So, in following The Basics I've finished the denouement, which means - woo hoo - I've finished the rough draft.
As you may remember . . .
The last part of The Basics is the Denouement. This is where I get to write and they all lived happily ever after. Kidding . . . again. This is what happens to the characters, good and bad, before said characters "ride off into the sunset".
Well, my characters have 'ridden off into the sunset'.
The rough draft is currently at a bit over 53,000 words, for a total of 230 pages! Yee-ha!
I did this in less than two weeks. I don't know how. I don't know why. I just know that's what I did.
Writing is not a race with some big prize for finishing the fastest. Writing is a process. Writing is a roller coaster ride.
Sometimes, the words don't want to flow at all. Sometimes, they flow so quickly that life spins by and I barely find the time to take a breath.
This project was one of those times.
I can't tell you how I'm feeling right here - now - as I type this post. I'm smiling. I'm overwhelmed. And yet . . . there's so much more.
There's joy! There's . . . ecstasy. There's . . . everything!
This project consumed me. I stayed up late to write, I worked during lunch at work, I spent hours on the weekends. I couldn't stop. Every time I thought - enough, I need to stop - I kept on writing.
Wednesday night I finished the rough draft. Oh, there's still some things I have to do - heck, that's what my day off on Friday is for this week.
Last night, I did the Table of Contents. Then, I broke apart the various - OMG, are there chapters - chapters into the sections of The Basics: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement.
I now have a neat little picture of The Basics. I know which chapters fall into each section. I know I have each of these sections in this all consuming project.
Oh, man, I feel good right now (Thursday night, btw, pretyping this post).
Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank Lynn Price over at Behler Blog for feeling the need to put up his post (The Basics). This chart is just absolutely amazing. Thanks!!!!!!
S
Brief Update - finished the addition of some pages. Rough Draft Done @ 255 Pages and 60,000 words, give or take a few hundred for chapter titles, table of contents, and title page.
5 comments:
Denouement as in conclusion?? Congrats, my friend who ALWAYS agrees with me and especially, especially that the Dolphins are just the greatest things since margaritas. ;)
Glad to hear of this awesome accomplishment. I'z proud of ya. :)
Oh and yes! One has to hurry if one wants to be invited on Oprah's show. It's making me nervous. ^_^
Okay, did you read my posts about 'The Basics', Miss Robyn??? Ha!
Yes, denouement as in . . . conclusion, done, finished, finito . . . woo hoo!!! Okay, seriously it's only the rough draft but . . . DONE!
Oh, and how dare you defile the respectability of margaritas by lumping the dolphins in the same category. Ha! Margaritas always win. We can't say the same thing about the Dolphins, now can we? SNAP!
CONGRATS! I'm pretty freaking stunned right now at your progress! WOW!
Writing isn't a race? Gah, I've gone about this all wrong!
Michelle - thanks. You think you're stunned? Try being me right now! It's been an amazing process so far, and I'm pretty sure I'll need to fasten my seat belt for the rest of the process.
No, writing isn't a race, and I think every writer learns this fact in his/her own time. : )
Congrats on finishing your rough draft! Enjoy the feeling, it's a good one!
Nice to meet you and your blog!
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