Friday, April 25, 2008

100% Elated

My last post focused on my moments of wavering resolve. Today I'm celebrating.

Husband took me for a lovely pint-size margarita in honor of my celebration.

I think I finished my first draft. (!)

I hadn't expected to finish today. This week was one big slog what with the job posting dilemma and difficulties writing the last chapter. I went to my favorite coffeeshop to write this afternoon. (Ironically the same coffeeshop where I began writing a very crappy novel idea nearly two years ago after I quit.) I needed a change of scenery and no computer distractions. Usually the change of scenery alone makes me feel more creative, but today I had to force myself to keep my bum in the chair. I kept creating tiny deadlines to make myself stop squirming (write for 20 more minutes, just one more page, etc.). It took me almost two hours to hit a groove, but once I finally did, I lost track of time and immersed myself in the story. As I bridged the gap between the bookend opening and closing scenes, I realized I was coming to the end.

When I finished, I felt elated and underwhelmed all at once. For one thing, earlier this week I started writing the last chapter, and I realized when I wrote the second scene that it should actually be the scene to end the book. Consequently, when I neared the ending, I wrote in 'insert scene 2 here' and that was my ending. Woohoo! It felt a little anticlimactic, even though I still like the ending I wrote, so I scribbled in a nice big 'THE END!' on the side of my page to up the excitement factor.

Anyway. Tomorrow I will read through the chapter to make sure it's not missing anything crucial and I can officially declare it complete. After that I'm not sure what I'll do with myself. I have a staggering pile of books from my research trip that I planned to read after I finished. And there's also a small pile of editing books I'd like to dig into before I begin the first light edit.

Onwards and (hopefully) upwards!

8 comments:

Yvonne said...

YAY! Congratulations and well done. I also finished abruptly, strange how these things sneak up on you. Don't worry too much about it, these are the things you can fix when you've had some time away from it. Enjoy yourself!

Sue Guiney said...

Fantastic. Well done you! I remember that when I finished writing the last sentence in my novel - and realized I had actually completed the bloody thing -- I actually burst out into tears and couldn't stop. It was the weirdest feeling. Good, but weird. really -- congratulations. Absolutely, onward and upward.

Kristen @ frostingandfroth.com said...

YIPPEE!!!!!! SO SO SO proud of you, Ang. Definitely onwards and upwards! Can't wait to read the bloody thing! ;-) When I'm back in Cali, I'm taking you for a celebratory latte and cookie!

Anonymous said...

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{Angie rocks}}}}}}}}}}

Congratulations!
Well Done!
Big Hugs!

Ooooooh, the Margherita sounded lovely, yum.

xxx

John Soanes said...

Oh, well done!
I think finishing is something which is different for everyone, but I think each experience shares a sense of extreme joy, doesn't it?
Good work!
J

Lane Mathias said...

Congratulations Angie!! You did it !!

Well done you!:-)x

Anonymous said...

CONGRATULATIONS ANGIE!!!

Angie said...

Yvonne, I guess when you work so long on something the end is bound to sneak up.

Sue, I was expecting a more emotional experience like yours, but either way it felt great.

Kristen, mm, lattes and cookies, you know the way to a girl's heart!

Hullaballoo, thank you. Maybe I should have just one more margarita then? :)

John, you're right, every experience will be different, but the joy is definitely there!

Lane, thank you.

Tina, cheers.

I really appreciate all the sweet comments from everyone. They mean a lot. Cheers!