Almost done..............now what?

I never really thought I'd get to this point. Three years ago it seemed impossible. I started researching, flirting with the idea for this book, but in all that time seeing the end, seeing the completed manuscript seemed impossible. Right now I'm at a word count of 98,230 words, and I'm not finished. I have about three more chapters to write. It's unreal being this close to the finish line. It's surreal, exciting, and a little scary. When I'm done it will be time to send it to an editor. I've done as much as I can do.

What have I learned?

Not to give myself deadlines. Most of them I didn't meet. You can't force the story, it has to evolve naturally. I hope that nearing the completion of my book I've got a better idea of what I'm doing then three years ago when I first sat down to write. Three years. I'd like to think that the next book will be easier, but that lesson I learned about deadlines sobers me. Writing is work.

Writing takes time. I'd love to crank out novels every three months but I have very high expectations for myself, and an obsessive perfectionist sitting on my shoulders. Writing is work. That is going to be my new mantra, its not a sprint, its a marathon. As I learn my craft I will get better but no matter what at the end of the day it just takes time.

Some days I wish I never started writing, but then I think about my world and characters, and I can't imagine life without them.

Writing is work, but it's also a high. It's holding a pen that can create worlds. It's living in your head but never feeling lonely. Writing is incredible. I am so glad I did this.