A Failure or Success?

My original goal, for finishing the first draft of my book, was my birthday in February. In early December, I got the idea that it would be great to finish by the end of the year instead.

On December 12^th, 2009, I reached my 50,000-word milestone. Estimating that my first draft would come in around 70,000 words, I had 20,000 words to go. I counted the days on the calendar, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that there were 20 days left. That meant if I wrote 1,000 words a day, I could finish by December 31^st.

I kept up with my schedule pretty well. I’d fall behind a couple hundred words one day, but make it up the next. In the end, did I pull it off? Yes. And no.

I did complete my 20,000 words in 20 days, placing my manuscript at 70,000 words. But it’s not finished yet. Upon further review, I now estimate another 10,000 words to finish it off.

My goal was to reach 70,000 words by New Years, THEREBY completing my first draft. I accomplished one of the two. Fifty percent. Did I fail at my goal, or succeed?

I’m chalking this one up to a huge success. I could have rushed through the final chapters, in order to finish the draft, but I didn’t. I took my time, trying my best to do it right.

I wrote a total of 29,450 words in the month of December. That’s 16,000 words more than any other month. There is no way I’m going to say that I failed.

I have so many revisions to do, once I do get it finished, that my head starts to spin just thinking about it. But it’s a first draft. My very first, first draft.

I’m just excited to be allowed to hang out on the writing field, with so many accomplished authors. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again; the support system for aspiring authors in Utah is amazing!

I’m so excited for 2010. I have so much to learn, so much to grow, and so much to write. It’s going to be wonderful.