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I wrote this yesterday and just never got it posted, so here it is.
Thirty-two pages. When I get up tomorrow just a few pages of transition and the book is done. Well, okay, there’s a sex scene earlier to finish, and another scene that needs changed because of things that happened later. But I’m maybe two to three day’s work from done.
Darla said that a beginning writer wrote in saying that I made writing seem so hard. I don’t mean to make it sound hard, but it is hard. Every job is hard. It’s just a matter of weighing the joy of your work with the crap quotient of your work. Because there isn’t a job on the planet that doesn’t come with crap. Trust me. The reality of a job is always different from the fantasy.
This has been a very frustrating book, it has. But in the end there is joy. Do you know why I went back to a second round of writing this afternoon, which I rarely do anymore? Because I’d left one of my fictional friends hurt, very hurt, and I had to get the bleeding stopped before I could rest for the day. I had to make them better, help them, before I could rest. Helping them, led to killing some bad guys, and that was very satisfying. I’ve gone from being all doom and gloom about this book to happy with it. I try not to be, but I am an artsy-fartsy gloomy bastard. It’s sort of part of the job description of writer.
This is from today: I’ve typed the last line of the book. Now I’m going back to scenes that need to change because of some of the things that happened at the end. Did I get surprised by this book? Yes. Am I happy with it? Yes. Am I glad to be almost done? Oh, yes. But it’s like that with every book. Elation, relief, a sort of euphoria, then the endorphins ebb and you get that tiredness. That, I’m ready for something quiet and restful. Once all the changes get finished, and I’ve gotten through the tour for A LICK OF FROST, I think the priority is finding what refuels the tank. Oh, and there is going to have to be an out of town research trip before this book can be put to bed. I almost forgot about that. I’ll also have to talk more with law enforcement to make sure I haven’t gotten things wrong. Apparently, the endorphins are still swimming around, because those last few sentences didn’t fill me with anxiety. Swim, you little dolphins, swim!