Finally! A check-in where I can say “it’s done!”. Fire Wizard is officially finished. Well, not the editing part, but the writing part. I finally got all the cat litter cleaned out of my office (which I share with the cats) and I felt like writing in it again. I sat at the desk and typed away. The next thing I knew, hubby was saying goodbye. I’m like “What? It’s not time for you to go to work.” Then I looked at the time, and it was after 10:00 PM. Where had the time gone? I was THAT into the story.
Now that it’s done, I’m seriously worried about the ending. Is it too bland? Too sappy? I’m bad about sappy endings. I guess my beta readers will tell me. 🙂 I’ve struggled a lot with this book. I think it was more about having too many other things to do and not having time for it. But I’m learning to use my time more wisely, even though I have so little of it. Ah, evil day job, how you take up so much of my time!
What have YOU accomplished this week?
lauralynnelliott.com 
Congratulations! I know that’s been weighing on you!!!
Oh, such a load off my mind. I’ve been itching to start on my cozy mystery, and this has been kicking my butt.
Aww, yeaaah! Congratulations on finishing it! The big step, then the fun starts. And that’s awesome that you just got so into it. Those moments are incredible. Here’s to some successful and prosperous editing!
Thanks, L.S.! This was a long time coming. I got so sidetracked on this one.
Congrats on finishing your WIP!
Ending scenes can be tough. You want them to resonate so readers are still thinking about the story after they put it down, but you don’t want to be overly sentimental. It’s a balancing act. Critique partners and beta readers are awesome about this–they’ll let you know what’s working or not working.
Thanks, Denise! I have awesome beta readers, so we’ll see what they say. But first, I have to go through it myself again, so I might also have an idea after reading the whole thing again.
Yay!
It’s the best feeling in the world to finish a book. 🙂
Oh, it certainly is!
Congrats on the “I’m Done!” That’s awesome to hear.
I hear ya on the day job! I have this habit, it’s called eating, wearing clothing, living in my house…the day job pays for that kind of stuff. 🙂 Silliness aside, I love to get absorbed into my writing, tell stories, write poems that make people smile, or blog about something interesting. SO, I keep plugging along, one word at a time.
I am happy to report a new story that I just finished and is now in revision mode. That’s the biggest writing based achievement this past week. Hoping to finish a 2nd draft by week’s end.
Thanks! Yeah, the eating and wearing of clothes makes the day job necessary. LOL
Yay for the new story! Good luck with revisions. They aren’t as fun as writing it. 🙂
I’m really horrible at first draft endings – I drag them out, not wanting to let go, fussing and puttering – and then I’m never happy with them (although I was far happier with the plotted one I did for NaNo last year).
I’m now revising my first resolution scene. It’s taken a looong time; but I think I’m going to have a far better ending by the time I’m finished – and this is just the first pass.
My week has been drafting and blogging and working out and hometending and photo editing and people I love. My study is currently in a state of chaos, as I dig in to some major decluttering in there, but I can see that, once this step is done, I’m really going to love getting back to working in there!
=)
My problem is my endings are usually so feel-good sappy, especially compared to the horror I might put my heroes and “sheroes” through. After the dark moment, which was also the climax of the book, the denouement might be a little anti-climatic. Which it kind of is supposed to be, but it needs to be interesting and satisfying at the same time.
Good luck with the decluttering. Just the act of cleaning up all the kitty litter made a big difference in how I saw my office. I think we need a place to work, a place that is used for JUST that.
Mine tend to be rushed, and lagging, at the same time, with too many loose ends.
I’m learning to tie the ending to the beginning, and that helps.
The decluttering is going to be a long-term project – but we’ve reached a point where we all see the needs and benefits of it, and everyone is pitching in some –
I tend to view my study more as a place to create than to work, but I do think you are right. I’m not using mine as such right now, because it/s a shambles hoping to be something more, but just puttering for a minute or two reminds me that I created this space to honor the creator in me.
I’m thinking it’s about time I took some updated pictures…
Congrats on finishing!! That’s a great accomplishment!
Thanks, Fallon!