The 11th Hour

I broke 55,000 words yesterday. That felt amazing.

Now I am on the home stretch, and go figure, my energy is low. Thank all that is holy for coffee.

I have to write:
1. The last of the tension building middle scenes.
2. Rewrites of male lead chapters to fix timeline issues.
3. The ending (maybe more than one ending, just to see how it all plays out).

It won't be done today. It may not be done tomorrow, but I'm going to keep on trucking, and it will be done eventually.

When I finish:
1. I'm getting that tattoo that I've been dreaming of.
2. I will take a whole week off.
3. I will float.

First this, then Camp NaNoWriMo for the final draft. I've earned this. All I have to do is finish.

Numbers

Less than 2000 words until I break 50,000. 

2 more working days until I've officially hit my target.

3 more scenes that I definitely MUST write.

I am going to finish a book. While the numbers don't lie, I do think they will change. It seems more likely that I'll work until the end of next week, since a few of the middle subplots require rewiring/fleshing out. The good news: the hard part (the groan-inducing, do-I-have-to?, blank stare inspiring middle) has become my favorite part. I think I love writing middles. Who knew? I think it just took the introduction to the idea that the middle is made for building tension to get me on track. Building, strething, layering, complicating? These are all my favorite things about writing/reading. I love tension. A good trait for a Writer. And that is exactly what I am.

So, since I'm still doing some middle-building, I'm guessing that I will definitely exceed 55,000 words by the time the book is actually finished. And that is okay. That is great. That is still only 7,000 words to go.

Then I think I will be giving myself a day or two off to start researching revision tools. April 1st starts Camp NaNoWriMo, and I aim to have a Final Draft at the end of it. 

The idea of a Final is thrilling. I have a lot of conflicting fear associated with the idea of completion. I am sure I will get around to writing about that eventually. For now, I am just going to kick back on my heels and appreciate the fact that the numbers look pretty good.