Do your story ideas come to you fully formed and ready to go? Mine don't. First they have to kick around in my subconscious for a while (provided I've
written them down so they don't disappear). That's because I can't work on more than one project at a time, so the ideas have to get in line. Once I'm ready to start working on an idea, then comes the thinking, questioning, day-dreaming, brainstorming stage. The one where I ask "Why?" and "What if?" and "What else" until I finally find some answers that excite me. Once I have a relatively clear picture of where I want to go then the writing starts. The elation. The hope. The excitement. The bogging down. The despair. The falling out of love. The going back. The starting over. The plunging ahead. The desperate determination. And finally (
finally) reaching:
Oh, the satisfaction of finishing! I think that feeling is the thing I love best about writing. That's the reason that I spent a decade writing short fiction. I just had to have the joy of finishing something and setting it free. It's thrilling. I am so close to
of my current WIP that I can almost taste it! It's my second novel, so finishing a whole novel-length work after almost twelve years of short fiction is truly exciting. Sure there's a lot to do after the finishing, but it's still a great feeling.
How do you feel about finishing a project be it writing or anything else?
17 comments:
It's totally a release. But it's also sad. From that point on, there's always a draft that preceded whatever draft you're working on.
(Just finished draft 1 of my WiP.)
Good luck with your finishing! I know the feeling of being so close and yet not there.
I haven't reached the satisfying finish yet. I'm currently in the bogging down part - haven't fell out of love yet.
A lot of the time I have to remind myself to stick with one thing and finish it before jumping on the next.
I DO finish projects but at the same time I probably have around 50beginings floating round.
But yeah it is a great feeling to have something sent off done to your great satisfaction.
I do love that feeling! Accomplishment, joy! I might be sad if I knew I wasn't writing a sequel though. :) I would hate to say goodbye to my characters.
There's an enormous amount of perspective at The End. It's like this strange transformation. I can see this thing, in its entiriety, that wasn't there before. It's...surreal. I love The End. (Only I hate it too because that means it's over!)
My ideas have to stir around in my head for awhile, too! But I need to ask more questions like you do...more what if's.
I love finishing a project! That's why I write short stories, because the novels take so long to reach that satisfaction.
For several days before I finish the first draft of a novel, I get all twitterpated and antsy. I can taste the ending and feel the upcoming relief/joy. It rocks!
It can take me forever to find the story details on a new work. So, by the time I get to 'the end', I'm a pretty exhausted and happy girl.
I love getting to the end. It's so great to reach that goal and realize I did it. So nice. =)
I don't get the elation I should because I'm too busy thinking about all the things I know will need fixing. Bad, Jackee! I need to learn to enjoy my benchmarks as well as the goal-setting. (BTW, my favorite part is the research and the plotting. I love the story in it's initial nebulousness!)
I could almost have written that first paragraph about myself! My ideas gel in the back of my mind for years sometimes before I'm ready to write them. But I'm definitely learning the value of writing down ideas as I go. My brain is incredibly slippery sometimes.
Congrats on being so close to finishing your WIP!
There's nothing like typing THE END. You go, Angie!
Fun blog!!! Love the title, and totally jealous of your view from the writing chair!
I never really want to write, I just have to.
I am always happy at the end of a project. In fact, i'm sick of my characters by then. I still haven't figured out how people write series of books about the same people.
Finishing is delicious! Starting is painful. :-) But the joy of knowing that I have pressed on despite the difficulty is part of what makes the finishing so good.
Hey everyone, thanks for the comments! It's always nice to welcome some new people to the blog. Thanks for stopping by.
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