After four years of world building, character building and creating all the twists and turns of my high adventure fantasy story, it looks like the first book in the series is almost finished.
I know some of you will say, "It's about time!" And I agree with that. When I tell people I am working on my first book, what I have actually been doing is creating an entirely unique- yet familiar place to call my own. It has taken time to get to know my characters and the places they live. I have imagined each dragon and know their color, personality, and who their Rider is. My three main characters and several minor characters I know so well that I could fill out detailed questionnaires on each one. I have play lists on my ipod for things like "Dragons" "Afton- Warrior Girl" and "Fighting Music".
As I near the end of this first book- which is still not officially titled yet- I realize that I am going to be one of an elite group of writers.....one that actually finishes the book.
It's a big deal.
Putting "The End" at the bottom of my manuscript means:
1- That my dad was right. He always knew I could write a book (he always said I would write several) and it was the one thing he made me promise him I would do. He's been gone for 13 years and I am dedicating this first book to him. After all, he heard the dragon wings long before I did.
2- That my first book is finished and I can begin the second one. I cannot leave my characters where they are and that means I need to get going on the next one!
3- That I took a risk and it paid off. Once I realized I wanted to do this- I began telling people about it, blogging about it, etc. All of you who ask me how things are going have kept me accountable and motivated. I wouldn't be here without you.
4- Tosca Lee, one of the authors at "The Ragged Edge" told us to finish the book. Finishing the book means I did what I promised I would do that last day of the writer's conference.
5- I will enter the world of editing! Yay.
6- My prayers for an editor, agent, and publisher will become more frequent and I will have to be very focused on this part of my goal.
7- I will be getting a raven tattoo. The book wouldn't be what it is without my raven, Remi.
It's amazing that two short words carry so much meaning for an author. But "The End" means so much more than those two words.
Don't look for many blogs in the next few weeks. My goal is to finish the book by the end of this month. I am working hard to make that happen. I will happily share when I finally type "The End", because as I mentioned earlier, I have not made this journey alone.
The video I have chosen today is "It's Time" by Imagine Dragons. The imagery of the video is like my journey with this book. I feel as if I have trekked across a wasteland of stuff to get to the 'seed' of the story. Once I was brave enough to plant it in the ground; it blew me away and I will NEVER be the same! And that's a good thing.
As I get near "The End" I realize that it might be cliche, but this end is really just the beginning of a new chapter of my story.
And how cool is that?
