Friday 12th August 2016 was a momentous day for me: I submitted my MLitt Creative Writing Final Portfolio! The document was the culmination of two years hard work into 74 pages, or 24,494 words.

My MLitt Final Portfolio, ready to go!

It was an important milestone for me in more than one way. Most importantly for now, it was my final piece of coursework for my MLitt, meaning that now all I have to do now is wait for my grade, and then decide how on earth to take a toddler to a graduation ceremony!

I guess my study timetable can come down off the wardrobe now!

It wasn’t all about the grades, though.

Unlike a normal essay (where I’d be thrilled to never have to see it again!!!), this portfolio was the first nine chapters of the novel which I’ve been working on since last summer. The portfolio deadline has been fantastic because it’s forced me to work, work, work on these nine chapters, to polish them to a high standard, but also to send them out into the world and actually let real-life people read and comment on them!

Organising my time, setting mini-deadlines for myself, and accepting and working on the critique from others, have been important learning experiences as I go forward independently into a career as a writer.

Here we go!

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