Forgive my mangled colloquialisms, if you will. I’m a fan of dialect and sometimes I get carried away.
I have noticed an odd trend in myself and I wonder if it’s just me, so I’m going to mention and ask.
Am I the only one who gets more anxious the closer I get to writing ‘The End’ on a book? I’ve found that, when I have just a few pages left on a project, or just a couple more scenes to wrap the whole story up, my mind skips around like mad. I’m already racing ahead to the -next- project I have lined up. I’m thinking about plot and characters and I obsessively check wordcount as I write toward the resolution, thinking ‘how can I possibly have only written one hundred words? I need to be done!’
I don’t think it’s that I’m trying to avoid saying goodbye. I like my characters, don’t get me wrong, but after a while, I’m more than willing to let them go, send them off into the world and let them stand or fall without me. Is it fear of commitment? Am I a serial write-em-and-leave-em kind of girl?
I read about people who have that happy sigh when they finish a book. The post-orgasmic glow of having done something fun, and I look at myself and wonder if I’m missing parts. I don’t have parties when I finish books. I might buy myself something, but I don’t really celebrate. Mostly, I push up the sleeves and shout, “Next!”
It’s not just me, is it?
November 29th, 2006 at 9:52 pm
I’m usually happy to see mine go. Send ‘em out the world, I see. *g* My happy sigh at the end is because it’s finally over and I can move on!
November 30th, 2006 at 12:55 am
Yeah I’m usually glad to be done. But I love writing those last 50 pages or 10 if it’s a novella/short story of a book. Those are seriously where I hit my stride. I’m feeling it. I love it. And I’m all aglow when I finish. Then I tend to take 2 weeks off before starting something new.
November 30th, 2006 at 10:18 pm
No, you’re not alone. I’m the same way. Anxious to finish and start the next story and get into next characters heads.
December 1st, 2006 at 2:11 am
Definitely not alone. The closer I get to the end, the harder my mind works to wander off in other directions. Very frustrating.
December 1st, 2006 at 3:34 pm
ooh Sara this is TOTALLY me. The less I have left to do, the less interested I am in doing it. I’m not sure why it is, but it happens EVERY time.
No sagging middle for me…I have drooping ending (which is a nice segue into Lori’s post…)