What’s Your WIP (AKA Entering My Scarlet Studies Era)

Hello everyone! I am a day late (sorry XP), but I’m super excited because today, I’m officially introducing you guys to my latest WIP… Scarlet Studies!  But first…. the rules.
Thank the person who tagged you & link to their blog. (Issabelle Perry did this a year ago and tagged anyone who wanted to do it, so here I am!)Link back to the creator, Katja @ Little Blossoms for Jesus, & add the tag graphic.List the rules.Answer the questions.Feel free to add snippets!Tag as many or as few people as you wish & let them know they’re tagged.Add a clean copy of the questions at the end of your post for the tagged. And now, without further ado… the questions, and my answers! 
Has your WIP a working title? If so, tell us! If not, have you any idea of what it might be?
The title for this WIP is based on the story I’m spinning off, which is A Study in Scarlet. Since my characters are in college, it felt appropriate to keep it similar. The title of my book is Scarlet Studies. Have you a synopsis for your WIP? If so, give it to us! If not, can you give us a blurb on what your WIP is about?
​Well, to avoid spoiling the whole book for you guys, I’ll just give you the rough blurb that I used in a few weeks ago.
To say that criminal studies major Joan Watson is a fish out of water might be an understatement. After eighteen years of putting up with her grief-stricken family, she moves from a small Detroit suburb to the bustling campus of San Diego State University. When she befriends Shea, a budding detective, and Toby, a cute but reserved theater nerd, she begins to feel like she has found her group of misfits. But when Toby’s precocious roommate is murdered and suspicion falls on his shoulders, Joan and Shea find themselves the next targets of a cold-blooded killer, with their mind bent on one thing: revenge.
Have you a working/mock cover for your WIP? If so, show us! If not, have you an idea in mind?
I’ve had some issues coming up with a mock cover for this WIP. The one I have right now is very rough and won’t be around for long, but it’s the best I could do in a 15-minute time frame.
How did you get the idea for this story?
It’s been so long since I started (we’re coming up on four years this summer). The gist of it is that I wanted to write a mystery story about two college girls. Because I don’t have the brainpower to come up with my own mystery, I decided to make it a spin-off of a Sherlock Holmes story. Scarlet Studies was originally meant to be a standalone novel based on Hound of the Baskervilles. But as I worked on the story, I kept coming up with side characters, subplots, and a whole other book idea, I decided to scrap my original idea and create a series.
How long do you think it will be? Is it longer or shorter than you thought it would be?
I’ve tried to write it several times (Shea and Joan were originally in high school in the first draft), but its current status is at a little over 2600 words. I’m aiming for a 60K novel, but we’ll see what happens. Who’s your favourite character so far?
My favorite character right now is Joan, because with a few exceptions, I relate to her out of all my characters the most. At the time I invented Joan’s character, I was going through a season of depression and wanted to write about a character who felt the same way. And as I learned to heal and grow, so did Joan. What’s your favourite memory related to this WIP?
One of my favorite memories is when I went to Ramona, CA, in 2022 for Christmas with my grandparents. Among many other reasons for going (Christmas being a huge one), I got to do some research on places where I wanted my characters to go when they weren’t doing school. My characters go to San Diego State, and Ramona is about a 20-minute drive from the San Diego metro, so I got to see some cool sights and brainstorm whenever we went to the city for something. 
Any special person(s) who helped create it?
As always, my best friend and writing buddy AG was there to help me brainstorm some scenes. I also invited Katja Labonte (see above for her amazing blog!) to help me work on my series outline. Both of these ladies are amazing creatives and I am privileged to have both helping me on this project.
What’s your favourite scene so far (if you can tell about it without spoilers!)?
​Ergh… Upcoming or already written? Since 95% of the book is unwritten at this point, we’ll have to go with upcoming. I have a date scene between Joan and her love interest (if you know you know) that I’m so excited to write, and I also have the epic showdown between Shea and the murderer much later on in the book. So excited for both!
Can you give us a snippet?
​I’m sharing the entire first chapter of Scarlet Studies on Friday in my newsletter, so subscribe if you want to see the whole thing! In the meantime, here is the beginnings of Chapter 1:
Make myself go to a counseling session. Now there’s something you don’t see n the average college sophomore’s to-do list. 
Luckily for me, I’m not your average sophomore
Around me, the smell of books is faint, but there. Ms. Hathcock’s walls are lined with bookshelves. One could easily mistake her counseling office for a library room. Everything from fantasy to science fiction, self-improvement to cooking books are stuffed and piled on her bookcases. I chose wisely, I guess. 
The door opens, and Ms. Hathcock walks into the room. She’s wearing a simple green shirt with black khakis and black sandals to match. Her most distinguishing feature is her hair. It’s a vibrant red color, much brighter than my own auburn hair. It’s wavy and has tons of volume; it reminds me of early 90s hair, except not nearly as badly crimped. Ms. Hathcock appears to be in her early fifties; she can’t be older than sixty. She gives me a wide smile as she walks past my chair and to a bookcase. “Are you a bookworm?” she asks as she rearranges some books back to their proper place. 
