Hallelujah! Pass the bug-juice.
We're gonna celebrate.
Yesterday I penned the final pages, the final paragraph, the final word of a complete draft of Peter's Story. It makes quite a pile of manuscript - 262 pages of text, 74,902 words. It has been a long tramp to get to this point.
Yet having a completed draft is a long way from being done, although I now have in hand what is pretty much the final draft of the Foreword and Chapters 1-6, all approved with Peter's blessing. These are in the hands of my never-flagging and ever-vigilant personal editor-proofreader-and-lover, who is still finding things to question. (Sorry, no gossip here, folks - that editor-proofreader-lover is my wife, Mary. Not only is she a great wife, she is my best reader. She knows my many faults and loves me anyway and is courageous enough to point out my questionable prose.) Yes, we're far from being done. When I write fast, which is how I write, the paragraphs and the sentences can get kind of ugly. I still need to smooth Chapters 9-13 and the Epilogue, and massage them and smooth them again.
Yet now I have a first complete draft to work with.
Say Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!
Posted by: Sharon | February 16, 2007 at 11:18 PM
Thanks, Sharon!
Posted by: Tom Montag | February 17, 2007 at 05:00 AM
**Raising my arms and swaying!**
It feels good to get A Whole Thang shaped and roughed in, doesn't it?
Thanks for being an ongoing inspiration.
Posted by: Lori Witzel | February 18, 2007 at 10:31 AM
Hi, Lori. Thanks for the good words. Yep, it feels terrific to have the last page on the pile. I have to remember, however, that the achievement is a starting point, not an ending. Some ways to go, yet.... But we're a lot farther than we were.
Posted by: Tom Montag | February 18, 2007 at 07:06 PM
Congrats, Tom!! A big milestone, even if you know there's sandpapering and polishing to do yet. Good for you!
Posted by: beth | February 18, 2007 at 08:55 PM
Thanks, Beth! I can sand it and sand it, but I have a drop-dead date for getting it to the book designer, May 12. It will be done by then, whether it is done or not, I guess.
Posted by: Tom Montag | February 19, 2007 at 07:36 AM