TGIF (Thank God I Finished!)
If you are an aspiring writer, you'll find all kinds of advice about writing in the world, but if there's one thing you simply must do or you will never sell a book, it's this: you have to be able to finish one.
Sounds simple, until you try it. *G*
I'm finishing a book today, a Blaze that will be part of a three book Texas Ranger series coming out in June 2009 with Alison Kent and Kimberly Raye. The working title is Mr. November. (I just noticed Lori Foster has a book with the same title, so I'm not sure it will stick), about a Texas Ranger in NYC for a sexiest heroes calendar shoot. I'm very excited about the series and to be paired with these amazing writers. However, writing this book has been like making it through a very long obstacle course, with a big finish at the end.
It's been a tough four weeks finishing it, and this book has frankly been very difficult to write. It made me worry, why it was so tough. Burnout? Losing my mojo? My friends and family have listened to no end of bitching while I worked on it. I did it with a lot of determination to sit down and write every day, the awareness that I have never, ever missed a deadline and wasn't about to start now, and support of friends and Mike. And today, I'll finish off the last few pages and be done -- well, as done as we ever are before edits and revisions.
Still, what is really wild about this is that it's the first book I've finished in over a year. Considering I wrote and finished 9 books in the three years previous, that's kind of strange, right? But the last book I finished (I'm not counting the anthology because it was short; I mean full length books) was in March 2007, Talking in Your Sleep. Ironically, this is about the same time I started failing to finish quilting projects I've had sitting around. What's notable is for me, I always defined myself as a "finisher" -- I finish things I start. It's who I am. Ask Mike. He lives in fear of my scheduling house projects, because they will be finished, no matter how it makes us suffer. *G*
But the last year served a different purpose. I was experimenting, finding new things to write, seeing what else I could do (still am). It was filled with some proposals that didn't take, some rejections, some attempts at new books, single title, and finally the mystery I'm working on now, the short erotica I'm playing with, because my creative brain finally started craving variety after 9 Blaze in a row. I love Blaze, of course, and I love chocolate, too, but I would get pretty tired of chocolate if it was all I ever had to eat.
But I never realized until I hit the finishing line on this one that it had been a while since I had written The End on anything.
While working writers work on a proposal basis, which means we write a synopsis and three chapters to see if editors are even interested in and idea, I never adequately realized the hidden danger in this, how time can slip by without things being finished, and what that can do to your mindset. There's no point in writing a whole book if it doesn't sell, right? Wrong. I had written about this issue about 3 years ago in an article on my website, and there are two takes, but my personal experience now shows that finishing has huge psychological and creative value. (At the time I wrote that article, I obviously knew squat, so any comments you have toward this issue would be greatly appreciated as I'm thinking of rewriting it.)
I think it's normal to try new things, to branch out and to experiment, and that's what the past year has been for me, but it really reminded me that finishing books is a habit, and it's a habit you have to develop and stay with or you sort of forget how it feels, strange as that may sound. You forget what 60K or 75K or 100K feels like at the end. You especially forget, at the beginning, that you can make that long stretch to the end. . .and believe me, the beginnings and middles are easier when you remember what the end feels like. Developing a habit of not finishing can make writing a book very stressful -- or more stressful than it needs to be.
So I'm very happy to be finishing up this book today. I was going to take a break, and I may still, for a few days, maybe -- to say the least, my writing brain is a little soggy. All of this writing, the book and the revisions and the proposals has added up to somewhere in the area between 500-1000K of writing in the last year, if you add it all up. I've already written almost 100K on the mystery since Feb to yield 150 usable pages. Finishing is important.
I plan to finish all of the books I'm working on in the coming months, long and short, not just to the sale, but for my writer's state of mind and the pleasure of writing The End.
