Writing Log XVII

The first draft is finished! It don't quite feel like it has sunk in yet. A little more when I just started writing this, in the pit of my stomach I just felt a little something, but I might just be hungry. The initial thought after I finished Chapter 25 was, Is it really over? Is a novel really ever done? I feel like I always could make changes to it, even after the final draft is finished. Strange feeling. I know I should feel really proud, and I am, it just doesn't feel like I'm done writing it, haha. My mom has started reading the manuscript and says she likes it, which is good lol. The final word count of the first draft is: 132,661.

Writing Log XVI

Alright. Chapter 20 is done. I've struggled with it since I first got out of school, and its finally done. It is officially the longest chapter in the entire book, 17,554 words, leading up to the climax that will come in Chapter 21. The entire word count of the novel now stands at, 118,254. Quite happy, I'm not even done writing today. Its entirely possible I'll finish Chapter 21 tonight in one sitting. The time has come to climax.

Jess is in the Netherlands, and writing helps me out with that. I'm excited to have something done and huge to show her when she gets back. I've been working on this novel for three years now, and I've loved every minute of it, stressful or not. It's interesting to look back at what I've written earlier in the book, and its like going back through time a little bit. I feel like it's solid history for what I've been writing recently, and something the reader can look back on with the characters and feel like they've travel a bit of distance.  I love it.

Writing Log XV

Here it is. The inevitable final push I knew was coming. Finals are over and I can finally get back to solid days of writing. Of course they'll be interspersed with yard work while I'm home, but I have the rest of May to get through the rest of the book. Chapter 20 on, I'm anticipating at least three or four more chapters, but it all depends on how detailed I get with the falling action. Anyway, I've written about 2,000 words since the end of school Wednesday, hoping to get far more productive than that. There's nothing wrong with employing tricks to help that, coffee and dressing up everyday to write. Here we go.

Writing Log XII

Today I tweaked up Chapter 17 to finish it. Originally I had a lot of material slated for this chapter and I ended up just splitting it in two. I think it was a wise decision for it allows time for more of the characters and their relationships to develop. There's also quite a bit of tasty, tasty foreshadowing. I'm really happy with how the story is coming. Last night I had a bit of writer's frustration, but Jess helped me through that very fantastically. As of now the story continues on strong, and the word count is at 92,380.

Writing Log XI

Haven't updated in awhile, but in total I'm at 14 chapters so far, with a word count of 73,600. It's pretty strange to think of how near the end of January I had only had 6 chapters written, and in about a month I've written 8 more chapters. It's good to know that I'm still really pumping it out, and have the capacity to do so. In a few more chapters the climax of the book will be at hand. I'm already so happy with what I've done so far, I can't imagine what it'll be like write the climax, but i'm looking forward to it. And yes of course, happy leap day!