I'm really excited (and actually proud of myself) - last night I finished the first draft of my first novel. It clocks in at ~ 65,000 words. A little short, but that's where the editing process comes in. I've read in several advice blogs that you should let your first draft rest for a while, even up to months, to let it breathe and then come back and re-access it with fresh eyes. I can't imagine doing that. I'm ready to edit it. I know that I will have several pass-throughs. I already know some of what I want to change, tweak and edit so that urges me to start editing now.
I was so motivated I wrote 1000+ words a day for the last 22 days! There were days where I tried to convince myself I didn't need to write, but as the end drew near, I realized that I could finish it and I did.
So, I will start editing. I like organizing things - I'm a heavy outliner - so I added a little widget over on the sidebar to track my editing progress, by word count. One scene at a time I'm planning on going through. Try to do everything in piecemeal chunks so you're not overwhelmed. That's how I've taken on everything so far, and it's working.
I'm excited to finally have this story on paper. I have it saved on my computer and on an external hard drive. If there is one piece of advise you should always listen to, it's to keep your writing safe. Imagine being almost done and your hard drive crashes - everything lost. That would be devastating. If you don't have an external hard drive, you can save your writing through the internet, like Google Docs, to help in case your computer tries to become the antagonist of your story.
So, don't give up! Just keep writing! It's an amazing feeling to say you've finished your first draft, no matter how rough it is.
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