I Finished!

By Nichole Giles

In the words of my new idol Chris Baty, I have “Eaten the challenge for breakfast, and cleaned my teeth with its footnotes. I am brave, talented, and brimming with the kind of loquacious storytelling skill that no doubt will serve me well in my new job as up-and-coming novelist.” Why?

Because I did it.

I took master writer Chris’s book, followed his advice, and finished his 30-day-50,000 word challenge with an extra 409 words to spare! Yeah me! According to Chris, “This is something to write home about.” Well, since I live at home, I decided I’d blog about it instead.

In the end, I have an unedited masterpiece that, while definitely in need of a serious overhaul, has a workable storyline, loveable characters, and interesting fantastical elements. This particular story will be worth the extra work, I think. Well, as soon as I go back and write the beginning.

I had to start somewhere, and it seems to me now that where I started was closer to the middle than the beginning. But I’ll get to work on that while I’m still going strong, and when I’m finished, I’ll edit my writer’s heart out.

Now, has anyone heard of National Book Editing Month? I think I might have to check into that….

Don’t forget, National Novel Writing Month starts November 1st. Unless you want to be like me and take the challenge all by yourself, start getting ready. November is only weeks away.