Realizations

One of the things I love about be a writer...if you walk into someplace like, say, a jewelry store, explain you're working on a novel, and then ask them a really random question that they've probably never been asked before, people are usually pretty understanding. That's what I did yesterday. I went to Fred Meyer Jewelers and Kay Jewelers to get a couple very specific questions I had about sterling silver jewelry. One question wasn't that big of a deal...but the second question was kind of for a key plot point in my novel and I really needed to know. This was only after I bothered my friends on Facebook, Twitter, AND the girls that post over on the Blockhead boards. Anyway, I got my answer and all is right with the world.

Another thing I thought of recently is how many random things I've been looking up on Google over the past week or two. The Internet must think I've finally lost it. In the last two days, I've looked up information on twisted wrists, at-home pregnancy tests in the early '90s, stomach bruising, the melting temperature of sterling silver, and the temperature of an average bonfire. Now all of these things make complete sense in my head, but they probably sound a little insane here.

In other news, I'm on the second-to-last chapter of my novel. I'm at 155 typed single-spaced pages (about 100 more than I had at senior presentation). And you know what I'm realizing? Writing the last couple chapters is comletely excruciating. For the life of me, I can't keep myself focused. I've been working on this chapter for two days and barely anything has been accomplished. I think this is happening because I'm already past the climax of the story (or, at least, of the "past" portion)...now it's just a matter of ending it...explaining what happens after that makes the stuff in the "present" sections make more sense.

It's surreal to think than in another chapter and a half, I'll be done. I've worked on this first draft for two and a half years, but in a chapter and a half I'll be done with the first draft. That's a little wild.