Lessons learned:

1. First drafts really are rubbish.
2. A new-found appreciation for the wonders of coffee.
3. How much I can get written with the help of the power of a good deadline.
4. Worry about quantity first; quality is for redrafts.
5. It’s easier to get on with something if I’m already busy than when I have nothing else to do.
6. Telling everyone that I’m going to write a novel in a month is a good way of making sure I actually follow through with it.
7. I have actually finished a novel to a deadline! Wow!