Inspiration & perseverance

I've been ill, slugging away at the "final" draft of The Next Novel in bed.

Yes: slugging. I find this final stage of taking a comma out and putting it back in (and more, I admit) somewhat tedious. I'm simply transferring my scribbled edits to a computer file, and I never (ever!) do this without thinking: could I contract this out?

The answer is: no. There are always mysteries that only I can solve. And, in truth, it is a pleasure to be so far along in the writing process to be obsessing about commas.

But I didn't come here to complain, rather to share was looks like an inspiring blog: Brain Pickings, sent to me by a friend. Here's a New York Times article on it. Cool. Tell me what you think.

And just so you know: I'm fully recovered. Every time I'm in the final stages of a novel I become convinced that I will die before it's finished. Now, when that end-of-life conviction comes over me (and I wasn't all that sick!), I think: Ah, almost there.

How do you respond in the final stages?

[Illustration: "Cork," from the wonderful blog BibliOdyssey. Chosen for its many layers, so much like the process of building a novel.]

Jessica Brockmole

That looks fabulous! Thanks for sharing the link. And, yes, as frustrating as the comma-obsession stage can be, it’s reassuring in knowing you are at that stage. Absolutely.
- http://www.sandragulland.com Sandra Gulland
  
  Thank you, Jessica. I think part of the trauma is separation anxiety!
http://www.facebook.com/sheryljdunn Sheryl Dunn

As The Debut Novelist (me) does the final tweaks getting “the damned thing” ready for The Really Big Publisher, I know what you mean about separation anxiety, Sandra. I do proofread my own work. This time, however, I’ll get the ms proofread by my sister before sending it off. She’s a great proofreader, the best we’ve found so far. She doesn’t change anything, unless it’s super obvious – just makes comments, and then I can review yet again.
- http://www.sandragulland.com Sandra Gulland
  
  Hi Sheryl! You are fortunate to have a good proofreader-sister. I find that even when a file has been combed over a dozen times, there are still errors. It’s amazing! Good luck with The Really Big Publisher!
http://twitter.com/LilianNattel Lilian Nattel

So glad to hear that you’re nearly done. I’ve had thoughts like that from time to time too
- http://www.sandragulland.com Sandra Gulland
  
  Thank you, Lilian! I’m not surprised. It’s tough!

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Inspiration & perseverance