Thursday, May 26, 2011

hm. that was quick.

Surprise of the week: When I sat down to write yesterday, I realized... it was probably going to be the last day for my (very) rough draft. And it was. I had not expected such. I'd announced a hiatus and everything! Well... so much for that, huh?

I can now say that I've written a novel. Is it a mess? You betcha. But, as I told a friend on facebook, "at least it's a complete mess... huh." Want to know some stats? I've always wanted to write a post like this. Happy day for me.

Working title: Aurelia
Thoughts? It's a character's name, but not the main character. Is that allowed? Definitely just a working title. 

Original idea: summer 2007, whilst lifeguarding at Loucon.
Draft started: early September, 2010
Finished: May 25, 2011
Between 2007 and 2010: a lot of thinking and doubting myself.

Number of false starts: At least three.

Software: OpenOffice, thanks to a computer crash last January (I left my Word in ol' Kentucky).
Font/Spacing: Gentium Basic, 11 point, 1.5 spaces. Just because.
Pages: (only three breaks) 172

Final word count: approx. 90,900
Thoughts? Not as long as I feared it would be, but a lot longer than it needs to be.

Chapters: approx. 32
Thoughts? Another surprise! I wasn't too particular about chapter breaks while writing. I just put CH. and started a new line wherever I felt it appropriate. I figured I'd end up with 40 or 50, but apparently I like me chapters long. (that's pirate speak, for ye)

Number of major characters: 8
Number of characters I'll likely cut: Too many. I don't want to think about it.

A quick love list for this story:
  ghost towns
  family
  curses
  moths
  adventure
  mystery
  dark histories
  the spines of books
  clouded windows
  suffering
  archery
  marionettes
  insanity
  fog
  unpredictability
  raven hair and honey eyes
  horses
  sibling relationships
  bonfires
  yellow flowers
  pumpkins
Thoughts: the love list is more interesting than the story its based on. Oops. Give me a break, though. It's a draft.
 
My ability to write in the last eight months brought to you by:
  The Blount County Public Library (of course),
  fancy coffee drinks, usually involving chocolate,
  long drives with mood music, such as:
    Abigail Washburn (and the Sparrow Quartet);
    Horse Feathers;
    The Greencards;
    Carolina Chocolate Drops;
    Black Prairie,
  A dang good husband,
  supportive friends,
  blogging (hey-oh!),
  listening to audio books,
  and Plants vs. Zombies.

Whew! Now, all I have to do is... fix the dang thing.  HA!
 

5 comments:

  1. I would love to read your novel! I've always had a faint desire to write a book, but I've never even attempted it. I think it's just grand that you have done it! Kudos, Julie!

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  2. Congrats on finishing your novel! Well, the first draft.
    Just in case you didn't know, there is a YA book titled Aurelia by Anne Osterlund. I don't know if that'll affect your decision on the title but I thought I'd let you know.

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  3. Congrats once again! I wish I would've thought to do a blog post like this when I finished...oh well, it will be my reward when I write the new first draft :K)

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  4. Congratulations Julie! What kind of book is this (did I miss this somewhere?)? I am so proud of you!

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