Today’s character sketch asks the question – what would it mean to be true to yourself? Willing to give up everything you have – just walk away – if you knew it was the only way you could still be you? And if you leave everything behind, how much of yourself remains?

Every hare needs a hound, every fox a courser. Today I sketched out the lady who is trying to track Roland down. She thinks she knows who she’s looking for. But what she’s really looking for is the truth – and it’s not what she thinks.

On November 1st, I am starting NaNoWriMo. In preparation, then, and bowing to the rule that Character is King, I am going to do ten character writeups for ten of the characters who will appear in it. Tonight I did the protagonist/viewpoint character, Roland. Or possibly John. He’s a man with a surprising amount on his mind.

The Novel has now been collated into a single manuscript, had proper chapter titles applied, been counted at 63,213 words and has been sent off to a publisher. So that’s nice. Not expecting to hear anything for at least two months, but it’s done. Finished.

…tomorrow I go back to working on the second novel then. When I try to figure out what type of person steals emotions for a living.

Just under four years since I first started work on this thing. Just under ten months since I decided to pick it up again and turn it into something I could be proud of. And now, it’s done. Tomorrow, I compile it into a manuscript and send it off to a publisher. Then I probably get it back and send it off to another publisher. And so on. (Unless it comes in under 60,000 words, anyway, in which case I get to try and figure out where I can expand it. I have a seam where I can add another chapter, so that could work.)

But that’s all tomorrow’s problem. For today, the novel is done. Just in time to start the next one…

One chapter to go! Decided to hold off on it until I’ve done the bumpers, so it’s the last thing I do. So close to done I can taste it!

Coming home from the pub to write about characters in the pub. It’s an odd life. Two more chapters to go!

Two chapters done. 29/32. Just three more, a bunch of bumpers, and I’m going to have to call it done. I could polish it forever, but sometimes you have to move on.

Chapter 27 done, five to go. I may try and get two done tomorrow and Thursday in order to have the weekend to work on the bumpers.

Chapter 26 done. I do like my more recent writing more, though that’s understandable. Should by able to finish this off and do the bumpers at the weekend. Might tackle the Wars of the Roses after that. Or start it, anyway, before NaNoWriMo.