Done...kinda

How embarrassing, it's been incredibly too long since I have blogged last.

I finished the book. Well, I finished writing the book. And really, the ending amazed me because it wasn't what I thought it would be. I had planned to end it on a happy note with a fraction of a cliff hanger to make the reader want to pick up the next book in the series.

See, about a month ago I was in church singing worship, and loving it. I had my eyes closed as I sang and a picture came to my mind of a young woman on her knees, her hair down as curtains around her face. In that moment I felt her feelings and wrote down what I imagined. I told myself that image would work well in the second book of the series and to save it for then.

Fast forward a few weeks and I was finishing my novel. Like I said, I wanted the end to be an air of gladness, but maybe it was my mood or the Holy Spirit, because it was very much not on a happy note. :) I can't say what it was, but the opposite of jolly. Before I knew it, I was explaining the image of my character on the floor with her dark hair strewn about and BAM, I wrote what I saw weeks prior without realizing it. Gave me chills.

Now I am in the editing process. It's funny because I saw this mug a long time ago that said 'Writer by choice, editor by necessity.' And now I want that mug! It's so true. Man, editing is a tedious task. Don't get me wrong though, anything that escorts my book into completion and publication is well worth it! Including editing!

I am about 70 pages into editing my book and stuck. Yesterday I worked on it for five hours until my head ached and I just couldn't for the life of me fix a particular chapter. It didn't flow or really explain what I want the reader to understand and no matter how I changed it, I still couldn't get my main point across. That's when I decided to call it a day and go play at the book store for a little while.

I decided, though after dealing with the snag yesterday, that I will write on a piece of paper each chapter and the focus to see the steps the book takes to the climax and then to the end. I want to make sure each step is in a progressive line and clearly explained. I look forward to seeing a explanatory picture of the story as a whole.

102,678 words (I'm am still adding the word count because as I edit I hope to cut a little out)