Time to Celebrate!
With the end of another November, there’s another end to NaNoWriMo. And endings are the theme of this post. Many people try to write their novel from beginning to end in one month, the month of November, during National Novel Writing Month. A website I follow (Writers Write) says that the average novel involves about 80,000 words. With many people able to “type about 1000 [words] in one hour,” November saw NaNoWriMo participants put in at least 80 hours of focused writing. But if you’re anything like me, you spend at least an hour rewriting, editing, and surfing the net each time you pick the story up again. So, writing your first draft in one month is tough; physically exhausting because you’re sitting for a very long time, and mentally draining because it’s not easy to write a book. Whether you get the complete first draft out in one month or one year, you will be a rock star when you finish it.
I had that experience when I completed all my edits for my most recent young adult book. Once it was complete and ready to be sent to my agent, I sat in my chair and said, “Well, okay, then. I think this is ready.” And then, I promptly picked it up again and read it over one more time. After a few more edits, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and sent it on its merry way. I was done. Complete. The End.
And now it’s time to celebrate! So they say. But the feeling I have isn’t that of relief because it’s done. I’m not out in the streets dancing and telling everyone I finally finished this book. No. With this completion, I know there are other steps I’ll need to go through. Why should I celebrate now when everything isn’t done yet?
But, celebrate, I will because I do have something to celebrate. Honestly, I do.
1. I have finished a book from front to back. Yay! Huge accomplishment!
2. I have edited it so many times that there are no obvious mistakes. Another huge accomplishment!
3. The story is funny and sweet, and the main character is somebody you want as your best friend. What an outstanding achievement!
Individually, each one of those milestones should be celebrated because they’re huge. And I should, and I will celebrate them all.
Plus:
After waiting only six days after submitting the finished manuscript, Newman Springs Publishing Co. accepted my book and will publish it. The e-book will be available first, and then the paper copy. They will be out by summer.
Time to celebrate!!!
However, I also realize that in finishing the story, it’s not entirely the end. After The End, there is the middle. The middle is full of even more edits, cover design decisions, and hoping, praying, and targeting extra publicity toward making this book a best seller (or close to it). After The End, there is The Middle, and then there is another beginning (the next book).
Our friends at ‘Writers Write’ agree with me that “Any artistic work involves emotion, personal experience, and hardship [in order] to finish. Acknowledge the process to truly appreciate the result. Only then will you find closure. As with all ends, closure can bring the beginning of something new and wonderful: your next writing project.”
So, by acknowledging the process, I can enjoy each step of this journey that I’m beginning. And ride it out all the way through to the end.
Happy writing!
Writing prompt for today:
Set your story during a utopian-Esque day when someone is getting all the things they want from their life. Everyone is happy, happy, joy, joy, and everything is perfect. But then something happens to help the main character see that her/his life isn’t usually that perfect. What happens next? Do she/he decide to live life in this fantasy world, or do they decide to fix things to get life back to the way it’s supposed to be? And who’s to say what is perfect and what life is “supposed” to be like? This is a very existential writing prompt today! Enjoy!
