I finished Broken Benevolence last year. Finished it last summer, actually. But, as editing wraps up, I guess it wasn’t ‘finished’ after all… It’s obvious ‘The End’ of a first draft isn’t the ‘end,’ but some aspects do end when a work is finished, others, agonizingly, continue.
So, what ends?
- Laser-focus on the story. Writers of fiction are very attached to their tales, so bits of each story stay with them always. But when an author writes, ‘The End,’ the ‘baby’ is born, and it’s finally time for a breather from all that work (and suffering) to ‘get it here,’ and we can entertain thoughts of getting ‘knocked-up’ again—with a different story to tell. (Yes, this is the one instance men can get ‘in trouble,’ too.)
- A lot of research is likely finished before chapter one is fleshed-out, but there are times when additional/supplemental research may be necessary several chapters deep. Yet, when the protagonist is triumphant or dead (possibly both) by work’s end, any research, as it applies to said story, is at an end, too.
- The angst-filled isolation. Some of us are ‘one-story-at-a-timers,’ while others of us are multiple-story-writing jugglers, but when a story is in last-chapters mode, all of us go into a period (however brief) of leave-me-alone-artist-at-work isolation (for authors with deadlines, there exists a heightened level of angst). Typing/writing ‘The End,’ means our self-imposed grounding is over: we can go outside and play.
What continues:
- Trace self-doubt. Don’t be fooled. Even bestselling authors experience periods of internally questioning the ‘value’ or quality of their writing, question a work’s worth in ‘book fandom’ gold. Believe it or not, writers go back to works finished years ago—rereading passages and finding ‘rewrites’ to support their notions of being ‘unworthy.’ It’s just our thing. Never gonna change. After ‘The End,’ this continues.
- Entertaining ‘what ifs.’ Book is released and in the hands of fans and/or new readers. This, however, doesn’t stop writers from pondering alternative outcomes for plot or character long after ‘The End.’ Probability the story closed as it should, is very high—especially if readers are satisfied and want more, are looking for the next release. Writers, though, love writing and imagining: a series of ‘What ifs …?” for a work finished is inevitable, and sometimes leads to seeds for a new work.
- Promotion. We’ve revised multiple revisions. Grammar and punctuation and story structure have run through the various editing cycles. We’ve written ‘The End.’ The book is out. Flash forward subsequent releases later, and writers still need to get the word out, or keep the word out—about all their works. For extroverts, this is where the fun starts, but for introverts … Well, that’s another blog.
These are only a few of the aspects of a book’s journey related to after ‘The End.’ And, as I prepare for releasing book three, Broken Benevolence, and begin the introvert’s nightmare of ‘promotion,’ I can say one of the best oxymorons summarizing a writer’s completed work and which embodies its status, is … ‘Final Draft.’
Shameless promo:
S.F. Powell’s series follows central and continuing character, psychiatrist, Dr. Naomi Alexander, as she treats patients. With elements of drama, humor, and suspense, readers get perspectives from both sides of the counsel couch. Book one (marriage counseling), Like Sweet Buttermilk, and book two (grief counseling), Obscure Boundaries, are available now.
Look for Broken Benevolence (trauma counseling) this fall.
