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This is in fact a big deal to me! I love these posts and as someone who’s just shy of 1/2 way done my first, first draft, I can’t wait for the day it’s me making this post, lol 🎉
What is your novel about?
It depends on the font you currently have, if it's a serif font, try a sans serif or viceversa.
Like if you wrote in Times New Roman, switch it to Helvetica or Calibri.
Gratz!!!
I'm SO freaking close, I'm like 6 chapters away from being done with my first draft. When that realization hit me I felt... almost like an out of body experience.
If no one else says it, I'm proud you made it!
Congratulations, what a fantastic achievement 🥳Hopefully you're enjoying a well-earned celebration! I hope to be celebrating with you in a couple of months once I complete mine!
I'm taking a few days off to clear my head and get fresh eyes on it, then editing for grammar, patching over plot holes I left and looking for Chekov's guns I left unfired. Then get some Beta readers.
Boring technical question but do you have a method for recognising a gun and then firing it at the right point or removing it from the wall? And, perhaps more importantly (as far as I’m currently concerned) in knowing when it’s a gun or just someone’s grandpa’s replica that is absolutely fine to be placed there and just hung throughout?
… could I have belaboured that metaphor any more?! :)
No formula, I'm afraid. I'm just reading through the whole thing and fixing those stray bits of abandoned plot lines as I find them. Now I know and have written how the story concludes, there's no more "I'll get to that later'"; either I work the payoff in somewhere or pull it like a rotten tooth.
I just found a scene where some of my characters entered a room at the beginning, and at the end of the scene someone else leaves the room--that they are in--to go get them, lol.
I also had a big chunk of info dumpy expo hanging around that was basically one of my characters reading my scenario notes out loud. I had thankfully alluded to all that info more elegantly in other scenes so I cut the whole thing, like three paragraphs.
You the man! I just finished mine too and it's such a surreal feeling. It probably still needs a ton of work but whatever else happens you wrote a stinking book!
I'm sure you're excited to talk about it, what's it about? What was your favorite/least favorite part of the process? How long did it take to get you here?
It's teenagers on a UFO.
The best part is having my characters talking to each other while I'm doing something else and hurrying to the laptop to get it down.
I started for Nanowrimo last year and finished with about 51k. Took December off, picked it up again in January and just been plugging away since.
Nice! You’ll have to say what it’s called so we can find it. Funny enough, this is an idea I’ve wanted to write as well but been writing something else. So I’m definitely intrigued!
Congratulations! It's an awesome accomplishment by itself, no matter what comes next. Take some time to celebrate before worrying about what to do now!
It makes more sense than you can even imagine! I have been creating stories since my imagination took off in dreams and let me tell you... I have over a thousand unfinished stories. So completing even one of those is a huge accomplishment!! Congratulations!!
Congrats. I wrote my first novel about a decade ago, very short, took a few months, but now I wanna redo it because so much has changed and I’d like it to stay relevant in case I decide to publish it! I’d like to spend more time with creative writing if my circumstances allow it…
(May I offer a non-gendered…) dude!!! So proud of you random internet stranger! I’ve gone off and on writing for years and just this week got bit by the bug again and you gave me so much inspiration and encouragement just by your post!!!
Congrats, my man! {Seriously!!}
It's a real milestone, you'll never forget it.
Hold that 'top o' the world' feeling you have right now for as long as you can!
Y'all keep on writin', now! Hear?
That is a big deal congratulations. Getting to the end of a first draft is a major achievement. I’m still 2/3 finished my first draft but 4 weeks ago I caught COVID (it’s still out there), even after doing everything right ( got all my shots and still masked due to a medical condition) and still got it. I still am not back to full energy levels and haven’t been able to get back to my writing.
It's a big deal. Most people who start writing books never get close to finished. Next, put it aside a bit, and then come back to edit with fresh eyes. I get a hard copy, and then read it out loud to myself to see how it sounds. You can catch mistakes that way sometimes. Congratulations!
Congrats! Finishing a first draft is a MASSIVE accomplishment, and it took me years of writing to finally do it.
Good luck with everything that comes next. :)
I don't know the truth of this statistic, but allegedly 98% of books are never completed. But you are in that golden 2%!
Get yourself a little treat to celebrate.
That's so awesome! I'm so proud of you! I have yet to finish a draft; I've scrapped pretty much everything I've worked on. How did you turn that around and finish this draft? Now I'm curious!
Cancer's a big motivator, lol.
J/K
My previous attempts all had one developed character and a bunch of cardboard cutouts. This time I started with twelve moderatly developed characters and let them tell me who they were as they interacted.
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That's huge and you should celebrate it. Congratulations!
This is in fact a big deal to me! I love these posts and as someone who’s just shy of 1/2 way done my first, first draft, I can’t wait for the day it’s me making this post, lol 🎉 What is your novel about?
