Hello and happy Monday! How is the start to your week?
So, today’s post is going to be very very fun. I will be using the “What’s your WIP (work in progress) Writing Tag” to introduce y’all to the newest book I’ve started to write. The book is called A Songwriter’s Summer for now, as I decided to name it, so I don’t get caught talking about it as “My Contemporary Book” or something to that nature, like I did with “My Dystopian Book”.
Speaking of my dystopian book, I used this tag once before to give y’all a little peek into that book. Here it is if you are interested!
This book is the newest one I’ve been writing and is the main writing project I’ve been working on lately. It is a contemporary YA book. I will leave the rest of the explanation and summary for this book to the tag!
The Rules
- Thank the person who tagged you & link to their blog.
- Link back to the creator, Katja @ Little Blossoms for Jesus.
- List the rules.
- Answer the questions.
- Feel free to add snippets!
- Tag as many or as few people as you wish & let them know they’re tagged.
- Add a clean copy of the questions at the end of your post for the “tagged.”
Has your WIP a working title? If so, tell us! If not, have you any idea of what it might be?
As I said earlier, A Songwriter’s Summer is the name I’ve given my book for the time being. It probably won’t stick, but I decided to at least come up with a name for now, so I had something to call it. I think that this name sort of explains the story to some extent (it follows the main character, who is a songwriter, and it takes place during the summer) but the title also sounds like some sort of songwriting camp or something, so I’ll probably change it sometime down the road. It works for now, though!
Have you a synopsis for your WIP? If so, give it to us! If not, can you give us a blurb on what your WIP is about?
I don’t have a synopsis written, so I will just explain the story a bit.
This book follows seventeen-year-old Breena West, who loves writing songs, and secretly dreams of becoming a songwriter. The problem? Her parents don’t consider that a career and they are pushing her to go to college and pursue a more stable career that she can support herself with. When one of Breena’s favorite songwriters announces that she’s hosting a songwriting contest that has the potential to grant the winners recognition and fame, Breena sees this as her chance to show her parents that this passion for songwriting doesn’t have to be only a hobby.
Many things happen that summer. Her parents become concerned with Breena’s grades. Fynn Cooper, a fellow eleventh grader, begins helping Breena with her classes. Breena’s older, perfect-seeming sister comes home from college for the summer, and her brother shortly after. Through this period of months, Breena will discover many things, learn to understand the views of others, and to be more compassionate.
I understand that this is not a very good synopsis, but I had to write it real quick. I was just finishing this post up (because, of course, I waited until the last minute) so I am writing this just before posting.
Have you a working/mock cover for your WIP? If so, show us! If not, have you an idea in mind?
I actually do! Here it is:
This is a very basic cover design that I created on Canva. I like how it turned out, and just the simplicity of it!
How did you get the idea for this story?
I honestly don’t remember! I have recently been wanting to write a contemporary book with the main character being a songwriter, as I have become more interested in song and poem writing. I remember having the sort of idea for this book in my mind for a while, and after a while, I wrote it all down and planned the story further.
How long do you think it will be? Is it longer or shorter than you thought it would be?
I am only a few chapters in, but I have the whole book planned out. I believe it will be just about the length of an average novel, maybe a bit shorter, but I guess we’ll see!
Who’s your favourite character so far?
I love all of my characters! One of my favorite things about this book so far is that I can relate to each of the characters in some way, and see where they are coming from. Up to this point, I like Fynn a lot, as well as Breena’s best friend, Lea.
What’s your favourite memory related to this WIP?
Probably when I was in the planning phase! After I got the idea for this novel, I bought a special notebook and began planning it all out, writing every little thing down, and coming up with ideas as to where the story would go. I love looking back at those pages now, and seeing how the first ideas have been formed into the whole story that it is now!
Any special person(s) who helped create it?
My older sister! She mostly just listens to me ranting about the characters or talking about the plot. I also let her read it as I write, and she gives me helpful advice and constructive criticism. Thank you!
What’s your favourite scene so far (if you can tell about it without spoilers!)?
Hmmm…🤔 I’m not sure. There is a scene that I’m excited to write that will be at the end of the book, but I can’t describe it without giving away most of the story. So far, I have enjoyed writing the first few interactions between Breena and Fynn, and I am looking forward to the introduction of a new character that I will be writing in soon!
Can you give us a snippet?
Sorry, I can’t yet. I just don’t feel like there is anything I’ve written yet worthy of sharing as a snippet. Stay tuned, though, because I plan to share more about this book in the future!
Is the story still what you thought it would be or has it thrown you a couple curveballs?
It’s definitely got a different ending than what I planned at first! Besides that, though, not a lot of changes have taken place yet. I am, as I said, only a few chapters in, so I’m sure that there will be some changes that I decide on as I write and get to know my characters better.
Is there a Bible verse, poem, hymn, picture, or quote that helped shape this story?
Not that I can think of at the moment.
When and where have you done most of the writing so far?
I am writing the first draft of this book in a notebook, and I’ve written a lot of it outside, actually!
Where do you get inspiration for this story?
I take a lot of inspiration from my daily life and add it to the book like I do with the other books I’ve worked on. Conversations, traits in my characters, the observations of those around me, and certain situations are all incorporated.
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I am a big planner! I mentioned earlier that I bought a notebook to brainstorm and plan the book, and that was in the summer. I believe I just started writing this book in January, so that was about six months of planning out this book! I worked out all of the characters and basically everything that happens because I hate going into the book without a clear knowledge of the story and how it progresses!
Do you have a little ritual before you start writing?
I like to have music, usually, as well as something to drink while I’m writing. Other than that, not really. I just get my notebook out and begin writing!
Are you thinking of publishing this story?
Probably not, but you never know!
What things have you learned while writing this story?
To have fun with it! Sometimes I have to force myself to write to get through a rough patch, but I have also found ways to work on this story without writing, such as developing characters further, finding songs for each character, or writing about it like I am with this post. I do love writing, but sometimes, doing something related to the story is just as important if I don’t feel like writing.
I’m not going to tag anyone to do this tag, because I don’t know who is working on writing a book at the moment. However, if you do have a current WIP, I’d love to see you use this tag! Here is a list of the questions for anyone who plans on doing the tag:
- Has your WIP a working title? If so, tell us! If not, have you any idea of what it might be?
- Have you a synopsis for your WIP? If so, give it to us! If not, can you give us a blurb on what your WIP is about?
- Have you a working/mock cover for your WIP? If so, show us! If not, have you an idea in mind?
- How did you get the idea for this story?
- How long do you think it will be? Is it longer or shorter than you thought it would be?
- Who’s your favourite character so far?
- What’s your favourite memory related to this WIP?
- Any special person(s) who helped create it?
- What’s your favourite scene so far (if you can tell about it without spoilers!)?
- Can you give us a snippet?
- Is the story still what you thought it would be or has it thrown you a couple curveballs?
- Is there a Bible verse, poem, hymn, picture, or quote that helped shape this story?
- When and where have you done most of the writing so far?
- Where do you get inspiration for this story?
- Are you a plotter or a pantser?
- Do you have a little ritual before you start writing?
- Are you thinking of publishing this story?
- What things have you learned while writing this story?
That will be all for today! I hope that you all enjoyed getting a little more information on my WIP, A Songwriter’s Summer. How did you like this post? Do you have any more questions about my book? I’d love to hear from you in the comments! Also, if you guys have any more post ideas that I can write to share more about this book, I’d love to hear them! Maybe an aesthetic or playlist?
I hope that everyone has a lovely week, and I’ll see y’all next Monday!
Books and Hooks 