So, off I go to do it. I'll be around, but I'll also be here, finishing. :) In the meanwhile, chat with me this Friday about whether you are a finisher or not, what the last big project (or little project) was that you completed, and how it felt, or if you have things hanging around that need finishing, what are they, and how about we all make a pact to pick those up and get them to the end, because I can tell you personally -- finishing feels really good. :)
And now I know...
I need to go back and revise that earlier article, LOL -- or link it to this one...
Sam
I'm a finisher, too. But, I
I'm a finisher, too. But, I also have several half finished projects that will be finished some day--like the afghan I started when my son was 4. He's now almost 22. I knew when he was 8 and it wasn't done that my grandchild would have it someday. It's crocheted and each square has a 3-D teddy bear face on it. All the parts are crocheted--it's just a matter of finding them all and sewing the project together. Thank goodness for Red Heart Yarn never changing colors over the past two decades!
Every Project is Different!
Waving hi from PASIC!
I find that every project is different for me. Some, I whip through, though most I get stuck on at some point, since I'm a pantser--writing by the seat of my pants. I couldn't plan out a story if I tried.
For Heart of the Wolf, I pretty much knew where I was going and I wrote it in 3 months, with lots of revisions afterwards. I'd started Don't Cry Wolf way before I had sold Heart of the Wolf, as another stand alone title in case Heart of the Wolf didn't sell...but hadn't finished it because figured if the first didn't sell, why finish the next? Why? Because as soon as my editor at Sourcebooks bought Heart of the Wolf, she wanted to see Don't Cry Wolf and anything else like that.
So I learned right then, it would have behooved me to have finished Don't Cry Wolf and kept on working on the werewolf series.
While I was finishing Don't Cry Wolf, I proposed two more...Betrayal of the Wolf and Allure of the Wolf. As soon as I had a super review from Publisher's Weekly on Heart of the Wolf, my editor called and bought Don't Cry Wolf. And said, where's Allure of the Wolf??? She loved the tag on that one so much, she kept asking for it over Betrayal of the Wolf. But Betrayal was the one that the scenes were already unfolding for me in my head. So I wrote that, in a hurry, because she kept asking for the two books. And she bought both, the one on proposal, the other finished.
So why finish the story? Why finish more in the same vein? Because you might sell every one of them!!! If not, you still have them available to sell. And to me, that's the main goal. With every book you write, you hone your skills more. Some will get so good at writing the first 3 chapters for contests, but what about avoiding the sagging middle? What about learning to give a compelling end that will encourage readers to pick up the next book and the next book? By writing the whole tamale, we gain more experience. :)
And the best part? We have books to sell. :)
Terry, who is off to work some more on Allure of the Wolf--54K done, 46K to go. Downhill slide!
Oh, and, yes, I have tons of unfinished mss, and ones I want to revise. I will finish all of them, and revise all them...when I have the time!!! Sometimes, I just have to put my foot down, and do so!
Hey Terry!
You are a machine! LOL But you are also absolutely right. I sold my second book so quickly, and the third, to Blaze, because I had them done and complete, so I ended up with 2 books out w/in my first 9 months of publishing, and then another 6 months after. Actually, I had another one that was rejected, a spin off of Virtually Perfect, and I put it up as free read on my website -- I think people have enjoyed it. There's always a benefit. Finished work always has more value than unfinished work. That was Lori Foster's advice, I think, and it was good advice. :)
I have heard from more people who sold previously rejected books after they built a name for themselves.
I have mixed feelings, because while I have at least 3 finished books in my files that never went anywhere, maybe 4, come to think of it, and some hefty partials, 200p or better, some of that work was done 2-3 years ago, and I can't help but think I am a much better writer now (I hope so anyway) and I don't know if I'd want something I wrote them coming out now. I don't think it could be brought up to snuff w/out a lot of updating, and I have new ideas to work on so...
I guess the lesson for me is from now on, it all gets finished. I may not be able to complete older projects, but I want to get back into my habit of completing current and future ones...
