I Finished My Book... Now What?

Four days ago, I finished the second draft of my novel-in-progress. When I typed "The End," I thought I might see a chorus of angels descend upon my living room, singing Hallelujah, praise the writing gods! You would think I'd feel relieved. Happy. Excited to share all 82,000 words with my writing partners. I'd even bought a small bottle of Italian champagne while on holiday to Rome, reserved specifically for this moment. Yet, I didn't want to toast myself. Instead, I felt depressed.

Lying in bed on the pretense of taking a nap, I reflected on why I felt so down. I had experienced similar feelings when I accepted an offer of representation from a literary agent two years ago and when I was accepted into Wyoming's MFA program five years before that. Were all my major literary milestones destined to be overshadowed by feelings of despair?

I turned to Google and found that this feeling is apparently normal for many writers. After working for a sustained period on our creative goals and projects—this draft of my novel took me five months to write, in addition to my day job as Writing Center Director and English professor—we reach our lowest creative ebb. We've pushed ourselves and our creativity for too long, ignoring every little thought that tells us 'this is too hard' and 'you need to take a rest,' and now we need to recuperate. It's time to 'fill the creative well' with naps, books, films and other creative pursuits like knitting, board games, cooking, and booking fun trips that don't involve writing or obsessing over writing.

But what happens to the novel during this period of recuperation?

I've enlisted the help of an editor, and until she provides her feedback next month, I will not look at my manuscript. Having another pair of eyes on your work is invaluable, and resting your own eyes allows you to return to the manuscript with fresh perspective. This helps you identify plot holes and pacing issues— higher-level concerns that often remain hidden while you're in the generative drafting stages. My plan is to use my editor's feedback to inform a revision plan for my third draft.

I'm also participating in a writing residency—and before you think, I thought you were supposed to take a break from writing!—I am! At least, I'm taking a break from the novel. The residency is a university-facilitated grant writing retreat, giving me time to work on a couple of funding proposals. It's located at the beautiful Neltje Center in Banner, WY. My creative well is re-filling. I've even jotted down a few ideas for Novel 3...

The stairs leading to the writing studio in the Neltje Center.

One of five living rooms in the Neltje Center. I have been curled up like a cat in the armchair, all morning.