Here’s the second and final part of the Work In Progress August challenge, where I get to tell you fun facts about my WIP! This challenge was launched by Hannah Gaudette – you can find her introduction post here! 💖
And yes, I am aware it’s no longer August.
I’ve chosen to blame the two vacations my family went on in August, short as they were. 😂 I feel like being out in nature, disconnected from Le Internet, refilled my well of inspiration, which is starting to pay off now. *eyes the stack of new pages written in Project Gillory with satisfaction*
Work In Progress August – Part Two
8 – A favorite memory while writing
One of my favorite memories happened when I was writing in my notebook one Sunday afternoon. It was a scene in Ean’s POV, one of the first that actually made me tear up because it was so painful to write. It turned into a favorite memory because of the raw feel of the scene and the spiritual element in it.
Well, not just that. It was how I ended up writing. it I wasn’t thinking it out carefully; I just wrote, and I really felt like the Holy Spirit was guiding the scene in just the way He wanted. I don’t often experience that, which made it special. Granted, it needs a lot of work and I cringe while rereading it, but it ends with a poignant note of hope. Which I honestly hadn’t planned.
9 – A random snippet from your writing
May as well share the end of that scene I mentioned!
10 – Introduce a secondary character from the novel.
Here’s a snippet that captures the personality of Gillory’s piano teacher. He’s probably the most blunt character in the book, which makes for some amusing dialogue. And yes, his last name is Roriotti, but that may be subject to change…because that name is apparently so rare that when you Google it, my “What’s Your WIP?” post is the first thing in the search results (for me, anyway), thanks to a snippet with Roriotti’s name in it.
🤦♀️
Not sure how I feel about that. But anyway, here’s the snippet:
“Sorry to hear about what happened.” Roriotti’s voice was gruff.
Gillory nodded. “I’m sorry too.”
“You look even worse than I’d expected.”
11 – Your protagonist’s likes and dislikes.
Gillory’s likes:
- autumn leaves
- Beethoven
- Mendelssohn
- fashion designing
- people-watching
- grand pianos
- chamomile tea
- her red beret
- competition
Gillory’s dislikes:
- cooking
- embarrassing situations
- mistakes in music
- surprises
- moths caught indoors
- being ignored
- condescension
12 – Your favorite fact about your antagonist
Well, I hate to say it, but I’m enjoying the manipulation my antagonist exercises. It’s awful for the characters, but kinda fun, in a detached way, to write.
13 – Cast an actor to play your [hero] and [heroine].
Daisy Edgar-Jones for Gillory. She’s a British actress I came across while looking for a celebrity who could give me inspiration for Gillory’s accent and mannerisms, and even though she doesn’t look exactly how I imagine Gillory to, it’s amazing how much she reminds me of her. (I haven’t seen her in any movies, just interviews on Youtube. 😆)
Image found on Pinterest
And Jonah Hauer-King for Ean. No, I did not intentionally find actors with hyphenated last names. It just…happened. For some reason, it was hard for me to find British actors whose looks and personalities vaguely reminded me of good ole Ean. But then, I came across a WWII tv show (which I want to watch but it has too much content *sobs*) and saw an image of him in it (not realizing he had anything to do with the recent Little Mermaid movie 😅) and immediately thought of Ean.
Image found on The Silver Petticoat. Courtesy of Courtesy of Mammoth Screen and MASTERPIECE
14 – A line from page 22
This is from a scene where Gillory is improvising on her church’s piano. It was SO fun to write – there’s just something I love about describing music in poetic, metaphorical imagery. Which is what I did here. 🧚♀️
What do you recommend I do about Roriotti’s name? Do you enjoy describing music in your stories? What’s on your characters like/dislike list? If you’re a pianist too, what’s your favorite song to play? Do you find inspiration for your characters from celebrities? Let’s chat in the comments!
Saraina Whitney 
*gasp* I just love that classical music is such an emphasis in your writing!!!! I love to write about classical music too, even though I’d not describe myself as a musician by any means. I guess I’m just around for listening and learning about each composer’s careers. 😅
In my current WIP, my MMC is a “retired” opera singer, so it’s rather fun to describe his lovely baritone voice (based on Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau’s voice 🥰). My FMC plays the piano, but she wouldn’t say she does well, because the only practice she’s had for the past few years is playing folk songs in a gambling house. It’s still fun to describe her frustrated “tripping” on the keys every now and again.
