In the realm of things that are totally are-you-freaking-kidding-me ridiculous: last night, I officially hit my goal of writing 100,000 words for Seven Sons. There was no fanfare associated with this, nobody standing there and cheering or popping champagne bottles, but it was an event for me nonetheless.
The threshold was crossed on the following sentence: A few lies would set them back on their way just as easily as a blade, but the death would only mean questions later.
Nothing special, I guess, and rather unremarkable in the grand scheme of the story. If you’re wondering what 100k means in terms of a page count, that’s roughly a 400 page novel. From what I’ve read, the average novel ranges anywhere from 75k-110k, with 120k and upwards reserved for multiple parters or sci-fi/fantasy epics. The finished draft will probably land somewhere around the 120-130k region, and hopefully I can work that down to around 110-115k for the final. It’ll take some doing, but so did writing the first one hundred thousand words.
I’m not really writing this post to pat myself on the back, but that doesn’t mean I’m not proud of it, either. In reality I’m just astounded that it happened. We’ve all got those pie-in-the-sky ideas that rattle around in our skulls, and for me that’s always been writing a fantasy book. To take that from pie-in-the-sky to on the page is surreal more than it is cool. And with each page I write, it becomes more and more humbling as I see all the work that still needs to be done for it to be a comprehensible or engaging tale.
In some ways, I feel like I’m just getting started, but I know that the majority of the hard part is done. What’s cool is that I’m getting excited about it all over again. I feel like I’m standing on the precipice of something that could be great fun. I hope to have something more to show soon.
“So here’s us, on the raggedy edge,” as Captain Mal would say.
To further commemorate this occasion, I’ve attached what I feel to be the appropriate celebratory music.
Best bird ever. Enjoy.
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