I finished it...

...the first draft of my novel.

It's ridiculous how unprepared I was for this endeavor. Between writing this book and working as a publicist, my view of the publishing industry has completely turned around. I'm so grateful that it happened now, with this novel. From J. A. Konrath's and the Writer's Beware and the Editorial Ass blogs, I realize how rare it is to have learned all this so early. I still have time to write and to learn before all the pressures of "real" life clogs everything up.

One of the most significant things I learned about myself is that I am a short-term writer, at least for right now. This semester I plotted 3 brand new short stories, finished the first draft of 2 more, and wrote more than half of 2 more. They were ideas that I just couldn't let go of, and I can't wait to devote real time to them, instead of frantic writing sessions in the middle of the night.

That's why the draft I turned in is just about 32,500 words, half of what I had planned for if you add back in the 2,000 I copied over. I was going to write those back in today, but instead wrote a short-short and half of a longer story. So I consider this half of a first draft, but a completed discovery draft because I discovered the novel this semester--and I have a notebook full of exercises and plotting to prove it. Sometime soon--possibly this summer--I plan to go back and fill in the other half, search for all the times I wrote "something" and put something else there instead, so that I'll have a completed first draft. After that, I'll print it out, possibly get a cheap binding--depending on the cost--put it away and hope something better comes out next time.

I have to thank my anonymous teacher--who suffers at my selfish attempt for anonymity because she has published a fantastic novel that I'm supposed to be publicizing but can't mention the name of--because without the class, my novel would still be 4 pages and the vague ideas that floated through my head when I listened to a Coheed and Cambria album. Her guidance and support buoyed my morale, but by simply holding me responsible to the goal--I reached it. I've been setting dates by which to have a novel finished for at least 7 years now and this was the first time I made it.