December is here

Well, it’s no longer November. December had to come eventually, didn’t it? And I hope that with the beginning of December comes the news that you’ve finished your novel. I sincerely do. And if you have, please, let me know! I would love to celebrate with you! It’s a great accomplishment to finish a novel, no matter how many you’ve written before.

Yeah, that’s our topic for today. I think I’m a good voice for the topic, being that I’ve written fourteen novels so far.

When you finish your first novel, there’s this sense of relief, euphoria, bliss that you’ve finally done it, that your first novel is complete and there on the metaphorical shelf (unless you’re cool enough to print it, which I never was). It’s an awesome feeling! Honestly, sometimes, I miss it. People are excited for you, you get hugs and high fives, and everyone gathers around you to cheer over this great accomplishment.

Who wouldn’t love that?

But it changes when you get to your second novel, or your fifth, or your fourteenth. I would know.

When I finished my second novel, I remember the first thing one of my friends said, the same friend who’d congratulated me and celebrated with me when I’d finished my first. She said, and I quote: “Oh. That’s cool.” No excitement, no celebration, no joy. It was mundane, now that I’d already struggled my way through one novel. Well, you’ve done it once, who cares if you do it again? That was how I felt.

That shouldn’t be.

There’s an usher at my church who reminds me of that, every time I see him. He’s the one person who always asks me about my writing, always makes sure that I’m still writing, and gives me the same look of unbridled joy when he finds out I’ve finished yet another novel or am starting on a new one. He's that friend that never ceases to be joyful about another friend's accomplishment, and I truly love that about him. 

That, my friends, is how we should be. A book is a book, no matter how many we’ve started or finished. We’re writers, so shouldn’t it always be exciting or euphoric when we finish one? I mean, it’s what we do! It’s what’s in our hearts to do, and we’ve just succeeded at it again! Shouldn’t that be more exciting, that we’ve done it again, that we aren’t a one hit wonder? We can do this, whether it’s our first or our fiftieth. That’s awesome!

So celebrate. If it’s your first or your fifteenth or your fiftieth. Buy a bottle of champagne. Go out with your friends. Celebrate.

You did it. (again)

[love]

{Rani Divine}