Done (for now)
Novel done. Feel good. Two weeks, have life. Then start new novel. Sleep now.
Novel done. Feel good. Two weeks, have life. Then start new novel. Sleep now.
I'm just going to say it up-front: I hate having to be creative. Don't get me wrong. I love writing. It's really one of the bestest vocations ever.
The single most annoying part for me of the American version of English is the stupid convention of placing punctuation inside quote marks...ALWAYS (except for the exceptions). This has driven me mad since elementary school. It makes no freakin' sense.
This is the one area the new writers I work with (or have worked with in the past) are lacking: the ability to both be able to finish and then to move to the next project. Yeah, it's great to finish that first draft, but that's just the start. Many more rewrites are to follow.
Writing fiction is such an interesting exercise--one that is very familiar to other writers, but also unique to each individual. After many years, styles, and genre, I've settled into a basic strategy the works for me.
I'm often surprised that after I tell people I'm a writer many become very attentive. Many are readers and are amazed with the process of creating something out of nothing. A few are people who express the desire to write, but haven't seriously pursued it. They ask, "How do I know if I can be a writer?"