Wow. It's becoming more and more vivid to me just how much harder it is to complete a novel than it is to start one. It reminds me of when I ran my first (and only, so far) marathon.
Typing "CHAPTER 1" is a great feeling. There's a new idea that must be committed to paper, possibilities explode inside one's brain, and the words tend to come quickly.
NaNoWriMo thrives on this rush, encourages it. One sprints out of the chute, and is amazed to find it's possible to produce 50,000 words in only thirty days.
But then NaNoWriMo ends, there is the inevitable break from writing regularly that occurs over the holidays, and then it's difficult to get back on pace. Writing the beginning of a novel, like running the first third of a race, is easy, if one has prepared in even the most basic way. It's reaching "THE END" that is the true challenge.
I have over 50,000 words written of a
novel that I expect to fall into the 80,000-90,000 word range, but I'm far from the halfway point in the process. I haven't even finished the first draft yet. In fact, I haven't even finished the first draft of the
plot yet. NaNo emphasizes output over planning, so I somewhat feel as though I wrote myself to the edge of a cliff. I need to go back and chart my course a little more carefully, flesh out the characters and their underlying motivations, tighten up plot points and eliminate inconsistencies and "hand-waving."
I'm searching for my second wind, to help me get over that hump and back on my stride. I've made some good headway recently—I'm actually writing new prose again instead of just editing the existing pile—but I'm still only walking right now, sucking down some electrolytes, looking inside myself for the drive to go on and the answer to the perennial question: "Why did I think this was a good idea?"
The important thing now is to keep the level of enthusiasm up. If I do that, I'll keep working. I have to stay excited about the goal: Getting this damned book published, and getting at least one positive review. That outcome, if achieved, will make all the labor worthwhile. And perhaps even encourage me to start (and/or finish) the next novel.
I'm counting on the writer's high to kick in soon...and I know it will, it's buoyed me before. Just keep writing. The finish line isn't going anywhere. There it is, just over the horizon...