Not the end...

The Write a Novel in a Month students finished the course this week and I'm proud to announce that as a group of approx. 12 students (regular ones) they managed a whopping 500,000 words between them, half a million - that's a huge amount of wordage. Over 40,000 on average each. I feel so proud of them all. Even the ones who felt they didn't write much, still did more than they would have done if they'd not come on the course. And that's the whole point really - to get you all writing, finding your voice and expressing yourselves.
There was a great deal of celebration and as I left 'The Bull' three more bottles of fizz were heading towards the table.
For me, this isn't an ending at all. I've got pages of what really amounts to notes for my next book and I'm trying to clear the decks so I can get down to seeing what is there. The first thing to do will be to print it all out, get a new red pen and a pile of post-it notes. As my (don't know what to call him...boyfriend is too young, he likes 'Hellraiser'???? - go figure, other half is wrong, I am a whole person in my own right. Man in my life is too long winded, bloke? OK - I'll try that, The bloke), as the bloke says, this is the best stage in writing, when you can still believe you are creating something good and worthwhile before the rejections and criticisms come pouring him. (The bloke is a bit of a pessimist).
My friend Jacqui Lofthouse is in the process of editing her novel at the moment, and I envy her that, she's at the end, doing all the tidying up, the smoothing out, the final polish before sending it off to her agent. Now that's the stage I look forward to, when you know you can't do anymore and this thing you've slaved over, dreamt about, obsessed and fretted with, is finally done to the absolute best of your ability.
So, if I have any message to students reading this, you are not at the end, but the beginning of something fabulous, exciting and totally transforming, enjoy. And see you all again soon.
sara
x