kingdom depended on it, her family…everything she knew and loved.

But Lyn and November are going to need someone to help them make decisions, and Ara isn’t at that place yet. That’s her growing point, so that by the time she makes it to the third book she’s a bit more confident in her decision making, though she still refuses to call herself a leader, and is able to help Grimm, learn from his own leadership styles, and finally accept the role of a Leader.

Idk if that made sense buuut yea XD that was kinda long…

So…November…

November has a…ah…complicated?? Character/series arc.

Complicated in that it’s negative but positive in the end…

November doesn’t really get “better.”

He gets increasingly “worse.” Until in the end it turns into a positive arc (same with Corvina, his sister.)

But sprinkled within are points and moments where everything could change, and glimmers of the truth he needs to accept is right there (same with Corvina) it just…doesn’t happen.

Not that the books end “negatively” in his POV Everytime, they just don’t end the way they should.

For instance- in this book, November is struggling because, in leaving A’Grend, he never really got any closure from the situations that took place prior to the “Sealing away.”

Now he couldn’t really help this, as it was a split second decision to go with Ara, and it was the right decision in the end, but it still has consequences…

He was unable to deal with the pain of discovering his father was a traitor/never really loved him, he was injured during a battle with Corvina and it scarred him for life (physically and mentally due to Corvina’s powers and other stuff I’m not gonna get into), he’s ALSO dealing with the fact of being separated from the only home he remembers, unable to return…

Plus…Ara isn’t doing well, and that doesn’t help his mood in anyway, because…well…he loves her, so ya know.

November’s never had good self esteem, and it basically continues to plummet as the series goes on, despite his friends’ words and compliments.

His truth is that he matters-he is loved beyond all reason, by God, and by those who really care for him. That he is worth something and NOT a mistake.

But his lie/ghost basically wins over that truth, due to things in his past, the way he’s been treated, his own mindset, etc.

Idk if this helps at all but basically these are their struggles…

November’s kinda remains the same throughout the series, but changes REASON depending on the book (for instance in this one he’s dealing with a ton of loss (home, father, etc) and the unknown, and, like Ara, he’s also blaming himself for what happened back in A’Grend.

@highscribeofaetherium good question!

So essentially what happens is this (and I haven’t figured out ALL of the details)- Eder (type and shadows of Satan) is headed to A’Grend, to destroy it. Ara, sorta begrudgingly, tries to find out how to stop him, being led by her dreams/visions and a journal by her late grandmother.

She discovers her grandmother left her a way to stop him, because her grandmother was also gifted by God with these dreams/visions of the future (think almost like the gift of prophecy but not really lol)

So her grandmother knew this day would come, and that Ara would be the only one to stop Eder (chosen one situation, basically.) But also November is needed as well, and is very special.

Her grandmother didn’t see everything, but saw a glimpse of the future to come, and that Eder would be destroyed, but Ara and November would be needed in order for it to happen.

Ara discovers the way to keep her kingdom safe is by Sealing it away from harm essentially, using something she finds hidden in the catacombs beneath her Kingdom.

However…this comes with a sacrifice…

The Sealer, essentially, will also be sealed away from the land, until the threat to it is vanquished.

Ara then has to make a choice- Seal it and make the sacrifice, or allow her kingdom fight and probably be destroyed…

She makes the sacrifice…and would’ve been sealed away alone, but at the last second, November reaches her, grabbing her hand,  joining her as she, and the dark entity, are taken from her land.

does that kinda shed some light On things?? Or sounds kinda interesting? XD

@hybridlore ah yes! Let me explain because I see how that would look considering how I explained it 😅

So…the overarching goal for Ara is this- Somehow find a way back home. To do this she has to somehow defeat Eder, the greatest evil ever. Which is like…crazy.

Novembers goal is basically the same, but it’s more on the lines of Help Ara along and do everything he can to keep her safe because she’s the only good thing in his life.

What they don’t realize (till later) is that they are not the only ones destined to defeat Eder. In fact, their overall destiny is to go around, completing other goals (or missions if you want to put it that way) that they’ve already been destined for, and build the team that will defeat Eder.

So each book has its own goals, subplots, etc, that are all building up to the overarching goal, and they’re building their team as they’re going through each book.

For instance in this book, Ara and N are basically fish out of water, but are quickly thrown in a murder mystery. They would just be passerby’s…if they hadn’t already crossed paths with the girl who is tied up in the middle of the murder plot (Jocelyn)

Also, the two literally can’t leave Cirque because they’re kinda…wanted by the only ship captain on Cirque 😅

So the “goal” ends up being- Solve the murder, Help Lyn, escape Cirque alive.

By the time of the second book, Ara is more confident in her decisions, and her visions, and is more able to discern what God wants them to do/where they’re supposed to go.

Because of this, they meet Grimm, and his rebel group.

The goal of that book becomes: Help Grimm and his people take back their kingdom and basically stop the genocide Kainda is planning….