Mishaps in writing: Hybrid trilogy mistake

Writing is a process; no matter how long you have been writing, you will make mistakes that can feel like the biggest thing when you realize you made a mistake, but it isn't the mistake that matters. It how you go about fixing it.

In the years I have been writing, I have made both minor mistakes and major mistakes, and recently I realized I had made a mistake while working on my hybrid trilogy, tears were shed but now that I have a plan on how to fix my mistake I decided to write a blog post on how I worked out my mistake and how I plan to fix it as well as what I have learned from making this mistake. 

While I was working on my plan for making the most out of Aprils' Camp NaNoWriMo to finish the third book in the series, I noticed that I have been stuck on a certain part of the book for ages. When I started writing Project Banshee, I struggled a lot, but by the time I hit 11k words, I was officially at a standstill.

I started looking into why this had happened, and I noticed it stems into a bigger issue—the first two books. I had so poorly planned and written Tosha that I had actually made it impossible to write a whole book for her. This is probably the biggest mistake I have made to date when writing or planning one of my books. 

The first thing I realized when I made a mistake is that I need to find a way to fix it. I could start all over again and completely start from scratch with all three books, but I have the first book almost perfect, and I would hate to have to start all over again when my goal was to have the first draft of all three books done by July. 

My first thought was I need to start from scratch but not on my books but on Toshas' book plan; I then need to think of Toshas' story as a stand-alone book and completely start the first draft over once I have finished writing the book I can then go through and edit project hybrid and project choice and fix it up so that Tosha has room to grow and fix any plot holes that form.

This will make life harder on me when it comes to editing, but it's a small price to pay compared to how it could have turned out if it didn't work out. This was a plausible way to fix the issue without completely rewriting all three books and putting years of hard work down the drain.

From this is I have learned the right amount to actually plan for a character. You don't want to under plan and be stuck on developing and writing your character, but you don't want to over-plan so that you have no room for improvising. I also learned that while the book order might be different, its best to write the books in order of age. While project banshee is the last book, its also the youngest any of the characters are in the books.

Things to know about your characters

Having started a Pinterest board filled with pins around writing. I have slowly begun to realize while I am a good writer (maybe biased, but I have faith in myself and my abilities) I could have more planning done to make my job that bit easier. 

I have been a panster for as long as I can remember which is why I love book bibles because I can pants my way through the book but remember vital information that I may forget in the long run like the colours of the characters eyes, birthdays and more.

However, because I am starting more series of books, I need to plan ahead in a sense which I find planning some things to be useful, and they could also be helpful in my solo books like full character outlines.

So I have made an extensive list of things both big and small I have found very useful to know from the start, and while your characters will change and grow throughout your the story, it can be a good idea to start with an outline and change it as you go.

characters full name:

reason or meaning of name: 

characters nickname:

reason for the nickname:

gender:

birthday:

age:

mothers name:

fathers name:

siblings:

friends:

how old does he/she look:

height:

body build:

eye colour:

skin tone:

distinguishing features or marks (scars, glasses, tattoos etc.):

hair colour:

type of hair:

hairstyle:

does your character have any disabilities or disorders and what:

family situation:

friend situation:

home town:

type of childhood:

pets:

dream job:

actual job:

education:

religion:

finances:

current location:

currently living with:

bad experiences in life:

good experiences in life:

good traits:

bad traits:

mood character is often in:

sense of humour:

characters greatest joy in life:

characters fear:

nervous tics:

flaws:

hobbies:

does your character smoke:

drink:

do any drugs:

favourite colour:

least favourite colour:

logical or emotional:

daredevil or cautious:

introvert or extrovert:

there you have it my list of things I find useful to know about my characters. let me know what you find useful in the comments if it isn't already on the list

about my books | December 2019

I am always going on about project such and such so today i go over all the projects that i am working on or about to work on, what stage i am in all of them and a little bit about each project so you are up to date on my writing journey. (none of these are wattpad books, these are ones i want to publish)
If you would rather hear me talk about it click here.

Project Hope

what stage is the book in: Writing
is this a part of a series: No.
a little bit about it: project hope follows a young girl who inherits her fathers powers after he dies to calm down wildlife, you follow her through her journey of finding out what she truly is and the battles she has to face to expand her powers and make the humans understand that the supernatural world is nothing to be scared of.

Project Love

what stage is the book in: Writing
is this a part of a series: No.
a little bit about it: project love follows a rebel young adult who is in and out of jail and mental hospitals. you follow her along from getting out of the institute and her life-changing for the better after her roommate takes her out for a day, you experience the mixed feelings and the drama she faces coming to terms with these new feelings.

Project Sisters

what stage is the book in: Writing
is this a part of a series: Maybe, i am waiting to see how it ends before i decide.
a little bit about it: project sisters follows a set of twins who are being hunted down for being half-witch half-werewolf. the sisters are the last of their kind. the novel follows them fighting off the hunters and becoming free after years of being chased around the world as well as Madeline taking her rightful place in the ranks. the novel is a mix of each of their point of views going chapter one being on sister and chapter two the other sister and so on.

Project Hybrid

what stage is the book in: Three-month wait before editing
is this a part of a series: Yes, this is technically the last book in the series set after Project curse and project choice in Rubys point of view.
a little bit about it: project hybrid follows ruby finding her mate who is a half-vampire half-werewolf hybrid and coming to accept him for who he is, reconnecting with old friends and finding out the truth about her parent's murder and her life. the novel is full of plot twists and action.

Project Curse

what stage is the book in: Planning
is this a part of a series: Yes this is the prequel to Project hybrid, in Toshas point of view.
a little bit about it: project curse follows Tosha turning into a banshee and eventually recovering from her extream grief, accepting Lou and more.

Project Choice

what stage is the book in: Planning (starting in November)
is this a part of a series: Yes this is the prequel to Project hybrid and the sequel to Project curse in Dees point of view.
a little bit about it: project choice follows Dee from the moment he met Ruby, it shows every aspect of him making the decision to be with Evelin instead of ruby and then realizing Ruby isn't who he thought she was at the beginning of their relationship, jam-packed with fights, real emotion and more.

Project Age gap

what stage is the book in: Beta reading
is this a part of a series: No.
a little bit about it: project age gap is loosely based off a past relationship i have been in. it follows a teenage girl in Australia who falls in love at first sight with an older man from New Zealand. the novella shows the hardship the couple has to go through to be together at last and him waiting for her to be of age so they can be together forever.

Project Gang

what stage is the book in: Planning
is this a part of a series: Yes, this is a novella series.
a little bit about it: project gang follows a supernatural teenage girl whose family is threatened by one of the largest supernatural gangs in America, the girl is then forced to join a gang in order to protect her family. the novellas will follow her journey through the crazy world of supernatural gangs all the while protecting her family and accidentally falling in love.

Project Wolf (may change)

what stage is the book in: Planning
is this a part of a series: Yes, this is a novella series.
a little bit about it: Project wolf is about a female university student studying in England falling in love with a werewolf who just so happens to be her mate. the books follow the challenges they have to face to keep her alive because the supernatural world is no longer safe for humans to be involved in.