I love writing, but I think I speak for all artists when I say that sometimes the grind can be hard. Sometimes you need simple reminders of how wonderful the process truly is.
Today I had two wonderful moments that brought me a lot of happiness and reminded me why I love it so much. Not that I’ve fallen out of passion with it or anything. It’s just that no matter how much we love something, we all need reminders from time to time, and we should be grateful for them when they come.
The first moment was my wonderful grandma telling me that she’d finished Across the Broken Stars, and had loved it. I take family feedback (good or bad) with a hefty grain of salt, but I’m so grateful for this 89 year-old woman becoming so interested in sword fights and space battles and angels and mythical creatures – and it really did seem like she had a genuine interest and enjoyment in it, saying that she much preferred it to Fires of the Dead. Considering that she read Across the Broken Stars in under two weeks (admitting that she stayed up to after midnight to sneak in a few extra pages) – well, it feels pretty special.
Ma’s not a young woman and the fact that she’s alive to read and enjoy my stories is something I don’t take for granted. J. K. Rowling’s mum died before she could finish Harry Potter, Stephen King’s mother died before Carrie was published, and scores of other creators never got to share their deepest passions with the people most important to them.
The second moment was finishing The Lightning Heist, an oceanpunk fantasy story about – you guessed it – a heist. Twenty minutes ago, I wrote ‘the end.’ This book is the quickest novel I’ve written. 42 days from start to finish, writing every day (even if I only had time for 17 words). While there were some tricky moments in the middle – every project has them, no matter how great – for the most part is was an incredibly, fun, liberating story to write. Coming off The Sands of Truth, which while I think turned out good despite feeling slightly ponderous and slow-moving, The Lightning Heist was exactly what I wanted. A fast-paced, twisty heist story with plenty of reversals and hyper-competent characters navigating slyly through a vivid world that will hopefully play host to many more stories in the future.
Ending the first draft today was an incredibly cathartic feeling. Heists are all about the big climax, and while I’ll need time to have any objectivity when it comes to assessing if I achieved that, one’s thing for certain: I really, really enjoyed writing the end. Over 4000 words flowed onto the screen today as I wrapped up the story. When I reached the end, I was smiling yet bittersweet at the same time. Maybe it’s self-indulgent to say this about my own story, but damn it, it’s how I feel: the ending was just pure fun to write and left me feeling eager to jump back into the world as soon as possible. Whether that’s for the second draft, or whether that’s for outlining book 2 (oh yes, it’s a series), I don’t feel that usual itchiness to explore a new story, which is something I can struggle with after finishing a book. I’ll still give it a little break to develop some other stuff, but I’m eager to dive back in and see what I’ve created. Hopefully, it’ll be good and hopefully you’ll be reading it soon!
Whether it is or it isn’t, today has been a wonderful reminder of a thing that I always keep in the back of my mind, (but like that photo album of your favourite vacation, it doesn’t get pulled out nearly enough): I love writing, and I’m so thankful that I get to do it every day.
