It’s December! Which means it is time to jump into Part 3 of Know the Novel! Though it’s been a few weeks since I wrapped up my novel, I’m still reeling from the process and am excited to take some time today to reflect (and flail a little).

Being as how this was my first year to create and do FallFicFrenzy and my first time in thirteen years to not participate in NaNoWriMo, things felt a tad different. But different by no means is always a bad thing. In fact, all the changes brought a world of unexpected blessings, and though some lack of motivation tugged at me for the first half of the challenge, writing this book was still an amazing experience. It was wild and exhausting and surreal, and I don’t regret one bit of it.

And I have a lot of thoughts. So let’s dive straight into the behind-the-scenes of writing the finale to my Fragmented Worlds trilogy!

DAWN’S FRACTURED LIGHT

How did writing this novel go all around?

That’s basically it. I jumped in with a sort-of beginning, no concept of a middle except for random scenes I wanted to happen with no clue how they even would, and a vaaague idea of how it would all conclude, not to mention the fact that I wondered if I’d need a fourth book, and next thing I knew I was rapidly reaching the actual ending and then there it was and JUST— I don’t even know. It was dizzying.

And amazing.

Although, as mentioned, for the good first half of FallFic some serious lack of motivation made the writing process drag on as I wanted to do just about anything else but write. Which was sad because this was my finale and I wanted to enjoy it to its fullest but for some reason that drive to write just wasn’t there.

Despite this, words got written every single day and though I’m terrified to go back and read most of them, I think the story came along quite well? I mean, it’s a disaster as far as the writing, but the actual plot seems feasible, which was my main focus for this draft. I just needed to find out what happens. I know I’ll need to strengthen some character arcs and do a lot of cleaning up, but my main goal for this first draft was simply to discover how everything happened and where everyone ended up in the end. Making it functional and fixing any weak points is what rewrites are for.

But I did figure out how everything goes down and it was fascinating seeing how all the dozens of loose plot threads I messily left myself ended up tying together. I’m pretty sure my writing process is like letting loose a bunch of wild kittens in a yarn shop and by the time I get to the end I have a billion piles of yarn I have to untangle and it’s just ridiculous but somehow it comes together anyway?

I don’t even know.

Messiness and motivational issues aside, by the time I got to the last third of the story, something clicked in my brain and that lack of motivation fled with a sudden influx of love for the story. The last week and a half of FallFic proved to be a magical time of downright fun writing days, all while the story was coming together rapidly and more smoothly than I could have ever imagined. I was honestly shocked at how quickly I was able to loosen those tangled threads. But so, so grateful.

So how did the writing go all around? I’d say well. Really well. The plot itself came together far easier than I feared it would, the characters were disastrous delights as always, and once my brain finally got into the mindset of writing every day, things really started going. There were hard days but there were also some wonderfully magical ones to make up for them, and I cannot be more pleased that I stuck to it and really, truly made it to “The End”.

Did it turn out as you expected or completely different? How do you feel about the outcome?

I’m caught somewhere between…

And…

Relieved and shocked and excessively happy and a little melancholy all at the same time. I just can’t believe I actually made it to the end of the Daystars’ story. They’ve been permanent residents in my head since early 2020, bringing a lot of comfort during some really hard seasons, and it doesn’t even feel real that I’ve drafted their full trilogy.

The day I finished, I went to bed that night and I was overcome with feelings of happiness and contentment, to the point I almost got teary-eyed. I was ecstatic that I was done writing, of course, but it was so much more than that. Just realizing that my characters were no longer dangling in dangerous and precarious situations (which is where they were left in the last two books *cough*) but had actually made it. They reached their conclusion. I got my Daystars where they needed to be after they had been here for me. It just overwhelmed me with joy and contentment.

Maybe that sounds kind of crazy. I can’t really explain it. These characters have meant more to me than probably any set of characters I’ve ever created and it was so important for me to get them their well-deserved conclusion.

ANYWAY. Needless to say, I am very, very happy.

Now, did the story turn out how I expected? Lolololol. I didn’t know what to expect. I had an entire year to think about this finale and yet all I had was vague, disconnected pieces floating through my mind. But by some miracle it all came together and I am quite pleased with the outcome! It’s gonna need, well, a lot of rewriting, I have no doubt, but overall I am very happy with how all the pieces came together.

