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There’s the feeling you get when you finish the first draft of your novel.
And then there’s the feeling you get when you’re done editing the first draft of your novel.
But then, there’s the feeling you get when you’ve formatted everything, and turned it into a googledoc and then actually sent it off to your “book doctor” at Gotham Writers. That’s when you know this is really happening.
I didn’t know I’d be so exhausted. I didn’t know that with my giddiness, there’d be nausea, fear, and a momentary Just Forget It, Never Mind, I Didn’t Mean It.
I’m too tired to celebrate. But I am so, so happy. I’ve accomplished some stuff in my life, but this is a new threshold. 86,516 words. 325 pages. I know it’s a hot mess, but it’s a completed hot mess and it’s got my name all over it.
The characters have snuck into my life. Their lexicon has made its way into my own living language. I love them. I care about them. I wonder what they’re doing now.
It’s time for a glass of champagne and a bubble bath. Yay ME!
I do hope people get to read it someday. But if they don’t, I’ll still know I gave my all for a whole year to write a novel, all the way to The End.
And that’s really something.
Tina Lear is a writer, yoga teacher, and mother of three really interesting humans. She founded the Long Island Dharmata Sangha and is currently navigating the liminal world between her past and her future. Doing her best to be in the present. She lives in Floral Park with her beloved wife.
This is Day 11 of the Ninja Writers 31-Day Challenge.
