Finished the Novel...

I set a goal of December 31, 2017 to finish my novel. I knew I needed a deadline, but I've also learned I need structure, I need to work on it at a consistent time every day. So, by acknowledging and addressing my lack of discipline, I finished it yesterday. Well, I finished the first draft. The last few chapters have been really hard. I suppose because I was writing the final chapters, so they had to be compelling, make sense, and complete my story. Also, I was writing an ending that didn't quite match the early sections of the book, sections I knew needed revision. So I had quite a battle with myself to plunge forward, instead of go back and revise. I was mostly successful, mainly because I forced myself to NOT go back. There will be enough time for that.

I've been calling this thing the Elvira Grey book since I started writing it, almost three years ago, even though I slapped a title on it when I submitted my partially completed work to Michelle at the end of 2015. I hated the title then, and still do (A Terrible Loyalty). It sounds too melodramatic. We'll see what I come up with in the next few months.