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

As if it even needs to be asked.

CHARACTERS. ALWAYS THE CHARACTERS.

Ah, these chaos children. They’ve come such a long way and yet still had so much to work through but I’m really proud of all that they fought for and achieved. They just gimme a lot of feels, you guys. :’)

One of my favorite things was how there were a lot of character interactions between people who had not really gotten to interact much in the previous books or characters who got to do more together as opposed to—ahem—being separated because of Reasons. Since this was the finale, I got more of a chance to play with the dynamics between alllll the people and it was just ridiculously fun!

Also, writing some scenes that have been in my head for so long. One particular scene has been floating in my brain since the very first spark of an idea for this story, before even the characters barely existed! I was ecstatic I really was able to incorporate it into the story, and in a perfectly natural way at that.

Writing finales can be overwhelming but they’re also just FUN. Being able to get to everything I have been working toward for so long? It was incredible.

What was your least favorite part?

Probably just the whole using up every second of free time I had to write. *nervous laughter* But I knew if I just kept pressing on it would get done. I wouldn’t be writing forever. And it got done way sooner than I ever imagined, so it was absolutely worth pushing on during those harder days!

Story-wise…man, I don’t know. As I think back, there were very few plot threads that were just particularly hard to get through. Which was a blessing because book #2’s main plot threads were such a convoluted headache. I know once I got past the very beginning of this book, I did have to take one evening away from writing to merely sit down and figure out where I wanted each character to go and what plot threads they should each take on. But it came together shockingly fast.

So yes, the main issue was just kicking my brain into writing mode. But by some miracle I made it. My sanity did not but that’s okay. I SURVIVED REGARDLESS.

What do you feel needs the most work?

Goodness, probably so much. Eheh. As I said, I’ve been too scared to read back over most of it so I really don’t even know at this point. I just spilled it out in a 27-day haze and probably every single bit of it needs a serious makeover.

I do feel like some character arcs for a particular few characters could probably be woven in more. One character got put a bit on the backburner until the end and I’d like to see this person have more “screen time”.

Also just the words themselves. Somehow I feel like I ran out of words by like day 1 and though the story may not be so bad (one can hope?), the writing is probably atrocious with particular words and phrases used over and overrr again. It will need some serious editing to pretty up. Buuut that’s nothing new for me.

Again, though, the purpose for this draft was to discover the story. All messiness and weak points can be fixed but first it had to come into existence. That has been achieved, so no matter how disastrous it is, it feels like a huge win.

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

I simultaneously feel like I could write another 100k words merely on how much I love this cast while not even knowing what to say.

The Daystars really began forming in my mind in late spring of 2020 and only grew from there. I knew I wanted to write a #squadgoals story, and once this idea solidified they spilled into my head utterly full of personalities and fun dynamics and chaos.

Aelin, my disaster child who brings the sunshine and explosives mutually and struggles so hard with self-worth. Dayana, the dancer with the weight of the worlds on her shoulders. Kezrin, the stubborn king of sass who believes only in wearing black and just really needs a hug. Tala, the mother hen who is the glue to hold them all together. Rune, the stabby marshmallow who is always there with a hug and a smile and pushes himself far too hard to keep his loved ones safe. Then others came too who became just as dear as my original five.

I can’t say I really have a favorite. They’re each dear to me for separate reasons all while being an unstoppable team when together.

Through each and every one of them I was inspired to never give up, to keep fighting, to not spiral into feelings of worthlessness, and that no matter how dark and impossible things seem, we cannot stop dancing and shining our light.

I think one of my favorite points-of-view to write in would be Kez simply because he’s so straight to the point. The boy doesn’t mince words, and his constant frustration over, well, everything amuses me greatly, not gonna lie. Though funnily enough, my favorite POV to write isn’t one of the Main Five. *secret smile*

Tala was the one who brought the most surprises. My sweet girl who bakes everyone raspberry tarts and knits all her loved ones socks has some fire in her, and I was HERE. FOR. IT.

