Step Seven: The Daily Grind (100k And OMG Is That The End I See?!)

The End is Always Faster Than The Beginning

Incredibly, this is the last post of the Daily Grind, the largest part of the book-writing process, the one that is obviously the most drawn out because of the very nature of writing. It represents the end of the butt-in-chair grind that gets us to the initial finish line. It means the surprising yet inevitable has happened. Somehow, some way, because of daily diligence and unshakeable belief in the process over the screaming naysayers in my brain, the first draft is done.

I joked on Threads last week that I have a terrible time writing short books. My latest, A VERY BAD THING, clocked in at a hefty 120k. This one’s looking like at least 105k after some very judicious editing. This is not unusual for me. I’m a wordy, atmospheric, and character-driven writer; I want you to be able to *see* the book along with me. To get you inside my head takes more than a staccato description. (Unless that’s needed. Whatever.)

What a lot of readers don’t realize is writing short books is probably as much of a challenge as writing long books.