The Lost Dragon (Camp NovMo 2026)

NEW TOTAL WC: 85k

2 chapters left

I.................. may be UNDER the WC guys. This is making me rethink my stopping place lmao

That, or i'll JUST hit 90k

I say this knowing at this point that trying to publish this traditionally will be impossible. "Standalone with series potential" my ass (Sorry). It ends on a cliffhanger, guys (spoilers). It demands a sequel. Literally.

Smh. Selfpub online or in print it is, I guess.

XD!!!!

90K is actually a very reasonable book length!

Also, you need to have a standalone with series potential, lol. I know, I know... I too had my story end on a cliffhanger for a LONG time. I was reluctant to add an end. BUT. It made the story better! So DON'T BE AFRAID!!!

non-cliffhanger end has been put into legitimate consideration

but wADDAYA MEAN i NEED a standalone……. WADDAYA MEAN @Snoink

nevermind im gonna be so fr the only way to have an end is abandon james pov so thats giving me a midlife crisis i’ll ponder later after i do errands

i was joking to a friend that this story is literally the world’s biggest prologue (teeth grit)
its not MEANT to have a full resolution. never HAS been

rolling over in my grave

Me, a fool: I only hav 2 chapters left

Me when I've outlined all the rest that actually needs to happen in detail: I have only 4 chapters left......

Today I dreamt (as in imagined, not in my sleep) of a website in some endless scroller format kind of like webtoon or tapas but for my frankenstein novel on its own website like some kind of webcomic. It could be, sort of, in its own right except that the 60+ comic pages competing with the wordcount are literal flashbacks and don’t tell the full story.

But anyways. I have no idea how this will translate to literal print (formatting hell) so I’m thinking more about putting it online and biting the freebie bullet of letting people just read it. Some long form webcomic creators I really respect still do that but I also know they have well established fanbases and patreons after over ten years of doing so. The bar of entry is impossibly high, now, but I don’t know. Maybe I’m crazy enough to think people will pay me a dollar a month to keep a story up while I write the next one. Maybe I’m delusional, thinking anyone will be as obsessed with it as I am (low likelihood — most people are obsessed with their own stories). Anyway. I’m not really making sense and at this point I’m just writing like I’m running out of time because I need to feel something, and I am genuinely enjoying the story more than I ever have in its ten years’ worth of existence. Every iteration has improved and built to this moment where I feel I’ve finally fallen into the story I’ve wanted to tell, how I want to tell it, and… I’m really hoping someone enjoys it.

I’m excited to finish, as much as I’m doomspiraling about putting it out into the world. I am so excited to draw character portraits, a book cover, a divider, and finish the drafted comic pages. That in and of itself will be a month or two slog — maybe longer — but it feels like the hard part is finally done.

I do feel a little detached from reality in that I genuinely don’t feel like there’s anything major I would change but I’m also aware I may have a massive blindspot and with one beta reader poke I could be devastated. I believe I am resilient enough to recover but man. I am still on the story high.

I just know when it’s over I’ll crash hard. And I might regret typing all of this, but when the thread is MY thread…. it’s for me, you know?


Bah.

I just really want James to exist in a story that’s real and done and complete and I want his resolution as much as I want my own. That will take two books, though. Maybe some of the catharsis is feeling like maybe. Just maybe. I’m halfway there

Ok I’m done feeling emo in the thread tonight. Goodnight wolfi who likes all my posts (ily). Or good afternoon. Idk when you get on

LOLOL <3

Hmmm have you considered releasing TLD online incrementally, and opening up a patreon where patrons get access to the upcoming chapters a week early, plus behind the scenes sketches/thoughts/polls?

I know this probably doesn't sound appealing, but I would also use your socials as much as you can to promote it (reels), or even launch new TLD-focused socials

soundofmind wrote:I just really want James to exist in a story that’s real and done and complete and I want his resolution as much as I want my own.

That is such a mood!
Nothing to do but continue the grind to make that resolution a reality!

@Wolfi An incremental release is also possible! Especially if it's done/completed... doing so while I'm writing the second book could be smart. If I went chapter by chapter, one per week, that'd be at least 34... 36??? ish? Weeks? EIGHT WHOLE MONTHS.... DANG!

I also plan on using socials to promote but I'll be real, I don't know if I have it in me to do the rigorous output that often requires. I still plan to do it! I just might not be able to do a TON.

And @Tikaya yes yes the grind continues

ON ANOTHER NOTE

I came up with a hilarious end scene (in one of the final chapters) and a very EPIC LAST LAST SCENE that kiiiiiiiiind of leaves SOME resolution.

Some.... SOME. Very hyped to write these final scenes now, guys. James is about to be so, so chaotic <3 and we love that for him <3

CURRENT WC: 91k

I have 1 chapter left...



I did hit 90k already but. That's fine. This is fine. Everything is fine. So long as I'm under 100k I will... be okay....

YESSSSSSSS.

Also... DID I READ RIGHT???? DID YOU FIGURE OUT AN AMAZING ENDING????