Reaching THE END

Last night, I wrote THE END on a novel I’ve been working on for the last seven months. Granted, I didn’t get to work on it constantly.  There was that four month break to move our household 700 miles, find a house, close on the house, have our household goods moved, and unpacking so that we could again live a normal life.

I tried to write during those months – I tried hard – but when chaos surrounds you and the tools you need to cook a decent dinner remain buried in a box you have yet to unwrap, it’s hard to think about word count. The scariest part for me was that my characters weren’t even talking to me at that point.

For a writer, that’s damned scary!

Since I didn’t seem to be able to write new words, I edited the old ones. My friends advised me to give myself a break.  My muse would return when the time was right, and when I had the time to write.

Guess what? They were right!

I woke very early yesterday, and by five in the morning, I knew that sleep wasn’t going to be my friend. Dear Hubby murmured something in his sleep as I kissed him goodbye.  Then I took the long walk (down three flights of stairs) to my new office.

And my old friend the muse walked along side me. She sat next to me, put my fingers gently on the keyboard, and whispered in my ear.  My characters, too long silent, yelled in my brain for attention.  And for hours, I wrote.

Fifteen thousand words plus later, I did it. Justice, my next Flynn’s Crossing book, was finished in first draft.  I wrote THE END.

The feeling of elation is unbelievable. Too keyed up to sit still, I took a drive, and I realized that I need to find some open road near my new home to put my foot down hard on the gas and celebrate each THE END.  Stereo cranked up, I sang along badly with hard rock ‘n’ rock.  I celebrated.

And why? Because this THE END felt like a new beginning.  And that’s just the way it should be.

What feelings course through you when you complete a project? Please share!

Happy writing – and reading – Yvonne