LOOK FOR THE FLARES // a post-Camp NaNo update

YOU GUYS. 

I have very exciting news. 

I FINISHED THE FIRST DRAFT OF LOOK FOR THE FLARES.

*excessive squealing and happy air-punching*

As you might remember, Look for the Flares was my 2021 NaNoWriMo novel. I wrote 50k and then took a break, intending to return to it and finish it soon. Long story short, I barely touched it until April. XD

So, when Camp NaNo rolled around, I knew I REALLY wanted to finish this book. For one, I wanted to get it done by Realm Makers. Not that I'm pitching it or anything, but I do have a critique appointment I'll be taking the first ten pages to, and I just really wanted to have the whole thing done by then. Also- and I'm not proud of this- my motivation levels absolutely TANK after NaNo events. So, I knew that if I didn't finish it in April, I'd likely struggle to keep my momentum and get the rest of it written.

Also... I just REALLY wanted to see this book done. Like... REALLY. 

I set my word count goal for this April's Camp to 35k, but really the goal was just to finish my book. I think it was around 55/60k at the beginning of the month, and I usually finish my drafts at around 90k, so I just made a rough guess on the word count and figured I could adjust it later if I needed to. (spoiler alert: if I remembered correctly where I started, my word count for the month actually turned to be almost exactly 35k.)

Anyway... days and then weeks passed in April and I barely wrote anything. I became focused on writing short stories and neglected my novel. (this is a serious problem, y'all... I love writing flash fic and having things to submit places, but my novels are my first loves and I hate accidentally abandoning them.) BUT... if you've been around here at all during any NaNo month, you've learned that the way Emily rolls during NaNo is to procrastinate for the first two-thirds to three-fourths of the month, and then go into hyperdrive and write like a mad woman so I can meet my goal.

Is it healthy? Probably not. It works, though. XD

So, yeah, that's what happened this time around, too. Like I said, I barely touched this book the whole month. Then in the last third of the month I realized, oh hey, if I'm going to finish this book this month like I wanted to I need to actually write. 

So, I went into that hyperdrive mode. I lost track of my daily word counts and didn't care anymore because I just wanted to finish the book. I ate lots of dark chocolate. I did lots of word sprints. I drank a surprisingly small amount of coffee. (suspicious...)

Thursday, April 28, was a day spent mostly writing. I knew that it would be the last day of the month I'd be able to make a lot of progress, so I just went all in and wrote, wrote, wrote. In that one day, I:

- Made myself cry for the first time with my writing. (It was a fantastic moment. I was writing a scene that I'd been looking forward to writing for ages (and actually had already written a rough version of it just to get it off my mind), and listening to an amazing, emotional song that has become the theme song of this book... and before I knew it I was tearing up at my kitchen table, silent-sobbing at my characters' situation. was it happy? was it sad? wouldn't you like to know...)

- Broke my record for the amount of words written in one day. (I wrote 11947 words that day, taking the crown from 2020 Covid-bound me. xD)

- Surpassed my highest word count for any of my WIPs. (Look for the Flares is currently at 96931 words, making it the longest thing I've written!)

- And finished my first draft!!

Honestly, I feel different this time around than I have after finishing other drafts. Of course, no matter what story I'm working on, I always miss the characters when I'm done, and long to jump back into the world. But there's something different about this one. Maybe it's the more emotional nature of this book. Maybe, deep down, this is my favorite child. But I feel much like I do after coming through a rewatch of Lord of the Rings, or reading a book that wrecked me. It's always on my mind, and when I dwell on it too much, I think, oh my goodness, I miss it and I love it and I want to live in it and I need to get back in and experience it as soon as possible. 

Which brings me to my plans for this book, now that the first draft is done. It's now been a week since I finished it, and it's taken a significant amount of willpower not to just jump right back in and start on rewrites. But I knew I needed to step away for a bit, let my mind AND the book rest. 

The weird thing is, I don't think I've ever really gone right into round two of a WIP after finishing the first draft. In the past, I've let the book sit for months, worked on other things, and then come back to it later (usually when it was time for another Camp NaNo XD). But this time... I just feel so ready to move forward. My writer soul is so on fire for this book right now and I don't want to lose it. I can't explain to you guys how much I love this story and want to share it with the world. I simply can't wait to go back through and start answering questions, fixing plot holes, doing some much-needed worldbuilding, adding layers, and just deepening this thing and making it better. Because let me tell you, there is a BIG mess waiting for me. And I'm so excited to attack it. 

So, chances are my break from this book is pretty much over and you'll find me obsessing over it again shortly. Possibly today. XD If you would, say a prayer for me and this project, that the story and its purpose will come to life and God will meet me in the process. ♥

And that's the update! I sadly don't have any snippets for you today, because you do NOT want to experience any of this first-draft writing of mine from this past month. XD But you can bet I'll be sharing snippets and updates as I go back through this book, so get ready for that!

Thank you guys so much for sticking with me and encouraging me through this writing journey!! It means so much. Now, I want to know- how long do YOU wait after you finish a first draft before starting rewrites/whatever your second-draft process looks like?