Yesterday I printed out all 119 pages of zero-draft onto size 8X11 paper and placed the pages into a three-ring binder. I am 100% positive that I am at the point where this step was necessary. My manuscript is ready to go through the first steps of editing. Wow!

I know there are many things that need finished, like the last chapter. And there are things that need to be tied together and cleaned up. I am pretty sure the best way to do that is read it from the beginning, notating throughout. Any edits – additions – subtractions – etc….

Once I have that process complete my plan is to retype the entire refined first draft and finish it with the obligatory THE END. If you would have asked me back in July when my word count stood at a measly 15,000 if I was anywhere near the end I would have told you to ask me again next year. If I had not done a NaNoWriMo in August I wouldn’t be at this stage in the process.

It’s truly amazing what you can do if you just set your mind to it. I know that I have a ton of work left to do on my zero draft, plus two more books to write to complete the trilogy, but I know that I will get it all done in due time.

So, this morning I sat down and read through the first four printed pages and was amazed at how differently it reads on paper vs. a computer screen. Who knew? I found so many things that I want to change and so many tiny errors. Ugh, but again it’s a process that takes time and patience.

If you ever find yourself stuck at 15,000 words consider challenging yourself to a NaNoWriMo like I did. If that seems to daunting then at the very least set daily or weekly writing goals. It is truly an amazing feeling to get to the point where you have to print out your work.

Thank you for reading. Any comments and/or questions on any subject matter are welcome.