Good luck on your books -- they sound amazing, and I'm looking forward to your upcoming blog here in a month or so. :)
Sam
Hey Sam--super idea!
I loved your idea of having a story on your site that is a free read. It helps to show your voice!
I can't give up some of my older works. When I can't get into my new stuff, I play around with the old. It's a challenge to bring them up to new standards! :) I usually give up after awhile and go back to the new stuff though--easier to do!!! :) But eventually I hope to have the others ready to send off!
Look forward to guest blogging in August! Good luck on your books also! Now that you're finished~~time to dive into another!!! My mother can't understand that. She thinks when I'm finished, that means I can take off a couple of months. LOL :) Terry
You crack me up...
But do you think that maybe crocheting that blanket might have satisfied some purpose that doesn't exist anymore, and therefore you stopped crocheting?
I don't know if that makes sense, but I know sometimes I leave things behind and the reason is because they served a certain purpose -- distraction, inspiration, the need to not think about something painful, whatever -- and then when I got through that stage, the activity lapsed for me...
Sam
I go through phases of
I go through phases of creativity, but have never had something that fulfilled a purpose for a short period of time like you're speaking of. It's more that I come from a rural family that makes everythihng by hand. And I mean everything. My dad built my swing set out of drill pipe (a very sturdy swing set) and made a sleigh and a pony cart for my pony. My mom sewed all my clothes and knit half a dozen sweaters every winter. I love to create things. The problem with that project was that the kid was growing up faster than I could finish the afghan, lol.
Interesting article!
Big congratulations on hitting the finish line! There is no feeling like finishing. *g* But it's true you have to find a balance where you're spending time completing projects and spending time on proposals that may or may not sell.
This is where Fast Draft is really useful for getting that partial completed in a hurry. But it really is a catch-22. If future work isn't out circulating, you can end up out of work. If current work takes all your time, you can't do future work. So there has to be time in the schedule for current work and proposals for future projects. I have a partial I've been wanting to finish for two years and couldn't because of various things. Now it's time is coming. *g*
I think if I wrote nothing but partials after a few months, though, I'd go nuts. And then I'd write whatever I wanted and finish it. I finished my first 5 books, and I'd agree with whoever in that article said it was a good idea. (Lori Foster?) But partials do have their place in the workflow.
Of course...
I agree completely, and that probably comes as no surprise since you are one of the pals I have been whining to for the last month, LOL.
Funny that the fast draft never worked for me with category. I did it with my initial mystery draft, though with great success, though the version I have now is extremely different, but that stands to reason. I think there was HUGE benefit to the rough draft (for me 200 pages in 8 days, not the entire book, the the book to the point that I could see the whole picture... which then, as I revised, sharpened).
I still haven't finished it, of course, but have been reworking those first 150 over and over, but I think it's almost there and the rest will hopefully be easier to finish because of it - writing this was not only just doing the writing, but scaling the learning curve of a completely new kind of writing... pretty demanding.
You're right, though, about only working on partials and insanity -- will never do this again... I don't mind putting in a synopsis that gets rejected, that's just the idea, but from now on, I start a story/book, I finish it.
Great article, Sam. I
Great article, Sam. I agree--before I got serious about writing, I had 100 beginnings and no endings. That didn't help me consider myself a "writer" or even trying to be a writer. I was playing, I was having fun, but I wasn't pursuing my dream of being a published author. Getting to THE END on that first book--even though I never sold it--was a huge step for me and something I still remember as being the turning point in my mindset from hobbyist to professional writer. Though some authors think I'm silly, I still type THE END when I finish, because it reminds me that I tackled and conquered something that been impossible at one point. Every time I finish a book, I'm excited and have a major sense of accomplishment.
Congratulations Sam!
Hey Allison!
I think part of the issue for me is I never did that before I sold -- I sold my first book, and I never went through that exploratory stage, and I've probably been making up for lost time in some ways...
