Yesterday was kind of a big day for me. I finished the complete first draft of my book! Yay, complete draft done and it only took one year to the exact week I started! I should probably bust out the champagne and celebrate...
But when it comes to this book, I pretty much feel like a novice hiker who has finally reached the top of a Very Big Mountain, and instead of enjoying the scenery, I am too tired to really care. And I have blisters on my feet from those darned hiking boots. And I ran out of trail mix several hours ago and I'm starving for more. Also, my water canteen is almost empty and the water is warm now. Ew.
Not to mention that as I stand at the top of this mountain, too exhausted and hungry to enjoy the scenery, I'm finding the only way down is to hook myself up to lots and lots of cable-thingies (I'm a novice hiker, remember. We don't tend to know what cable-thingies are called) and rappel down to the bottom.
Now, an experienced mountain climber-type person probably thinks, YAY, FUN! But all I'm seeing is the ten billion bushes and trees that I'll most certainly smash into as I come down and the family of Rocky Mountain Bighorn sheep waiting patiently for me to pass so they can ram me into a pulp. And by golly, that blister from my hiking boot is looking gangrenous and I'm pretty sure that I'll have to amputate my whole foot because of it.
Oh, and also, my cable-thingie will probably come undone and I'll plummet to my death because seriously, I'm a NOVICE HIKER!
But for now, I'm still standing here. I might just find me a shady patch and take a nap. And waste some time doing time-wasting things, such as make an imaginary cover for my book:
(I plan on having a draft printed at Lulu.com just for myself, and this will be the cover for that bound draft)
And make pretty word clouds with my first chapter:
Ooooh, pretty!Also, I wonder if Mohop sandals will look okay on a half-amputated gangrenous foot... because I want some!
xoxo,
16 comments:
I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am for you! You are an amazing writer! I say just grab onto those cable-rope thingys and JUMP! I know you'll land perfectly on your feet!
That cover looks pretty amazing!
I cried like a baby the first time I had a completed draft under my belt. It's a wonderful feeling, no? How very exciting, Marisa!!
So, um . . . how about starting a critique group and letting me be its first member?? I'm dying to read what you've written. :-D
There is nothing like finishing a novel. And you should take all the time you need to enjoy the scenery. I bet you didn't see any of it on the way up. :)
OH MAN!!! I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!
Congratulations! That's awesome. What an achievement. Seriously, give yourself time away before revising. Enjoy the milestone!
That is very exciting!
Congrats on finishing the first draft! Woo hoo! Can't wait to read it. Celebrations are in order. Treat yourself to a trip to Portland. :o)
THANKS everyone!!
and Melissa - I shall email you about that soon! :)
Congrats! I'd like to pre-order a signed copy. :)
Yay, M!! I am so happy for you and I am uber-proud of you. If I had to read one more status on gmail about finishing chapter 22 or whatever, I was planning to take the book and finish it myself. :P Love you, miss you.
Lydia beckons.
Yay! I'm so excited for you! And better yet, to read what you've written! : )
Congratulations! A book is a lot of work. But you made it! Fantastic! So the next one will be that much easier, right? :D
Sorry, I'm a day late in the celebration...but WOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO!!! As someone who has been nagging you to finish, I'm stoked to no end that you did it. So where's my draft???
I love that you mocked up a book cover...AWESOME!!!! Hee hee.
Gosh, but isn't that view great! And don't you just feel all those endorphins for accomplishing something huge! And that cover is so perfect. I love it! I love how it is both playful and dark. How did you get to be so brilliant?! Maybe by climbing mountains???
YAY YOU!!!! I am so very proud of you!
Congrats to getting to the end! I'm feel much the same. The rewrite/edit process is like stumbling over rocks and then getting caught by a snaggly branch of a tree and it yanks on your sweater unraveling each thread your wove into your story. It's frustrating and elating at the same time.
And I like your cover! And the word cloud. I think those are excellent follow up activities...in fact...
Post a Comment