beautiful books: a retelling of the juniper tree

So I’m participating in Beautiful Books, which is a NaNoWriMo link-up by Cait and Sky! This post is all about my novel I’ll begin in November.

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1. What inspired the idea for your novel, and how long have you had the idea? A friend was talking about how The Juniper Tree by the Brothers Grimm is her favorite fairy tale, and I read it and thought “this would be fun to write a retelling of!” This was only a few days ago, so fairly recently, but I’ve already started on world-building and stuff.
2. Describe what your novel is about! Magic trees, family, clever ideas, and murder.
3. What is your book’s aesthetic? Use words or photos or whatever you like!
4. Introduce us to each of your characters! There’s Tadge, the main character. He’s blunt, but he’s also sweet, and he’s more closely bonded with trees than anyone else. Then there’s Romi, his younger sister, who is more observant than she lets on and cares very much about her brother.
5. How do you prepare to write? (Outline, research, stocking up on chocolate, howling, etc.?) It kind of changes every time. For this project, I prepared by creating the setting first, with a little map and everything. I’ll need to research a bit on birds–which I need to do for another project too, actually–and maybe I’ll attempt an outline, but chocolate is a much higher priority.
6. What are you most looking forward to about this novel? The fact that it’s a fairy tale retelling. I haven’t ever properly written a fairy tale retelling, and so it’s going to be a lot of fun.
7. List 3 things about your novel’s setting.
   -the trees are magic
   -there’s conflict over whether the trees are sacrosanct or whether they should be used for gain
   -it’s an island country called Mögany
8. What’s your character’s goal and who (or what) stands in the way? Hmm . . . for now I’ll say his goal is life, and his stepmother is standing in the way. That might change as I flesh out the story, though.
9. How does your protagonist change by the end of the novel? Well, at some point he turns into a bird. That’s a change. And that’s all I’m saying. :P
10. What are your book’s themes? How do you want readers to feel when the story is over? Family, I guess, and . . . probably good-vs.-evil because that’s such a fun theme, honestly. I’d like readers to feel creeped out or thoughtful, either works.

MAGIC WORD OF THE DAY/WEEK/MONTH/WHATEVER:

Athanasy, which means deathlessness or immortality.

-THE END-