I have never actually written THE END, but my own silly habit is saying it. Out loud. Usually several times, and adding things like "Done" "Gone" and "Fini" or sometimes, "Someone Else's Problem Now." *G*
And the thing about finishing is that it is a huge sense of accomplishment, and I think this is the thing we get addicted to, and which pushes us on to write more and do it again, which is what I had kind of lost touch with, because writing partials and revising doesn't have that same effect...
Sam
Hey, Sam! Huge
Hey, Sam! Huge congratulations on finishing the book, especially considering it was a tough one to write...I think I told you how difficult writing my last one was. I had moments of sheer despair where I would be sitting in front of my laptop thinking I would never, ever, ever finish it! But like you, I'm a finisher...although to be honest, I wasn't as good at finishing manuscripts until after I sold Flyboy. But I have to ask...you really don't write The End at the end of your manuscripts?? I always do...it gives me such a huge sense of satisfaction to do so, even though they always delete it in the line edits, LOL! Anyway, so proud of you for getting it done!!
Intriguing post
I think of myself as a finisher but I'm also a procrastinator. I put off starting a project until I know I'm going to have time to finish it. And don't try to push me the other way.
For some strange reason, the long Thanksgiving weekend has become our time to take on a home improvement project. Maybe because it's just "us" for that holiday. No friends, no relatives.
A few years ago we decided to faux paint the wall in our dining room. We took off the nasty panelling that had been there since we'd bought the house, we finished the wall, we put down the bottom colour (straw). And then, the weekend was over. We hadn't put on the glaze finish.
I wanted to wait. The weeks right after Thanksgiving are always hectic, especially in a 2-religion family as ours is. My husband kept pressing me to finish it but I put my foot down.
Too bad that the straw wall looked awful as is. Too stark a colour. I just didn't have time to finish it.
A month goes by. Six weeks go by. Finally, we're ready to take our glaze (nile green) and apply it with feather dusters. An hour later we were finished.
An hour. One hour.
So, because I had made up my mind that this finish was going to take so long, I had put it off until I could do it right. Six weeks of waiting (needlessly) for one hour of work.
It really has pushed me to get other things done. And if they don't get done in the time frame I had set up, well, I'm that much closer to being finished.
And that, for someone like me, is almost as powerful as being finished. Because, being finished is a reward.
So good luck to you, Sam! May you finish all you start!
ani
ani
That is just such a great story... I am going to remember to read that one a few more times. I've often said, when I'm balking, or Mike's balking, "Once Begun, Half Done."
And it's true. I said several times over the last month or so that the secret to getting writing done is just opening the damned file -- you open the file, you start writing. Simple as that.
And you are right, that finishing is a huge reward in and of itself... and I am thinking of the whole painting with feather duster idea... a Blaze scene, maybe??? LOL
Sam
Ending versus finishing
Good points, Sam.
Problem is, I can get to "the end" but the novel isn't finished because it isn't right. When to stop revising is the question---when do I walk away from an "ended" if not finished book to try again? So far I've needed rejection to make me see clearly what's wrong and I wouldn't have seen it, no matter how many revisions, without the rejection.
I have many projects at some stage of completion but there's always the aggravating thought that once again they'll fall short, so why waste all the notes? Why not save them until I know better what I'm doing?
Solution? Use the notes and stop clutching them (ideas are plentiful and rejection is my friend---ouch), spend less time on more stories, write smarter, not harder, keep learning and keep writing.
Time's passing whether I write or not. I might as well write.
Hey Sally
Well, once you sell the thing that curbs that tendency is the deadline. Not being facetious, it's true. You can only write for so long, because you have no choice in the matter.
You know, you post reminded me of a show I saw last night about a couple who went hiking in the Amazon and they were lost for 6 days -- sometimes, if you keep going, you get more lost. That's a tough writer instinct to develop, to know when you have to stop and hug the tree.
