HOOOOOOOOOORAY! or The Sweetness of It All…

So I know it’s gauche to do, but I’m going to congratulate myself anyway. HOOOORAY FOR ME! I had a huge day on Friday. If you follow me on Twitter or Google+ you may have seen a few cryptic remarks and a lot of capital letters and exclamation points. The reason: I finally resolved my Charlie Situation and finished his portion of the Work In Progress. HOORAY FOR ME AGAIN, she said! It took what feels like forever, but the tidiest, most fabulous solution to my ongoing conundrum about how to tie his story together finally presented itself to me and the words flowed out like they were already written in my head. I did a happy dance. I’m not proud, I can admit it. And I’m sure it was goofy looking. But I didn’t care. I was so excited to finally be finished with this character and his unbelievably detailed journey out of my head…

It was the most amazing feeling. It was also surprisingly exhausting.

I don’t know how many of you reading this are writers yourselves, or if other writers have felt that same way, but it’s the weirdest thing. Despite the fact that the words were pouring right out of me, and I never even paused in my typing, I felt like I had dragged my brain kicking and screaming through the process of writing that last little bit. It was like my brain had taken six kids to Disney World, by itself. Seriously. I was beaten down when it was done. Sure – I was exhilarated too. But I was also strangely worn out and didn’t want to even look at a computer afterwards. So I didn’t. For two whole days. It was glorious… 🙂

It’s wild how much better I feel about the entire process of writing now. It’s like I crossed some imaginary line or proved something to myself. I’ve written nearly 200 pages on this character – I can write something that long, on one topic, and tell a full-circle story. Sure, I’ve finished a slew of short stories – and some that aren’t quite so short. But this is, by far, the farthest I’ve gotten on one consistent work since I started writing. All 200 of those pages won’t stay in the final story, I’m sure. At a minimum, they will be carved into part of the novel I’m working on and a companion piece of either short novel or novella length. At a maximum, they will be edited until only the barest of bones are left. Either way, I feel like I’ve worked through this character from every angle. The editing will help me determine which bits are worth presenting in which contexts, but the story has been as fully told as I know how at this point – and it feels freaking great to be able to say that.

HOOOOOOOORAY again! Now here’s hoping the next few characters don’t get as greedy with my time and demand their own 200 pages. If they do, well, it may be a while before you see another hooray. 😉