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,

  Plain Kate,

  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!