THE END - Are there any words sweeter to a writer?

For a reader, those two words mean an ending. To an author they are the most wonderful three-letter words in the dictionary. It’s a sign that what you spent months crafting has finally concluded, more than likely to a happy ending. THE END means the story is done, but the work has just begun. We get to edit the manuscript, polish it, and pretty it up for the entire world or in most cases, for the publisher to see.

THE END are two words that make a writer feel exultant and sad at the same time. Exultant, because we completed a piece of art. Sad, because our baby has come to the finish line and now we have to put those characters aside and let others take their place.

At 10:52 PM on Saturday, March 31, I wrote those two beautiful words on my sixth novel known as At Face Value. One hour ahead of my self-imposed deadline. Yea me!

What does an author do when he or she writes those two words?

Well, if you’re like me, you jump up out of the chair that your butt has now permanently dented and you dance. You pump your arms up and down and shake your booty; all while chanting, “The end! The end!”

Then you blow out a heavy sigh, hit send to email that final chapter to you critique partner and give a little prayer that he or she likes it.

After that, it hits you. Those two characters are gone. They are shut away until you see them again in print behind a beautiful cover. A tear may slide down your cheek or you may give a little sniff. I equate it to saying goodbye to a longtime friend when they move away. Oh, you’ll see and talk with them again, but it won’t be for a while.

Don’t worry though! There are usually characters waiting in line, shoving themselves forward, vying for a spot in the next novel. As a matter of fact, my hero for my next novel was knocking on my door this morning wondering when he and I can get together to chat. We have to get to know each other before I can tell his story.

His name is Rory O’Sullivan and he wants me to tell you all about him, his trials, tribulations, and his experiences that brought him to where he is today.

My next heroine, who I only know as Dakota right now, is just an inkling in the back of my mind, but she’s there. Give her another week and she may just spring up from a behind a bush and pounce, wanting to tell her story.

For all you writers out there, my best wishes for you to write those words, to write THE END.

Frustrated writers - You are not alone

A Little Whine

One day last week when I was home feeling miserable with a sinus infection, I received some information related to my writing. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad news by any means, just not as good as I would like to see.

Needless to say, I was disappointed and frustrated, and started to ask myself why. Why am I doing this thing called writing? Did I honsetly think I could be an author? Was I chasing a pipe dream?

Later in the week, it was as if other frustrated writers came out of the woodwork. I saw someone post something on Twitter, expressing her doubts with herself and her writing abilities. Then on my published authors loop another author shared her concerns with her writing career. Surprise! We were not alone.

Several writers on Twitter and even more on my loop chimed in and offered up their thoughts on how every writer, whether published or unpublished, experiences frustration with their current stage in their writing career. It is completely normal to question your abilities and whether the pain, rejection, and time is worth it.

I also have a small group of writers that I meet up with about once a month who have seen me through getting my first book published, the completion of my second manuscript and its subsequent publication and more. We support each other and I decided that I needed to vent a little so those lucky people received an email from me where I verbally spewed out my frustration in what I titled, A Little Whine.

In return, I received several emails from my friends. Mostly they smacked me upside my blonde head and said, "Get a grip."

They said a lot more but here are a few snippets.

To quote my friend Steve, "Denise, are you freak'en kidding me. You are a member of the starving artists club. I can only dream to aspire to be where you are right now."

I'll paraphrase my friend Judy here. "You write because you love writing. Now that you are published you have raised the bar. With that new goal, you have to have patience. Keep doing what YOU love and do it because you love it and it will come around."

Later on, my friend David chimes in. "Truthfully, Judy and Steve have pretty much said the truth and why you should take great pride in how far you've come so far. That said, everything you report - your frustrations. All true."

WAIT! It gets better. Then David offers a quote from Charles Bukowski on the topic of keeping on. Talk about hit the mark with a straight shot to the heart and head.

David ends his well aimed sermon with this. "We’ve seen you wrack up the words, pen great scenes, and do it so it looks easy (tho it isn’t). So, yes, be disappointed. But don’t be discouraged. End of sermon."

This I share with all you writers, published or unpublished, frustrated or content, because no matter what, at some point you will question and maybe even at more than one point, you will question what you are doing, whether you have the ability, and if it is all worth it.

I leave you with this quote from Charles Bukowski:

"If you're going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don't even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery--isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. And, you'll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you're going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It's the only good fight there is."
— Charles Bukowski (Factotum)

PS - Thank you Judy, Steve, and David!