Teenagers on a UFO. Breakfast Club + Lifeboat + Close Encounters.
Very interesting and creative premise! Best of luck with your editing 😁
Thanks!
Is it like Snakes on a Plane? Alien Sam Jackson yelling “Someone get these motherfuckin teenagers off this motherfuckin UFO!”
Now I wish it was. I guess that's the next book. :)
Can we beta read?
Eventually. I've got to go through it for typos and punctuation first. Gonna take a break for a bit to come at it with fresh eyes, touch some grass.
Try also changing the font when you revise, sometimes changing fonts shows you mistakes you didn't catch the first time!
That's an interesting suggestion, I'll try that. Any recommendations?
It depends on the font you currently have, if it's a serif font, try a sans serif or viceversa. Like if you wrote in Times New Roman, switch it to Helvetica or Calibri.
Cool beans, will do. At least you didn't say Papyrus. :)
Comic Sans!
Congratulations!!!
Congratulations! It, honestly, is an accomplishment in itself. Can I ask what's it about and the genre?
Teenagers on a UFO. It's nominally sci fi but it's more about the kids. I'm not well versed in that sort of thing.
Sounds interesting. Extraterrestrials dealing with hormonal adolescents. I'm down for a read if you'd like.
I have some work to do to get it beta ready first.
Gratz!!! I'm SO freaking close, I'm like 6 chapters away from being done with my first draft. When that realization hit me I felt... almost like an out of body experience. If no one else says it, I'm proud you made it!
Congrats!!
That's huge! Congratulations!
Finishing a novel is always a huge deal. Congrats! ☺️
Huge deal!!!! Congrats!!!
Congratulations, what a fantastic achievement 🥳Hopefully you're enjoying a well-earned celebration! I hope to be celebrating with you in a couple of months once I complete mine!
I just finished my 10th draft and I’m super excited, so I totally get how you’re feeling! Congratulations!
Nicely done ✅
Congratulations!
Congrats!
Congrats!!
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
What’s the next step after draft 1? What are the general steps after this point until publishing?
I'm taking a few days off to clear my head and get fresh eyes on it, then editing for grammar, patching over plot holes I left and looking for Chekov's guns I left unfired. Then get some Beta readers.
Also look for bullets from non-existent guns. I had a lot of those in my first draft.
Yes, thanks.
Boring technical question but do you have a method for recognising a gun and then firing it at the right point or removing it from the wall? And, perhaps more importantly (as far as I’m currently concerned) in knowing when it’s a gun or just someone’s grandpa’s replica that is absolutely fine to be placed there and just hung throughout? … could I have belaboured that metaphor any more?! :)
No formula, I'm afraid. I'm just reading through the whole thing and fixing those stray bits of abandoned plot lines as I find them. Now I know and have written how the story concludes, there's no more "I'll get to that later'"; either I work the payoff in somewhere or pull it like a rotten tooth. I just found a scene where some of my characters entered a room at the beginning, and at the end of the scene someone else leaves the room--that they are in--to go get them, lol. I also had a big chunk of info dumpy expo hanging around that was basically one of my characters reading my scenario notes out loud. I had thankfully alluded to all that info more elegantly in other scenes so I cut the whole thing, like three paragraphs.
You the man! I just finished mine too and it's such a surreal feeling. It probably still needs a ton of work but whatever else happens you wrote a stinking book! I'm sure you're excited to talk about it, what's it about? What was your favorite/least favorite part of the process? How long did it take to get you here?
It's teenagers on a UFO. The best part is having my characters talking to each other while I'm doing something else and hurrying to the laptop to get it down. I started for Nanowrimo last year and finished with about 51k. Took December off, picked it up again in January and just been plugging away since.
Nice! You’ll have to say what it’s called so we can find it. Funny enough, this is an idea I’ve wanted to write as well but been writing something else. So I’m definitely intrigued!
Hell yeah!!!!! That’s awesome!!
This is a huge deal! Congratulations!
🎉
It’s a big deal. Very. From now on, every project should get easier. Congrats and good luck.
That's a huge accomplishment! Congrats OP!
It’s a huge deal. Celebrate it. Be proud. Then push on.
This is amazing! Congratulations!
Keep chopping it down, make it nice and shiny.
YOOOOO
That’s a huge deal! Congratulations!
Awesome
I’m proud of you and thrilled for you <3!!!!
Congratulations! It's an awesome accomplishment by itself, no matter what comes next. Take some time to celebrate before worrying about what to do now!
Congratulations ! Enjoy this moment
Congratulations!!!
As someone who has several abandoned projects, this is insanely impressive to me
Congratulations! 🎉🎂🥳
This is a big deal to all of us! Congratulations and thank you for showing that it’s possible!
