The Mixed Feelings of Finishing

On Sunday I wrote the last words for my current project. Or rather, I wrote the last words for the rough draft. I know myself better than to dive straight into editing and will be taking a little time off from Hero Stones to focus on other projects (just don’t ask me what yet, there’s a small mountain of ‘other projects’ endlessly awaiting my attention). While I’m happy to have finished, there’s also a mix of other feelings to go with it.

In part, I’m relieved. I’ve fought with this one for the better part of a year, including the original sections which I wrote back in July. Normally I can write a draft quickly, and it’s the editing that slows me down. That and the bout of burn out I dealt with when I was already so close to finishing definitely added up to some relief.

There’s also a strange sense of disappointment. That’s caused by two parts. One, being that I’m very much a pantser/discovery style writer. Although this was more a rewrite and re-fleshing of the original idea, I found numerous little ideas while writing which is my favorite part. The second part of that disappointment is that yes, I have finished and the flow I’d found while working on it now needs to be transferred to another idea (which is always easier said than done).

Along with all of that though, there’s a lot of excitement. With the rough draft done, I get to work on something else for a while. That might be writing an entirely new idea, or editing an old one. Eventually I’ll also have to come back around to edit Hero Stones, to make it better and stronger.

Although I’m finished with one part, there are still numerous steps ahead of me, and they’re all going to have their own mixed bag of emotions to go with them.