Debriefing the maiden
Filed under Writing Journal on January 4, 2005
Tagged: Maiden of Pain
I emailed the final draft to Phil at 2am in the morning on Monday, January 3rd. The manuscript was just over 81,000 words long. While still short of 90k, Phil emailed me back and told me it was workable. He’ll go over it one more time to see if there are any “missing pieces” I can fill in to close the gap. From there, it goes to the copyeditor, who has my email and will contact me directly if she has any questions.
It is a wonderful feeling to be, for all intents and purposes, done. Even though I didn’t hit 90k, I’m still extremely happy with the story. It has grown so much since I got the outline approved. Don’t get me wrong. It is still the same story I envisioned when I wrote the proposal over a year ago. The difference is in the details. Ninety thousand words may not seem like much as a reader, but it was quite an order to fill for this first-time novelist. In order to do so, ideas evolved into scenes and interactions more complex than I originally planned. Let me assure you, in every case, it was for the better.
Ultimately, I view this experience as one of instruction. The year was an incredible journey of exploration and discovery. I learned what writing a novel meant. I saw what I was capable of in terms of productivity and creativity. And I proved to myself that I could write a book.
So, what does the future hold for me? I’ll tell you tomorrow.
