Will I make it

About three weeks ago I saw an ad for a competition in Afrikaans for a new novel. At first I dismissed it, then having slept on it, thought why not?
I sat down at my laptop with not a thought in my head and all of a sudden  inspiration struck me. I set myself the task of writing at least a thousand words a day so that I could finish the novel by mid-year, then have time to edit it, before passing it on to a friend to give it a final tweak before submitting. Well, the story has just flowed out of me. I can't believe where it has all come from. I found I was averaging about three thousand words a day which was amazing. This was good because it would make up for the times when I couldn't write.
At present I am at 45 thousand words, and the story is still flowing, although I've had a few diversions along the way, like this past week, where lots of other things have taken my focus away from writing. By Thursday I should be back into it though. Mind you, I am glad for the time to sit back and not write because I've got to a sticky point where I need to sort it out in my head before I commit to paper. I realised I'd killed off a character in the wrong way so had to back-track to change the modus operandi if you like. Then too, I need some forensic expert to confirm what happens to a body in a desert after thirty years.
All these things are occupying my mind. Whilst having the hiatus from writing I had a weird dream which I at first interpreted as pertaining to my grandson, so sent off a hurried email to my family to tell them to 'watch out'. Two days later it struck me that the 'child' of my dreams was in fact 'my novel', not my grandchild. So I've got to take care of it, although I don't suppose an extra bit of attention will do my grandson any harm. I also found myself looking up some other information that told me my 'focus' on this novel was wrong. I've now rectified that problem too.
I realise that the reason for writing this novel, is not for the rewards of the competition, it's actually for the challenge to me to get it done, to prove I can do it. Winning, or having it published will add nothing to it, although it will be good for my ego. What will give the most satisfaction however will be having completed it in a specified time-frame. So wish me well as it goes on. I am enjoying the experience.