Somehow NaNoWriMo 2021 has come and gone in a blazing flurry, which means it is time for me to spill all my (many) thoughts on NaNo and writing Night’s Shattered Stars in general!

Hopefully you guys aren’t totally sick of hearing about this thing. *nervous laughter* Rest assured, this will be my last post rambling about this NaNo!

Today I’ll be answering the questions of my Know the Novel: Part 3 tag to show you just how insane I am give you an inside look at all my thoughts about writing this chaotic thing that claims to be a novel! WOOT, WOOT.

Let’s gooo!

NIGHT’S SHATTERED STARS

How did writing this novel go all around?

Mhmm. Yep. I think that sums up NaNo ’21 quite well.

This is kind of a hard question to answer because on the one hand, it went AMAZINGLY and I’m so happy I have this whole book written. On the other hand, I think I pushed myself waaay too hard and was exhausted for 99.97% of the month. So. Eheh.

I think one problem was that I was trying to compare this NaNo to last year’s. NaNo 2020 somehow ended up being the BEST NaNo I’ve ever had in my life. Being as how I’m writing in the same series, I guess I was hoping for a repeat of that NaNo, and this one just…wasn’t. But I think NaNos like that come only like once every 10 years. Seriously, there was something magical about last year. So I keep attempting to stop comparing the two and appreciate this NaNo for what it was, not what it wasn’t.

And what it was? Tiring, yes. But also a month filled to the brim with WORDS. And not just words, but revelations on so. many. things. I’ve gone so, so long not knowing the full scope of this series. I’ve been trying ALL YEAR to figure out the overall plot and the Main Baddie’s goals, and it just wasn’t coming to me fully. More like faded puzzle pieces that looked like they belonged to entirely different puzzles. BUT THEN. I sat down and started writing this month and it flowed out. All those puzzle pieces began to fit together and I at last UNDERSTOOD.

And that, right there, was worth it all.

This is why I pants, guys. I can’t really, truly figure out a story unless I’m right there in it. I mean…I can. But it doesn’t go as well. Eheh.

I can now go forward with this series at last knowing what it’s all about, and I am so very excited. This novel may be a MESS but it was 100% necessary to write because I, at last, know what is going on, understand the backstory and goals (for the most part), and can now one day turn this series into something (hopefully) tangible.

But you guys KNOW I absolutely adored getting to spend 30 full days with my Daystars also. Exhausting though it may have been, my goodness do these characters bring me so much joy! <3

So how did it go all around? Tiring, confusing, headache-inducing a lot of the time. But so, so worth it.

Did it turn out like you expected or completely different? And how do you feel about the outcome?

LOLZZZZ. I don’t know what I expected from this novel.

I had one scene planned for near the beginning, knew what I wanted my midpoint scene to be, and had hoped for another specific thing to happen in the end but wasn’t entirely sure how it’d go. That was it. That’s everything tangible I had. Otherwise, I just hoped to goodness my villain would actually clue me in on things.

Lo and behold, it happened! And a whooole lotta other stuff happened as well. The ending turned out WAY better than I thought it would. In fact, I’d say the whole last 30k – 40k words proved to be the best of the novel. I wasn’t quite sure where I wanted everyone to end up by the finale, and I am most pleased how it all came together. It just makes me all that much more excited for book 3!

I do think this one will need a much bigger overhaul than the first book. I’m happy with the outcome of a lot of things, but also feel like it could be streamlined muuuch better than the chaotic mess it is. I also feel like some characters got too much of a spotlight and others were put on the backburner, and I’d like to balance them all out come revision time.

Basically, I am very happy with the outcome but I also know it’ll need a lot of work to get it into shape for mortal eyes.

What aspect of the story did you love writing about the most? (Characters, plot, setting, prose, etc.)

Like this is even a question.

CHARACTERSSS.

These chaotic children pulled me through so many hard days and had me squealing and grinning stupidly at my screen just a ridiculous amount. I also wanted to shake them and may have shed a tear a time or two but that’s cool too.

Though I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the setting as well. This book featured an entirely new place that was a lot of fun to explore and imagine!

And, as always, magical dancing and winged people are far too much fun to play with! The action scenes in this one proved to be a blast as well. There were some tiring days, but there were also plenty of DELIGHTFUL ones as well.

How about your least favorite part?

