After more than a year and a half since I first decided to sit down and start writing, more revisions than I care to count, and too many lessons learned, my first ever novel is nearly ready.
During that time, I've learned that I really do enjoy writing and telling stories. I've learned that I somewhat like cleaning it up, polishing it, but I don't particularly love editing it. At least partly because I just don't totally understand the rules of grammar. I have a basic grasp due to reading so much, but I've learned that the finer details just don't make much sense to me.
My brother, who has been my primary editor up to this point, told me that the rules of grammar are whatever he says, so it’s likely that I’ll never truly understand them. Or understand my brother for that matter.
Plus, I feel like there might never truly be a finish line when it comes to writing. I could keep on working on this book, cleaning it up here and there, maybe for years. But at this point, there are diminishing returns on what else I will reasonably be able to accomplish. I recognize I’m not the next great American novelist, so I feel like it just makes sense to get to a point where I am happy when I read it and let it go. Let it out into the world and let others decide if they enjoy it as well or not.
To be fair, I’ve already finished the first draft of another book while this one was out with family and friends for feedback and criticism, so I’m also eager to move onto that story, as well. My goal is to release this first book and a couple of short stories I wrote soon and buckle down on that second novel.
So, here’s to many more fun stories in the future.