I blogged at Novelspot last week, as I mentioned in my earlier whine, er, blog. It was a great experience. Really helped me focus my thoughts. I was looking through those blogs and found myself drawn to the last one, about endings.

As I mention in that blog, when I was young, all the books had "The End" at, well, the end of the book. Maybe they thought we wouldn't know the book had ended. I don't know. Books today don't always have "The End" at the end, but I still type them in when I finish the first draft of a new novel. It is SO satisfying to reach that goal post.

I still have edits and re-edits and edits of edits ahead, but I still crossed an important finish line in the process of writing a book. I can still remember the rush of excitementn I felt when I finished Pig in a Park, my first book. I thought, "Wow, now I know how to write a book. It will never be this hard again."

Wrong.

The next book was a different as my first child is from my second and they are from my third. For each book that came after that first book, what helped me keep going, what helped me face the new challenges and struggles of finishing those stories was the knowledge that I'd done it before and I could do it again.

Agents and editors know the importance of finishing that first book, too. With few exceptions, they won't look at a new author's stuff until they've finished one, whole book. It's all part of the "earning your chops" process, of proving that you can cross that finish line.

So, the first time you type "The End," (and all the times after, if you want), take a moment to celebrate, to pat yourself on the back. You've reached a key milestone in the process of becoming a writer.

And now, it is time for me to type....

The End.

Perilously yours,
Pauline

Pauline Baird Jones
www.paulinebjones.com
Pauline@paulinebjones.comThe Key, L&L Dreamspell
He sighed, signaled for her to get up, then strolled forward, circling the damaged ship, his hands clasped behind his back.
“Dang.” He looked at her. “I said it before and I’ll say it again. You fly like a girl.”
Sara grinned. “I crash like one, too.”
His bushy brows rose. “Suppose that means you broke a nail.”
She kind of shrugged and rubbed a finger along one of her fingernails.
from THE KEY