A Writer's Journey: The End...

This is the very last day of September...which means...this is also the last post on 'A Writer's Journey'! Next week we will begin a new blog post series for October which I'm very excited about!

Today's post is going to be a little more lighthearted than the others. We are going to talk about that glorious feeling you get when you write/type the words, "The End". You've plotted, outlined, drafted, re-written, edited, re-edited. You've probably had a few close friends or family members read the manuscript, then you've revised the piece again.

You may have had it looked over by a professional editor as well, and then went back and cleaned it up again.

You've done your absolute best to polish up your work, and are completely happy with the finished product. At last, after many tears and sweat, you are done!!

We aren't going to go talk about publishing and searching for agents right now. This is just an encouraging post to remind you that after all the work you put into your project, at last you can sit back and realize that you actually did it.

It is quite a wonderful feeling. Yet...it's a bit sad too.

After I finished my novella, 'A Wish for the Throne' for the Rooglewood Press's 'Five Enchanted Roses' contest last year, I remember going through a melancholy stage afterwards, because I missed writing it! I missed the characters and I missed creating all the different fairy tale and fantasy elements. But at the same time, it was such a satisfying feeling to know I had done my best and could move on to something else.

In The Hobbit, when Bilbo returns back to the Shire after his long and dangerous journey, he is almost a completely different person from when he had first left it. He has become stronger, made life long friends, and experienced an adventure like no other!

His story may have come to an end. But that round, shiny thing, in his pocket is the beginning of another journey in another story.

And though every story eventually has an end, thankfully a writer's journey never has an end! A writer always has something to say. A writer always has a story to tell.

I don't know what stage you are at in the projects you're working on. You might be a published author, or you might be working on your first novel. I'd like to tell you right no
w that no matter where you are at, embrace it.

If you have just finished something, or have finished several things, embrace that you have made this accomplishment. If you are working a full time job or going to school, and writing a novel at the same time, embrace that you are accomplishing so
mething amazing right now, by being able to do so much!

You see...something I've learned--in fact I'm continuing to learn--is that a writer's life isn't all about 'The End'. It's not about finally becoming a published novelist. It's not about being able to tell people your book is in Barnes and Noble.

It's about looking back at your journey and realizing how far you have come. It's about looking forward and knowing this dream is going to happen. And...it's about embracing and enjoying every minute of where you are right now.