When "The End" does not mean the end: Writing Process Revealed Part V

When it comes to the novel-writing process, perhaps the most frequently asked question I get is: How long did it take you to write it?

This seems like a simple question, but when it comes to novel-writing nothing is as simple as it seems.

The simple answer, I suppose, is four years. That's basically how long it took me to get to the point where I could write "The End." There were many stops and starts during that time, and times when I didn't think I'd get to write "The End." Belief in my story carried me over those bumps I encountered along the way.

Over the years I've sent fledgling chapters to friends and family. A few people have even read an entire manuscript. But none of these people will have seen the final version. I know this because I haven't finished it yet.

Three years have passed since I wrote "The End" and even today the book is still not really finished. It's being edited and revised for the umpteenth time.

Sure, the novel is essentially written and the basic plot structure will not change, but significant alterations are still being made in almost every chapter. Whether anybody other than myself would notice these changes I don't know. But each time I read I find a section that I think can be improved upon, and I try to do just that -- make it so it reads better.

I still have the first fledgling chapters that I sent out some five or six years ago. I barely recognize them. They serve as a measuring stick of how far I've come -- and how difficult it is to get to "The End."

Comments

[A. Lindrup]

I've often thought the end was just the beginning...