Which, on their like and dislike lists, since you asked 😜:
Heimerich (MMC) likes the moon, opera, nighttime, singing, writing music, and fancy things, and he dislikes his parents (so sad, but that’s a whole story), people who pry into his business, the new moon, and questions. Celimine (FMC) likes her rag rabbit doll, legends and myths, hearing Heimerich sing, and asking questions, and she dislikes the dark, gambling houses… Man, my mind’s gone blank. 😛
Do you have any specific classical pieces that inspired your story, Saraina? Mine were two opera arias: “O Du Mein Holder Abendstern”, a baritone aria by Wagner, and Rusalka’s Song to the Moon, a soprano aria by Dvorak!
Speaking of opera, I think you should keep Roriotti’s name as is! It makes me think of Luciano Pavarotti. 😊
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Ahhhh, I love that you love writing about classical music too!!! *high five* Oh my, I bet his voice would be fun to describe, and her piano-playing!
GIRL. Your characters sound AMAZING. 😱 Is that story related to Ode of Espionage? Please publish it one day!!!
(And, my mind actually went blank when I started on Gillory’s dislikes too, for whatever reason! I guess I don’t spend much time thinking about them XD)
That’s such a good question! Beethoven’s Sonata Pathétique inspired me, but other than that, really just any Mendelssohn and Beethoven piece. Some Gabriel Faure and Mozart, too. 🎶 That’s so cool! Are those arias ever sung in your story?
*gasps* You do? Yay!!! I kinda want to keep it, so I’m glad you agree!
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Thank you! No, this story isn’t related to my short story. 😅 I had this idea a couple of autumns ago, before I even thought of the SACM. I do hope to publish it! This story means so much to me. 🥰
Yes, Heimerich sings “O du mein Holder Abendstern” at a burial… It fits the moment and the story so well, I love it. As for the other one, no, because it was composed a few years after my story is set, and it’s in a language my opera singer characters don’t sing in. But hearing the aria helped me so much to set the mood of my story, especially with the relationship between Heimerich and another character, Lenora. (I will not say too much about Lenora… MAJOR spoilers.)
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Haha, gotcha! Ooh, you’d better publish it! I’m already dying to read it! 😉
Augh, that scene must have been so amazing to write. 😍 That’s so cool! (*raises an eyebrow at the mention of spoilers* Indeed, indeed… 👀)
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Great post! I love all the facts haha!!
I like the name Roriotti personally, sounds Italian 😂 so I’d keep it unless he isn’t Italian xP
I sometimes describe music in my stories but rarely. Partly because music isn’t a large part of my stories.
My main character’s likes and dislikes are so vast I won’t even begin to get into them here xP (been working on this story for over 6 years now) a couple likes are peaceful environments and nature, and a couple dislikes are pressure being put on him, and being ignored/overlooked.
I used to play piano when I was in school. My favorite pieces were Op 15 No 1 & 7 by Robert Schumann. Played them for a high school competition and got the highest score. I also like playing the first few stanzas of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata xP
And no, I don’t usually find character inspiration from celebrities. Usually it’s just a vibe or the story calls for a character or I get an idea for a backstory (usually tragic 😝) that I want to write a character to. Or a manga picture on Pinterest that inspires me to make a character based off the image 😂 that’s rare tho.
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Aww, thank you so much, Kay!!! ❤
THANK YOU! And lol, he is Italian, so I'm glad it sounds like that! 😂
I must say, those are very relatable likes and dislikes. XD You must know your character so well, having worked on the story for over 6 years! 😍 I love that!
Wow, girl, congrats on getting the highest score! I've actually been wanting to learn those pieces by Schumann! And I'm slowwwwwly making my way through the Moonlight Sonata 🤣
Yes!!! I don't usually find inspiration from celebs either, but it just happened that I'd found two people who vaguely reminded me of my characters for this story 😆 Hehe, yes, we must have the tragic backstories!
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❤️❤️
Oh good! I’d keep it then!
IKR 😂 Yup, I’m actually currently working on a character info sheet for him XD Thank you!
Thank you! Oh you should!! They’re so pretty and honestly not TOO hard to play. Op 15 No 7 is harder bc of the rolls and stuff, but it’s really fun!
Oh wow! I only made it three-fourths the way through the first movement of Moonlight before I graduated. Are you going to play the third movement? That one sounds SO HARD!
