Done?

I---- think---- I'm---- done?

Maybe done. Maybe have a first draft. Here's the last line: So he got the peppermint treat which guarantees sweet dreams.   

I don't know if it will stay like that, but for now, I like it. 

Next step: read through this messy, rough first draft page by page. There is a lot of organizing, foreshadowing, streamlining and expanding to be done. But I'm feeling so happy, contented and thrilled that I have come this far. 

The word count: 47,777. Remember when I wanted to get to 40,000 words? Then 50,000? Then 60,000? The word count is a helpful, measurable goal when I'm starting out. But at some point it doesn't matter because I know I'll get to the end, and I know it will be long enough.

Yippee!!!!

Reading Aloud

I think a writer has to really love what she's working on in order to keep going. That might sound a bit ego-centric, but if you don't like the story - and you're the one creating it - who will?

The moment I know I love what I'm writing is when I start to read it out loud. Sometimes it happens at the very, very start and this euphoria can keep me going for the first 10,000 words. But mostly, it's later, when I look back on it, I'll realize that I like - or maybe even love - what I've done. I'll want to hear the cadence and rhythm of the words that make up my story. I will want to spend some of my precious writing time reading favorite parts out loud, just enjoying what I've created and how it sounds.

The other good thing about reading aloud is that it's a super way to edit. As you read, the parts that don't flow, that seem to "stick" will be very apparent.

Yay!

I see that my last post was Ugh. Now it's Yay. What a difference a month can make. And why don't I remember this when I'm in the midst of the Ugh?

I spent a lot of time in February trying to edit an area I felt was going off in a direction I didn't like. The only thing those days of editing did for me was to stop the flow of creativity. Because once I gave up on the editing and plunged back into the narrative, I was on my way again.

I know that editing as you write works for some people, but I must remember that it does not work for me. I have to stay in the story and keep going forward (regardless of the junk littering up my manuscript - it will get cut later) to finish the project.

I'm actually in sight of the end. I think I have about 30 more pages. I don't have the end worked out, but I know that when I get there, it will work out.

Stay tuned!