I wasn’t super thrilled that it ended up being a 133K WORD BEHEMOTH. You guys remember when I made it to 50k words and claimed I was about halfway? Ah, good times, good times…

And as exciting as it was actually figuring out the overall plot, sorting through it was a whooole other matter. This is, without a doubt, the weirdest and most convoluted plot I have ever written in my life and I don’t know why I do this to myself…

I struggled quite a bit with the first 50kish words as well, just figuring out what happens next and how to get my characters where I wanted them to be. But somehow words came every day and the plot moved forward, so for that I am super grateful!

What do you feel like needs the most work?

Okay, okay, it may not be that bad! I wrote it in such a blur, I don’t even KNOW. I can’t properly answer this question until I’ve read back through it. There’s no telling, guys. Nooo telling. XD

As I mentioned earlier, a lot could probably be streamlined better. I think the backstory should be weaved in more organically instead of just spilled out in like two chapters. Heh. (Though I have an idea of how to fix this that could be fun if I can pull it off…) And, as I said, there probably needs to be a better balance between all the characters. I feel like some characters got some pretty great character growth and others were just…there. Problems of having way too big of a cast. *COUGH*

BUT. I accomplished what I set out to do with this draft, and that was figuring out this overall story. So, though I’m sure it needs a ton of work, I feel like I’ve come such a long way with this series and for that I am so very happy and grateful!

How do you feel about your characters now? Who’s your favorite? Least favorite? Anyone surprise you? Give us all the details!

Goodness meeeee. Who would give me permission to ramble endlessly about my characters??

Oh right, that was me. Whoops.

I love all these dorks just as much as I did, if not MORE. In this book a few of them got more of a spotlight than they did in book 1 and I LOVED being able to explore them at a deeper level.

I mentioned in other posts how Tala just SHONE in this one which I was utterly tickled about, as I feel like in book 1 she played a slightly more minor role. But in this one I’m pretty sure errrryone would be dead if not for her. She kept them sane. Annnd me as well. XD

Dayana also proved to be quite the shining star. If anything, this book felt like her story, if no one else’s. There was a lot going with my dancer girl Day and the way her parts and character growth turned out is probably the thing I’m most pleased with as far as the plot and pacing. There was sooo much going with Day, and I am really happy with the end result.

Rune was adorkable and broke my heart a few times but it’s fine, everything’s fiiine. Kezrin…there was a lot going with Kez too but, again, I am happy with the result. Aelin yelled a lot and blew things up, bless her.

Really, this series could be summed up as:

Dayana, Tala, Kez, literally everybody: “AELIN, DON’T DO THE THING.”

Aelin: . . .

Aelin: . . .

Aelin: . . .

*explosion noise in the background*

Aelin: “I may have already done the thing.”

Rune: *thumbs up*

*shakes head*

I ended up having two others characters who had quite a big role in this one. I wasn’t expecting this to be their book as much as the Daystars but I wasn’t sad about it one. little. bit. I ADORE these two and it was a joy having them play bigger roles this go round. I met some brand new, totally unplanned, characters as well that were quite delights!

Plus my villains are always a good time.

I do wish I could have had a bit more time with exploring character dynamics for some of the groupings. (Yes, I wrote 133k words and still feel like there could have been so much more.) A couple of minor characters I thought would be in this one more had to be shoved aside due to…well, it already being a bloated monster of a book. XD BUT. I think I have everyone in position to be able to play around with some fun relationships and things a whole, whole lot more in the next book, so I’m not too worried about it. It just makes me REALLY pumped for book 3! There’s gonna be so much, guys. SO MUCH.

ANYWHO. Getting back to the topic at hand: I love these characters with my whole heart and I seriously cannot get enough of them.

What’s your next plan of action with this novel?

With this particular novel? Um. Nothing at the moment. LOL.

The next plan of action with this SERIES though is to get allll the books written and then dive into revisions of book 1. I really, really need to see the full scope of the series before I can start editing. I mean, I didn’t even know the villains’ overall schemes until this book. There’s no way I could have properly edited book 1 without having first written this one. So I definitely want to get them all written before doing any editing.

When will I write book 3? If I don’t dabble in it some come next year, then most assuredly I’ll be writing it next NaNo. We’ll see how much time/motivation I have next year!

The problem right now is I don’t know how many books it will be. For a bit there I was thinking it could be a trilogy, but this second book became so massive, and there’s still so much I want to explore, I’m thinking four books may be the way to go. I’m not sure! I’m just gonna write book 3, see if I can wrap it up, and go from there. I’m not stressing over it either way. If it needs to be 4 books then, hey, more Daystar time for me!

But for now the goal is to get to the very end of the series, whenever that may be.

If you could have your greatest dream realized for this novel, what would it be?

