Finishing a novel.
After almost eleven months of continuous, daily writing I finally wrote ‘The End” on IMAGINATION. Well, I don’t actually write those words since it’s not industry standard anymore, but I did write the final, conclusive last sentence of the novel. Ah, what a feeling! This being my eleventh book, it still never ceases to amaze me how a story can take on a life of its own. If I were to look at my original notes on the concept for the story from last year and compare it to what I actually created, it would probably give a good laugh. In the original concept the main character was an alien. When you read IMAGINATION you’ll discover the humor in that. Though I’ve finished the novel, it is still a ways from hitting the marketplace. I need to give it a couple of good, thorough reads, looking for any mistakes or poor/boring sentences. When I can read it without pausing to correct, it will be ready for a professional edit. Not sure who I’m going to use at this point. Once those corrections are made it’s designing the cover time. I already have an idea of what I want it to be. Then to my formatter who will set it up for the marketplace. Then what? Well, to be honest, I usually feel a little depressed and disconnected after finishing a book when I’m not sure what my next book will be. Sometimes the idea for a novel won’t come for months after I finish the last one. I usually wander around in a semi-fog desperate for an idea that will keep me interested for at least the year it usually takes me to write a book. Sure, I’ll market and promote my other works and concentrate on IMAGINATION, but that still leaves hours free when I would normally be writing original stuff. I’ve tried short stories in my spare time, but I’m just not that kind of a writer. I like to develop a concept or idea fully and that usually takes me at least 50,000 words to achieve. Sometimes writing ‘The End” can almost be as scary as writing that first sentence.
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