The End.
That’s what I’ve just written. OOH it feels good 🙂 I’ve been working on this particular story for a looong time, even though it’s quite a short book compared with my usual output! But it’s taken months and months to work out how to do it ‘right’, and thanks to some very clever and kind friends, I’ve found my way and now the first draft is complete.
There’s a lot of work to do now, of course. It was only when I hit chapter 15 that I felt I’d properly ‘clicked’ with the style I wanted, so now I’ll need to go back to the beginning and tweak (the dreaded word!) the rest of it to match. But it feels good and solid and I adore my heroine. I’m also ridiculously keen to get this book out to publishers (it isn’t under commission) because the idea behind it is such a simple one, I’m terrified someone else will do it before I do!
Finishing a first draft is a big milestone for all writers. It’s pretty much the first (most important?) milestone in writing a book. If you haven’t finished it, you haven’t got a book.
When I’ve re-worked this one, I’m going to go back to another book I wrote before Christmas. That one needs re-writing too, and I feel all fired up to tackle it again. That’ll have to be after Easter, I expect.
I’m really tired because my youngest child keeps waking up in the night. But I’m also really pleased with how my writing is going. Last year was a bit of a rubbish one, but so far, 2014 is shaping up to be a Good One. Let’s hope I’m right!
Jo Cotterill 