But it sounds to me like you have already learned the most important lesson, aside of finishing -- that only feedback can tell you where you are with a book, and editorial feedback really is the gold standard, of course. To me, this book is finished -- for the moment. My editor may come back with a gazillion changes, and that's okay.
I've ever submitted two mss that needed no revisions. As Charli says about work projects, everything is a balance. Of course you want to revise until you feel you have done the best you can -- but you also have to accept that even when you think you've done your best, the thing is not perfect, and the editor will tell you what needs more work. So the solution, for me, is to listen to someone more knowledgeable and objective than me when they tell me "It's good, it's done."
And even then it's not perfect, because some reader or reviewer will point out a typo or a shortcoming, and to that, I say, just stick out your tongue. *G*
Sam
I'm Done!
Just finished. Now I can edit a bit, but yay!
Okay, now to go chat with you all for a bit and see what comments are up here...
Sam
Sam, that was the best
Sam, that was the best advice I ever got as a new writer. To finish a book. Because before I got it, I would start a book, write 40 pages or so and then ditch it and start a new one. Finally after that advice I wrote an entire book and it's NOT easy!
Congrats on your new series. Sounds fantastic.
Shelli Stevens, GSRWA Vice President
http://www.shellistevens.com
A little bit of laughter & a whole lot of Spice
two books coming soon from Kensington Aphrodisia
Hi Shelli!
It's interesting, because I have A LOT of unfinished work in my files, largely partials I sent to editors or agents that they didn't want, and a few entire books that ended that way, too, and I'm always stuck as to whether I should go finish/revise them and try to send them elsewhere or what...
I have a few recent ones I am going to work on, and obviously just because I wrote it doesn't mean it deserves to be finished or published, but I am going to finish some of them... I'm kind of looking forward to digging back in, though, on some of them as I make my way thought new work (that balance Charli is talking about -- though maybe it's more like juggling while doing the chacha...)
Congrats on finishing your upcoming releases! Look yummy...
Sam
I love finishing a
I love finishing a book...for about three minutes. Until I start thinking of editing said book.
But then I push that aside to bask in the glow for just a little longer. It feels great, and I think this particular book is going to feel 20 times better when I finish (hopefully sometime before the end of August) because it's been the toughest one for me to write so far.
J.K. Coi
Immortals To Die For
www.jkcoi.com
JK
You just reminded me of a funny thing dh and I always say to each other... The longer you have to wait, the better it feels, LOL
It comes from his childhood, when his older brother would hold him captive and he had to pee... and his older brother used to tell him that, LOL.
I just think it's hysterical, and maybe the same holds for finishing a book or not, I don't know... my joy about it usually lasts until the revision letter comes back... but then I get to finish those and feel good about THAT.
I'm sending you good finishing vibes, though, because for the few "easy books" we ever get, God knows we pay ten times over with the difficult ones...
Sam
LOL, that's funny Samantha.
LOL, that's funny Samantha. I think I actually remember doing that to my own little brother once. I was thirteen or so, and I caught him eavesdropping while I was on the phone with my friend and had to chase him down.
Thanks for the finishing vibes. I need all that I can get right now.
J.K. Coi
Immortals To Die For
www.jkcoi.com
I'm a bit like Ani...
I love finishing, but getting there is sometimes SO hard! The getting started is sometimes tough too, but once it's started, depending on the project, what's between starting and finishing can be quite a long haul! I've done quite a few afghans, and there was one that sat for a couple years until I picked it up again and finally wrapped it up.
The unfinished project hanging over my head is the clutter piled high around our house--I'm trying to remind myself to take it one pile at a time, and eventually we'll see the carpet again, right? ;)
Congrats on finishing, Sam! Enjoy the moment for a while! :)
I am a finisher, too. I
I am a finisher, too. I started a counted cross stitch project almost 2 years ago and decided I didn't like it. Cannot bring myself to start another until I finish the one in progress. Have been working on it again----only have a bout one fourth left to stitch.
