The end is near

I am almost done with the novel I've been working on. The first draft took just a few months, which I was happy about because I've discovered that it's best to write something quickly instead of agonizing over stuff that will inevitably be revised again and again. I felt like I was being disciplined and responsible by getting that first draft out. But the problem was that I felt like it was fake, that it wasn't from the heart, so I put it aside and pursued other creative stuff. Then I observed some interactions between people and found out about some other people's experiences, and ended up wondering "what if...", which I incorporated into the story. So I got rid of the first draft and totally started over. It took a lot longer to do the second draft because I was involved in exciting work that sort of subdued my desire to write. But the desire came back strong, so I started working on the book again.

Now I really don't have a lot more to do--I see the end of the tunnel, which is driving me even more to finish it. I even have put off other stuff to do it, which isn't so responsible, but is still a breakthrough because this book might never get published, and that's not stopping me.

I actually don't feel the despair we unpublished writers usually feel but excitement that I've written something I'm pretty happy with that is going to be completed. Hopefully I'll remember that when I get the rejections.