Two Nights at the Beach and a Finished Draft. Now What?

Sketch of our dog.

The beach is a great little getaway for us.  It can be relaxing, but it can also be a little busy with all the family activities going on.  There's movies, shopping, biking, and of course the beach.  These past couple of days weren't that busy though.  For me, that was a good thing.

This trip was not only a getaway, but a time for me to get some much needed work done.  I've been working on a book length story for the past several weeks and thankfully I can now say that it's done.  With over 800 words one night, and over 600 the other, the first draft is done.  That's a great relief for me, but I have to ask myself, now what?

Well, I know that there's editing to do, but to be honest, that's going to have to wait a bit.  I need some time away from that story.  Some time to clear my mind, if you will.  What I'm thinking about is doing a few short stories.  Writing some and editing some.  I've got some stories written already that need some editing passes. so I may start with those and then get into writing some new ones.  I like short stories after all, and who knows, I may even post one or two here.

That trip to the beach was more than just writing though.  I got the chance to partake in one of my other favorite activities.  I was able to draw a little, which was awesome.  I sketched out our dog and then sitting on the beach, gave myself an exercise in perspective sketching out the pier that I was seeing at the time.  It was a blast and though I took some creative license with how many pilings there were actually holding up the pier, I was satisfied with how it turned out.  Perspective wise anyway.  It's not a drawing that I was really pleased with, but that was hardly the point of the exercise, in my mind anyway.

So, from here, we'll continue to write and continue to draw.  Oh, and I'll get some editing in there too.  I've had several other long works that I've scrapped after the first draft, knowing that they weren't good enough to even edit.  I hope that's not the case this time.

Anyway, it's time to go.  Thanks for reading.  Try not to be a stranger and I'll try to do the same.