The first draft of The Unlikely One is finished.
Coming in at 59,197 words, it has room to shrink.
As all my stories do!
I'm a little numb right now. Pleasantly content with my accomplishment, but not over-enthusiastic at all. Maybe finishing a story on Halloween night, in the midst of tricker treaters can't compete with the fun of gifting scarecrows, pirates, spidermen, and prisoners with chips and various sugary treats. Or maybe I'm just exhausted, and know this isn't the end of working with Fiona and Carter.
In any case, The Unlikely One will rest in a safe place on my hard drive, and backup version too, until after NaNoWriMo, when I'll come back to it for its first round of many revisions. That leaves me a month to sharpen those editing knives.
So thankful for the gift of a new story to span the break between first draft and edits. Can't wait to get started on The Innkeeper's Christmas tomorrow. [Rubbing hands together in anticipation.]
What about you? How do you honestly feel when you finish that first draft? Is it different with each story? Is it bitter sweet?
Surrendering to Him,
Eileen
Coming in at 59,197 words, it has room to shrink.
As all my stories do!
I'm a little numb right now. Pleasantly content with my accomplishment, but not over-enthusiastic at all. Maybe finishing a story on Halloween night, in the midst of tricker treaters can't compete with the fun of gifting scarecrows, pirates, spidermen, and prisoners with chips and various sugary treats. Or maybe I'm just exhausted, and know this isn't the end of working with Fiona and Carter.
In any case, The Unlikely One will rest in a safe place on my hard drive, and backup version too, until after NaNoWriMo, when I'll come back to it for its first round of many revisions. That leaves me a month to sharpen those editing knives.
So thankful for the gift of a new story to span the break between first draft and edits. Can't wait to get started on The Innkeeper's Christmas tomorrow. [Rubbing hands together in anticipation.]
What about you? How do you honestly feel when you finish that first draft? Is it different with each story? Is it bitter sweet?
Surrendering to Him,
Eileen
p.s. These are the carvings my daughters did this year. The top one is a horse head. She drew it freehand and carved it wonderfully, I think. I'm so impressed!!
28 comments:
Congratulations! What an amazing accomplishment! Especially on the heels of NaNo starting up tomorrow! I have only finished one MS and it was such a feeling of accomplishment. I was so proud. I still haven't gotten around to editing it, but hope to soon. I wanted to start a new story for NaNo, but work got in the way once again and I only got character sketches done. I need to do some plotting! :) Good luck on NaNo...keep us posted!
Congratulations! That is a triumph! I have only finished one novel so far and since I wasn't satisfied that it was any good, I am still working on it. I am doing a new one for NaNoWriMo and am quite excited.
Congratulation!!!! What an awesome feeling! You go girl! Are you planning on writing another for NaNo?
Congrats!! That's wonderful news. :)
And the pumpkins came out great!
That's fantastic! Congrat's! I know exactly how you feel - I completed the first draft of mine a week ago. I'm now in the midst of edits - wasn't sure if I should take a month off and do NanoWriMo or just edit ...
Congratulations! That is a GREAT feeling! I love finishing a first draft. It's so exhilarating. Great idea to set it aside too.... it'll give you fresh eyes for when you come back!
What a feeling of accomplishment you must be feeling. Congratulations, I wish there were a better word. :)
Diane
Congratulations! What a great way to make your weekend more memorable. That's exciting, too, that you have another project to work on right away and then you can get to those edits with fresh eyes once November's over. Woo hoo!!!
Awesome, Eileen! I'm so proud of you! I will be rooting for you this next month to finish another! Wow! That seems so far out to me! But I know you can do it!
And the horse head is awesome! Tell your daughter she's gifted!
Congrats to you! Good luck in you next endeavor--nice title.
Completing a draft is nice, but submitting is the greater thrill for me.
Congrats on your manuscript. It's always great to get back to it after some time away and see it with fresh eyes. Good luck on Nano, a nice way to spend the month away. Great pumpkins, too!
congrats!!! and these pumpkins look cute happy halloween((:
I usually feel content, satisfied. Successful. LOL
But I think you are exhausted too, and that's probably why you're numb. Congrats!
After revisions I usually feel braindead. LOL
Congrats on finishing the WIP and good luck with Nano!
Woopee! Can you hear me screaming? A happy scream... not a Halloween scream.
I haven't gotten there yet, but soon. Good luck with the editing.
BTW, have her check out my recent post on my essay's blog. I posted pics of dog-faced jack-o-lanterns. (Not my artwork.) Love the horse head.
Hi Eileen -
Congratulations! Have fun with NaNoWriMo. :)
Blessings,
Susan
Congratulations, Eileen! That's great news.
I do feel a little thrill when I finish something...but I also usually have that disconcerted feeling...like maybe it's not as good as I thought? Then I look back at it later and realize it was good all along. Writing is definitely a roller coaster, isn't it?
CONGRATULATIONS!! You must be so happy...and I am very happy for you. As an off and on again ADHD focused writer, I am very impressed that you stuck it out and got it done...
A warm hug for you tonight,
Bina
Congrats, clap clap!!! I can only imagine your excitement. Keep up the great work!
So proud of you. You hung tough and it's at a good place. Can't wait to see where God takes it! :O)
YAY!!! That's amazing. Now you can focus on NANO without having that in the back of your mind. Woohoo!
I missed this! YAYYYYY! Happy for you:) I think it feels awesome to finish a book!
Congratulations on a great accomplishment, Eileen!
I know the feeling as I just finished my latest manuscript about a week ago. This time I didn't get the usual THRILL that typing The End normally gives me. I think it's because I wasn't very happy with the ending.
When I read it over yesterday, it wasn't as cheesy as I thought at first. LOL. Still needs some polishing but that's OK.
Good luck on your new story!!And those pumpkins are great.
Take care,
Sue
Congratulations! How awesome to finish a book and just in time for NaNo!! ;-)
Eileen:
Congratulations. The one I was able to finish made me feel drained. I asked two of my writing group friends to read it. They edited it and I laid it aside as I felt I needed to take a job. That was almost five years ago. I've done some plays that made me feel drained,as well.
CONGRATS!! That's a huge accomplishment! What a great feeling!
Congratulations on completing your manuscript! Hope you celebrated.
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