How Sweet the Bitter End

I wrote the final sentence of my WIP's first draft today. Wah. Hoo. Hmm... Expected fireworks, explosions, at least some freaking confetti.

Okay, not really. It will never be like the first time I finished writing a novel. That time was I screaming, "I can't believe I did it!" and boucing around the house for days. Writing a novel was a goal I'd had for years. It was a sweet success.

This time, after multiple manuscripts completed, I guess I'm more aware of the work ahead. Aware that I will edit, revise, plug scenes into spreadsheets, revise again. Aware that I'll be thrown back into polishing and refining and then forced to hit the publishing pavement. Ack.

A good thing did happen though. I caught myself getting emotional as I wrote a father-daughter scene toward the end of the book. The kind of talk scene my own dad calls a "come to Jesus" session. I love when the people in my stories reach these cathartic moments, forcing me to dig deep for the feelings, the right words. I teared up a bit. Then again, although there are funny moments in it, this book has themes of forgiveness, eternal love, self-acceptance, and the regrets that haunt us. If I didn't feel something at the end, I would have been worried.

So, now to go back and tweak my synopsis to fit the changes I've made since beginning the story. I do like having the synopsis in at least skeletal form when I begin. It's much easier for me to rewrite it then to begin from scratch. And then, the work continues! Spreadsheets, revisions, the works.

Ah, sweet mystery of writing...