Today is officially the date.
After about a year’s work I have finished and printed off the first draft of my novel.
This is very much a first draft! There is a lot of work to do. But for me it has highlighted how important finishing a first draft is.
While I have been enthusiastic about my book over the past few months I know my energy about it has been lagging. It has been very difficult for me to see an end point — to actually picture a world where I could finish something and have it at a publishable level. That is why I wanted to push through to finish a draft and having done so I feel a huge weight off my shoulders. I suddenly feel like I could actually finish this thing. Yes, there’s HEAPS of work to do, but it now seems doable. I know what I need to do and can see myself finishing it.
But more important than that, I’ve found that in finishing the book I discovered lots of new things about my characters. The trajectory of the characters changed in ways that I didn’t expect, resulting in me needing to edit things even at the start of the book. These are chapters I have edited numerous times — edits I have now realised were a waste of time. This is a bit of a pain, but also a good realisation of how I work — it has become clear that I shouldn’t really start editing until I have finished a first draft (good to remember for next time).
Anyway, exciting times! I have now taken to start editing by pen at a cafe nearby (see the picture) and I am finding things I had not expected. And I can finally see a final picture of what the book will look like at the end.
I will keep you updated!