For those reading along the Fifteen Minute Novel you may have noticed that today it seemed like the story ended. That’s because it did. My original plan was to get her through the road trip and have some sort of epiphany when she got back to town but I honestly don’t think the story needs that. I think it actually ends well with her finally standing up for herself with Lisa and Toby and getting them to realize that she isn’t coming back and that she in fact does not need them.
And so even though I didn’t plan to end the story here, it felt like the right place to end it. Clearly this experiment produced a full rough (very rough) draft by writing fifteen minutes a day Since January. (186 days to be exact). The full word count is 108, 105 words should anyone be interested.
that being said, there are parts that I will need to go and fill out now that I know the end. I will bulk up the elements of her growing confidence and trim down the parts of the story that were in place because i thought they might go somewhere at some point. Now that i have the whole I can start to shape it. Thee is no real perfect metaphor for the editing of the first draft. In one instance it is like taking a chainsaw to a hedge to create a topiary. At the same time it is also like taking several cakes and various tubes of frosting and filling and creating a fanciful layer cake. Once the first draft is done there is both a taking away and an adding process that must go on.
However that must wait a few weeks while it settles and sits. while it becomes a thing that is done and not a thing in progress. After a few weeks it will settle in the mind as a complete story and then the first pass through editing can begin.
But what is to happen to the morning posts?
Well this year several of my prompts have grabbed me and really wanted the attention needed to become stories. I think what I might do is find one I think I can work on, either as a novel or a short story. Tonight I will look at it and hopefully tomorrow I can post a rough outline and start writing fifteen minutes on that story for the remainder of the year.
The ending was a bit unexpected so I don’t have next year’s story start ready. I just have a file of possibilities. So tonight I will look at possibilities and see what i come up with by the morning. Won’t this be a fun adventure? See you then.
Ten til Midnight 