Celebrate!

Do you want to know the most beuatiful word in the English language? Good, because I'm about to tell you. Finished. Finished. FI. NI. SH. ED. How wonderful is that word?

Okay, technically I'm finished writing the story, but now begins the harrowing process of formatting, publishing, pricing, blah blah blah. I wish I could just press a button and a little guy pops up (much like the paper clip from the old Word) to do everything for me. Sigh. I finished writing last night, after a marathon of three hours (for one freaking chapter), and I started formatting the whole thing this morning around 8:30. I cleaned it all up for publishing at 9 tonight. Sure, I took a little six hour break in between that, for this ridiculous thing called work, but it feels as though I've spent years formatting this thing. First, the writing program I use doesn't translate well into Word. I had to go through and write "Chapter Whatever" at every. single. chapter. Luckily, there's only thirty-one chapters, but I went the old fashioned route and only wrote the number. Not too bad, right? Well, after writing the wrong number several times, I was about done. And then I showed my boyfriend, to ask his wonderful opinion. The lines are too far a part. Well, of course they are! Did he really believe that I wanted to be done doing my favorite thing in the entire world? Bless his heart, though, because it really did make a difference changing it from double spaced to one-and-a-half. Then I had to convert this thing to PDF. Only four times, that.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, this is it. I sent it in for proofing and I'll order my copy in a mere 24 hours. I'd like to say that I'm really sad leaving behind these characters, but, right now, if I see them again, it'll only be too soon. I get like this sometimes after finishing a really long, tough story for me, and then leave it for a few months. When I come back, I'm embracing them all like long lost relatives. We put aside our differences, the bad names, the horrible words, and then start the process all over again. Only this time...I feel good about this story. I don't know if I've mentioned this, but this is the fourth revision it's gone through in five years. It's completely new from what I started with, and, dare I say it, I'm proud of what I have. Now I have to do the scariest thing imaginable: hand it off to my boyfriend for his - gulp- opinion. But I'm going to do it. No matter what. He may have to rip it out of my cold, dead hands, but it'll happen. And then I won't feel as if this blog is for nothing.

So what does that mean for my writing days? Well, since my being finished fell at such an opportune time (the day before the LA Times Festival of Books), I've decided to give myself a little vacation. Maybe two weeks, maybe three. I'm not entirely sure. I should receive a proof in about six weeks, so maybe even that long! No, I have another story that's pushing itself out of my ears, so I should get started on that. Just a warning, though: this blog might be a little slow for the next few weeks. I've read some amazing books, so I'm going to have to gush about those, and then, of course, I'm going to brag and brag about the Festival of Books. I'm also planning on a whole post dedicated to All You Left Behind, so you people can actually understand what this book is about. Unless I change the entire story in the next few weeks. Never say never, right? (Sigh. Justin Bieber has ruined that phrase for me.)