I can feel that I’m drawing to the close-ish of this novel. Which is good, because I really would like to be finished the first draft by the end of the month.
I’ve been asked how I know the length of a novel before I write it, and the short answer is that I don’t, really, but you kind of get a feel for how long a story will take to tell. I usually write a lot more than ends up in the book, and the second draft of my novels usually drops ten to fifteen thousand words in the process of refining and removing a lot of “She nodded” and “He smiled” and things like that. Brain-filler-words, not necessary to the story, but necessary for me to keep the story flowing out of my head and onto the keyboard.
But, either way, I have about twenty to thirty thousand words still to go, and only a week to write ‘em, so it’s head down, fingers on keyboard for the next while. I think I can get this done… and then get started on the next project!
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!