The 50K version of my novel is finished. I came in at 50,088 words. I received a certificate and a winner's icon, that I will update on the blog tomorrow.

Now if I can just finish the novel to the end, I'll be very happy.

I've been writing all night. I want to finish my 50K total tonight, and take a break tomorrow. I'm not done with my novel yet, but I plan to keep writing till it's finished.

I was thinking of relaxing the 1,667 words per day pace, but I know if I do that I'll never finish the novel in December. And I do want to finish the novel before the end of the year.

If I finish the novel, it will be a first for me and I think it's an important stage for me to get to in my writing life. A novel is such a big undertaking, such a big step to take for me as a writer. I've finished writing short stories and even a 110+ page screenplay, but a novel is different.

A novel is more involved, and it's definitely longer than a screenplay as far as word counts go. My novel, double spaced is 169 pages. I have five more chapters to go. I can see the novel going into the 200+ page range by the time I'm through. Darn! That's a ton of pages.

My first goal is get the novel done by the run off election date, which is Tuesday December 9. I have a writing seminar to attend that night on character development, which means I'll have to be done during the day or finish when I get home from the seminar.

Ending on December 9 would mean adding 15,000 more words to my novel. I hope that's enough to finish the five chapters. If not, I guess I'll keep going till I finish. But I have to absolutely be done by December 31st. If I keep up the 1,667 words a day pace, and I have more to write, I'm sure I'll be finished way before the end of December.

I heard this song at the gym today, and it brought back so many good memories. The song was "Lips like Sugar" by Echo and the Bunnymen. I was trying to dance while running on the eliptical trainer, what a riot!

I want to hear Joy Division, New Order, The Style Council, and Pere Ubu!

I hate this. The secret is out. SFGATE.com has an article in their food section on sparkling lemon soda. I've been buying it for months now, and my brand has been rated # 1.

"The top choice was Galvanina Lemon Soda ($1.99 a liter, Trader Joe's) from Italy. It won praise for its "nice strong lemonade taste." Fans of this drink said "lemony and quite tart" and "good and bubbly.""

Galvanina Lemon soda is so addictive. Once I started drinking it, I couldn't stop. I have to have it in the house all the time.