OK. I'm a little over 35000 words in, and I've got about 9 days left. I can handle this. I've got a grip on it, and it feels like it's going to be finished before I can say "What? I wrote a book?"
My plan right now is to print up several copies of the manuscript and show it around to people to get something resembling opinions on it. I'm enjoying reading the stuff I wrote, which is probably a good sign, right?

About the current book: I had this whole plot started, and I just kept looking at it thinking, I can't do this. I can't make this work for more than about ten thousand words, and for sure I can't make it good beyond about five. I still have the notes and the beginnings of the bad novel so that I can cold knock out that story, but I just started writing and what came out has been really good. I'm happy. I'm excited by the prospect of making people read it, at knifepoint as necessary, he said with his tongue firmly in cheek, as it were.

Ok, first of all, it's been most of a month since I updated here because I've been damn busy. I haven't actually had time to write much of anything that wasn't scheduled. Today, right now is the first chance I've had. The book's going very well. It's a little over thirty thousand words old and growing steadily. By my math, that's pretty much exactly where I need to be right now, so I'm not gonna worry at all. I kicked the butt of my thirty thousand barrier, and I fully intend to go back to the other novels (Which, upon second glance look much improved) and at least push them to where I want them to be.
But that will wait. That's not until after I finish my History. I swear, this book has been bubbling up out of the back of my brain since about junior high, and getting it written has been like taking out a thorn that's been twisting in my back for the last twelve plus years. I feel like I'm finally doing what I'm supposed to be doing.
I feel like this from time to time, and it feels great. I love it when I can just stop exerting the effort to stop being who I am and start allowing the flow of life to show me where I'm supposed to be looking. About half of the time, It's not like I'm writing so much as allowing the book to come out of my hands.
Well, back to it.
If you get a chance, check out my weekly fictions at NihilCentral Dot Com, which is secretly another blogger type page because I'm far too lazy to create a real one. Really. I'm actually that lazy.