There is still a long way to go. This is only a first draft after all. I know technically I’m only around the middle of the road. With revising, editing, revising again left to do. But after so many months of work, I can’t help but take this win.
I’ve written 65K words of my work in progress, Match To Love. that’s already 5K more words than my initial goal. The quantity that 7 months ago I sat down and said, If I get to this number it will be incredible. I’ve never done it before and I will have a book.
Getting to that goal looked so far away then, so now I’m filled with pride at the fact I did manage to write that amount of words. I managed to structure a cohesive story. It needs work, but it’s almost there. Something that was only an idea months ago it’s actually something real and tangible now. Incredible.
I’ve wanted to be a writer since I can remember. I’ve written Fan Fiction, short stories, poems to girls I was dating. But never a full novel length story. I have the outmost admiration for every single person that has been able to do it in the past. And now I’m almost there too.
7 months ago I said “I’m going to write a book.” I was determined to do it but at the same time I doubted myself. I’ve tried before. I still have an unfinished fantasy story I started writing back in college over 12 years ago. Why would this time be different?
There’s a lot of factors that are probably impossible to pin point. But if I had to pick something, I would say the difference was that this time when I decided to write a book, I didn’t focus on the plot, the story, even the quality, that would come later. I focused on discipline. I looked at myself and said I’m writing every day, no matter what. At least a 100 words. But most important, I actually did.
I started writing 100 words a day. And there was days where even those 100 words seemed impossible. It would take me forever to write a book 100 words a day, but I didn’t care. As long as I kept doing it, I would get there eventually.
I moved up to 1000 a couple months ago. And today I can confidently say I will finish my first draft in a month or so. Now I truly believe I can do it. It’s not longer a matter of “Am I actually capable of writing a book?” I know I am. I just have to persevere. And I will.
This morning I outlined the final 10 scenes of my book. I have a clear path from the point I’m at today, to the finish line.
Finishing the first draft will be so satisfying. It also opens up a new set of things to do. But I’m so excited to tackle them when the time comes. From now, I just have to keep writing.