Finished the First Draft!

Exciting news — last night I completed the first draft of my work in progress! It’s currently 286 pages (with one inch margins), 90,300 words (according to Microsoft Word), and 71,500 words when I take the number of pages and multiply them by 250 (this is how the publishing houses do word count). I started writing it in mid-November, so it took me five months to complete the draft, which is an improvement from the six months it took me to complete the draft of my first novel.

It’s always fun to write “the end” and know that through determination and dedication you were able to complete a novel. Bringing my stories to life for others is my favorite thing about writing; the concept of people experiencing what I create in my mind is just so cool to me! Every book a person reads changes the way they view life, whether it be in a big way or small way, and I hope to someday have that kind of impact in the future for those who read my novels.

I was able to take everything I learned from editing my first novel and apply it while writing my second, so hopefully this will mean that it will take a shorter time for me to do edits this time around. Plus, I love editing, so I’m super excited to get started! I’ve already edited the first chapter and half of the second, but I also need to remember that I have an exam on Friday to study for. (Ugh, I don’t like studying. I would so much rather write a paper.) Two and a half hours ago I finished my last class ever, which is neat and strange at the same time. One final and one take home final, and I’ll be done school forever! Don’t get me wrong — I love learning — but it’s nice to know that from now on in my life I’ll be learning for learning’s sake and not for a grade on a transcript.

On another note, yesterday during my school’s award ceremony I received The Charles Hyde Pratt Award for Excellence in Creative Writing. Yay!

Now back to editing.

<3,

Michelle

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