Done.
One word that seems so inadequate, but ends up conveying so much.
When 2009 began, 'Start work on my book' was not even a resolution I considered making. I was going to take up full time employment after nearly 5 years, my older one was going to start primary school, and I doubted if I would have enough time to read, let alone write.
The latter half of the year, I toyed with the idea of starting a book, but was just not able to get myself to start. Then NaNoWriMo fever struck almost all my writing buddies, and I found myself being the only one not to register for the madness. November is a horrible month, I told myself. There's no way I will be able to get any non-work related writing done. I even blogged about why I was not NaNoWriMo-ing.
But peer pressure is something I counted without. You don't have to finish, I told myself. You only have to start. I started writing, hesitently at first, then with greater confidence. A little over a week into it, I found I had written a lot more than I ever thought I would. I registered on NaNoWriMo. That graph kept me going - I loved being able to add just a little bit more to it every day.
End of the month, and while I was nowhere near striking distance of the 50k mark, I knew I would eventually finish the story. Kept pegging away at the book whenever I could. Last week, I did an audit, and figured out exactly how many chapters I needed to write to finish. Christmas was an extended weekend, and between playing Mommy, I managed to write over 11 k words, and FINISH.
The story is DONE!
I did it! I finished an entire book. It is yet to sink in completely. But I know it will, eventually.
The journey's been grand so far. Now for the most fun part of it - editing, and continuity management!!!
6 comments:
Isn't it a GREAT feeling!! I never thought I could do it - like you - and when I finished I felt like somebody had taken over my body, because it certainly couldn't have been ME who wrote a book. *snorts*
I'm so, so , happy for you! Well done! *glomps*
Awesome! Good for you.
Congratulations! I've been a regular reader of your blog and love it!
Yay!! That is a tremendous achievemnet - good on ya girl!! It is so satisfying to have a manuscript to work with and if you're like me, you'll really like getting into the editing and shaping. Yahoo - can't wait to hear more about it.
That is wonderful news! Keep us posted.
@ Tara - it has finally started sinking in, and it is a fantastic feeling. At odd moments during the day, I find myself whooping silently, saying "I did it". And it definitely seems like it has happened to someone else.
@ Fiona - thanks
@ Doli - thanks, again. You had commented after I posted the first chapter too, I remember.
@ Jan - oh yes, I am looking forward to that. There is a lot I want to take out (I put too much in, not knowing if there would be another book, but now I can happily take those out). But am giving myself a break before I get into that.
@ Dipali - thanks, and yes, I will.
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