If I have the energy
Hail to the Redskins!
I go in spurts with finishing. I'll get a burst of energy and finish everything. Then I'll get on a schedule and keep up with things. Then I go through times where I don't feel like doing anything and everything piles up.
I have a counted crosstitch project that I've been working on here and there for a few years. I'll get it finished.
I'll get into a book and sit and do nothing until I finish it. I'll clean the house in a day if I have the engergy. A week if I don't.
Sam, sounded like you did need a break. Nine Blazes in so quick a time. (I have them all too!). You did accomplish a lot and needed some time to refresh yourself. You experminted with different types of writing, and did other projects as well. I wouldn't feel bad. You did put out enough books to keep us fans happy. We're also looking forward to seeing your writing projects whenever they're published, you're stand alone, your Superromance and Mr. November (or whatever the title will be).
Nora makes it look so easy with all her writing, but its really a tough process. As I read this column and other authors blogs, I see what a tough process it really is. It also makes me appreciate the final published book a lot more!
I think you're right
That things go in cycles -- for some reason, we always think we're going to stay constant, but we all go through those kinds of cycles you're describing. Sometimes slow, sometimes fast, sometimes in between...
The past year hasn't felt much like a break, just lots of work and not much to show for it, but that's not exactly right, either. Sometimes it takes a little while to try out new things, and do some other stuff, and you just have to do it. I know there are people in the other side of things, who keep pulling in work, and they have books coming out left and right, but they also aren't making time to do things that they keep putting off, so ultimately I'm glad to have taken the time and tried new things, and with any luck, you will be seeing some new stuff from me in addition to Blaze. :)
Thanks for being such a kind and loyal reader, T (and everyone else here, too -- where would I be without you, really?"
Sam
You're Welcome
Hail to the Redskins!
I think it can be hard to keep things fresh. There are a few authors who keep putting out the same formula in books and it comes out stale. It shows and eventually, the most loyal readers stop reading them.
Taking the time to expermint and try new things does help, and it'll show when you're new work comes out!
I've enjoyed your books and your blog! Glad I came over here.
With my writing: mostly a
With my writing: mostly a finisher. With projects around the house? NOT a finisher!
M
heh
I think that's how I'm getting too -- I used to be better at house stuff, but it's kind of losing priority these days...
Sam
Sam
Sam,
So glad you've rediscovered the joy of finishing!! Enjoy the down time!
Holly
No down time...
But that's okay... maybe a little slower time, but I'm avoiding "down time" actually... I want to keep the groove...
Sam
Are you sure that you are finished?
That's something that always happens to me. You write...and write...and write....and finally you are done! Well the problem that I have is that I always tend to go back to review and edit. Then you are done again! Well you start to read all that is written and again you second guess it. On to editing. It's a vicious cycle until you finally say "it's good enough." That's when you are really finished. Congrats on really finishing.
This is true...
Of course, with contracted books, the end comes because you have a deadline and an editor who says so, LOL, but also, by the time you hit the galleys, you are well ready to be done... I still have revisions and edits on this, so it's only done for the moment, but thanks. :) To me, revs and edits are easier -- its finishing the first polished draft that's the real haul.
The second-guessing is a blessing and a curse -- I think sometimes we have to listen to our doubts, because down deep we know when something isn't working, and other times we have to be able to sift out what is exhaustion or insecurity from real critique. I know now, more or less, when I have reached either point -- when it's time to keep working or when it's time to give it to someone else who can tell me what they think, and let myself get some distance...
One nice thing about commercial fiction is that you have to produce so much so quickly, in general, that you don't get in a habit of belaboring, at least, not to a ridiculous extent. I have a friend who writes literary fiction (very successful) but he only writes one book every ten years or so. I write a Blaze in about 3 months. The mystery I am working on, however, I can't imagine doing more than one of those a year... so it's kind of interesting...
Sam