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? 

THE MUSIC OF ONCE UPON (meet my wip's playlist)

What happens when you forget that you switched posting days? 

You also forget to write a post, and realize you're going to have to post it last minute. THEN you don't post it at all because you've spent hours working on your blog design (*coughcough*) and are sick of looking at a screen. THEN the next week you forget AGAIN that you need to post, and end up still posting late.

Me. I did all that. xD Bear with me, folks, I don't do change well.

BUT ANYWAY. That is not the topic of this post- it's actually much more fun. (At least, I think so.)

I recently read through my current WIP, Once Upon, and wrote down pages and pages of revision notes. It was SUCH  fun time going through it and reliving the story and falling in absolute LOVE with these characters again because did I mention that I LOVE THEM?? (I don't know what it is, y'all. but these characters are my babies and I can't get over how much I love them.)

If you know me, you know that I LOVE making music playlists to go along with each of my stories. And since I'm working on Once Upon right now and this music has been on my mind, I thought I'd share a few of the songs from my playlist- as well as their meaning to the story and some of my favorite lyrics! 

"Happily Ever After" by Jordan Fisher and Angie Keilhauer

Okay, first of all, this song is seriously awesome and you need to listen to it ASAP. 

It fits this story SO well, because Once Upon (as well as the whole series it's the beginning of) is all about rediscovering the magic of fairy tales, embracing the reality that they exist, and- of course- happily ever afters. One of my favorite lines of the song just about gives me chills: "The battles, the stories, the losses and all the glories..." Because that's what Trentley and Jynnia are experiencing. They're learning firsthand about all the wonderful things that happened years ago in fairy tales. They're seeing history come to life.

This song could be the theme to this entire series. 

"Ever Ever After" by Carrie Underwood

I mean, of course. "Storybook endings, fairy tales coming true..." Again, that could be the theme song of the whole story. And then "Deep down inside, we want to believe they still do." That's Jynnia. She hears the stories of how magic may have existed in the past, how fairy tales may have actually happened, and she hopes and believes with all her heart that they actually did, because what a wonder that would be.

"Never Gonna Let You Down" by Colbie Caillat

The great thing about this story is that I can include love songs in the playlist! Most of my books don't have a romance at the forefront, so I never really need any love songs. It's been really fun putting them into this one.

While this particular song doesn't strictly have to be a love song, it works so well for Trentley and Jynnia. They're always there for each other; they complement each other and build each other up. This is such a sweet song of putting your all into a relationship and it makes me smile when I think Trentley and Jynnia. 

"Today Was A Fairytale" by Taylor Swift

Again... of COURSE this had to be on the list. Because not only is it fairy tale-themed, but it's a sweet love song that just makes me want to write allll the Trentley and Jynnia scenes. 

"Speechless" by Naomi Scott

You guys know how much I love this song from THIS post, so I was happy to be able to include it in this playlist. It works because this book is the springboard to a whole series where Trentley and Jynnia are trying to show the injustice of magic being outlawed, and doing what they can to bring it back to life. Jynnia is quite spunky and outspoken, so it's safe to say that she doesn't often go speechless; this song was a perfect addition to represent her passion for what she's fighting for and her determination to make a change. If Jynnia has a theme song, this is it.

1000 Years by KT Tunstall and Bleu

This one just about gives me chills. Again, it's a love song, so of course it's for Trentley and Jynnia. But what makes it so perfect for this story is the theme of a thousand years. No, that particular number isn't a theme in the story... but it's about fairy tales resurfacing after many years of being hidden in the past. It's about not letting their legends die because people are afraid of magic. And it's about Trentley and Jynnia's love lasting through trials and tribulations. 

So, this song is a beautiful promise that Trentley and Jynnia's love will last forever, and in 1000 years, perhaps people will be telling their story just as they do the fairy tale romances of old. 

Remember Me by Ivan Torrent

I've mentioned this song before. It's super beautiful, first of all, and I've come to love Ivan Torrent's music because it's so dreamy and epic and magical all at the same time- and it's great to write to. 

This song in particular is so perfect because the lyrics are a plea to remember the past. "Once upon a time there was a charming prince..." "Please remember it..." I mean, come on. How could this not be on this playlist? 

