#coffeh updates

[coffehbeans]

Novel Progress #1

Yeah that's right fellas, I'm writing a g/t "novel" ahush By novel I mean, multi-chapter story with outline, planning and all that.

Worldbuilding is half done! But there's still many small details I have to add ugh, painn

Anyway, my designer side spoke louder and I ended up making a moodboard for my story, so I think it'll be nice to share it to y'all as sneak peak hehe

(I added a color pallette for no reason at all lmao)

OKAY, fun question time: based on this moodboard, what do you guys think my story will be about? I wanna hear y'all's answers! (u can send me an anon ask too if u're shy)

[bestillandremember]

“Oh, you daft bat!”

April 21, 2019 (Sunday Evening) I’ve decided the title of each one of these posts are going to be my British phrase of the week. “Oh, you daft bat!” occurred today, as a fellow student and I were entering a very small church for Easter service. The woman who picked us up, Angela, was greeted by Bonnie, another member of the congregation, in an Easter egg hat and that was Angela’s reaction to it. There was instant laughter, and it was the best way I could have started my day. Well, a week has come and gone! Most of the students here are having a hard time processing that. Time that I initially thought crawled by is already propelling forward at an alarming rate. The first 7 days have been a little unique, and filled with a lot of adjustment. So now that we’re settled in, jet lag has faded, and we’re able to focus on the budding friendships, all we are hoping for is more. More time. More hours in the day to lay out in the grass and read. Longer curfews and later wake up times for extended conversations. Additional outings and opportunities to explore this piece of paradise nestled along the coast within the English countryside. I’m sure it comes as no surprise that I’m absolutely in love with this country. I had only really seen it in movies, and I always wondered if it was accurately depicting the England I imagined. It’s always a pleasant surprise when reality surpasses the dream, but no picture I take can truly do it justice. Every drive consists of lots of green, endless rolling hills, livestock, flowers, and even the occasional ocean. The air is fresh and alive, with an acceptable hint of the resident sheep, cows, and horses.The rural cottage style housing is all over, even in the big cities, brick and wood paneled houses line every street. Each one seems to have a old-fashioned almost medieval door, a nook cozily shaded by sheer lace curtains, and ivy crawls across most entry ways. I’d move into any or all of them in a heartbeat. On top of that, I’m surrounded by all my favorite accents of all time. For those of you who think I’m going to come back with one- don’t worry. There are too many here to develop a single one. The accents of the most obvious, those from Britain, vary among the students and staff from Lancaster, Manchester, Liverpool, Yorkshire, and London. Some are smooth and soothing, others are so thick you nearly have to translate. Then there is 75% of the entire country of Canada here, battling it out for which part of it is the most legit, and whether ending a sentence with “eh?” or “hey?” is correct. After that, there are German, Irish, French, Austrian, Brazilian, Danish, Swiss, Australian, South African, South Korean, and Spanish students. Talk about a melting pot! I’ve been writing down words and terms I’ve heard that just fill me with pure joy every time I hear them and while there are too many to count, I’ll share some. Everyone says my name differently, and I love it. They use the word “loo” for bathroom regularly, and instead of replacing a thought that is slipping with “um” they say “ehm”. Those with particularly thick accents release us to get “teh and coffeh” every morning. A speaker called someone a “cheeky monkey” in class the other day. My roommate, who is from Belfast says “wee” all the time, especially when we take “wee little naps”. Many of them use the word “flip” to replace a curse word, and I just about lost it when that same roommate exclaimed, “Oh for flips sake!” in her wee little Irish accent. Oh, and they call snacks “nibbles”. Safe to say I’m happy being here. I’ve been able to distance myself from the daily worries of home, and focus inward. As of yesterday, I’ve cut off communications with home for a bit, aside from sites and apps I can post updates on. Mostly because I found I began every day with a dose of a life I’m thousands of miles away from, checked up on it throughout the day, and ended with it at night. My mind and heart got pulled back daily, to things that don’t need or deserve my attention, even as this incredible place called out to me to join it completely. So don’t take it personally if I don’t respond, it’s been an incredible feeling to disconnect and I’ve already felt a weight lifted and doors open because of it. Friday, we had our first of two “Family Nights”. This is when our small family groups and leaders meet and do something together, usually away from school. Ours went to Morecombe Bay, and strolled the boardwalk along the beach and took silly pictures. You’ll be able to see many of them in my Capernwray 2019 album now, but it’s safe to say we had lots of fun. So many laughs and stories that I plan on bringing home from that one evening on the coast and Dino’s flat where we talked, played games, and ate baked apple strudel (best said in a German accent) with ice cream. Such a simple night, but truly memorable. We went to the city of Keswick (pronounced Kezzick) Saturday, and spent the day surrounded by gorgeous lakeside views and hundreds of dogs. They were literally everywhere, at least 5 in sight at all times. Felt like actual heaven. I was legitimately amazed at the amount of off leash activity though, felt so different from back home. Very laid back and a lot of trust was extended, not just with other dogs, but with the community to respect boundaries. Spent most of my time with a married couple named Melissa and Jonny, who are from Canada and learned all about their story, and their plans to serve missionaries as a pilot for MAF after school. Incredible couple and individuals, not to mention very easy to talk to and get to know! Definitely people that are able to form fast friendships, and I’m very grateful to have been one of them! Easter Sunday was one for the books. I went to Warton Methodist Church, a congregation of maybe 20-30 people, of which we were the youngest by maybe…40 years. You might think, “Oh, she’s just exaggerating,” and while I appreciate a flair for the dramatic, there is none needed to describe this wonderful place. Our names were printed in their programs, and they welcomed us into their small family with open arms, and tea and biscuits. We met Elsie, Norman, Paul, Bonnie, Polly, Russell, and a few more who chatted with us, complimented our accents (what?), and shared their stories as well as their church home. It couldn’t have been more different from home, and I loved every second of it. There is so much more I could write about. So many conversations and friendships with people that I am just so genuinely grateful for. The support, love, and friendship I’ve received from my roommates even in first week is unparalleled. Purposeful. This place is intentional. Not a minute goes by wasted, and it’s such a refreshing feeling. I’m surrounded by constant reminders of Love beyond this world, Love that won’t fail or disappoint. Love that heals, and Love that chooses me every day. And the craziest thing is- this is just the beginning! See you next week,

