The Big Novel Finish! ( First draft..that is...)

At slightly over 80,000 words,   (80,319 to be exact)  The book is DONE!  YEAH!    WooHOOO!.   That only took me FOREVER! And now the fun begins....when I have to go back and re-read it to correct all the spelling errors.

Ok,  perhaps spelling errors are not as bad as the butchery of English I so often do.   What can I say?  As an artist, you learn the rules so you can intentionally break them, right?    Well,  why would I want to be ordinary?  Things that are slightly damaged but still functional are much more interesting.

So...it's a happy ending...for now.   Who knows what happens when the editors ( me..) dig out the scissors and start cutting things.   We may reach a whole new ending....like Rocky Balboa...


I must say that the task ahead is daunting.   Not only do I not like to read, but I hate being reminded that I almost flunked Writing English in College.   Every time I see a confusing sentence,  the repressed memories of Harold Buss's class and "you begin at a 'C' and work your way down." comes to mind.   However,  I also hate criticism and would hate to be told by an editor (that I pay money to) that, "you begin at a 'C' and work your way down..."

Let's focus on the good.   80,319 words.  237 pages.  5 months of writing...  really?  5 MONTHS?   Good Lord!   Well,  that is all behind me now so  (...yeah!... )

Other than that,  I have discovered a flaw in Medieval Total War...and that is that I can't conquer Europe after all.   Because England never did it.   Apparently the AI  ( Artificial Intelligence)  Keeps you "historically Accurate"   BOOHOO.    That means it is inevitable that England is going to be excommunicated!  I may as well give my lands on Norway back to the French!   Germany has already recaptured their Entwerp back and now I have to face a serous threat from Denmark as well.   Ah the trials of being a Tyrant...
I discovered this when my income went to negative digits after working so hard to keep my economy growing.  I scanned all over trying to figure out why my cash suddenly dried up and I realized that I had an army about to conquer the Holy Roman Empire.

Boom!   Couple of bouts with Plague,  bankruptcy and  random rebel pirates and brigands and my hopes and dreams of world domination are dashed like an ice cream cone on a hot summer sidewalk.

But then!    I receive a mission to attack France....and they have left the gates wide open and unattended.  I march in unopposed and find ...8000 coin in my treasury!   Where did all this cash come from?  
Oh,   and France is not happy about it and is now laying siege to the very city I rightfully stole.  Good thing I know a little bit of history...but it is bad when it repeats itself despite my best efforts.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend so far.  Today was a long run for Cheryl...10 miles in the wind and mud.   Loads of fun for me on the bike as well.  So now it is "bum time."  Where we eat too much , do too little and try to feel this sense of entitlement.  Cheryl has to go back to work on Tuesday after all...and I have to polish up the book.  ( Polish or polish?  Which one is it?....American readers:  Poland is a country....in Europe!)  Who ever said playing video games was all that bad?