The Bridge of Anskar

   I've finished the first draft of my novel! It took a lot of work and there were times when I was sure I must have been an idiot to even think of starting. But now The first bit is finished, but now here comes the editing....and the second draft...and the third draft....
   So far it has:
Pages: 121
Words: 39,967
Characters: (with spaces) 208,580 (without spaces) 169,503
Chapters: 12
Paragraphs: 1,250
Lines:3,531

Here's a link to my Pintrest board: The Bridge of Anskar.

I've written and re-written the synopsis so many times it's not funny but this is what I've ended up with:

When modern Australian girl, Anastasia Newbridge, accidentally stumbles into the land of Eirerandil in its time of greatest peril, she is plunged into the greatest adventure of her life.

With the King on his deathbed, the royals are in chaos as multiple deaths occur under suspicious circumstances. The Crown Prince, Azruen, disappears, and it is up to Ana and her friends to attempt the dangerous mission to rescue him and return him to his rightful position.

But the evil Lady Morgal is powerful beyond belief and will stop at nothing to get what she wants.​ Against such odds can Ana fulfil the ancient prophecies and prove she is worthy of her name?

I've also drawn a map of my world, Eirerandil. I'm not an artist so it took a bit of convincing myself that I could actually do it, but I did. And it wasn't really that hard.

My oldest (positively ancient) sister, Clare, has read the whole thing and critiqued it for me, and I'm currently working on fixing all the random things I wrote...

It can be funny when Clare points out some random thing that doesn't hake sense but it can also be difficult. Apparently my people sleep to much.I must admit, they do. For example, they (MC and three friends) are being chased through a forest...then they get to the beach and - this is really crazy - they sit down and eat something...then the soldiers come along and disturb their picnic...

I'm just a little ashamed of that myself...it makes my characters look like hungry idiots! (They're not)

But aside from all that, it was very nice of Clare when she finished reading it to say that it was better then she had expected. Although if you thing about that comment it could be taken as an insult but it wasn't. Besides, we insult each other all the time (for fun of course, we're Aussies!). It could be interesting to know what a complete stranger thinks of us when Clare and I are walking around in the shops dodging packets of frozen potato chips that we are swiping at each other's heads. It's quite fun...you should try it!

But back to the point (or the future) I have finished the first draft, but that aint meanin' I'm finished, so to speak. There's a lot more work ahead but I'm looking forward to it.

Now, what am I going to write my next novel about?

~ Jane, Misty Maiden