The Lost Dragon (Camp NovMo 2026)

FINAL WC: 94.2k
FINAL COMIC PAGE COUNT: 63

Word-Count Break Down:

PART 1 - Disillusionment (12/12: 31k)
PART 2 - Polarize (12/12: 33k)
PART 3 - Retribution (13/13: 29k)

Beta reading is officially open even though I've definitely asked people already, lmao. And yes, @Snoink, I did come up with an ending! It's still a bit of a hanger, but the cliff is much smaller than it used to be, at least. Also?

Spoiler

James gets a gun. (There are too many meme references I could make with this but also... he has no spare bullets LMAO.)

Anyways, FINALLY I CAN TACKLE THE ART GOALS YESSSSSSSSS I'M GONNA SPAM YOU ALL WITH CHARACTER PORTRAITS MWEHEHEHEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!

Happy April to ME!

@keystrings and @Wolfi since you're both already beta-reading, this is your thumbs' up that you'll have a finished story to read if you want to jump in, but if you want to wait for art to get pumped out because it Adds To It, that's cool too <3

No rush either way. Thank you everyone for cheering me on!!!!!!!!

Ahhhhhh omg congrats!

I might be able to do some beta reading after April

Yay congrats!

YEEHAAWWWWW!!!!

Thank you everybody :^)

Finally finished the Part Two image header!!

that is absolutely GORGEOUS (the light, the colors, the cracks !!!) :OOO also CONGRATS on finishing WOOHOOO!!!! =D

I have not hit all the art goals very hard but I have drawn quite a few character portraits!!!!! At least of the main cast, for sure, and some of the extra supporting/background characters. I'm aiming for all the named characters, but... work in progress.

Still! Very good!

How it's going:


Pictured above: me when beta readers give feedback and it questions everything I built the story on and the entire world and I feel like a stupid idiot!


Man. I'm grateful for this beta reader but every time she reads my stuff it's like all suspension of disbelief is gone if there's anything that doesn't mirror real life logic and sometimes it's helpful, other times I'm just like... how many things do I need to "explain" in my book...



It feels like it will never be done or finished or good enough, and some of the things questioned are like... key lynchpins in the story. So what good is the story if they don't hold up under scrutiny?

I am trying so hard not to be crushed by feedback, but there are certain things I just don't know how to do, and I don't know if I have the time, energy, or skill to accomplish them. Yes there will still be people who like it, but I don't know if I'm delusional enough anymore to think I have what it takes to publish.

Sure, this could just be a post-feedback doomerspiral. I just hate that I might not spring back in any reasonable amount of time.

Two of the big things being questioned:
1. The overall logic of the world/setting > why certain technology exists, others don't, what IRL equivalent is there for a time period or location? The true answer to these questions is that I've always wanted a hodgepodge of places/periods and that's always been part of the fun. Trying to make it make sense, however, feels like it requires more intelligence than I actually have, at this point, and it's killing me.
2. Logistics of the world's military and academia:

Spoiler

I'll admit I haven't done a lot of research in this area/don't have a ton of personal experience. Still, it sucks being told a lot of it is not believable RE: James's overall involvement in the MAIN PLOT POINT. My head hurts. I don't know how to fix this.

The solution is, of course, that I just have to get smarter and better and improve.

Notes for Myself for Revisions:

Spoiler

- Remove modern terminology (ex: supermoon, opioid, dissertation)
- Add an exposition comic on start of war: clarity on nature of the draft (required), how war started, how it interrupted/impacted James’s life + his friends
- Add another exposition comic (TBD where) on the Calamity and The Great War (need to rename because irl WW1 correlation is unwanted)

Create clarity on the Military Academy
What it IS (as Sound Intended):
- a literal academy w/actual education that goes up to collegiate level
- also a pipeline into the military

I might make it so it's a “everyone’s required 2yrs of service after graduation” (as a rule for all MK citizens that are 18-19yrs old). But the draft pulled people out of their last year of school before they finished.

That said, I might just need to make James Older to Make More Sense of Whatever the Hell. Ya know.

Ugh.

This is how I want to be in the face of a challenge:


But right now I feel like this:

You know how artists stick with it because of the love of the game? I really don't know if my love for the game is strong enough right now. I don't want to treat writing like a business. Yes, I want to be good. Yes, I want to get better. I wish getting told my ideas don't make sense didn't feel like someone was hole-punching my chest! They're not even being objectively mean about it! I'm just like a flimsy reed, breaking in the wind under any pressure.

Anyways.



Crashout over. (It's my thread. I can cry if I want to.)

SOUND!! ;-; <3 <3 my heart goes out to you!

The true answer to these questions is that I've always wanted a hodgepodge of places/periods and that's always been part of the fun.

THIS is perhaps my favorite thing about Nye. It's like a unique blend of all your favorite genres (most of which I share). Cherish that!

It will be easy for the majority of readers who are attracted to a fantasy novel like TLD to suspend their disbelief. It's a fantasy world. So #1 is a moot point in my most humble opinion!

On the one hand it's great to have a beta reader who is willing to engage with the book so deeply that they're analyzing everything this carefully; on the other...

Idk it sounds like some of the plot-wide general feedback is good for you to think about now rather than later, so you can decide whether or not it's worth "fixing" but that's also the WORST kind, huh? ;-; The stuff that's challenging you to change foundational aspects of the story

Can fully relate to being a flimsy reed lol </3 *hugs*