The End!

Of the first draft of my 2008 NaNoWriMo novel, that is! A little over one and a quarter months, and a little under forty-eight and a quarter thousand words, after 30 November I have finally finished. It really is remarkable how far one’s momentum drops as soon as the thirty days are over. But I’ve dragged myself to the end and I couldn’t be prouder of myself unless I’d actually written something coherent. The curious can check out the synopsis and an (only partially edited!) excerpt at my NaNo profile page.

NaNo was by far the most fun I’ve had in ages. I loved every chaotic moment of it and I can’t wait for the first of November - and I already have enough ideas to see me through to NaNo 2012 at least. I foresee a drastic improvement in my time management skills, between researching, plotting, writing, and editing, particularly given that my ideas have a habit of becoming far more complicated than they first appeared. I’ve now got a little over nine and a half months to work out how to write a supernatural gothic with an intelligent, sensible heroine, and how to have her investigate the mysteries of the spooky manor house without seeming like an idiot for doing so. (It must be possible ... surely it’s possible....)

I’m giving myself two weeks off now before the fun of editing, during which I can happily imagine that what I’ve got so far will be readable. (In reality, of course, it needs cutting in some places, expansion in others, rewriting, rearranging, and a lot more research; and has plot threads disappearing to and coming out of nowhere, characters ditto, doubtless atrocious characterisation, dialogue, etc., and plot holes you could drive a road train through.) I wanted to let it rest for longer, but I have impatient relatives to whom the word ‘novel’ should probably never have been mentioned. I guess it’s nice to be thought capable of being the next Ruth Rendell, but it certainly puts the pressure on.

On the bright side, now that I’m not writing so much I can finally knit a mate for the lone sock that’s been languishing in my knitting basket since October.