And that's it! There are a bunch of other songs on this playlist, but I could talk about them forever so I won't go there. xD If you haven't heard any of these songs, go listen to them!! This playlist is so fun and magical, and really gets me excited about this story. Funny thing, though... I rarely actually listen to it while I'm writing. Every now and then I will, but lately I've been needing to listen to just music when I write, because lyrics distract me. xD So, usually I'll end up listening to it when I'm driving to and from work (which results in a long, miserable day of missing my characters). 

Speaking of the story... happy Camp NaNoWriMo! July's Camp sneaks up on me every. year, and I was completely unprepared. Hehe. This month I'll be working on... you guessed it... Once Upon! It's time for revisions, so me and my pages of notes are going to become real good friends these next few weeks. (or enemies. I mean, it could go either way.)

And one more thing... *casually points up* I redid my blog header! And renamed my blog! *confetti* 

I LOVED "The Ones That Really Matter". It came straight from of my favorite books, from the mouth of one of my absolute favorite fictional characters. 

But... it was time to let it go. (Sort of.) I wanted a tagline that was a little more original, and I wanted to make my name more prominent on my blog. (which sounds super narcissistic but you guys know what I mean. xD) I came up with "Words That Really Matter" as a way to keep my original tagline alive, while also putting my own spin on it. We're all writers and/or readers here- so I don't think I need to explain to you all what I mean by words mattering. And since this blog is like a big conglomeration of things that matter to me, I think it's fitting. I hope you guys like it too! < 3

I hope you all have a most lovely July! Let me know if you're doing Camp NaNoWriMo! *cheers you on anyway*

Do you make writing playlists? Do you listen to them when you write or at other times? Any recommendations for great writing music? And who's doing Camp NaNo? Tell me about your project!

APRIL 2020

Another month, come and gone, and a new month has arrived. It happens so fast, doesn't it?

I don't know about you guys, but April kind of went by in a blur for me. (I blame it on Camp NaNo xD) I can't believe it's already over and May is here. o.o Hopefully that means the ACTUAL end of gloomy weather and sunshine is here to stay! (except, y'know, not forever. I still love me some rain.)

BUT ANYWAY it is time to recap the month. READ ON, FRIENDS. 

I only read two books (or maybe two and a half??) in April. *sigh* They were amazing (I'm still on my reread of the Out of Time series), but I do wish I was reading a little faster! Granted, this month was consumed with writing (yay!) so I spent most of my waking moments doing that, but still. I remember when I could finish a book in two days. *cries* HOW DOES ONE HARNESS TIME.

I also got quite a few new books this month and I'm pretty happy about that. xD I got Unblemished by Sara Ella, Rising Shadows by Ashley Townsend, The Story Raider by Lindsay Franklin (I don't have The Story Peddler yet but this one was FOUR DOLLARS so I couldn't pass it up), The Book of Secrets by M.L. Little, Porch Swing Girl by Taylor Bennett, and Captives by Jill Williamson. I also won an ARC of Dust by Kara Swanson???!! I haven't received it yet, but I'm so excited!!

This isn't exactly a reading thing (maybe I should change the title of this segment to "Bookish"?? xD), but I got two candles from Pixie Dust and I am IN. LOVE. (I don't have a picture of both of them, but I got the Romanov one and the Wood Between the Worlds one and they smell SO. GOOD. And they're so prettyyyy.)

It was Camp NaNo month!! *cheers*

My goal this month was to finish the first draft of Once Upon. And guys: I DID IT!

I have no idea why Mark Ruffalo is dancing with a Muppet, but could I pass it up? No.

You know that feeling when you're soo close to finishing a book but it just keeps going on and on...?
That's what happened here. xD I knew the end was in sight, I knew what had to happen, but I got to a point where I just had to keep writing and writing and threading these important scenes together and IT GOT KIND OF EXHAUSTING. But I made it through and I finished!! Once Upon is officially drafted!

My final word count was 92, 585. 50,000-some odd words of that were written last November, and I wrote 42k in April. o.o I can't believe I wrote that much honestly?? Like that's almost a whole other NaNo. I don't really know how I'm still alive.

