I've just finished my first draft of my new novel and now I feel a bit deflated. Does anyone else ever get this? Most people seem to feel all excited and happy when they reach this point but I always feel a bit crap. Is it just me?
Feeling lost..
- Thread starter Charlee
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I was a little sad to let them go. I love my characters, one in particular, and while I was glad to be finished, I also knew I was going to miss him. I also started writing a sequel in my head to tide myself over until I get into the next story. 
I actually have a hard time feeling that I've made a big accomplishment when I finish a novel. I finished this one, and on one hand I was excited, but on the other I couldn't help feel like it was no big deal. Maybe that's because I don't really have anyone around to be excited with, though. I mean, I had dinner with a couple of friends that night, and just to give you an idea of how much they didn't care, I had one recently say, "Oh, you finished that?" It was like uh...yes....we went to dinner to "celebrate." I kind of imagine if anyone around me actually gave a damn then I'd probably be more excited and feel like I'd accomplished something.
I actually have a hard time feeling that I've made a big accomplishment when I finish a novel. I finished this one, and on one hand I was excited, but on the other I couldn't help feel like it was no big deal. Maybe that's because I don't really have anyone around to be excited with, though. I mean, I had dinner with a couple of friends that night, and just to give you an idea of how much they didn't care, I had one recently say, "Oh, you finished that?" It was like uh...yes....we went to dinner to "celebrate." I kind of imagine if anyone around me actually gave a damn then I'd probably be more excited and feel like I'd accomplished something.
Being a writer is a rollercoaster of emotions that never stops throwing you around.
Look at the lady from Aus who just scored a seven figure debut deal - she hasn't started editing, dealing with deadlines, marketing, publicity, reviews/critics etc yet.
JJ
Look at the lady from Aus who just scored a seven figure debut deal - she hasn't started editing, dealing with deadlines, marketing, publicity, reviews/critics etc yet.
JJ
Wow Charlee- congratulations! I haven't yet finished one, but I would imagine that my excitement at finishing might be tempered somewhat with a fear of starting the whole querying process. I hope you get to enjoy your accomplishment!
That's why I start my next WIP by creating new characters. I develop feelings for my characters--I'm not that strange--even though I know they're not real. It's like 'moving on' in RL.
I usually hate them by the time I'm done editing
I usually hate them by the time I'm done editing
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I guess moving a character out the door is like seeing your children moving away from home. Well, that's a bit like it.
You spend so much time with them, knowing their most intimate wants and desires, and then they're just gone.
You'll just have to invite them back for regular visits
You spend so much time with them, knowing their most intimate wants and desires, and then they're just gone.
You'll just have to invite them back for regular visits
When I finished my first draft I thought:
OK, that's done but why am I not as excited as I am supposed to be?
I had mixed feelings and happiness was not one of them. So I really understand you.
OK, that's done but why am I not as excited as I am supposed to be?
I had mixed feelings and happiness was not one of them. So I really understand you.
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I guess moving a character out the door is like seeing your children moving away from home. Well, that's a bit like it.
You spend so much time with them, knowing their most intimate wants and desires, and then they're just gone.
You'll just have to invite them back for regular visits
I think this is a great comparison. Sums it up really well.
With Book #1 I cried buckets. It was a mixture of relief and sadness, so no, you're not alone.
I wanted to be done with it, but when I was...I felt a strange sense of, "Okay...what now?"
Leo (my male MC) had occupied my thoughts for so long (by my standards anyway...five and a half months) that it was like, "What am I gonna do without him?"
Don't you mean "What are we going to do without him?"
Considering the tt42 relationship.
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You don't know the half of it. We BOTH get "
" when one of us finishes with a character.And, linking in to the OP...the only way to get over the "" is to invent another character. Inevitably you end up loving him more! Or at least in a different way.
" is to invent another character. Inevitably you end up loving him more! Or at least in a different way.
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And, linking in to the OP...the only way to get over the "
QFT.
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On the other hand, I always feel like I can go back and visit the character whenever I want because he's still there on the paper now. Even if I don't write the sequel for this one I have in mind (big if, I'd have to come up with a story worthy of him), I still like to go back and play and edit and what not. So you're never really letting them go.
The awkward feeling stopped when I started to edit my novel.
I am falling in love with him again
I am falling in love with him again
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I share your feelings, but maybe for a different reason. On the one hand, I'm glad that part of the process is over. But I know I'm only half way, and it's hard to work up much enthusiasm with all those rewrites on the horizon. So I put the thing out of sight for a few weeks while I catch my breath. To help clear out the cobwebs, I start the next book. Works like a charm.
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Ah, you'll spend a lot of time with your characters during editing and synopsis and query writing. Believe me, you'll be screaming their names in the night.
You're not alone. For me it's not only the finishing - I always miss my characters. Some novels are worse than others. Someone started a thread for me about it mourning characters.
you're in great company
you're in great company 
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No, it isn't just you.
Maybe someone, somewhere, feels all elated, but feeling like you've been beaten with sticks is way common.
See The Unstrung Harp; or, Mr Earbrass Writes a Novel for more.
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I've been there, having finished the first draft of my first novel back in May. I tried to deal with it by throwing myself into the effort to write the second draft and got about 48,000 words in before I ground to a halt due to the stress of moving and looking for a new day job.
I really struggled with my first one, having prepared myself as best I could. That preparation led to five months of enforced solitude in a strange place, with only two dogs for company, and a switched-off telephone and TV.
After typing The End, and getting as pissed as I’ve ever been, I invited a girlfriend round and read the last two chapters to her, breaking down in tears several times.
She wasn’t impressed and went and married someone else.
After typing The End, and getting as pissed as I’ve ever been, I invited a girlfriend round and read the last two chapters to her, breaking down in tears several times.
She wasn’t impressed and went and married someone else.
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Your manuscripts are a lot like kids. The first one you pamper and nurture and treat it like it's the greatest thing in the world. After you've got a few more under your umbrella, they'll be lucky to get newspaper diapers held together with duct tape. Doesn't mean that they aren't all special in their own right, just that you've become more seasoned as a parent...er...writer.
Completing my first novel I was over the moon with exaltation. I bought a bottle of whisky and got good drunk. I couldn't wait to dig into the second draft.
After the second novel I thought, "Thank God I'm through with this garbage." I bought a bottle of whisky and got bad drunk. Not looking forward to the day I open that binder again.
With the novel I'm working on now, I foresee a scarletpeaches-esque crying jag at the end. Over a bottle of whisky.
After the second novel I thought, "Thank God I'm through with this garbage." I bought a bottle of whisky and got bad drunk. Not looking forward to the day I open that binder again.
With the novel I'm working on now, I foresee a scarletpeaches-esque crying jag at the end. Over a bottle of whisky.
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