Novel #21

The first draft is done! Took me forty-six days to write a little over 80K, trouncing my previous record of 54K in sixty days. Not that it's a competition or anything; I just like to set goals as a way to motivate myself, and I'm always looking for opportunities to beat my own personal bests.

Unlike the first book, this one wasn't smooth sailing all the way through. Sure, there were plenty of enjoyable moments along the way, but I had a lot of days when I couldn't see the value in what I'd written until twenty-four hours later. Am I my own worst critic? Yup. But sequels are challenging, regardless. You've got to keep things fresh while remaining consistent with the original, and you've got to amp things up large-scale while maintaining those subtle character arcs that really make or break the story.

For now, I'm happy with how it turned out, and I know it'll be even better after edits.