I’ve decided to write a novel in 5 days. Not a first draft, but a completed novel from concept to polish with rewrites included!
Today was about finishing up the first draft…
I got to typing at 5a.m. and didn’t stop till 11:45. At that point I ate lunch and jumped back in. Things went well till around three. I took a break to do my daily three mile walk, showered, and had a thirty minute phone call with my favorite audiobook narrator. Once I got back to my office things kind of meandered…
I fell down a research-hole by accident when I should have been typing, but in doing so I discovered that in 1989, when I was seven or eight, I met a Saudi Arabian prince in Washington DC’s Chinatown. My grandmother took me to a Saudi Arabia exhibit at the convention center. After seeing it and a badass laser show we went out to lunch with the prince. I remember the exhibit in detail, but I have no idea why we went out to lunch with him.
Granny was big into teaching and education. She got a bunch of awards, grants, and met President Reagan I think twice. My grandfather owned a bar/restaurant near the White House (here is an article about how it closed in 1998: https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-58336125.html) which always had congressmen and other big wigs. As a result I ended up meeting a lot of people as a kid and never knew why. All I specifically remember about the Saudi Arabian Prince (who I didn’t know till today was a prince) was that he called me a “strange boy” because I ordered escargot with a side of french fries and then put vinegar on the fries.
So yeah weird research hole.
Once I got back to writing I managed to finish the first draft of my novel. It’s sitting at 38,577 words. That’s fine. I’m an under writer. I know when I do re-writes and the polish that the book will easily grow 10k-15k. There are a multiple sections where I have things like “DESCRIBE WHAT SHE LOOKS LIKE” and “FIGHT WITH PROTAG GETTING BUTT KICKED.” So the book will only grow from where it is now.
Tonight I’m going to make a list of changes that I need to address in the plot and characters. Tomorrow I’m going to start on chapter one and work my way through to the end. I can’t believe the week is more than half over. There is still soooooooo much I need to do. Fixing character voices, checking emotions in scenes, making sure I’m happy with the depth of the POV. Uhhhhhh I’m really worried about running out of time!