And... I finished. I was really darn close to the end, so it feels a little anti-climatic to end so early in the evening. I had visions of toiling really late as I tried to wrap things up. But hey, you can't control creative stuff like this.So I finished with 66840 words, but that includes the huge chunk of material that I ended up scrapping to get the story back on track. If I remove all that material I end up with 53606 words. Not a very long novel to be sure, but certainly the longest thing I've written in years. It feels good to be done and to be able to enjoy my accomplishment. Still a lot of work to get it into a finished form, but I need to let it sit and rest a bit. Then I can come back with fresh eyes and give it the time it deserves.
I do admit I was feeling a bit of the blues near the end. Self doubt creeping in and telling me that it wasn't worth finishing. We really are our own worst enemies sometimes.
Well that's all I have to say at this moment. I might post some reflections later on this blog about the whole experience. Thanks to everyone who's spent some time with me on this adventure. I appreciate the comments, encouragement and advice. It's been a blast.
2 comments:
Congrats: that’s no mean achievement.
Every writer has experienced struggling to write just another page, never mind a full novel. Tom Wolfe was stalled for 11 years between “Bonfire of the Vanities” and “A Man in Full.” He wrote, “My children grew up thinking that was all I did: write, and never finish, a book called “A Man in Full.” He did meticulous research including “the most expensive trip of my life” to Japan, and then ended up excising all the Japanese material from the final draft. (He did come away from the trip with two useful bits of information: 1) you can hear everything through shoshi screens, and 2) don’t go to a Tokyo hostess bar with only $900 in your pocket.)
Now the rewrite… I don’t know about you, but I enjoy doing the second draft more than the first. Have fun.
You know, the first draft is usually the most fun for me. I love the early phases of the creation process, the joy of seeing the world come together. The editing really feels painful to me. So much material I don't like and sometimes I see things that require so much of a rewrite that I get intimidated. I think it is all in my perception of it.
But its been years since I've done a second draft of a novel. I'm looking forward to the experience.
Post a Comment