The villains were also deliciously fun. I mean, did I want them all to be stabbed? Multiple times? Yes. But they were still FUN. Fabulous Drama Queens every single one of them.

And, again, there were sooo many fun character interactions in this one that we didn’t have before. Ships were sailing, friendships were being forged and strengthened, character arcs were soaring, people were, in fact, being stabbed—it was just a good time!

I love every single one of them and, my goodness, was it a joy to get to tell their stories. <3

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

For this particular novel…nothing as of right now. For the trilogy in general? That’s a different story! …Sort of.

Now that the whole thing is drafted, I’m going to let it sit for a while. I’m taking a break from writing things for the holidays and then have another book I hope to do the final edits for come next year. BUT after that? I really, really want to dive back into this trilogy. I’ve been so anxious to get it all drafted so I can start getting that first book into shape. But I knew I needed to write the whole trilogy first and actually, you know, figure out the story. Let us recall that I didn’t even know who the main villain was until I was writing book #2, much less certain nefarious plans! (Though I am rather staggered over all the foreshadowing I did in book #1 over things I hadn’t even figured out yet. Being a pantser is a wild ride. o.o)

But now I do know the entire story and am much more equipped to tackle rewrites for book #1. As of right now, I’m tossing around the idea of using next year’s FallFic to start on rewrites for the first book. That is correct. For the first time in over a dozen years, I may not write a new book next fall. I just have…way too many first drafts as is. I’m thinking I want to focus on actually shaping up these first drafts for a while instead of writing more. Now come next fall I may entirely change my mind. But right now, these are my thoughts.

So yeah, it may be a year before I fully tackle rewrites of book #1 (or maybe I’ll start a little early and just continue on through FallFic, WE’LL SEE). But I love this trilogy far too much to leave it alone for too, too long. I really want to get book #1 rewritten, edited, beta-read, edited some more, and then start querying it! This is the series of my heart and I hope to take it all the way.

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

Seeing this trilogy traditionally published is absolutely the dream. And I rather think it’s my most publishable story I’ve ever written? Then again, it may be too weird for the traditional market. It could go either way. XD But I am certainly going to try with it!

ALTHOUGH. I said this last year for this question and I will say it again: Whatever comes of these books, I have no regrets writing them. This story is what I needed right when I needed it, and though I hope they can bring others hope and joy (and feels) as they have for me, no matter what happens, it was worth it.

My dear Daystars will live on with me forever, and that is more than enough.

Share some of your favorite snippets!

But all my favorite snippets are SPOILERS. *flails* This has been the hardest book to find snippets for. Spoilers, spoilers everywhere! But here are a choice few (do forgive the first draft-y-ness of them all).

SNIPPET #1:

A grunt pulled Rune’s attention to the hand flapping up from one of the crates.

“Little help?” Kez groaned from within.

“I gotcha.” Rune hopped out of his own crate and tried to not laugh at the sight of Kez twisted up like a black cat in a box half its size. He grasped the man’s forearm and hauled him up.

“Thanks,” Kez huffed, tugging his wrinkled tunic down.

“Any time.” Rune flicked the man’s upturned collar and grinned but his unwanted thoughts from earlier pierced his mind. “Hey, Kez?”

“Hm?” he murmured, distractedly running a hand through his hair.

“You’re with me, right? No matter what happens next, we’ll stand together?”

Kez finally gave him his full attention, a single brow rising up. “Like I’d take down a bunch of overstuffed birds and stop the end of the world from happening with anyone but my best friend.”

Rune’s grin returned. Because that was the Kezrin Zahar he had grown up with. “You just want me around to keep your hide safe.”

He snorted. “I’m not denying it. But maybe after whacking off some colorful thrylek heads I’ll have enough practice to beat you.”

“Ah, Kez, always full of delusional dreams.”

SNIPPET #2:

Rune darted out and gave [REDACTED] a squeeze on the shoulder. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, yeah, but if you die, it’s not my fault, all right?”

“Your conscious can rest easy.”

“But my sanity is on the judgment seat now.”

