Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Whoa, where'd that monkey go?

You know that feeling you get when something big in your life ends?

I cried during the last episode of "Enterprise," not because I cared about the characters, but because it was the end of an era.  We didn't think there would ever be anything Star Trek again.

And I cried on two different occasions when "Revenge of the Sith" came out, for various reasons, but also because the era was ending.  I grew up on Star Wars and Star Trek.  A big chunk of my life was closing in behind a door that would never be reopened for future generations.  (At least with anything new.)

Granted, I've been proven wrong in major ways.

But still, there's that ending feeling that just makes it feel like part of you has been locked away behind doors blocked with heavy, Marley-esque chains.  A door you can never access again.

Well, that's how I feel whenever I end a project.  When I finished my novel, titled A Rose by any Other Name, it felt that way.  (A novel which, by the way, will take far too much work to make saleable.)  I felt that way when I finished my chapbook for my last  poetry workshop.

And it's how I felt yesterday when I wrote the last words of Oracles Promise.  Yes, you read that right.  I wrote the last words.  I finished.  After 8 years, the monkey is finally off my back.  I feel like Steve Young when he led the 'Niners to a super bowl win.

Q4U: Do you feel similar feelings when you finish a first draft?  When you got your agent?  When you got your book deal?  (Or do you think you'll feel that way when some door closes on the past journey you've taken?)

Don't forget that there's still time to ask me a question!  I'll answer them all during Footloose and Fancy-free Friday!

12 comments:

  1. I haven't felt that way yet, I think because there's more to the stories I've written. It's meant to be a series. But I was surprised that I wasn't more excited when I finished writing the book and I think, in part, "the end" had something to do with it.

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  2. Yes, absolutley. I remember for Jacks & Spades, my last line was just incrediably perfect that my heart nearly skipped ten beats.

    It was such a rush, however, when I wrote the last lines of my other books I wasn't really sad. I think it's because I'm leaving them open for a sequel or more.

    Maybe I have a fear of completely ending my stories...lol that would so not be good!

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  3. Congrats on finishing the last words. I am with you on the emotions of something finished, something taking the next step.

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  4. If I ever finish a first draft, I'll let you know. Congratulations!!!

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  5. OH!!! Congrats, Stephanie!!! That is the best news! I hope you celebrated! :)

    I'm still working on my first MS, but when I get to the end- I'm having a party.

    In about two and half months my son will age out of his speech therapy program. I adore his therapist and I know I will be blubbering like a no other when his birthday rolls around and they "graduate" him. *sigh* It will be a very bittersweet moment.

    Thanks for the smile! I'm so very happy for you! That 100% looks pretty awesome,lady!

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  6. Congrats on finishing!

    I totally get what you mean. And I think it applies to bad things as well as good. You get so used to living with something, that even though it may be a relief that it's gone, it's a major adjustment learning to live without it. At least for me, anyway. :) Great post!

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  7. Yay for you for finishing! Congrats. And I feel that way EVERY time I finish a story. That's probably why I have characters that crop up in other stories. I just can't leave them alone!

    Plus, it's like life, right? Just because someone is no longer in your day-to-day life doesn't mean they've just evaporated, their life continues as well, and that doesn't mean you can't run into each other at the grocery store or something.

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  8. Congrats on hitting the end of Oracles Promise!! That's huge!!

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  9. Congratulations on a job well done. I could relate to this post in so many ways. Thanks for writing it.

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  10. WOOT! Huge congrats for finishing something that you started 8 years ago! That is awesome!

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  11. Congratulations on finishing your story!! What a huge accomplishment. I know exactly how you feel, like a phantom limb sensation where the rough draft is done and no longer there to be finished. I like to remind myself of how many other stories there are waiting in the wings.

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