I am, as of this very moment, 52,014 words into my novel, Heavenly Lights. It is a good feeling to get this far, because I have never gotten this far into one story. All the other times, I got bored of the story or procrastinated all the whole darn time.
Not with this one.
I am back in Michigan until the beginning of March, and I have, among other things, the goal of finishing or come very close to finishing the first draft of my novel. That goal is a huge one, but I think I can do it. To reach the finish line, I need to write about 1,100 words each day for the time that I am here. That means that I need to find or make time to sit down and write for an extended period. Whether it be in the morning or late at night, I will write as much as I can in a full-on sprint.
After that, it is on to the second draft. This one is going to be an undertaking even bigger than the initial draft. I have so many things that I want to– and need to change– such as character genders and point of views. Not to mention new backstories or the new subplot I devised one night sitting on the floor of my apartment in Texas. It’s going to be a long process, but I cannot wait to see the end product. Wish me luck, though, because I am going to need it!
Are you nearing the end of one of your stories? Are you excited to finally be done? What biggest challenges face you when writing the second draft?
Evan W.S. Morgan 
I have my biggest MS (127k) off with beta readers right now. After 5 drafts to get it ready, it’s awesome to have it out to get slaughtered so I can fix it up. But also because I can then work on other projects. So far, my next goal is to work on two different projects at the same time. So I write on two different MS’s per day. It’s been really great so far, actually.
That’s going to be a big book! I can’t wait to read it. And I admire your ability to work on two at once. I have a great idea for a novel that I look forward to writing, but I am afraid that my time being divided by that and Heavenly Lights might not be the best idea at the moment. Perhaps when I am working on And The Mountains Fell, I will consider working on it as well. Right now, when I need to take a break, I usually write a short story or two. Which reminds me, I have one that I need to type up! Wrote it down in a notebook last week, but never got to getting down on the screen.