****FINISHED*****

That's right, as of 5:43 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30, 2006, I finished the first rough draft of my first novel. One month, 50,201 pages.

While I'd like to emphasize how rough this draft is, there's a beginning, a middle and an end. The first goal has been met. The first hurdle is clear. Still, don't ask for a copy yet. It's really rough.

Now it's on to months worth of editing, rewriting, page layout, cover design, more editing and publishing. While I have no clue how long any of this will take, I'm shooting to have the thing released March 15, the day in the book Ethan, one of the main characters, commits suicide.

I can't thank the people who have supported me through this and other writing projects I've done. I gurantee you this one will be seen through to the end. It's the first of many. There's no greater feeling than shutting and finally getting something done.

But, for all the Winona kids who have inspired this book, I want you to know I love you all. Meredith, mom and the rest of my family, thanks for everything always.

But for those of us who are privvy to some inside jokes, here are some things that made it into the book. Some were planned, others just wrote themselves in.
- First Prentiss
- Subway bag
- Killing coy
- Punching walls
- Streaking campus
- Underage alcohol delivery
- Frats and Roofies
- Attic House
- Pink Taco
- Pink piles of puke
- Lobby lizards
- Drink Day

So now, with one day left of vacation for the week, I'm going to take the rest of the night off and begin editing tomorrow morning. No more getting up at 7:30 a.m. every day on my vacation. I figure one day sleeping in is payment enough.