Well my fingers are weeping with joy as I am closing in on the end of my first novel, Wastelander: The Drake Legacy.  The book is a post-apocalyptic jaunt taking place 30 years after the nuclear fall of the United States.  A few more chapters and the first draft shall be complete! *maniacal laughter*

I‘m approaching the seven month mark and it looks like it will be living in 80,000 word land.  Depending on your level of writing badassery/experience you are either saying, “Damn, it took you long enough to write 80,000 words,” or “Damn, I wish I could write 80,000 words in seven months.”  Probably the former.

If you are in the latter category (I feel your pain), here are a few tips from an amateur cutting his teeth to help speed you along.

Rewriting completely derailed my progress.  I probably spent at least a…