I definitely get that! I do sometimes get inspiration for my characters’ looks from photos! But usually it’s more manga style xD
Yesss the tragic backstories… our characters hate them but we love them 😂🤦🏻♀️
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I think I will! 😁
Hahaha, that’s awesome! XD
Gotcha! Oooh, now I want to play Op 15 No 7 first because it’s harder. 😛 (that’s how my brain works 😂) Oh, girl, to play the third movement would be a dream come true. It looks sooo impossible though. *sobs* I’ll just try to get through the first two movements before even attempting that! 😂
Yes!!!
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I love this.
I just can’t wait to read Gillory, Saraina! Writing about musicians is honestly so much fun. All the metaphors and pretty words that we get to use to describe it. (That quote was so pretty!)
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Thank you so much!!! Isn’t it? *sighs blissfully* And I know we’re on the same page, because I definitely got a lot of inspiration from Molly in Untold 🥰 (Aww, thank you!! 😊)
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AH I LOVE THIS POST AND GETTING TO KNOW MORE ABOUT YOUR STORY. And those snippets… girl, it’s not fair that’s all I get. I NEED MORE!!! That’s crazy about that dude’s last name, but at least you don’t have to worry about someone accidentally having the same name as your character. (Plus, it could just be that Google knows your story is the awesomest ever and deserves to show up first in searches!! 😉 And I bet Jonah Hauer-King would do a cool job at Ean because I loved his role as Laurie in the tv series of Little Women!
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AHH THANK YOU ISSABELLE!!! 💞 Awww! How’s this – I’ll give you more snippets in exchange for more snippets from Don’t Let Me Go. 😏 *cackles* Lol, that’s very true! (AWW. 😆) Oh my, I totally forgot he’d acted as Laurie in that tv series! Did you like the series? I haven’t watched it, but kinda want to!
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YOU’RE WELCOME SARAINA!!!!! ah, you drive a hard bargain. Now I’m going to have to find the coolest sneak peek ever exclusively just for you. 😏 I actually liked it a lot more than I thought I would! I will admit that I enjoyed the 2018 movie better, but I also kinda haven’t read Little Women so I’m not the best critic on the film adaptions. *hides*
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You’d better! 😛 Oh, awesome! Lol, I watched LOTR before ever reading it, so you’re not the only one who’s committed that unpardonable offense. 🤣 (But you need to read it someday! 😉 )
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I’m actually halfway done a short story that has music at its core, and I’m enjoying it so much. I love music, and piano especially. My FMC, Ayliana, is the pianist (and I’ve been working to compose her song on my own piano).
“The keys were familiar, all in their right places, and the dust slid from them to coat her fingers. She closed her eyes, letting the music express all the inexpressible feelings inside her.”
My MMC, Erich, abandoned his old life to translate the works of Virgil into English.
“Another storm. That was the third one in five days. He closed his eyes as the drumming became steady, the sound washing through him like the voice of peace.
But the peace never reached deep enough. Hitting the iron gate of his conscience, it would look in sadly, then steal away weeping.”
When it comes to writing, I love playing my own songs. But David Nevue’s simple-yet-beautiful sheet music is lovely.
Feel free to keep the name Roriotti (even though it makes me think of biscotti. XD) What’s the fun of always using names everyone know?
I looked up Ayliana and apparently it was the 12,117th most popular name in 2021. Hmm…
I LOVE that little snippet from Ean! So beautiful!
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*gasps* You are?! That is SO exciting!!! (Oh, how is that going – composing her song on your piano? I’m thinking about doing that for my own character!) Mmm, those snippets are lovely! *chef’s kiss* So full of emotion! 😭
Oh, interesting…I haven’t heard of him! I should look him up!
(LOL, biscotti 🤣 That’s sooo funny!) You know what, that’s true! It’s fun using obscure names 😛
Wow! XD It’s such a pretty name, that’s for sure!
Aww, thank you so much!!! ❤
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The piano composition is going … slow. 🙂 I’m having trouble getting the feel that I would like. But I do have some definite parts. I’d love to hear your song if you write one!
Yes, look up David Nevue! His songs are some of my favourite for writing, especially his album Open Sky.
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Hey, that’s amazing you have some definite parts! Great job, girl! I can relate though – I’m so intimidated to try composing my character’s song because there’s so much to live up to. I mean, I’m not as talented as *her* 😂
I shall look him up! Thank you for that rec!
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