I did it! Finally finished the novel I’ve been working on. Great, you say, when will it be published? Oh, no, no, no. It’s not ‘finished’ finished, as in completed and ready to be printed. I meant the story has been written from beginning to end, in chapters, with some semblance of plot, character development, tension and suspense, and has a beginning, middle and end. Not the same as a completed work of art, just that the shell has been constructed. Before I forget, many thanks to all the critiquers at critiquecircle.com who helped me revise and improve, especially those who have been with me for the long term. Your advice has been invaluable.
It seems complete at times, when I read a chapter and recall all the changes I’ve made: spell checks, grammar checks, moving sentences from the end of a paragraph to the beginning, deleting words, sentences, paragraphs, even entire chapters. The book I have now is nothing like what I imagined almost two years ago when I came up with the story idea. I think that when I get it to the ‘send it to a publisher and see if they are interested in printing it’ state, it will look nothing like what I have now. Another scary thought.
Those of you who are creative in any way can at least appreciate the time and effort that goes into creating something out of nothing– a song, a poem, a painting, a sculpture, a dance routine, a novel. I’m amazed at how much work I’ve put into my little creation, and awed at how much moe work it will probably take to really finish it. My hat is off to those whose creative work actually reaches the public and is enjoyed by them. It’s still my aspiration, though it may take another 21 months to even get within shouting distance of that level–or, I may never reach that goal.
Either way, it has been a great joy and a wonderful learning experience. I doubted my ability to get this far. Now that I’m here, I doubt my ability to get to the next level, but it should be a fun, interesting, educational adventure. Published book, here I come!
Anyone else out there care to share their feelings of accomplishment in a creative endeavor? I’m interested to know if my feelings and experiences are unique.