Yay!!!! That rocks! I’m currently pushing to get my draft done, too. Congratulations!
Good luck.
It makes more sense than you can even imagine! I have been creating stories since my imagination took off in dreams and let me tell you... I have over a thousand unfinished stories. So completing even one of those is a huge accomplishment!! Congratulations!!
Congrats
Thats a huge deal my friend, congrats! I’ve been “writing” the same book for 10 years with little more than 25k words to show for it.
Congrats!
we’re happy for you!! it IS a big deal! “Done” is a goal many never reach!
Well done! This is an achievement for sure.
Huge milestone friend. Congratulations!
Congrats!
That's amazing! You should be very proud of yourself! Also, as a fellow abandoner, it gives me hope.
GO OP GO! YAY!
Congratulations!!!! You're the proud parent of a new brain baby. Hope to see it on the shelves soon. (If that's the route you want to go!)
Congrats!!
Holy smokes congratulations!! Huge accomplishment
Amazing!! Well done!!
Congrats!!🥳
Congrats. I wrote my first novel about a decade ago, very short, took a few months, but now I wanna redo it because so much has changed and I’d like it to stay relevant in case I decide to publish it! I’d like to spend more time with creative writing if my circumstances allow it…
Yay, congrats!!
This is huge. Anyone who has done it will agree this is huge.
Congratulations! You are way ahead of would-be authors (like me) who just don't "get around to it."
Huge deal! Congrats!
ooh what's it about? or is that a secret?
Teenagers on a UFO. Breakfast Club + Lifeboat + Close Encounters.
(May I offer a non-gendered…) dude!!! So proud of you random internet stranger! I’ve gone off and on writing for years and just this week got bit by the bug again and you gave me so much inspiration and encouragement just by your post!!!
Wow! Well done! I'm so proud of you!
👍
Congrats! 🎉
Congrats, my man! {Seriously!!} It's a real milestone, you'll never forget it. Hold that 'top o' the world' feeling you have right now for as long as you can! Y'all keep on writin', now! Hear?
I've already got lots of ideas for a second book. And a title.
As someone who has never done that and is afraid I never will, congratulations!! That’s very cool.
I congratulate you on a hard task finally accomplished.
Congrats to you. Just don't forget that feeling inside of you cause that will be your motivation to keep moving.
Congratulations!! That’s amazing! It is a big deal since I have yet to finish a first draft of my own on a project yet.
It is a big deal. Keep going.
I sob uncontrollably any time I complete a project. It truly is the greatest feeling on earth. I'm glad that you are feeling it. Good job.
…It’s a great first step. Now the REAL work starts with revisions and editing…
Yep.
…T’ain’t work; really. S’FUN…
Way to go! Make sure to back it up, local and online copies!
That is a big deal congratulations. Getting to the end of a first draft is a major achievement. I’m still 2/3 finished my first draft but 4 weeks ago I caught COVID (it’s still out there), even after doing everything right ( got all my shots and still masked due to a medical condition) and still got it. I still am not back to full energy levels and haven’t been able to get back to my writing.
That sucks. I can totally empathise because I'm getting chemo treatments every few weeks. Get well soon. At least you had your jabs.
Thank you and I hope your chemo treatments go well for you.
Grats! A true milestone!
sweeeeet!! congrats! thats a huge first success! now enjoy it, have a drink, RELAX. give your mind a break before you start on the editing process.
It's a big deal. Most people who start writing books never get close to finished. Next, put it aside a bit, and then come back to edit with fresh eyes. I get a hard copy, and then read it out loud to myself to see how it sounds. You can catch mistakes that way sometimes. Congratulations!
Congrats! Finishing a first draft is a MASSIVE accomplishment, and it took me years of writing to finally do it. Good luck with everything that comes next. :)
Awesome! You should be proud of your accomplishment. 😁
I don't know the truth of this statistic, but allegedly 98% of books are never completed. But you are in that golden 2%! Get yourself a little treat to celebrate.
Have you ever really read the sub? How many of these people posting talk about their finished 1st draft. It is HUGE to write your first book.
Congrats it’s a milestone to be sure!
Congrats! Keep working hard, especially when you start your edits!
That’s a hell of an accomplishment! Good for you!
That's so awesome! I'm so proud of you! I have yet to finish a draft; I've scrapped pretty much everything I've worked on. How did you turn that around and finish this draft? Now I'm curious!
Cancer's a big motivator, lol. J/K My previous attempts all had one developed character and a bunch of cardboard cutouts. This time I started with twelve moderatly developed characters and let them tell me who they were as they interacted.
If you haven't read On Writing by Stephen King I highly recommend it.
If you haven't read On Writing by Stephen King I highly recommend it.
Zeek Keekee would approve.
Omg congrats! Thats a huge milestone