Barring unforeseen circumstances, the first draft of the present work in progress will be finished this week, coming in at somewhere between 110,000 and 120,000 words. I started it last November. This is faster than usual for me, especially since it includes two research weeks in Venice. Sometimes books happen quickly. Often they're the better for that I think.

For the sake of record I thought I ought to put down a few things I've noticed about this closing stage of the process.

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<ul>
	<li>The writing happens very freely. I now have a pretty clear idea of what's ahead. I want to see what this looks like when it's set down on the page. I don't have to worry about planning or continuity. I just have to write from A to B. If I had the energy I could probably do this in a couple of very long days. But there's no rush so I'll stick to my usual 8-5 thank you.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
	<li>Here's another oddity. This is, in some ways, the least fun part of the writing process. Until this last stage I'm flailing in the dark, tearing off the outer garments of the mystery to find out what lies beneath. No more. Now I <em>know</em>. I'm not saying that means the work is prosaic. But it's not far off. Memo to self: <em>remember that the reader is not in the same position.</em> There are a lot of cogs and wheels whirring and churning to bring this story to a close. It's important they don't appear too mechanical or that I come across as running through the motions.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
	<li>I'm increasingly aware of the problems with this work too. I don't know all of the things I have to fix. But I do know there are plenty. I'll tell you later of the process I go through when I have a first draft. But it's going to be a lengthy and detailed one. A very complete revision of every single word of every sentence in the book. And there's a lot of logistical work ahead, tying up loose ends.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
	<li>I'm pretty happy with what I have so far. It feels as I expected and wanted. Original, dark, scary and different to my other books, but not so much that people will say: he's gone somewhere else. This is a purely subjective opinion, of course. My head is now so deep inside this story that even if it's completely rubbish I'd never notice.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
	<li>I feel under no pressure. This book won't appear till 2012. There's time to think things over, revise, edit. Make the whole work better. Time to do that before I ever pass it on to someone else too -- which I intend to use.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
	<li>As always I have no precise idea of when I will write the final paragraph. Endings sneak up on you. I'm writing this at 103K. I suspect there are perhaps seven new scenes remaining to be written. That would bring in the final book at around 115K. I don't know if I will write one of those scenes today or three. It doesn't actually matter anyway.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
	<li>I'm knackered. The last few weeks have seen me writing around 15K words over a five day period. This is quite tiring physically more than anything. At some point soon I am going to have to walk away from the computer and sniff the fresh air.</li>
</ul>
That's what I'm looking forward to this week, hopefully.  I'll take you through the post first draft process when it starts.