—reading Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel. Note the “thanks” to editors “whose tireless work made this a far better book that it would otherwise have been” First, a thank you to those who joined with paid subscriptions following my last post—I so appreciate!
Congratulations, Alison! Great to finish a novel - except then you start wondering about what to do next. But actually next is working with agent/editor/publisher, so that will keep you busy.
Like you, I think knowing when you're done is an intuitive thing. When I write a book review, I make oodles of notes, then reduce the notes to a list of perhaps the top 10 points I might talk about, and then I set out, but I usually don't end up including all 10 points: there comes a point when I think, It's done - and I send it off (after proofreading, of course).
Occasionally, I think later: It's not done. I woke up one time in the middle of the night and thought, That chapter in my history book needs more added to it, so I wrote the additional material then. But usually, for me, there's a sense of being done. My note-taker self might say, But there's more. But my intuitive self says, It's enough.
I am in awe. And your partial list is a gem. I copied and pasted it onto my notes. Very helpful.
As to answering your question, I don't know yet. So far, I've finished two, what I call 'outside' drafts, that is, drafts I've dared show my editor-readers. Both times, I felt done. But by the next day I was already wanting to make changes. So I guess my answer is, when I get to the point that I can set it down and NOT want to go back in and make changes, then I will know.
And I feel I am getting close.
But I, unlike you, have a boatload more work to do and am now in the first stages of planning my revision. And, again, thank you for your partial checklist.
Brava, Alison! I love the idea of a thermometer that would tell us when a piece was finished! 😉 Congratulations on this next step in the process. ❤️
Congratulations, Alison! Great to finish a novel - except then you start wondering about what to do next. But actually next is working with agent/editor/publisher, so that will keep you busy.
Like you, I think knowing when you're done is an intuitive thing. When I write a book review, I make oodles of notes, then reduce the notes to a list of perhaps the top 10 points I might talk about, and then I set out, but I usually don't end up including all 10 points: there comes a point when I think, It's done - and I send it off (after proofreading, of course).
Occasionally, I think later: It's not done. I woke up one time in the middle of the night and thought, That chapter in my history book needs more added to it, so I wrote the additional material then. But usually, for me, there's a sense of being done. My note-taker self might say, But there's more. But my intuitive self says, It's enough.
Alison,
I am in awe. And your partial list is a gem. I copied and pasted it onto my notes. Very helpful.
As to answering your question, I don't know yet. So far, I've finished two, what I call 'outside' drafts, that is, drafts I've dared show my editor-readers. Both times, I felt done. But by the next day I was already wanting to make changes. So I guess my answer is, when I get to the point that I can set it down and NOT want to go back in and make changes, then I will know.
And I feel I am getting close.
But I, unlike you, have a boatload more work to do and am now in the first stages of planning my revision. And, again, thank you for your partial checklist.
Be well.