A week away…

Wow. Only a week away from my goal to finish this novel…

I think I’m going to be able to do it.

I wrote about 2,000 words and figured out how this story is going to end today. Or, rather, figured out how the final climax is going to reach its peak. That’s going to happen within the next 3,000 words (not pages), then I’ll write a concluding chapter.

It’s amazing how much free time I’ve got, now that school is out. Finals start tomorrow, and I’m going to take a killer exam for poli sci 310…but then it’s going to be over. And Saturday I’ve got two more–New Testament (piece of cake) and English 318. Arabic will be a big test, and so will poli sci 375, but I’m not too worried about those.

The free time thing is more of an illusion, though. I’ve got to prepare for this study abroad, write a query letter and figure out where I’m going to submit this story (it really isn’t ready, but I don’t mind sending out a query. Problem is I haven’t researched any editors or agents). Arabic is going to take a ton of time for studying, and I’ve still got a few days of work left–not to mention my little sister’s wedding. Ai!

But I think I can do this. I predicted today that I needed 5,000 words to end this chapter, and at 2,000 words I’m exactly where I thought I would be. I’m not sure exactly what I’ll do for the last chapter, but it probably won’t take more than 8,000 words. Possibly fewer.

It’s going to take a lot of focusing, but I think it will happen. I’ll edit the first 30 pages tomorrow to submit them for the English 318 final, then finish the chapter on Saturday (3,000 words in two days, not counting the edits). Sunday I can probably do a couple thousand words, then spread out the last bit of work between Monday and Wednesday. If I spend no more than three hours per day writing, study for about the same amount of time, and don’t waste too much time playing games or surfing the net, I can probably fit in all of my preparations fairly easily as well. Inshallah.

I’m pretty nervous about all this, but I think it’s going to come together.