'tis done

Well, I'm usually late.

I have just this minute put the final full stop in place at the end of the last chapter of my current WIP. Perhaps I should be bold enough to name it Natural Causes as that's the title I gave to the short story that inspired it, and that's the title I'm going to try to stick with. Should publishers be interested in it, and should Mr Stuart's experiences be anything by which to go, it will be called something totally different by the end of the day. But for the last two months it's been Natural Causes to me, so now it's Natural Causes to you, too.

She's a bonny baby, weighing in at just under 130k. Conception occurred in late 2005, but gestation was actually a little over two months. I wrote the first chapter in October, but didn't really get stuck in until the beginning of November. Either way, it's the quickest novel I've ever written, and my poor numb fingers are testament to the thirty odd K I've typed since Christmas.

Like all of these things, she's not finished. Oh no. There are 115 individual comments highlighted in the whole text, and not all of them are instances of Mr Makeupaname. Much research still needs to be done, and even then I'll be knocking off Stuart's crown as the King of Wrong. There's a whole raft of things I'm not sure about, and for the last week I've been fighting the 'it's all a pile of dog pooh' blues. But I don't care. Right now I'm basking in that roseate glow that comes from finishing a draft manuscript. Soon I will be getting outside a large Martini, and tomorrow I get to read all the comics I've been denying myself these past weeks.

But I didn't quite manage to write two novels in one year. I'll have to start a bit earlier this time.

Comments

angie said…
Congrats, well done, etc., etc. Enjoy the martini & comics!
Congrats James! I write a book a year usually. Last year I didn't write a book. But this year I intend to finish at least one and have a healthy start on another.
Stuart MacBride said…
Well done Mr James! I look forward to seeing a copy soon as you're ready. Tick tock...

Fingers crossed this is the one!
Chaser said…
YAYAYAAYAYAYAAYAYAYAY. You da man, James!!!! Whohoooo!!!
Sandra Ruttan said…
Congratulations James!

And you put my book up on the sidebar! You're so sweet!
Well done, James, and 30,000 words since Christmas is a hefty achievement in itself.
JamesO said…
Thanks everyone. I'm feeling a bit shellshocked right now. And blogger's not emailing me comments at the moment, so I have to remember to check in every so often.

Sandra, I feel having read SC - even if it was an early draft - I can heartily recommend it. You knocked off Trace, btw;}#
Sandra Ruttan said…
Sorry Trace! But thanks James!

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