Is this it?

I have just finished Immortal Obsession - actually I finished it about a week ago and now I am asking myself is it really finished, how do I know it is done? A wise friend replied "you will know." Shit, do I know or do I just think I know?



I have to edit the epilogue and then plan on letting it sit for a few days while I mull it over, trying to figure out if it needs more. Then I will reread it. We have no objectivity with our own work so as much as I try to look at it from a distance, it is impossible.



Two writing buddies have the first three chapters to read and edit. I want the first three chapters to really grab the reader, though I suppose they must grab a publisher or an agent first! In some strange way I feel that now the hard part begins, selling it

It Ain't Over Til the Fat Lady Sings

I believe I am at the home stretch with my novel. I am not limiting myself to a specific number of chapters or pages. I am trying to write the story I believe I was meant to tell. Then I will put my novel down for a few days and let it "stew" in my heart and soul. Once I feel enough time has passed I go back and reread it to determine if it is indeed "finished". It has been almost two years since I began Immortal Obsession. I guess my only question is: is this the novel I envisioned when I began writing? Based on how I answer this basic question determines the outcome.


I write in layers. In other words, I start with a few chapters and a chapter outline. Then, I begin to add more chapters to move the plot along and thus my outline changes. I call it "flushing out" scenes because I write a thumbnail sketch of the scene and then go back to bring it to life. I hear dialogue in my head as my characters converse with each other. I hear the tone of their voices, see their faces, what they are wearing, and I try to capture this all on a piece of white paper with black ink, bringing the world of my vampires and to life. Sometimes they surprise me with their motives and their evolution.



I have know the ending of my book for some time now. I have in mind a trilogy of books and I know the conflict and the challenges Christian is faced with as Book One ends. I also trail my characters. I will read my novel and focus on one character, what are they doing, where are they, what are they saying and feeling throughout the entire novel. Then I trail another just to make sure their lives make sense and they are consistent within the inconsistencies of their lives. Where do conversations end between them? What is really being said - what has been left unsaid? Did I capture their essence? If not, then I need to go back and write more or rewrite a scene until I get it right.



It is thrilling, writing a novel, fraught with edits, rewrites, and changes in direction, as characters explode on the page, coming to life, dictating their own fates. It is a magical process , writing their story. I believe I am just the conduit to get them out there to you.



It is an important task and I cannot let them down.