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Finishing…And Beginning Again

By Lauren Dane
July 25th, 2008

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This week I finished and submitted my futuristic, Relentless, to my editor at Berkley.  I’m happy to be done. Sort of loopy because I have end of book brain. Nervous because I hope she’ll like it. Accomplished because when I started the book it was nothing and now it’s 95,000 words.

A book is like a mini-lifetime for me. Each one takes me places I never expected to go. There are highs when I connect very deeply with my story or the characters and the words simply flow without effort. There are lows when I am stuck or blocked, when I’m frustrated because I need to get from A to B but I can’t see my way through. Times when I feel like singing a happy tune and those days when I am sure I am the suckiest writer on the planet. But like life, I keep on and keep on and when I read the end product, after I’ve edited, gotten crit, revised and gotten feedback from beta – I can celebrate each mini-lifetime for all the experiences it’s brought me.

Each time I look at my editing notebook – all 400+ pages with sticky notes and redlines and scribbles in the margins, I have this sense of intense gratitude that my life includes this experience. That I get to write books!

And then I tuck it away and begin the next book. In this case, Outshined, my next book for Berkley. A whole new mini lifetime to embark on.


7 Responses to “Finishing…And Beginning Again”

  1. Gail Barrett Says:

    Congratulations on finishing! It’s a wonderful feeling. :smile:


  2. Patty L. Says:

    Congrats on finishing. I hope you celebrate appropriately. Margarita, anyone?

    Good luck on the next projcet. I hope the words flow smoothly.


  3. Lori T Says:

    Congrats on finishing Relentless! It must be a little sad to see the characters go? I know as a reader I hate to see a good story end!

    Have a great day.


  4. Estella Says:

    Congrats on finishing Relentless!


  5. Angie-la Says:

    I have to agree with Lori, it has to be sort of a nelacholy feeling to have to let go of characters after spending so much time thinking about and plotting them.
    Big congrats on finishing! :razz:


  6. Jan Scarbrough Says:

    I’m out surfing because I just finished a novella. Finishing is a wonderful feeling! Waiting for editor’s comments isn’t. :wink:


  7. Karin Says:

    Congratulations on finishing!