I did it. I got a story to a decent length and a finishing point. 15,000 words. Wikipedia says that this qualifies it as a novelette but I don’t like that word, so: Novella. It’s called Children of Fire, it’s a fantasy-genre story and I might post up an excerpt if there’s interest. Anyone?

A weird thing that keeps crossing my mind is that I started this story about a decade ago. I cringe to think what my writing was like back then, and thankfully a dead computer means I don’t have to see it. I’ve found one hard copy in my old bedroom back home that I think I’ll open up this summer while I’m writing book two so I can gather what few gems I may have had. Most of the characters have survived the decade, but some didn’t make it and were replaced by new ones that I love and can’t wait to continue. The settings have changed, the bad guys are – hopefully –  less of a cliche, and the main characters have much more depth and a chance for growth. That makes it better, right?

I think I’ll wait a few days before I get into revision mode. I’ve sent copies of the rough version to a few people, and even though they’re all good friends I’m absolutely miserable waiting to hear back from them. I can take and appreciate feedback and constructive criticism, but at the same time this is very personal. My stories reflect a lot about me (at least I think so) and I’m not usually one to be that open. I honestly don’t know how I’ll handle publishing this stuff. I’m going to do it, though. I’ve wanted to be a published author for so long that I decided a few weeks ago that once I finished something I would go for it and stop making excuses. I imagine the first one is the most difficult.

I actually meant to finish an entirely different story – one I submitted for a class last semester. Unfortunately I hit a block whilst writing and haven’t been able to figure out how to proceed. I’ll probably let that one sit for a while until I either come up with some great idea (I hope) or decide to cut it back to its original stopping point and submit it as a short story to a magazine somewhere.

So for now I’m planning cover art and preparing for my last semester of school EVER. It’s a good feeling.