Writing a book

For one of my projects, I want to write a first draft for my book!

PROJECT TITLE:

The Five Realms First Draft!

GUIDING QUESTIONS:

• Is it possible to finish a first draft of a whole book?
• What is it like to work on a big writing project with a timeline and a due date?
• What different motivation techniques can I use to keep myself on task?

GOAL(s):

I want to have a rough draft of a book that I have been working on for over a year.

EVIDENCE/RESEARCH:

• https://catjohnson.co/create-writing-routine-stick/
• https://www.slideshare.net/jsmorin/7-types-of-villains?ref=https://www.jsmorin.com/2015/02/7-types-villains/
• http://www.lifeofastoryteller.com/2017/03/21/how-to-write-a-plot-outline/
• https://www.nownovel.com/blog/how-to-write-accents-dialects/
• https://owlcation.com/humanities/Writing-Non-Binary-Characters-A-Very-General-How-To
• For evidence, look below to the bottom!

EVALUATION:

• Who could serve as your Project Consultant, an expert to guide and/or assess this project?
• Please list some of the CRITERIA you have for the project to be successful. This will help you start the process of designing a rubric.

PROCESS:

1. Storyboard it

2. Develope character’s personalities and backgrounds.

3. Start writing

4. Edit writing

5. Have at least 3 other people read my writing

6. Edit writing

7. Continue writing

8. Have more input, then finish writing and do final edits.

9. Possibly bind the book?

RESOURCES:

• Fiona, who is another Big Picture student, gave me a Google Doc that they had filled with writing information.
• Online worksheets, pinterest, and random google searches.

REFLECTION:

I demonstrated these transferable skills in this project:

• Self Direction, with project plan, video, and the actual writing.
• Creative and Practical Problem Solving, with coming up ways to get myself in the mood to write.
• Informed and Integrated Thinking, with applying resources I found to my writing.

This project helped me learn so many things! I learned more about the character designing process, how to storyboard a novel, and how to edit and revise my writing!

The biggest problems I had was that I anticipated that it would take less time, and that I got pretty bad writer's block. Perfect timing, right? I actually have a whole Word doc full of writing I didn't like, but I wanted to keep just in case. So it was a bit of struggle to come up with ways to fix these problems. Looking back on it, I would have given myself more time to write, and I would have written every day, no matter what.

Below you can watch my book trailer video that I made! (The password is TFR, all capital)

Here is an exclusive (unedited) sneak peak of the first chapter of my book!

MAX

Chapter 1: I Should Have Just Stayed in Bed

Max ran through the castle, trying to make it to his laboratory in the north tower. ‘I’m never gonna make it.’ He thought frantically. Max’s hands were shaking under the strain of the heavy wooden crate shoved to the brim with scientific materials. His skinny legs shook and wobbled as he sprinted against the hard wood floor. As he ran past the laundry room, several maids yelled in various languages at him for racking dirt in. He ignored them, as they often did to him. Besides, how could they yell at him for tracking a little dirt in when they were always barging into his lab to clean’? (Max knew they really were just snooping.) He was pretty sure that the king and queen paid them to inform them on anything ‘mischievous’ that he was doing. No doubt they would never tell the royal couple the scientific achievements he was making, but whatever. It’s not like Max really wanted them to notice him, or know he was alive or anything.

He ran past the ballroom, which was full to the brim with different expensive food that his brother Alexander was tasting. Max knew he was trying to decide on the perfect menu for his 18^th birthday which was coming up in a few weeks. Alexander already sent out all the invitations to everybody he had on his guest list. He had invited all of his snooty stuck up prince friends, cute girls from other kingdoms as well as this one, along with dozens of wealthy aunts, uncles, dukes, and duchesses. Max hadn’t gotten an invitation, but it wasn’t like he was bitter or anything. ‘Nope, definitely didn’t want an invitation at all. But if I don’t get to make lab in the next minute, there won’t be any ballroom for the party in the first place’ he thought as he tried to catch his breath while running. ‘Would not party really be a such a bad thing?’ One particularly devilish part of his brain said. Max brushed that thought aside and began to ascend the stairs, reminding himself to breath. Several random bards almost got in his way, but Max weaved through their stick-like bodies and jingle bell shoes. He didn’t know why so many were in the castle, his mother hated their songs and jokes.

Finally, Max was approaching the hallway that led to his lab. He ran down it, towards the large oak door that opened to his lab. He frantically put the crate at his feet and grabbed the key from its silver chain around his neck. Once he opened the door, he snatched the box from the ground and flung his scrawny body into the room. He slammed the door shut, then ran to his main table, which was cluttered with random supplies. He brushed all of it off, then dumped the crate’s content onto it with a loud noise that rattle his skull. Then Max grabbed the sealed vile and flint from the box. He then sped across the room to his chemistry experiments, one of which was about to go very wrong.

The small cauldron gurgled maliciously and sputtered green and red flames. From his calculations, Max had predicted that the elixir would explode in approximately thirty seconds. He uncorked the vile, and grabbed a funnel. After he poured that into the mix, he grated the flint into tiny shreds with his rock knife. While he was doing this, the liquid started to spew smoke and vibrate evilly. Max figured he had ten seconds before half of the castle became rubble, and the other half was covered in fire. He finished chopped the flint, and dropped it into the pot. He then dove across the room to an askew table he called a bomb shelter. He plugged his ears and hoped the results wouldn’t rupture any major organs. By this time, the whole room was shaking, and Max could barely see because the smog was so thick. Then, suddenly, all the shaking stopped.

There was no more fire, no more bubbling liquid, only leftover green smoke that smelled oddly like hard boiled eggs. Max popped his head out of make shift safety hut. After he did a check to make sure his liver hadn’t blown up, he cautiously approached the cauldron. When he was standing directly over it, only then did he truly believe that the dangerous concoction had dissolved into nothingness.

Max put his hands on his hips in victory. “Damn,” he said to himself. “I’m a genius.” With that, he promptly fainted onto the rug beneath him.