83,382

September 1 was a pretty good day. Why? I finished pecking out the first draft of the second novel. When it was done, I immediately took the computer file down to the local office supply store and printed it on a fancy machine that could do two sides and hole punch, thereby making something that was previously only in my head into something that resembled a real book. The draft, also known as “Version 1.68” now resides in a yellow three ring binder, ready for the revision process. Regard for the Dead required something like eighteen months to fix up the 73,633 words. Having learned a lesson or two, I hope to cut this one down to eight months or less, even though it is almost 10,000 more words. With all of that said, “Version 1.68” will have to wait until The Captain and I return from a little vacation.

The yellow binder.