And can I just say that I was torturing myself by torturing my characters there toward the end? xD It got to the point where I was almost mad at myself (key word: almost) for the stuff they were going through. Especially my precious boy Trentley! *protects him at all costs* *except doesn't because I'm the writer and I will therefore torture him*

I'm going to miss Trentley and Jynnia, but I'm so excited to move on to my next big project! I plan to start rewrites/edits/whatever the heck needs to be done on Roots to Claim next and I AM SO EXCITED. I loved spending April fully immersed in Once Upon, but I joked a few weeks ago about lusting after other stories and, well, that's what's been happening. I can't stop thinking about Roots to Claim and I can't wait to get back into it and reunite with my boys Archlan and Quinard and make myself emotional all over again.

COLLEGE THINGS ARE HAPPENING, PEOPLE. And I'm not a fan. xD

I officially have my schedule for this fall, which doesn't even feel real? I keep forgetting, but the reality is that I start college in three months. o.o I'm not ready? Yet I'm also ready? It's weird. xD Please pray for me as I start this new venture!

The last weekend of the month was something I'd been very, very eagerly anticipating and counting down the days for... an event that got cancelled. -_- Well, not cancelled exactly, but postponed until July. I'm glad it's still happening (and I fully supported it being postponed), but WOW it was frustrating when the days I'd waited so long for arrived for nothing. xD BUT I still had an amazing weekend. I had taken off from work for the event, so I had four days straight at home. (That NEVER happens.) I did some reading, some cleaning, some baking, (okay this is sounding like Tangled?? 100% unintentional but I'm 200% okay with it xD) and SO MUCH WRITING. I honestly don't know if I would have finished Once Upon if it hadn't been for that weekend.

THE MOST EXCITING THING HAPPENED THIS MONTH WHICH I HAVE ALREADY FLAILED ABOUT BUT WE'RE DOING IT AGAIN. THE HAVOK: SEASON TWO ANTHOLOGY CONTAINING MY STORY RELEASED.

I'm so excited about this and I can't believe it's real! I can't wait to have a print copy in my hands. I've been published in a magazine before (yeaaaars ago) but this is different. It's a legit book. I'll be able to say that I have a story ON MY BOOKSHELF.  (Aaand the fact that I'm IN A BOOK WITH JILL WILLIAMSON is pretty darn cool, too. I haven't read any of her books yet but I've been following Go Teen Writers for years so this is just insane.)

*squee*

I went to the Facebook launch party for the anthology (literally created a FB account just for the occasion xD), and it was so much fun! I highly recommend going to the next one if they do it for the next anthology. It was a blast to hang out with the other authors and celebrate all the stories.

Also, the anthology release was the same day I finished writing my book. So that was a really good day. ;D

Have some laughs!

Okay but can I just say how much I am LOVING this channel?? XD Their videos are HILARIOUS and that DISNEY QUARANTINE SONG VIDEO. The whole thing's great, but the end had me DYING. Tangled fans, this one's for us. ;)

YOU ALSO NEED TO WATCH THESE BECAUSE THEY ARE HYSTERICAL:

What I've been listening to:

Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship // this is one of my new favorite songs IT'S JUST SO GOOD GUYS
Separate Ways by Journey // I got on a bit of an 80s kick and I ain't done yet xD
Disney music // I know that's not very specific but I've been listening to a lot of Disney music xD I listened to the whole Tarzan soundtrack for the first time and IT'S SO GOOD
Brandon and Derek Fiechter // I discovered these fairy tale/fantasy instrumentals on YouTube and it was PERFECT to listen to while writing Once Upon! Definitely look them up, they have a ton of amazing music. (They're on Spotify too!)

I've also been listening to Nadine Brandes' playlist for A Time to Die because um YES I NEED MUSIC TO MATCH THIS BOOK. I haven't quite made it through the whole playlist, but it's perfect. (There are also playlists for the rest of the series! And Fawkes! And Romanov! *heart eyes to all of it)

Oh and on that note: I GOT SPOTIFY PREMIUM. And WOW I'm loving it already! It's so much easier to make playlists than it is on YouTube, and there are no ads. xD

Aand that was my April! It was a good month, with a fantastic finale. I'm so ready to move on to May and see what it holds! I'm excited to keep writing (because I'm totally in a writing mood right now and I just want to plow through and write ALL THE THINGS), reading, praying, and growing. LET'S ROCK THIS MAY, GUYS.

How was your April?? Wrimos, what's the verdict on the first Camp NaNo of 2020? What's some music you've been enjoying lately?

