Day 7 - The End

What a week it’s been!

There have been moments of exhilaration, fear, exhaustion and pride, and now my challenge at Paper Moon Bookshop has been completed.

Today, maybe because it was the last day and I was heading towards the end of the draft, my writing flowed more than it has all week. I even managed to surpass my daily total and wrote 10,000 words today!

What I loved:

·      Pushing myself to my limits to see what I was capable of.

·      Supporting an independent book shop.

·      Meeting strangers who came to offer their support.

·      Friends turning up just when I needed cheering on (or a cup of tea!)

·      Knowing that from now on, nothing I do will ever be as hard as this week has been!

·      Seeing a steady flow of customers of all ages at Paper Moon Bookshop who love books.

·      Writing the first draft of my 20^th book in public – something that has never been done before.

What I struggled with:

·      Writing pretty much non-stop for 8 hours a day (sometimes more when I had to top up a bit at home.)

·      Not being able to take breaks because it would eat into my writing time.

·      The headaches from having to focus so hard and stare at my laptop for such long periods of time.

·      Missing my writing space at home – I will appreciate it like never before from now on.

Ultimately, I’m so glad I challenged myself – even if I didn’t make the original goal of an 80,000 word draft.

The hugest of thank yous to:

·       Hannah and Jack at Paper Moon Bookshop.

·       My wonderful editor Lucy at Headline, who’s advice and ideas for this book were invaluable. Without her I’d still be on chapter 1!

·       My awesome husband who tirelessly ferried me back and forth, set up the livestream every day, entertained the kids solo for a week and never once complained.

·       Everyone who supported me in person or online or followed my journey.

·       My amazing family, friend and fellow authors.

·       All of my readers.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! x