WIP Wednesday: Almost Done

Great news! I'm almost done with the first draft of my work in progress.

I'm at 54,000 words and at the beginning of chapter nineteen, and chapter nineteen is the last chapter. Phew! The daring twist I introduced last week soared to a climax and now I just have to wrap everything up.

If you read last week's WIP Wednesday post and you're good at math, you may notice I didn't stick with my 1,000-words-a-day this week.

Writing these last several chapters was a lot like reading a good book. You know how it is when you can't put what you're reading down and you end up staying awake until the cock crows with your eyes glued to the page? That's how I've been the last few nights writing my WIP. One thousand words came and went and I was still hammering at the keyboard. I couldn't seem to stop and go to bed.

I'm not going to say what I've written is good. It's the first draft; it's probably bumpy in places, terrible in others, generally disorganized with way too many characters. But that's what the second draft is for, and the third draft, and the fourth draft: smoothing it out, tightening it, performing liposuction (and murder) when necessary.

But a big chunk of the job is done. The idea's down on paper. The characters are deepening, finding themselves, becoming real in my mind.

And I can celebrate because it's an accomplishment. I started this novel the day after Valentine's Day, so that means I've finished the first draft in three months. Not bad for me.