Trunk Novels

I have been operating under the assumption that my 1st WIP is actually my first novel. This made me sad, because the general consensus is that first novels are drivel, and should never see the light of day. They should be written, and then trunked.

But, I realized last night that I am wrong. In reality, it is my fifth.

My first novel was written in middle school, back when I was still typing it out on my mother's old Brother typewriter. It was horrid, but one of the supporting characters later became my current protagonist in my 1st WIP, so it was not without value.

Then, in highschool, I had a creative writing teacher who was way too lenient, and in place of doing daily assignments, she let me go to the computer lab and work on my "book". I must have been reading Anne McCaffrey's Rowan series or something, because I remember it being about telekinetic/telepathic teens. I guess, in retrospect, it was borderline urban fantasy, before I even knew what it was.

Somewhere along the way, I got involved in roleplaying games (notably Vampire: The Masquerade) and when I was in my first few years of college, I wrote two books involving the characters my friends and I created.

None of these were publishable, and I didn't even try. I didn't even go into it with the intention of publishing them. And truthfully, the last three were probably more novella length than novel. But, I choose to say it counts. I have written four books, prior to the two I am working on now. When I look at it that way, I'm actually kind of impressed with myself.