WIP Update!

As of today my work in progress is no longer a novella, but a novel! To quote a great philosopher from BASEketball, "I'm doing the happy dance, doing the happy dance, doing the happy dance..."

*Ahem*

OK, so the first draft should be completed sometime around the end of November. By that time it will probably be 20,000-30,000 words thicker, with the first fleet of revisions to begin in the new year.

My greatest faults thus far have been:

1. Where I started the story: I included--unnecessarily--a prologue. This will be scrapped. The story will begin where the story begins. It seems sort of obvious now, but I was completely oblivious of my boneheaded mistake when I started writing.

2. Too many adjectives and adverbs: This seems like a common curse among writers of all stripes. I'm polishing the ax and getting ready to hack away at the deadweight.

3. Searching for a thousand alternatives for the word "said": Seriously, there's nothing wrong with said.

Right now I'm most proud of:

1. The characters: I have two or three in particular that really resonate with me. They have a strong voice, great personality, obvious limitations and aspirations and react naturally with anyone they share the scene with. Two others I still believe in, and feel will come out in a better light after my revisions are done.

2. The writing style: Had I attempted to write this even a few years ago I would have quit. Getting a few years older has helped me strip away some of that foolish pretension and stubbornness in my writing. Now when I say "less is more", I actually mean it; unlike half a decade ago when I used to quote the wisdom of Homer Simpson, "Yeah, but if less is more, just think how much more more is!"

3. I'm actually doing it!: There are words on the screen. Lots of them! And they're mine! I wrote them! Exclamation mark!

OK, I can't be totally selfish here...how is everyone doing? What is the status of your WIP right now?