Whew. So! I managed to finish writing the draft of the novel that I’ve been working on since GenreCon after Chuck Wendig gave me the challenge of finishing it in a year.

I am SO GLAD that I knocked it over. I’ve written a bunch of longer things throughout my writing life but have rarely (if ever) gotten close to the/an end and have never actually finished a novel-length story completely. Just almost. Which, I have discovered, is not the same at all.

I wrote the last chapter whilst sitting in a terribly expensive fancy organic cafe in Paris. Yep, I wrote on holidays (of course!) I wouldn’t have made my deadline otherwise, and what are holidays for if not traipsing around the world, sleeping in and writing?

That day felt amazing. The rush was incredible. I could finally see the whole shape of it. I have a bunch of things to work on when it is time for editing (it is being shelved for a couple of months at least) but overall, I’m really happy with how the story worked out in the end. And, you know, I’m really surprised with how some of it played out. When I got to the original end, I knew that there was more to tell, and the characters pushed the plot far beyond where my original ideas finished. Hmm!

So! Editing to come later, but until then, I’m going to start working on some shorter stories that have been tugging at my sleeve whilst I’ve been working on the novel.

Excelsior!