SNIPPET #3:

Hope surged through Day and she swore the pain lessened. “Let’s do this one.” She let go of Elissia’s hand to raise both arms. Elissia did the same, both facing each other with their arms arched above them. Day took a breath, nodded, and bent backward. Elissia followed suit and when they pulled up again, they grasped hands, arms still raised above their heads, and each stepped to the left in a circle. Pain wrenched up Day’s spine as she had to put all her weight on her bad leg and bend it to slide out her left one in a graceful arc. Only Elissia’s hold on her kept her from collapsing.

“Day, I really don’t think—”

“I’m fine.” She straightening again and plastering on a smile. “Just a bit of a slip up. Let’s keep going.”

Elissia appeared uncertain but moved with her in the next step. They stepped outward, letting go of their left hands and sliding across each other’s arms to lean back with the other’s weight. Day drew in a shaky breath, held it, and as Elissia pulled her forward, she bent her left leg to touch her foot to her knee. She bit back a gasp at the jolt shooting up her right leg. White spots dotted her vision.

Keep dancing.

When Elissia let go of her hand, Day arched her left leg out to use its momentum to spin. Light swirled out from her body. Gasps resounded around the room, the undrig stirred, and as the glittering light rained down toward the darkened fissure, the floor trembled.

Elissia halted her dance, eyes wide.

Day’s heart thrummed hard and heavy. Hopeful. Her vision cleared, the excruciating pain dulled. She stretched out her arms and spun again. A spiral of light threaded out from her and seeped into the darkness, and even as the floor vibrated beneath her she felt stronger, fuller. Pain still wracked up her leg with each movement but it was bearable. She danced around the fissure, feeding it with more light.

Murmurs rumbled around her. The undrig growled. The walls shook.

A frigid hand grasped her arm, wrenching her to a halt. Elissia’s gaze met hers. Fearful.
“Day…I don’t know…”

Day pulled her into a spin. “Dance with me, Elissia. Please dance.”

SNIPPET #4:

The light shone bright and clear and set her heart on fire. Aelin soared across the intertwined threads blazing through the Between. No tumbling, no whirlwind of motion. With the love of Chethral’s people and her own guiding her way, she sailed forward with all the ease of a bird riding the winds back home.

New light appeared ahead, and her stream of light stretched straight into it. She followed its pull. It grew brighter, deeper, overcoming the colorless blur of Nothing in a mass of glorious light. Yet she could not look away. As she neared, her progress felt as if it slowed, like the light itself congealed around her and resisted her push. But the entwining threads disappeared beyond, urging her forward. She focused wholly on that stream, the love and warmth calling, drawing her to where she must go. She moved forward. Slowly, as if moving through water, and though the weightlessness remained, pinpricks skittered across her body like hot needles. But she pressed on, ever following that tug. Shoving against the resistance, soaring deeper into the light.

It consumed her. Blinded and burned. But she thought of his warm smile. His hearty laugh. The way his presence always scattered back the darkness and made everything feel right and good and beautiful, and she thrust every part of herself forward.

The light erupted around her, searing down to her soul. She screamed, focused on that single point of soft warmth pulsing with her heartbeat. The burning faded, the light disappeared. All stilled save for that thrumming heartbeat.

She opened her eyes and drew in a breath.

A great ocean spread out before her. Massive, endless, the crystal blue water rippled forward and lapped at her boots, and she found herself surrounded by a beach. Some yards behind her, rocky outcroppings rose and obscured the dark landscape beyond the sand, but ahead, stretching across the horizon, was light. It cast the sky in soft orange and pink hues and the water glinted in its warmth like diamonds. It did not burn or overwhelm but enfolded the world like loving arms and promised new beginnings.

The first light of dawn.

SNIPPET #5:

Aelin grinned and addressed the thrylek. “Actually, if you could tell everyone to steer clear of the ship, it should be out of your way momentarily.” Without waiting for him to reply, she strode for it.

Day jogged up next to her. “What are you planning on doing?”

“Fly the ship of course.”

A rough hand snagged her shoulder and lurched her around to come face-to-face with Vence.
“You can’t just fly my ship out of here!”

“Vence, really, don’t you trust me?”

“Not even by a minuscule.”

“Well then this will be a good practice in trust. Goodness knows we could both use some.” She jerked free of his grip and marched on.

“Hey, her crazy plans have never steered us wrong before.” Kez appeared at her other side and mischief gleamed in his eyes as he looked at her.

