That’s right, today is HUGE. I have finished the first draft of Wanderlust, all the way to end. I just wrote up the epilogue a little while ago. I’m exhausted, and I’ve been ignoring other work and responsibilities all week, but I have a first draft of my novel, and right now it clocks in at 53,000 words.[!!!!!!]
There’s still a long way to go. Parts of that draft (most of Chapter 11) are barely legible, the barest threads of putting what happens in the scene onto the page. There are things I’ve referenced in the late chapters that I haven’t actually written into the earlier chapters yet. There are a few places where I’ve begun adding a scene or a story and haven’t quite finished it up yet. In short, this draft is a mess. But hey, it has an ending. And hey, I know where it’s going. It’s time to tighten everything up now, and I’m so excited to start.
A few addendums: I know, according to NaNo or whatever, that 50,000 words is a minimum requirement for a novel (though it’s acceptable for YA books to be 40,000). I used to think I was writing a 30,000 word novella, though, so for me, and for Wanderlust, 50,000 words is huge
Also, Celeste DeWolfe mentioned me over at her blog today; go read the post and check out her blog!
And one more thing: I’ve picked up quite a few followers over the past few weeks, and I want to thank you for reading, and for supporting me and my work. I appreciate it so very much.
Cheers!
Grace Makley 
Aw man, you go girl! You’re so inspiring. ❤ I can't believe you actually got it all together! Well, that's a lie, I CAN believe it, but I'm just so happy for you. 🙂 Kudos! To be in that place would be AWESOME. Now give yourself a nice pat on the back, a breather, and then dive in there for round 2, ha ha. Rooting for you all the way~ And thanks for the mention! 😀
Aw, thanks for all your support! I’m sure you’ll be at first draft-status soon (the plan is for Christmas right?).
Glad to hear about your achievement. It sounds like you’re excited for this story, which you should be. Good job and I’m sure you’ll put it altogether.
Thank you!
Congratulations! What a huge accomplishment.
Thanks, Alison. 🙂
BRAVA! I am so excited for you. What an accomplishment. And I could just kiss you for talking about your plot holes. I’m feel like I’m writing so far ahead of myself- when I get inspiration for a scene, it gets written, even if I know I’ve left myself gaping holes that wil require filling in later.
I am guessing that as you revise and fill in, that word count will grow so you have nothing to worry about. Seems like most are faced with huge amounts to cut, which is so painful!
You are an inspiration.
Thank you so much, Julie! I’m counting on the word count growing a little, but even if it doesn’t I’m satisfied with the length, especially as the roomy font I’m planning to use and the full-page illustrations will boost the page count to somewhere over 200 pages (just like a real book!).
Finishing a first draft is an important step, congrats on meeting that first goal. Good luck with the revision process and thanks for stopping by my blog. Happy writing!
Thank you! It’s a pretty big step, but I will need all the luck with the revision process, because I won’t get too far without revising. 🙂
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