write a novel and get it published

I’ve had a slow few weeks with family stuff going on (daughter in hospital etc.) but am now on Chapter 15 of the rewrite and past 43,000 words.

I just finished chapter eight of the rewrite, and am nudging 30,000 words … I’ve lost a lot of time to illness recently but am still very happy with my progress.

The first feedback from people reading these chapters of the second draft (the first time I’ve let anyone read any of the novel) has been very positive :-)

The rewrite feels quite fluid, really, I’m enjoying it …

One of the main changes I’ve made is restructuring the chapters, doubling them up, so that eight chapters in the first draft have become four chapters in the rewrite … before I think the breaks were too often and disturbing the flow somewhat.

Four chapters and well over 14,000 words now rewritten – rock on :-)

I had a busy December, and lazy in terms of writing, so just getting back to this now. My second draft is approaching 8000 words, which are coming out much more easily than the first. Should it worry me I’m not really making any major changes yet?

Just getting started on it today :-) 750 words in the first hour.

I’ve just finished the first draft of my novel, a little shorter than I anticipated, at 74000 words – (I somehow had two copies of one of the chapters in there, which had bolstered the length. Whoops!)

I actually feel slightly shell shocked to have done it.
Now I’m going to print it, and put it away for a couple of weeks – then read, and start the rewrite.

I’m just writing the penultimate scene – the big action climax. I’d better not stop long – I’ll lose my momentum! After that, I just have the “tie up loose ends” kind of bit at the end.

Unfortunately I haven’t written for 5 weeks because of work commitments … sometimes there really are no free seconds. Well, I got back to it last night … I’m currently just past 67,500 words – good job :-) We’re building up to the climax :-o

My first draft passed 55,000 words last night, and is definitely over halfway through telling the story.

I’ve also joined http://writingforums.org and the discussions on there are helping me think about focusing my writing better.

I just passed 40,000 words :-)