Definitely, definitely traditionally published. I don’t know if it’s too weird for the traditional market or if it’s actually probably my most publishable story yet with found family being such a big thing right now, plus some other stuff in this book that I think aligns pretty well with a lot of things in the current YA market. It’s most certainly not your standard medieval European fantasy (which I still personally love but I know other people are getting pretty weary of). So WHO KNOWS. But I’m sure gonna try!

Though, truthfully, even if nothing comes of this series, it has all been worth. My Daystars have pulled me through some pretty hard times. Two of the hardest years of my life, to be perfectly honest. They have been exactly what I’ve needed right when I needed it, and no matter what comes of these books, I will always be grateful for them.

Share some of your favorite snippets!

Dear me. Alrighty, if you really want some of my first draft jargon…

SNIPPET #1:

Kez sprung from his chair. A wave of dizziness nearly sent him back down, but he grasped the edge of the counter and kept his feet. Aelin was already charging across the room, swords at the ready. She swiped them in a cross motion at the blue-winged man but he caught their edges with the blades jutting from his charger weapons.

“Of course it had to be you,” he groaned, and twisted his wrists to try to disarm her.

She slid her blades away and jumped back. “Like I’m thrilled to see you.”

She struck out again, but in a fluid motion he lurched around, avoiding her strike, and raised one of his charger blades toward the side of her head. Blue light illuminated beneath the weapon’s curved white shielding.

Tala screamed. Kez darted forward, but the woman beat him to it, hovering across the room with two flaps of her wings.

“Vence, no!” She slapped the top of his weapon and it dropped out of his hand, clattering to the floor. The blue light faded away. “There will be absolutely no shooting anyone in my clinic.”

“Chevey, get back.” He raised his second charger blade at Aelin. She held out both tips of her swords toward him.

Kez dove down for the fallen charger blade.

“Stop it, stop it!” The woman flicked around and shoved against his shoulders, halting him. “You need to sit back down, young man. You’re pale as a ghost.”

Kez found he barely had the strength to fight against her, and stumbled back, swaying in place.

She swung back around, the edges of her wings clipping his shoulder. “Now what did I just say, Vence? Weapons down. You too, sweetie,” she said in a much softer tone, motioning to Aelin.

But neither of them moved, their weapons hovering inches from one another.

The woman groaned. “Fine then, if you’re more comfortable standing. But don’t you dare make a mess in here. Come on, dear.” She pushed against Kez’s chest with such surprising force he collapsed back into his seat, and before he could comprehend what was happening she thrust another cookie in his hand.

“You’re feeding them?” The blue-winged man flicked a horrified gaze her way.

“Well, yes, of course. They looked as if they were all about to fall over, the poor dears.”

“Poor dears?” His tone rose considerably. “Do you know who this girl is?”

Aelin snickered. “Nice to see I’ve gained a reputation around here.”

The man shot her a glare before casting a glance at the others. When his eyes landed on Kezrin, they practically doubled in size. “How are— What the blazes is going on here!”

“Vence, really.” The woman shook her head, leaning casually against a table in the middle of the room and nibbling a cookie.

SNIPPET #2:

Kez and Aelin both jerked forward, but still Day did not come closer. Kez sucked in a frustrated breath. “How do we find you, Day? How do we get you out of there?”

She looked him straight in the eye, and for a moment, the world stilled again, all sat silent save for his and Aelin’s heavy breaths, and Dayana smiled.

“I’m coming. Hold on to me, let me draw strength from yours.”

“We are the Daystars.” Aelin’s words were hoarse but firm.

Kez pulled in a breath, remembering. “And even though we are scattered, that does not change who we are. One day, we will be together again.”

Tears filled Day’s eyes and she nodded. “I promise.” Her whispered words stirred through the quiet air, and then she disappeared.

The world exploded into motion. Shouts and screeches and blasts of charger blades echoed from every direction. Airships buzzed. More fissures had split the skies, and bits of the white palace wall had cracked and crumbled altogether. The entire platform tilted again. Kez flew backward, but two strong hands pulled him back forward.

“We need weapons!”

He forced his gaze away from the chaos to Aelin, and the mad girl actually looked excited. He grinned.

“And an airship.” His smile dropped as soon as it came. “Rune—”

She squeezed his hands. “He’s all right. I can feel it.”

They stood close, her heavy breaths blowing back the ends of his hair, their joint hands held up between their beating hearts, and for just a moment, in a single flash of light, he thought he saw a semi-transparent thread stretching between them and branching out, its shimmering surface pulsing with each beat of his heart.

