BA-da-da-DAH! I did it!
They said it couldn’t be done. They said I didn’t have it in me. They said I shouldn’t put my hero on a toilet for an entire chapter. But I proved them all wrong, for I have finished my novel!
If you want to be technical, only the rough draft is finished. Editing and rewrites require time and patience. Rough drafts, however, are a beast. They’re difficult and notoriously, well, rough. Writer and comedian Jordan Peele once described the rough draft as “simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.”
Still, reaching the end is no small task for any writer. It’s been a long, hard, and often demoralizing process. I’ve learned a lot. I’ve had strong days, and I’ve had days when my writing felt like dirt (as opposed to sand). I wanted to give up. I was afraid of failure, of letting my concepts and characters down. Of course, I’ve also had moments of enlightenment, of epiphany, of hope and determination. And even though it’s taken three times as long as I expected it to take:
I.
DID.
IT.
Today I am the happiest man in the world. I breathe a big, satisfying breath. I allow myself to feel proud.
Tomorrow, it’s back to the grindstone. I begin editing. The work will be just as important, possibly just as hard, but it promises reward. Tomorrow I begin building my castle.
For now, I celebrate!