123,401 words

8 months

1 first draft

As some of you may be aware, I am a writer as well as reader and reviewer. Sadly not a professional at either, but today marks an important step in changing some of that.

As of today, I have a finished novel sitting in the digital trunk. Though to be honest ‘finished’ is a generous term. It’s a first draft, and a troubled one at that. But it does tell a complete story, from beginning to middle to end. And that’s worth celebrating. Even though I fully intend to leave this work aside, it marks an important step. I can finish a long project. I will finish more.

Eight months is a long time to spend in a fictional universe, and it has felt like even longer. Run Red the Stars was the first project I’d committed to since getting my Master’s Degree, and it’s miles better than anything I’d attempted before.

But I know I can do better. If I’m ever to be serious about writing, I have to do better. As a wise woman once said, ‘The only way is up.’

RRtS will sit happily on my hard drive for a while now, gathering digital dust. For now, there are other projects I want to work on. Ones that might actually be worth sharing with the world.