He looked back at her, Aelin Daletta, wild and strange and chaotic. Defying the end of the world itself to hold him up. “Let’s go find our friends.”

SNIPPET #3:

Only Tala’s hand pressing against his arm kept Rune from charging.

“Trust me, Vence,” she said, quiet now, calm, “this will be the longest fight of your life.”

His gaze flicked to Rune’s sword, and Rune swore he looked taken aback, but he shook it off, eyes narrowing. “And why do you say that?”

“Because.” Rune readjusted his hold on the grip, every inch of it beneath his fingers familiar and right and feeling like home. “You’re pointing that weapon at two people I love very much, and I can assure you, even if I die in this fight, you’re not going to ever have the ability to hold a weapon again by the end of it.”

SNIPPET #4:

“Whoa, whoa!” Tala reached into her dress pocket and pulled out the black keys. “No blasting open walls this time, Aelin, please. I have keys right here.”

Aelin slowly lowered her weapons, staring dumbfounded. “How do you have keys?”

“Vence gave them to me.”

“Vence gave you his keys?”

“Yes, after I asked of course.”

Aelin threw her head back, looking both exasperated and delighted. “Only Tala Ethaldin can walk up to our mortal enemy and ask for keys to what is probably Thexion’s deepest and most powerful secret.”

“Mortal enemy? That’s a bit dramatic.”

“Dramatic?” She raised her charger blades and shook them in the air. “Do you know how many times he’s threatened my life?”

“I suspect an equal amount of times you’ve done the same for him.”

“Yeah, because he—” She blew out a frustrated breath. “When do you even get those keys?”

“Just before we picked up you and Kez. Vence was trying to get his ship back.”

She smirked. “Oh, I bet. And I suppose you asked nicely for that too?”

Tala calmly stepped up to the keyhole on the wall above the metal plate. “Well, I did threaten Rune on him first.” Her back was to them, but Calder was just sure he heard amusement in her voice. “I don’t think he was quite ready for that. Goodness knows he’s had enough trouble with you.”

Do you see all the chaos I had to put up with all month???

Also I realize none of this makes a lick of sense out of context. To be fair, it probably doesn’t make sense in context either…

Did you glean any new writing and/or life lessons from writing this novel?

What tends to always happen when I write is my characters teaching ME things. It’s funny, I very rarely set out to write a specific theme in a book. I find my themes come out much better if I allow them to crop up organically. I had some ideas of how I wanted each character to grow in this one, but they weren’t anything I was dead set on. And, as what usually happens, themes cropped up totally unexpectedly.

Themes I needed myself.

For this book, the big one was how there is no shame in being weak. It’s through our scars and our weaknesses that we become strong, and that strength comes from love.

As someone who can be annoyingly independent and always worried about asking for help, but someone who has a lot of health issues and needs to ask for help quite often, I needed this reminder. I needed to remember that there is no shame in being “weak”, because I have the love of my friends and family to hold me up. And that right there is true strength. We find our strength not within ourselves, but through God and leaning on one another and loving each other.

It’s okay to be human. It’s okay to be weak sometimes. Because through that weakness we can learn to rely on God and lean on each other. And it is a far more beautiful thing to have loves ones to hold you up than be “strong” in the world’s eyes and alone.

That was definitely my big takeaway from this novel.

I also learned that I probably shouldn’t write 133k words in a month because very little sleep happens and sanity is nonexistent but YA KNOW. It was fun anyway!

And that, my friends, was my 12th NaNoWriMo in a nutshell!

There were quite a few stressful days—though I blame a lot of that on some unrelated life stress going on all month. If anything, it was a huge blessing to have this book and these beloved characters keeping me occupied and distracted.

It wasn’t perfect. But, goodness me, it was still an absolutely magical, wild, and amazing experience and I cannot tell you how happy I am to have the whole second book of this series completed.

Thank you all a thousand times over for being here with me through it all—cheering me on, showing so much enthusiasm for this crazy story of mine, and just being the best friends a girl could ever have. You guys hold me up and keep me strong, and I am so utterly grateful for each and every one of you!

Until Next NaNo!

What do you think, guys? I hope you’ve enjoyed my many rambles about my crazy children and wild tale! (Seriously, thank you for being here and giving me so much motivation. <3) Do you find your stories tend to teach you unexpected things? And how has your first week of December been???

Don’t forget you can join this linkup yourself HERE! It officially runs through all of December, but the questions are absolutely free for the taking any time!