Thanks so much for all the wonderfully positive and supportive comments on yesterday's post!
I am now at 63,463 words, 217 pages and ...
I am almost finished!
Just so you know - I am aiming at 75,000 words and 250 double spaced pages, but as it stands right now it will be a bit longer than that in order to wrap the story up the way I want.
This is just my first draft and what I did is take the advise of many writers and have just written this story from beginning to end without much editing. I have edited some as I have gone along, but it is likely going to take months to get this manuscript into a good final draft.
I had a few comments where people mentioned that I sound excited and so happy and ... it's true. I am excited that the timing has been so perfect for me to dedicate so much time to writing and happy that I feel so positive about the story I have written and so enjoyed the process.
It has gone quickly (I don't do anything slowly), but it has also been a pleasurable experience; developing the characters has come easy, following the twists and turns in the story has been exciting, realizing the story was waiting to be written because it just flowed out of me almost effortlessly - it's been a truly rewarding and exciting experience.
Like I said in my last post - this novel does not yet have a title, but I am working on it. I have involved Courtney and Chloe (my twin daughters) a lot in the writing of this book and they have been enormously helpful, inspirational and a creative input through the process. They are determined to help me come up with a most excellent title and I am counting on them for their ideas. They have also informed me that they will be doing the art for the book's cover (as they are both extremely talented and creative artists)and I quickly agreed (I just love that they believe in me enough to see a cover in the future for this novel - tee hee).
This novel is not the book I believed I would be writing when I started this process a few months ago. I was swayed tremendously by Courtney and Chloe's suggestions and enthusiasm and decided to venture in a new direction and I'm glad I did. It's not the best story ever conceived and it's not the best writing ever put to paper, but I feel positive about it's potential and proud I've followed it through.
Once I finish the first draft completely (hopefully by this weekend), Courtney and Chloe have asked to read it all the way through. I am counting on their advise and input to clean up and/or develop the story more thoroughly and also anxious to see if they like it (I told them that they had to say "I loved it" - if they did and they just rolled their eyes). They read the first 3 chapters early on, but then I told them I didn't want them to read it anymore until it was done. They know a lot about the premise of the story and have even offered some great ideas and twists towards the plot, but not read it all the way through. These are 2 girls that have been reading (and writing themselves) since they were 4 years old. They LOVE to read and I am depending on their love of books and writing to help guide this story.
I will be telling you more about my novel soon, but for now I am just going to finish it. I just wanted to say that I really appreciate your support.
What do you think my novel is about? Do you have any guesses?
PS - Yes, it is 3:53 p.m. as I write this post and I am still in my pajamas.-