“That’s not true at all.” Tala came up beside him, hand-in-hand with Rune. “Some of the worse trouble I’ve ever gotten into was going along with crazy schemes from the both of you.”

These books are so trippy and make nooo sense out of context. I tried, I tried.

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

The big theme of this story was to keep dancing. Even when it hurts, even when everything is dark and seems impossible, we all have a light inside us and we can’t give up, otherwise the darkness will seep in. Staying stagnant and closing ourselves off can bring despair. It is through the strength of our loved ones and never giving up that we push back the darkness. That the light shines.

In a world that feels so dark and full of despair lately, I needed that reminder. Really, that is my whole brand: Bright Words in Darkened Worlds. Shining the light so that the darkness can never win.

It’s funny how your own characters can teach you lessons and inspire you. But goodness did this cast do exactly that for me.

Aside from the actual book, the huge takeaway I gleaned from this experience was that letting go and making changes can be the absolute best thing we can do for ourselves.

As you guys know, I chose to not do NaNoWriMo this year. After it being a huge part of my life for 12 years in a row and a defining factor of who I am as a writer, choosing to let it go was…not an easy decision. I felt like NaNo was part of my identity and it felt wrong not participating. But I knew it was time. NaNo is not what it used to be, not to mention the schedule of writing all November has just become harder and harder with each year. But I had a dilemma because I really wanted to write this book this fall, yet I didn’t know if I’d have the discipline to churn it all out in a month without that NaNo motivation.

So then I thought…what if I just make my own challenge? And not only that, but make it not during all of November because, really, who has time for that? I suspected I’d get maaaybe 15 or 20 friends interested. Imagine my surprise when over 60 people jumped on board! I was utterly blown away by the interest, and then blessed beyond measure by the community.

In my early NaNo days, I loved getting on the forums and chatting with fellow writers. Over time, I stepped away as the community got less…welcoming. But goodness did I miss that sense of community. WELL. The FallFic Discord I made brought it all back. Was even better. Those glorious early years of NaNo came to life for me again as I had a delightfully fun and welcoming space with fellow writers to talk the ups and downs of writing, cheer each other on, or just chat hilarious nonsense and everything else under the sun. I got to hang out with old friends and make new ones, and that wonderful feeling of writing with others was there again in an even more intimate way than Nano had ever been.

Then there was the new schedule of starting on October 15th instead of November 1st and being able to finish my novel long before Thanksgiving and, for the first time in so many years, to have the freedom of enjoying the holiday season without that pressure of writing. That was huge for me.

If I had let my usual stubborn nature and fear of making changes win and stuck to NaNo, this fall would have looked far different and I would have missed out on a world of blessings.

So as I set out to soon embark on a new year with, in fact, quite a number of changes and new ventures I want to tackle, I needed this reminder. Letting things go can make room for far better things.

The Fall Fiction Frenzy Challenge was a blessing beyond measure, and I cannot thank each of you who joined enough for making it so. FallFic isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. It will absolutely be back next year annnd there is some talk and planning for possible other seasonal challenges. *wriggles eyebrow* Once I do more brainstorming and prepping, I will absolutely let you guys know about future FicFrenzy plans. So keep an eye out for that!

Basically, each step of getting this book to the point of completion was a learning experience, and I am grateful for every single bit of it.

And there we have it, my friends. The first ever FallFicFrenzy in the books and the entire Fragmented Worlds trilogy fully first drafted. What a wonderful journey it has all been!

I have to give each of you a huge and hearty THANK YOU! Your enthusiasm for this weird trilogy of mine, your prayers, your sweet comments and encouraging words, all of it keeps me going and reminds me to not give up, even on the hard days. You are the wind under my sails, and I am blessed beyond measure to be part of such a beautiful community.

Let’s never stop pushing back the darkness with the light. <3

Tell me all your thoughts, friends! Can you believe we’ve made it to December? If you did a writing challenge in November, how did it go?? Who else finds that their characters end up teaching them lessons? I’d love to hear all your thoughts!

Don’t forget you can join this linkup yourself HERE! Though it officially runs through December, the questions are free for the taking at any time!