I Feel a Draft!


Yesterday, I finished the draft of my work-in-progress, The Salt Maiden. This doesn't mean I'm finished the book; far from it since I'll have to do quite a bit of editing before I turn in the manuscript. But even so, it's a momentous, exhilarating occassion, one I took the rest of the day to enjoy and celebrate.

Many stories are begun, but it's the finishing that brings the greatest rush of pleasure. People who start myriad projects, only to abandon each, are robbing themselves of the feeling of accomplishment. Worse still, they're training themselves to give up the effort when the going gets too tough.

I'm not saying that every project should be completed, but if I'd given up every time I grew discouraged (which happens at least once or twice per book), I would have missed out on this hard-won feeling of accomplishment and the realization that those victories achieved through long, diligent effort are truly life's most satisfying.

Like a marathon runner pushing past her pain, visualize the finish line. Then fight for every step it takes to get there.

Comments

Joni Rodgers said…
Good morning, Colleen! We were simultaneously posting. I thought you'd be whacking away at the deadline-driven banana stalks, but instead, you up and at the business of over-achieving, as usual.

Congratulations on The End. I can wait to read The Salt Maiden!