June 27, 2022
Do you miss a WIP (work in progress) when you’ve finished writing it?
That’s easy. Absolutely I do. In fact, I miss them before they are gone.
By that, I mean I find myself putting off writing the final few chapters. I know what those chapters need to accomplish, but I am reluctant to put the words on paper. It feels like saying goodbye to friends, even if I’m already plotting the next book in a series. The hours upon hours I have spent getting to know the characters—or getting to know them better—have made them not just people in a story, but my friends. A part of me will be missing when they are out of my brain and tucked into the pages of a story.
Still, I love writing the happy for now endings. No cliffhangers for me. I hate reading them so I refuse to write them.
A benefit of slowing down at the end? It gives my characters a chance to surprise me. Almost every book, as I reach the end, a new plot twist reveals itself. I think it’s my mind working overtime to put off that final scene where the story wraps up.
I have a confession to make – I have been known to go back and read my own books to reconnect with the characters. It’s like meeting up with old friends to share a meal and chat. They even manage to surprise me when a detail I forgot about reveals its importance to the story I’m currently writing.
Even the characters in books that I’ve written but never published will come back to hang out with me once in a while. Are they hoping to get me to take another look at their story? Whatever their motive, I enjoy their visits.
How about the other authors on this hop? Do they have a hard time saying goodbye to their stories? Find out by following the links below.
And, as always, please stay safe until the next time.
June 27, 2022
Do you miss a WIP when you’ve finished writing it?
Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.
I love getting ideas for sequels or prequels, it gives me a chance to reconnect with old friends.
I’ve not actually gone back and read my own work since it published, but might be something to try.
I suspect a lot of readers – other than Steve Smith 🙂 – go back and re-read their books. Tweeted.
I only read through my books when I edit them. After that it’s time to get them out of my head so I can write the next book.
My characters never completely leave me, and I’m okay with that.
Current WIP ? Editing that final sentence is so hard. Still searching for a place between guilt]/misery and happy ever after., Happy for now ? Even fragments welcome –
Final ( I hope) edit of current WIP, and I still haven’ty written a first draft of the final sentence. Currently searching for a place somewhere between guilt/misery, and happy ever after. No cliffhangers, far too many of those in the real world.