I nod. “I’ve always loved to read.” Lizzie always tried to talk me out of my somewhat chaotic reading habits, but she never succeeded. “I can get away from my world and worry about someone else in their own.” I at least know their story will have a happy ending.
Is the story still what you thought it would be or has it thrown you a couple curveballs?
​Oh.. I’ve had a ton of curveballs. When I started out in August of 2020, my characters were high school kids. Joan had a very different love interest, and Shea was just an ordinary girl with a penchant for solving mysteries. Since then, I’ve added several subplots, a completely different love interest for Joan, and a special cause I want to highlight later on in the series (more on that later). I’ve been able to retain the original story ideas, but everything around them has changed with the tide. XD Is there a Bible verse, poem, hymn, picture, or quote that helped shape this story?
​If ya’ll follow M.L. Milligan’s newsletter (and you totally should!), then you might recognize the quote for Scarlet Studies. I asked Mac if I could use it, and she said yes, so here it is! “Because, at least on a heart monitor, ups and downs mean you’re still alive.” I think this quote sums up the lives of Shea, Toby, and Joan so well, and I really like tying it to a book about a murder mystery (#ironyabounds). When and where have you done most of the writing so far?
I mainly do all of my writing at my computer, either at my desk in the living room or at my desk in my bedroom. (Right now I’m in the bedroom.) If I’m writing and I have to leave somewhere, I may take my notebook and write the scene(s) and transcribe it back into its central doc.
I usually write whenever I (push off school or) have time, which typically lands in the afternoons. 
Where do you get inspiration for this story?
​Everywhere… Pinterest, Facebook, random newsletters ;)... This book was also inspired by the BBC Sherlock series, which was a springboard for the murder itself in my book. And of course, the original and so much better written story, A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
When I started out writing, I used to be a plotter and ran out of writing energy when I was done outlining. I’m more of a plantser, which is a mix of both. When I get an idea, I will write out a rough synopsis that acts as my outline, and the major characters that I have to keep track of. (Some of them have a tendency to wander off. XD) I typically brainstorm scenes I want to feature (a kiss scene here, a fight scene there); I usually listen to music when I do this, in order to time my dialogue and action tags right. It’s kind of like directing parts of a movie. A neat trick I picked up from author Andrea Renee Cox is to outline what needs to be done with the story, depending on what I plan to do with it. For instance, for Scarlet Studies, my plans are: draft, self-edit, line edit (via a professional), send to beta readers, and then query the book to agents.  Do you have a little ritual before you start writing?
​I barely have time to write, let alone ritualize the process. XD I do grab my water bottle, phone, and speaker before heading off to write though. All of these help the drafting process to some degree. Are you thinking of publishing this story?
​Oh, I want this story published so badly! I have no idea what traditional publisher would pick it up, though. (And I’m not currently in the independent publishing market, so…)
What things have you learned while writing this story?
​Sometimes a story has to breathe. I started the idea in 2020 and wrote a few different drafts (AG can attest to this XD), but every time I started it, it never felt right. Sometimes the story needs to mellow before it’s ready to be written.
Alrighty, everyone, that's it! I hope you enjoyed this introduction to my book! Just an FYI, I am still working on Heart of a Warrior and have not abandoned Nia, Daelin, and Fenorin to their own devices (they'd probably end up killing each other in a fight if I left them alone for too long, to be honest XD). Below are the people I hereby tag to do the "What's Your WIP?" tag, as well as a small mood board I created for the book.
No, I am not writing a Twilight-Supernatural-Arrowverse-Doctor Who mashup. But I find it hilarious how these worlds could all potentially collide and still be somewhat believable. The Taggy TagsKatherine Perry at Teen Writer's Nook​Andrea Renee Cox at Andrea Renee CoxSaraina Whitney at Saraina Whitney And anyone else who's reading this! I'm tagging you to do this amazing tag. Let us know how it goes. ;) Here are the questions.Has your WIP a working title? If so, tell us! If not, have you any idea of what it might be?Have you a synopsis for your WIP? If so, give it to us! If not, can you give us a blurb on what your WIP is about?Have you a working/mock cover for your WIP? If so, show us! If not, have you an idea in mind?How did you get the idea for this story?How long do you think it will be? Is it longer or shorter than you thought it would be?Who’s your favourite character so far?What’s your favourite memory related to this WIP?Any special person(s) who helped create it?What’s your favourite scene so far (if you can tell about it without spoilers!)?Can you give us a snippet?Is the story still what you thought it would be or has it thrown you a couple curveballs?Is there a Bible verse, poem, hymn, picture, or quote that helped shape this story?When and where have you done most of the writing so far?Where do you get inspiration for this story?Are you a plotter or a pantser?Do you have a little ritual before you start writing?Are you thinking of publishing this story?What things have you learned while writing this story?
So... are you working on a WIP? What's it about? 
Until next week! 
​~Cate