Guys, I'm gonna do it.

I'm gonna finish a novel.

It's so close I can taste it.

I've been working a little project I call Swain since the end of August. Soon, my 'little project' became a lot longer than I'd ever expected. I thought this would be one of those cases in which I write five pages and then give up. My first draft was like that. Then it passed the 30 page mark, which only one of my stories have ever done before (it fizzled on page 32).

Now I'm on page 167. And I'm talking 8.5x11" pages with 12-point Times New Roman. I have no idea how long it would be in a paperback format.

Anyway, I realized last night that I maybe have five or six chapters left, and then a grand finale that would probably be the length of two to three regular chapters. It's so close. So damn close it's scary.

Of course, finishing the manuscript is not the end of the road. No, I have to revise and edit, edit and revise, and then find a publisher. But still, oh my goodness.

However, before I do that, I'm going to write another novel.

There's an annual contest by Random House that I intend to enter. Entrants have to write a 'teen' novel in a 'contemporary setting'. Winner gets a publishing deal and prize money. I'm totally in.

Now I need to come up with ideas. I'll get back to you...