Nearly There

Last night I hit the 90k word mark on my novel. What an achievement! Even better, the scene I wrote wasn't anything I had planned - the characters took over and did what they wanted. 

I've never written a novel this fast before. But after I decided to withdraw from my PhD program, I made a promise to dedicate myself to my passion: writing fiction. And I've kept that promise. I'm really proud of myself for doing that. My goal is to have the novel finished by the end of the month. Totally doable. 

Since I'm planning a sequel to this novel, however, part of this draft's revisions process will include adding certain elements that weren't there before. When I came up with the idea for this novel, I didn't even think about it being a series so didn't include the plotting for that in the original outline. 

Isn't it fantastic that we can go back and change anything we want in our stories? Polish our words? Tear apart scenes and rewrite them? This knowledge should make it easier for us to write the first draft, yet our brain still think we need it to be perfect. Instead, it tells us to get it right the first time. Hmph. However, I'm looking forward to the revision process because that's where I can really dig in to the meat of the story. 

In Other News...

1) I have started going to physical therapy again for my pelvic issues. I've had so many surgeries and issues in that region that scar tissue is now my constant companion. Of course, none of my doctors told me I'd be dealing with this after my hysterectomy, or the oopherectomy, etc. Nope. Had to find out the hard way. But the one bright spot is that my physical therapist is AMAZING. We talk and laugh a lot, and when I told her I was taking a trip to Scotland, she told me all about how she lived in Edinburgh in college for awhile as part of an exchange program with UNL. She said it's her favorite place ever, and encouraged me to go for my goal of living in Scotland or somewhere else in the UK or Ireland a few months out of the year every year. "Life is too short," she said. "Do it!" 

2) I also expressed my health concerns to her about my trip to Scotland. She told me to do activities that didn't require a lot of walking. Before I talked to her, I was bound and determined to just be independent and not go on any tours - but just organize my outings all by myself. In other words, my pride was getting in the way.  Well. Last night I booked a bus tour of the Highlands of Scotland. Let someone else drive! I want to enjoy myself. While I do anticipate doing a fair amount of walking in Edinburgh, I will pace myself accordingly, and if necessary, rent a little electric scooter. My daughter and I are also going to take a few other day trips outside of Edinburgh by train.

3) Tonight, I was so fortunate to be able to pet the soft, fuzzy feathers of a fledgling sparrow. He has been hanging out on my back patio for the last few days, and has let me get quite close to him. So I decided to see if I could pet him, and he allowed it. So cool. He's just figuring out how this world works - I see him flying short distances and pecking at the bird seed, and wouldn't it be awesome if he hung around here and decided to eat bird seed out of my hand one day? I sure hope so.