This shadowy little number is my NaNoWriMo 2020 project and my current love!

After the imminent failure of Project Sunrise on the horizon, an idea that I had since the spring (while in the middle of Project After Life) popped back into view. It was a bit lighter than After Life but not as fluffy as Sunrise. Somewhere in the middle ground, this idea took hold and in mid-October I decided it was time to call it on Sunrise and move to Wraith instead.

And let me say, best decision I have made in a while.

After some plotting and outlining, I realized- the day before November- that because it’s a dual POV novel, my projected word count was essentially double what I thought it was. Meaning I had plotted a 180k to a 200k novel.

Not ideal.

But November came even if I wasn’t ready for it, and I essentially dove into this story with a hope that I could somehow underwrite it enough to not make me rage quit when I eventually started a second draft.

Just under two weeks later the first draft was done. Somehow I had not only completed the first draft, but had underwritten it. Putting that into context, my shortest draft to date was my first one ever when I was 14 at around 96k. Everything following in the last 15 years was a minimum of 120k up to 160k. I am an overwriter at heart.

Until Wraith!

I finished it at 62k and actually have something that I’m excited to take to draft two. Cutting parts and pieces from your manuscript is hard for everyone, and I certainly struggle with that. My inclination is always to add words, not take them away. So now I get to bulk up this story and that’s something new and potentially wonderful.

I’ll be rereading the first draft and reoutlining it (and its sequel) in December before starting a second draft hopefully in January. It might be underwritten now, but it’s still a mess and I learned a ton as I was drafting that I’m excited to add in and expand on. I have some big goals for this project in 2021 and- fingers-crossed- I’ll have some more positive updates on this project soon!