CAMP NANO 2020: THE FIRST TEN DAYS

Happy Easter weekend, everyone!

As you probably know, this month is Camp NaNoWriMo. I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I was working on Once Upon this April, with plans to finish up the first draft.

If you didn't know, Once Upon is the fantasy novel I wrote the first 50k of last November. I hadn't TOUCHED it since November 21st, when I won NaNo and starting sleeping again. (lol I wish I was joking but NaNo '19 destroyed me) Today I thought I'd give you a little recap of my first ten days of
Camp NaNoWriMo!

I wasn't originally planning on doing one of these posts, so I don't have updates for each day past the word count. Go, un-preparedness. So... enjoy said daily word count.

Day One: 72 words
Day Two: 370 words
Day Three: 12 words
Day Four: 85 words
Day Five: 1244 words
Day Six: 1519 words
Day Seven: 1213 words
Day Eight: 14 words
Day Nine: 1676 words
Day Ten: 176 words

Total: 6351 words

And overall, the whole book is currently at 56,545 words.

It's obvious that some days I'm only writing so I can say I wrote that day. Not that that's a bad thing-- writing a few words means you wrote SOMETHING and that's better than nothing. (And that's how you make a habit!) But I've been putting off writing until the last minute and then realizing I don't have time to reach my ideal word count for the day. And that, my friends, is how you end up writing 12 words. xD

I've been a LITTLE disappointed with how the story is (or isn't) flowing. I expected to roll back into it pretty well, but there HAVE been a few times when I've just sat there staring at the screen for a good while. If you didn't know, more often than not I'm a hardcore pantser, and this go-round is no exception. We going into each writing session with less knowledge of what's going to happen than the neighbor's dog.

It's unpredictable but it makes for an entertaining time. xD

I DO realize that on those days when I wrote 1k+ words, said words flowed a little better. When I allow myself extra time, I can get deeper into the story and it'll tend to tell itself more easily, rather than me trying to force out words to meet a quota.

Also, remember how I said I hadn't touched my story since November? Yeah, it really showed when I started trying to write. xD I opened up my story, went to where I had left off, and immediately realized I was in big trouble.

Fortunately, I was able to stumble my way back to the present and get back into the mindset for the story. xD I had to skim back over what I'd written last year, which I definitely should have BEFORE April 1 (lol look at me always prepared), buuut I survived.

However, while I was SUPPOSED to hyper-focused on finishing Once Upon, the unthinkable happened: I started thinking about another story.

Yeah. I know.

See, when I finish the first draft of Once Upon, I was already planning to either go back and edit it, or edit Roots to Claim. And after I made those plans I started daydreaming about Roots to Claim, and realized how much I missed it and how it would definitely be the story I work on after Camp. And then I started thinking about its playlist. And then I started thinking about the characters and started getting emotional.

BASICALLY I JUST GOT MYSELF IN A BIG OL' MESS.

No, I'm not abandoning Once Upon. But I do feel like I'm cheating on it by lusting after another story. xD

So, yeah. That's a thing that's happening. I'm still enjoying working on Once Upon (have I mentioned before that I love Trentley and Jynnia with all my heart???), but, well, I'm kind of ridiculously excited about getting back to Roots to Claim when I'm done. but you didn't hear that from me please don't tell my wip

Aaand that's how the first third of my Camp NaNo has gone. xD In general, I feel it's going pretty well. BUT I also think I'm really going to have to kick it into high gear in order to finish this draft this month. Because I have my goal set at 20k for the month, my brain keeps telling me I just need to make that goal in order to win Camp. But I sort of just set that goal as a placeholder, when in reality my goal is to finish the story, and who knows who far past 20k that could take me? I really don't expect it to be very long (Roots to Claim came out around 80k, I believe), but we'll see.

So, if you need me I'll be wildly typing away trying to finish this story without tearing my hair out.

(Also, if you're interested in checking them out, here are this story's Pinterest and playlist!)

On a final note, I hope everyone has a lovely Easter! It's going to be quite different this year, and it's going to be WEIRD not being in church OR with my whole family this year. But in reality, Easter's not about dinner or family or even church, right? It's about Jesus, and HE hasn't changed a bit.

How has Camp been going for all you Wrimos? Anybody else struggle with thinking about your other stories instead of the one you're working on? And how will YOUR Easter be different this year?