Novel! In novel form!

I recently completed edits on my NaNoWriMo novel - well, as complete as I had the patience to do, anyway - and I ordered my free paperback copy just before the June 30 deadline. A copy came in the mail last night, and it was a very odd feeling indeed.


As most of my blog readers probably remember, I wrote this novel in November 2009 as part of National Novel Writing Month. 30 days, 50,000 words of fiction. My story was actually based on an idea I had for a video game - the aliens have invaded Earth and enslaved the surviving human populace, and the novel is the story of the prisoners' escape and last stand.

Most days I stayed on track with the 1,667 words per day I was required to write, and when I finished, it was a little over 51,000 words. Dave and I both wrote novels, and when he was out of town on the last night in November, I attended the finale party in Chicago and finished my book there, among other amateur novelists. It was a thrilling night.


I wrote this book in the throes of my unemployment depression (and massive amounts of free time), so it's pretty gratifying to sit here holding an edited, bound copy (weighing in at about 54,000 words and 226 pages) only six months later. How much has changed in my life.


At any rate, it will be up on Amazon in a week or so, not that anyone will buy it, but it has its own ISBN number and now I've made my literary contribution to the world. I really want to thank the people who read the draft and sent me their comments - Mom, A.J., Chris, Mike - as it really helped me clean up the draft a bit before publication. This is probably the biggest writing project I've ever undertaken, which really is saying something after my departmental honors history thesis and my DePaul Law Review article. And everyone's support has been so wonderful. Thanks, and thanks again!