Remember when I said that I was splitting my current novel manuscript into 3 novels? And remember when I said that meant I'd have to alter the plot of the first part? And remember when I said that resulted in a big gap in what was otherwise already seamlessly written? (Actually I'm not sure I ever posted about that last part, but it's what I've been working on for the last, oh, 5 months or so.)
Well today - this morning - just now - I CLOSED TO GAP! YEEEAAAAAYYY!!! Which means I finally have a rough draft of my first novel!
Very rough. Rough in the sense that a round of dough, a cup of sugar, and a pile of apples is a rough draft of an apple pie. But just as those ingredients will provide a decent estimation of the finished volume and anticipated flavor, so does my draft allows for a general feel of the final story (pretty darn good, if I do say so myself) and, most importantly to my stress-out mind, the final length. Because my current draft stands at a lovely 73,625 words.
Some of that will be re-written, some of it will be deleted, and some of it will be replaced. But I doubt the final draft will vary more than a couple thousand words in either direction. And it's a relief, because I was worried this wouldn't work out to be a decent novel on its own, and part of that was length. A typical contemporary fiction novel averages between 70- and 80-thousand words, so as it stands I'm right on the money.
And I do intend to celebrate with pie. For breakfast. I may not get around to making it until Monday, so you may get a different breakfast post over the weekend, but there will be pie in the near future. And it will probably include chocolate. Just saying.