I did it! I haven't quite finished the story, but I passed the 50,000 words mark this morning. I have no idea whether this novel will have any value beyond the sheer exhilaration of writing it. I suppose it doesn't matter. Whether it evolves into an actual novel or just ends up being a fun exercise, I'm very grateful for the experience (I'm also grateful to have caught up with Ava and Darryl and all the rest of the Dead Birds folks!)

Note: I finished the first draft (a very rough draft) a couple of days later. I'm setting it aside for now, letting it gel. I find myself thinking about it alot, though, thinking of ways to make it better. I now have the feeling that I owe it to the characters to work on this story more, to try to hone it into something substantial. We'll see...It needs a lot of work, and I have a lot of stories pulling at me right now. It's been awhile since I've had a real clamor inside, so that feels nice. I just have to figure out which project has the most life, the most juice. I'll probably do some juggling. It could get interesting around here...