Those of you that have finished your first project know what this feeling is like. Whether this story gets published or not, there is so much pride and a sense of accomplishment that just comes with actually finishing. That stark realization of, "I wrote a book. I actually did it." Like me, you've probably heard many people say that they were going to write a book, yet for you, it's no longer something that you just want to do, but something that you've done and want to continue to do. As I was driving home the other day with the first copy of my semi finished product, only gone through one round of revisions and edits, it felt really good to have an actual printed version of what I had put so much time and effort in for these many months. It was no longer just a theory, but it had volume. I could touch it, flip the pages if I wanted to. It gave me a small glimpse of what it would be like to see my project actually printed in its final form with the cover and the smell and everything else that comes with it. There have been many things that I've learned during this project that is not something you can prepare yourself for by reading it in a book. Don't get me wrong, I love reading and there are some excellent books out there that really help with character development, plot development, outlining the story, and everything else, but nothing quite like struggling through your own plot and character development and throwing away your old outline and re-outlining your original thoughts into a more cohesive story line. For any of you that is toying with the idea of writing a book, I'd like to give you this one piece of advice. Write because you enjoy writing. Creating a world, telling a story, weaving in and out of themes. Don't just do it for the end product, because you will find yourself easily discouraged. It is a marathon, not a sprint, and as such you should not only pace yourself, but enjoy every part of the writing process.
