Does hitting 50,000 words in a first draft feel like a win or a problem?

I just crossed 50K on my fantasy novel and I'm torn - half of me thinks it's a solid milestone for a messy draft, but the other half wonders if I'm just padding it with filler and wasting time. Which side do you lean on when you hit a big number like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

palmer.henry1mo ago

My fantasy draft hit 52k last week and I felt the exact same way until I realized half of that was me describing forests in way too much detail. Been there with the padding worry but honestly just keep going and fix it on the second pass.

sage_lewis101mo ago

Celebrated hitting 53k by deleting 2k words of my main character thinking about breakfast. The padding problem is real but I figure you can't edit what doesn't exist yet. My first drafts usually have about 30% fat that gets trimmed in revision anyway. Keep writing, future you will thank present you for having something to work with.