Sunday, May 25, 2008

16 months and 22,948 words later…

…And I've *finally* finished my book. 

I'd set myself a to-do list for this weekend, and 'finish the book' was my main priority. As many of you know, I'd actually planned on finishing it last year during my epic February writing month. That kind of … faltered, and then - and I'll openly admit to this - I got a bit complacent. But now it's done, and I'm happy with it. Really happy, in fact, as Willowc cajoled me into letting her read it and described it as "fab." And at 22,948 words it's slap-bang in the middle of novella territory where I was aiming for it to be all along. 

To be honest, it actually sprang out of several different ideas I've had over the last few years, all of which never quite felt like they worked properly, so I decided to ram them all into the same narrative in the hope that they would all end up making some kind of sense. There was the one about a day in the life of the people of a small town where every chapter would focus on a different person in an overarcing storyline, a story about two friends from different and seemingly incompatible backgrounds, one about a kid desperate to get out of his home town but somehow unable to leave, and then there was the one about a guy who drives around in a battered old car trying to make the world a better place. None of them seemed to have any focus until that day I was driving to work and I saw an old bike leaning up against the railings on Twickenham Bridge. It was such a strong image - there was no one near it, making it look like it had just been abandoned. And I wondered who would leave a bike there for no apparent reason?

OK, so just because it's written doesn't mean my job's done; it needs a bit of a proofread, and some tightening here and there (I've got a half complete proof copy beside me now, and there's a fair amount of red ink scattered throughout the first part, so lord knows what the second half will look like), and I need to condense the storyline down into an interesting single-page synopsis that is going to intrigue a publisher enough to want to see more. 

But regardless of what happens to it from here on in - I can say I've written a book! And here's it's title.

Now I'm going to go rest my fingers. They're a little sore from typing.

17 comments:

WillowC said...

It IS fab!

And it's gonna do really well, I can feel it in me bones.

Tara said...

I am so happy for you! Actually, happy isn't the word. I'm very impressed and inspired. You finished YOUR book. Not someone else's book, but finished writing YOUR book. It's yours. I'm sure you did all the necessary computer backups, right? I love the title, too.

WillowC said...

Don't worry Tara, I've got a copy, and I'm totally gonna sell it on eBay and retire on the proceeds when he's a stupidly successful author, too.

Tara said...

Excellent, WillowC. He'd better dedicate the book to all of us dedicated bloggers. ;)

Dinah said...

Oh my God. I'm so incredibly happy and excited and proud of you. My heart feels all swelled up and I'm totally tearing up (and yes, I'm pretty sure it's because of you and not some inexplicable medical condition). This is awesome. YOU are awesome.

CyberPete said...

Wohoooo! (can you tell I've never done that before?)

Excellent, so happy for you. Now I just can't wait to pick up my copy at the local bookshop!

Can't wait to read it.

Miss Smuggersham said...

Yay! Do we all get a signed copy of the first run?

*shakes fist* WE'D BETTER!

Congratulations, Tim! What an achievement! YAY!

Inexplicable DeVice said...

I think you know how I feel. After all, I'm your number one fan.

Anonymous said...

You are a wizard my friend! Well done you. I am going to come to your book signing and throw underwear at you. Yes yes I am!

Tim said...

Willowc - You can write the blurb for the back cover!

Tara - I can't quite believe it myself! And of coooourse there'll be some blogger dedications!

Dinah - Aaaah, thanks dude! Although you might want to get yourself checked over by a doctor just incase those symptoms aren't book-related!

Cyberpete - You might not have done it before, but you did it very well!

T-Bird - Signed? Dude, I'll lick it if you really want me to!

Kathy Ba- I mean Inexplicable Device - Um, thanks!

Watch*Paint*Dry - That would be awesome!

CyberPete said...

Why thank you kind sir.

You know, that's not all I do very well

*ahem*

Did I say that out loud?

Tim said...

Yes, evidently you also make blue food very well!

CyberPete said...

So true Tim. So true.

I'm actually working on something interesting in that field that I'll hope to share in a couple of weeks.

OddThomas said...

Yay, well done on getting it finished! My hand is poised over my wallet in eager anticipation!

Tim said...

Cyberpete - So I notice!

Oddthomas - Thank you sir! Hopefully you won't have to wait too long to pick up a copy!!

missyandchrissy said...

congrats!! we can't wait to read it.

and when it hits big in the states, you know who to call to be your book publicist.

Tim said...

Missy&Chrissy - You are so on!!!!