It’s past five o’clock in the afternoon, and I haven’t had a look at working on the last few chapters.

I looked at it last night and made the changes I thought I needed to continue working the next day.

But…

The day started with the Maple Leafs playing some other team, but it didn’t matter. It was at Scotiabank Stadium, our home ground, so the odds were in our favour to win.

Of course, the day before we lost. It was disappointing, and if anyone had been following the trials of living with Chester, my cantankerous cat, you would know he was happy they did.

And still getting his least favourite food.

He knows the deal. Barrack for the Maple Leafs or there will be consequences.

Today we won in overtime. Good, we’ve been winning since we changed coaches, and the loss yesterday was an aberration.

The game ended in the early afternoon, our time.

Then we switched over to one-day cricket, and this will run till about ten tonight, which means not much work will get done.

I have been forsaking cricket to finish the NaNoWriMo project. Now that the pressure is off, I have a few things to catch up on.

At least the next hockey game is not till Wednesday.

The cricket for us, at least, is over for a day or so.

In the meantime, now that there is a lull in sports, I will get back to work.

It’s past five o’clock in the afternoon, and I haven’t had a look at working on the last few chapters.

I looked at it last night and made the changes I thought I needed to continue working the next day.

But…

The day started with the Maple Leafs playing some other team, but it didn’t matter. It was at Scotiabank Stadium, our home ground, so the odds were in our favour to win.

Of course, the day before we lost. It was disappointing, and if anyone had been following the trials of living with Chester, my cantankerous cat, you would know he was happy they did.

And still getting his least favourite food.

He knows the deal. Barrack for the Maple Leafs or there will be consequences.

Today we won in overtime. Good, we’ve been winning since we changed coaches, and the loss yesterday was an aberration.

The game ended in the early afternoon, our time.

Then we switched over to one-day cricket, and this will run till about ten tonight, which means not much work will get done.

I have been forsaking cricket to finish the NaNoWriMo project. Now that the pressure is off, I have a few things to catch up on.

At least the next hockey game is not till Wednesday.

The cricket for us, at least, is over for a day or so.

In the meantime, now that there is a lull in sports, I will get back to work.

It’s the end.

The last day, but not the last of the editing.

Yes, I have almost managed to complete most of the editing in 30 days, but with a few side trips, and changes to the plan on the run, it is mostly done.

The good news?

I’m going to stick with it until I’ve finished, so there will be a few more journal entries to cover the last chapters.

Had it been the length I had originally planned, it would have been finished.

I managed to get through the back chapters last night after some distractions, and now it’s just two, possibly three more, and then one or two for the epilogue, which will be epic.

At the moment, the story is about 73,000 words long and will finish closer to 80,000.

It’s been at times a trial, a lot of hard work, but it has been worthwhile. The thing is, I’m going to continue on, past the estimated time, and get this finished.

It’s now three of three, books that will eventually be published in the near future.

It’s the end.

The last day, but not the last of the editing.

Yes, I have almost managed to complete most of the editing in 30 days, but with a few side trips, and changes to the plan on the run, it is mostly done.

The good news?

I’m going to stick with it until I’ve finished, so there will be a few more journal entries to cover the last chapters.

Had it been the length I had originally planned, it would have been finished.

I managed to get through the back chapters last night after some distractions, and now it’s just two, possibly three more, and then one or two for the epilogue, which will be epic.

At the moment, the story is about 73,000 words long and will finish closer to 80,000.

It’s been at times a trial, a lot of hard work, but it has been worthwhile. The thing is, I’m going to continue on, past the estimated time, and get this finished.

It’s now three of three, books that will eventually be published in the near future.

I’m in the middle of writing a new chapter, one that goes back a little in time, but helps set up events that occur later towards the end.

And true to form, it’s going a little off track.

There is scope for it to be a pivotal point in the story, but it’s not quite working out that way.

I’m doing this while I’m waiting for my usual Friday grandchild collection from school. Here I have to get here a half hour before pick up time to get a favourable position in the queue.

