Okay, so maybe I didn't actually write them at the end of Parasite's, but I "finished".
I'm hoping I'll feel like celebrating later, but right now I've come to the conclusion that I have to clean up a whole lotta word vomit.
50,297 to be exact. A whole lot higher than the 35,000 goal--but what's funny is I feel like I need to flesh out a lot--cardboard characters, scenes, pacing, the last few chapters are pretty rushed. And then I need to take the machete and hack it to bits and get rid of all the extra words. I guess I don't feel like partying because I HAVE SO MUCH WORK TO DO.
What I am going to do this time--I'm going to let it sit for 3 weeks like a good little writer. Because, confession, I actually started going back and editing while I was still working on the thing, and I realize that was dumb because I need to do all my big picture first and how can you do big picture unless you have the whole thing written... but I get so dang anxious for feedback and then I don't feel like I can send it out unless I tweak it and it just goes down hill from there.
My plan for those three weeks is to pump up my word count for my other project--ya know the whole co-authored thing. So goodbye Parasites until November 2.
Phew. That made me smile a little. Maybe I can celebrate--and what am I thinking? I need a new broach for the broach purse.
(Um, and side note... I'm kinda scared to tell my husband because then the WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO SEND IT IN? Questions are going to start back up...little does he realize this thing needs at least 5 more drafts before it goes anywhere. Anyone else have relatives who can't understand why you haven't been published yet?)
And since I neglected the 31 days of Halloween for so long (because I was so busy word spewing...) here are some more awesome Halloween costumes for your viewing pleasure.
I would be the center witch.
Bucket head. Woot.
My husband was like, 'What? You were a nun for Halloween?' Uh, no I wasn't--that was for Sound of Music, and technically it's just a dress up picture.
This is obviously a Christmas pic, but is that Santa massively creepy or what?
*Shivers*
So...how do you solve a problem like Maria? I like how you're going to shelve your work for a few weeks. It's nice to read it with a fresh pair of eyes. I know when I go back over my work after a while I find things that don't flow or make sense. Hooray for the end! And that Santa is WAY creepster!
ReplyDeleteYour pictures are great, and, yes, Santa's enthusiastic hug is extremely creepy!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on finishing the first draft of your novel. That's fantastic! I wish you luck on your first round of edits, and I send you vibes of strength to keep that novel in the drawer until Nov. 2