So I finished the zero draft of the ReReWrite of the Damned, also known as the Never Ending WIP. I started it in July of 2014, and my god what a journey it has been. I have struggled with this book in every possible way, trying to figure out just what I was trying to say with it, what I wanted it to do, and how to make that happen. But I did it. Today, I finished the last thing I needed to do with it and wrote those most blessed of words: THE END.
The first thing I did was sit there in numbed amazement. I’d finally done it, after all. The thing I never thought I’d actually do.
Then I went up to the counter at the little gas station/Arby’s where I usually write (don’t judge, I live in Appalachia and you make due with what you have) and told them I’d just finished the novel I’ve been working on forever. They were so happy for me, and when the manager asked me “So, what’s it about?” I literally drew a blank and could not tell her. I was still completely flustered. They have always so nice and supportive of me, I literally could not ask for a better place to write.
Once that was done, I packed up my laptop and emotional support possum plushie and drove home.
(this little cutie)
And if you don’t think I wasn’t driving home with the windows down blasting St. Elmo’s Fire as loud as my speakers could go, then I don’t know what to tell you.
So what comes next?
Well, editing, obviously. The book is a big sprawling mess, and a behemoth. I definitely have to trim the word count by a substantial amount. Which, I tend to be an overwriter, so I’m not really surprised by this. Then, rounds with beta readers, sensitivity readers, copy editing, the works. It’s going to be a long process but I am absolutely stoked to start it. Because I am one step closer to holding my finished, published book in my hands.
I’m taking the time to really let this sink in, and enjoy the dopamine hit of having completed my goal of writing a novel. Then it’s back to the word mines, to begin working on Book Two of the NeverEnding Series, because there’s no rest for the wicked, baby.