So it’s a good time to do some editing.

And it’s where I work on one of my stories, matched to a photo as inspiration.

Not today.

There are pressures in getting the NaNoWriMo project finished, and it’s getting away from me.

This part was not as easy as I hoped, so back to the job. Hopefully, there will be better news tomorrow

I’m in the middle of writing a new chapter, one that goes back a little in time, but helps set up events that occur later towards the end.

And true to form, it’s going a little off track.

There is scope for it to be a pivotal point in the story, but it’s not quite working out that way.

I’m doing this while I’m waiting for my usual Friday grandchild collection from school. Here I have to get here a half hour before pick up time to get a favourable position in the queue.

So it’s a good time to do some editing.

And it’s where I work on one of my stories, matched to a photo as inspiration.

Not today.

There are pressures in getting the NaNoWriMo project finished, and it’s getting away from me.

This part was not as easy as I hoped, so back to the job. Hopefully, there will be better news tomorrow

I never thought I would get to this point, where there’s almost a complete novel.

It is quite remarkable that it is possible if you decide to focus on getting a novel out in a month.

What it does tell you is that proper planning is really a necessity if you want to succeed.

But…

It’s not the be-all to end all.

I’m not going to stop flying by the seat of my pants, but it’s given me another insight into the writing process.

I’m up to the business end of the story, and it requires concentration, and it will not be the first time I have written a page or two, gone back to reread it and made an adjustment.

I have to be careful not to be overly critical. After all, it is only the penultimate draft, and I’m striving for, but not necessarily expecting perfection.

It won’t be, but I can always hope.

I never thought I would get to this point, where there’s almost a complete novel.

It is quite remarkable that it is possible if you decide to focus on getting a novel out in a month.

What it does tell you is that proper planning is really a necessity if you want to succeed.

But…

It’s not the be-all to end all.

I’m not going to stop flying by the seat of my pants, but it’s given me another insight into the writing process.

I’m up to the business end of the story, and it requires concentration, and it will not be the first time I have written a page or two, gone back to reread it and made an adjustment.

I have to be careful not to be overly critical. After all, it is only the penultimate draft, and I’m striving for, but not necessarily expecting perfection.

It won’t be, but I can always hope.

It’s interesting that no matter how much you outline and plan a chapter, when it comes to actually putting words on paper, it doesn’t quite run the way it should.

Last night I toiled over the chapter that has the first of the plot twists.

It’s been writing itself in my head, and I’ve been making notes to supplement the plan and take those notes into consideration.

But…

When I wrote it, the first time around, it didn’t seem right. You know what that’s like. It’s not the second-guessing thing, it’s not the being over-critical thing, you write it, walk away, get a coffee, or in my case, a large Scotch and soda water, and go back.

You either tell yourself it’s utterly brilliant, or at the other end of the scale, complete rubbish.

I was somewhere in between, and the cat, who was skulking nearby, suddenly found himself a captive critic.

I read it out loud, he made weird faces, and, yes, I could see what was bothering me.

Three hours later, past two in the morning, it was in better shape than I was.

It’s interesting that no matter how much you outline and plan a chapter, when it comes to actually putting words on paper, it doesn’t quite run the way it should.

Last night I toiled over the chapter that has the first of the plot twists.

It’s been writing itself in my head, and I’ve been making notes to supplement the plan and take those notes into consideration.

But…

When I wrote it, the first time around, it didn’t seem right. You know what that’s like. It’s not the second-guessing thing, it’s not the being over-critical thing, you write it, walk away, get a coffee, or in my case, a large Scotch and soda water, and go back.

You either tell yourself it’s utterly brilliant, or at the other end of the scale, complete rubbish.

I was somewhere in between, and the cat, who was skulking nearby, suddenly found himself a captive critic.

I read it out loud, he made weird faces, and, yes, I could see what was bothering me.

Three hours later, past two in the morning, it was in better shape than I was.