Mal

[coffehbeans]

Novel Update #2

I figured that if I do this every week, it'll help me keep my novel progress steady, while also not taking much of my time

Not much was done this week. I researched about the fictional city's climate and a bit of weather but haven't finished it, and that's it. I still need to fill out some details about the fictional city and then some details about a specific worldbuilding point that I can't spoil. Only then, will the basic worldbuilding be finished and I'll be able to continue the main character's profile.

Phew, real life is hectic rn. Wish me luck!

[coffehbeans]

Me: Ah, Webtoon is nice. It'd be so fun if it had another g/t comic

Webtoon: recommends me THIS

Me: *spits my coffee*

[coffehbeans]

Ah, deviantart, the place for the best g/t stories, but also the place where authors disappear never to come back again...

[coffehbeans]

Novel Update #4

There was no novel update last week, but that's because I forgot lmao

This week there'll be no novel update either. I need to take a break from it, understand better where I want to go with the story. I think the worldbuilding is already enough for me to develop character profiles. Ethan is the heart of this story and I want him to feel as much of a real person as possible.

One thing I did last week though was deciding what rating to give to my book. Because of an experimental body horror-ish scene I have written, I thought about rating it up for mature audiences. But looking back, I think that scene was really too over the top and unnecessary, so I'll tone it down by a lot. So the book is most likely gonna be YA, although I want to aim it towards older teens at least, but mostly for young adults, really.

So yeah, that's basically what I did last week. Half finished what I had planned for the worldbuilding, but it's enough to start the character profiles, and thought about making my book for mature audiences but decided against it cause the heavy scenes were too over the top, and they didn't fit with the tone I wanted for my book. Anyway, that's about it!

[coffehbeans]

I’m getting busier everyday but I still want to post frequently hhhh I think I’ll make a new goal of posting a story every two weeks. My next story is with an incomplete first draft, hopefully I have enough time on Sunday to finish writing it!

[coffehbeans]

Tales from Immers has three main characters, that was my decision from the very beginning ever since I was writing it as a short story

But now that I'm outlining it, it's clear how much I undermined the complexity that is writing about three main characters at once

Help :,)

[coffehbeans]

Novel Progress #3

Pain. Just, pain.

I did quite a lot of work this time, yet there's still so much to do it feels endless. I'll leave some little bits out to think about later, when I make the more detailed outline or scene cards. Right now, I think what I created and researched for the main city of my novel is enough.

Now, there's just something else I need to write down, which I'll probably leave for next week. And then finally, FINALLY, I'll be able to complete Ethan's character profile (he's the protagonist).

Boy. I didn't know how much I disliked worldbuilding until now. It's best to take each step at a time so you don't feel overwhelmed.

I'm not even gonna talk about the whole "writing things in your secondary language" aspect. Sometimes I found myself doing mistakes like writing "justificate" instead of "justify" LMAO And since I decided to base the whole novel in the US, there's a whole bunch of extra cultural research that I had to make.

Anyway, on a complete different note, there's a scene from the novel, a very tense scene, that I was eager to write for WEEKS and I finally did it. I can't tell anything because they're huge spoilers, but I'm so happy that I finally let the words out of my brain. So I've been writing that single scene during the weekdays.

Anyway this got too long, that's all for now!

[coffehbeans]

You guys might be wondering "Coffeh, what happened with your writing prompts?" (Jk y'all prob aren't wondering a thing lmao)

Idek how to explain why I went into writing hiatus for two months, but just a quick update for y'all:

Royalty part 3 with Estelle and Alaric is being written, just veery slowly, because I lost inspiration towards this specific story. But I will post part 3, it might be the last of them for now, but it'll be long and it'll arrive.

I'm leaving the prompts behind to write a full story :) General outline is finished, main character profile is finished, secondary characters profile, scene cards, first draft and more worldbuilding still needs to be done. But just know that it's a big project and I can't wait to show you guys! It'll be a few months tho until the first chapter is posted. But I guess I can tease it: it's modern world with a bit of science fiction, and it explains the origins of my g/t "society" and its universe. It'll be three books (if I decide to continue the first one), each one happening in a different time at the same universe. I can't wait to start the first draft of book one!

All in all, I hope you're all fine. Meanwhile y'all can enjoy my reblogs ^^