I feel like I should celebrate….this is the worst first draft I’ve ever written! In fact, it is so bad that I declared it “done” at 42,000 words, even though I didn’t actually write the final scene. I actually CAN’T write the final scene just yet. By writing a draft this quickly (without allowing myself to go back and revise and/or to analyze what I’m doing every step of the way), some things have come up in this story that I didn’t expect…which means I need a different ending than I’d been planning on (I hope my editor is going to be okay with this…this is NOT what my proposal said)…and now I need to do some research and see how a situation like this really would play out. Which means yet another trip to the police station. (This will be the third book I’ve written that’s required a visit to the police station.)
FINALLY I get to reread what I’ve written!!! And I can rewrite to my heart’s content!!!!
Congratulations on finishing!! And on yet another trip to the PD. (I can’t wait till a writing project requires me to visit my local police dept! 😉 )
Thanks! I was nervous the first time I needed to call the police department, but they were SO nice! I wrote a book on crimesolving a few years ago and instead of simply answering my questions over the phone, they invited me down to actually see some of the stuff they use. They even let me dust for fingerprints on a forged check.
That is so cool! I’m always so pleased and surprised when professionals like that–who are so busy with Big Important Tasks–are so, so willing to share their expertise.