17. Getting to the end

Getting to the end – The unknown unknowns: One thing no one told me when I started out, or what I failed to ask because I had no idea I was writing a novel, was how to stop!

To those of you out there who are struggling to finish a novel, I sympathise, but for me the problem was stopping.

Like many writers I have an unpublished novel in the memory-stick equivalent of the dusty drawer. That first unpublished book ended up over 160,000 words. I love every one and would die to defend each. At least that’s how I felt when I’d finally did finish it. I suspect when I dust it off again the scales will fall from my eyes and I’ll see how and where to cut it down to size. I would really like to one day because it’s a complete blast.

In the meantime, after a measly two agent rejections my fevered brain moved on to Joseph Stark. The first draft of If I Should Die was 95,000 words. After much blood, sweat and tears I got it down to 130,000.