Finishing The Book …

Writing.

Editing.

Rewriting.

And repeat …

If we were to travel back thirty years, I would have been daily banging my fingers on the typewriter keys making a click, clickety click as the type bars struck the inky ribbon and left their imprint of blackened letters onto a white sheet of paper. And when the words in my mind refused to flow, I could rip the sheet of paper out with a forceful and resounding whoosh of the roller, scrunch it up between my hands with fury and hurl it into the waste paper basket across the room.

In today’s modern computer-abundant world, just holding down the delete key doesn’t give that same painfully exquisite release of frustration. It’s a shame really. Of course I could simply throw the iPad at the window or indeed the nearest person, but somehow the repercussions of that would most likely not be proportional to my momentary frustration.

So, I continue to write, edit, rewrite and drive myself mad with trying to create something that is, in my mind, not perfection, but the very best I can do. After all, isn’t that what we should do … our very best?

Katie x

Any tips or suggesstions for getting through over the last hurdle?

36 thoughts on “Finishing The Book …”

      2. Very true! There must be some light at the end of the tunnel soon I hope. Many thanks for reading and telling me that – I like it a lot. As an aside, I’ve just discovered Audible and think I rather like it for train journeys and doing housework and stuff. Really means I can kill two birds with one stone. (Except for cooking … disastrous as I can’t concentrate enough on the two things!). If you have any good book recommendations I’d love to know if you’ve got a minute. Katie 😊

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      3. I’m new to Audibles too, and have very mixed feelings! I think I got sucked in by a free offer. Which soon led to paying for one month since I didn’t cancel it, since I hadn’t finished either of the two free books (and still haven’t). That’s mainly because I also have a massive backlog of Kindle books to read. Now I have Audibles on a 30-day freeze (another nice sucker trick from Amazon, when I tried to cancel, which I promptly fell for) just so I can finish the books I’ve already got.

        The one I’m listening to now is The Sober Diaries by Clare Pooley. I’ve heard a lot about it from other sober bloggers and was excited to read it so when it I saw it was available on Audibles, I grabbed it. I’ve finally started it about two days or so ago. It’s a fast read (or listen) so I’m about halfway through already.

        I must admit I feel a bit like I’ve “been there, done that,” while listening, but it’d be a great book for someone who’s just beginning to get sober-curious.

        The quote I wrote above was from that book, although it’s not the author’s — she doesn’t name the origins, only mentioning it’s often wrongly attributed to Winston Churchill. A quick search on quote investigator (which perhaps is how she found the attribution to be incorrect) agrees: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/09/14/keep-going/

        Basically I think I feel about the same as you about Audibles… it’s okay-ish but can be really distracting, as you mention about cooking. I was knitting while reading the other day, and made a huge tangle of the yarn! Audiobooks are good for driving/commuting, though — but then, only if you don’t have kids with you. Which for me is not often.

        I’ll likely cancel Audibles after finishing my two books.

        Whoa that was a long comment! :))

        Again, super impressive that you’re this far along on the book journey! 🙌👏You’ve obviously made it through many other hard parts that at the time would have seemed tough also, so you’ll make it through this one, too. 😊

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      4. This is so funny … Clare Pooley and I were at school together! We met up again last year as I was living just around the corner. She was in the process of starting her next book ‘The Authenticity Project” and I was asking her all about her blog and The Sober Diaries. As you say, it’s a quick and easy read! Very enjoyable. I’m finding with Audibles that the narrator has a lot to do with whether or not I enjoy the book … some voices can be a bit annoying! I daresay mine is pretty irritating to some too! Thanks so much for reading and giving me your insight into this …. I’m glad I’m not alone! Hope you managed to sort out the knitting! Katie x

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      5. Oh, well, that all makes sense then! Brilliant writer, brilliant life, caring, kind and conscientious… i.e. birds of a feather. :)) oh and Cambridge educated! 🤩 So you must be the Katie in the book!

        I agree on the narrator issue. This one (Karen Cass) is very talented though! Lovely modulation and inflection in the narration, sounds like I imagine Clare Pooley would, and she does the other voices beautifully too (—all except Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 😉😄).

        Speaking of accents, I love the way Clare writes her (Scottish) husband John in the book, so sweet and funny. 💞A lot of love there.

        I did get the tangle untied, thanks. Now working on the one in my mind. 😉But I’ve just bought Clare’s book on Kindle, and happened upon this amazing quote, which is very encouraging:

        “Anxiety is a sign that you’re pushing boundaries, moving forward, grabbing the bull by the horns. IT IS GOOD.”

        Maybe it helps you too.

        xo Nadine

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      6. You’re right Nadine, that does help about the anxiety being good. I’d forgotten about that! Yes, Clare is a bright girl, and very brave I think to be able to have written about her addiction. I remember her being rather clever at school but not in a geeky way. She was in a different house but the same year. Isn’t it funny the different paths we all take, or that life takes us on. Katie xx

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      7. Definitely brave, since so many have the same or similar story, and it’s one that needs to be brought more and more into the light. Bright for sure since she is essentially a light-worker, as is anyone else who exposes herself or himself to help others heal. I lived in Cambridge for nearly two years and loved that city! Spiritual energy centres abound there! Of course, as is always the case wherever there is a lot of light, there was a lot of darkness too. xoxox Nadine

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      8. I’ve not been to Cambridge but have heard that it’s lovely … I imagine it’s perhaps a little like Oxford. I lived just outside Oxford for about 12 years. A lovely place with some wonderful buildings. Lots of tourists though in the summer! Xxxx

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  3. I sent this to another friend yesterday and it seems right here as well – “You may not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.”

    I did use to love how in old movies etc (or even when I was back at school) the ripping of the paper out of the typewriter and then getting a goal into the rubbish bin.

    Good luck, you have it in you and now is the time to just type and something wonderful will be found. XOX

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    2. Very true words about editing a blank page! I too remember the goal of getting the scrunched up paper into the bin … and then being left with a mass of paper balls all over the floor and about one actually inside it!! Thanks x

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  4. Oh Ik ow that feeling. I edited at least 8 times. Grammar checked, spell checked, and then did it Again. Then my oublisher sends me the proof to read and I am halfway through and on correction 179 so far! How?! But I am not giving up. Keep going. ❤️

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      1. No, this is my first time. I have self-published, and one of my blogs is the serialisation of some my book. I used the stats to show me if it was popular before I made my decision. It’s how Charles Dickens got started, so if it’s good enough for him then it’s good enough for me! Good luck ❤️

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  6. Seth Godin has good advice for any project, essentially keep going until it’s CNP – as Close as Necessary to Perfect. Note that this is different to absolutely perfect, which doesn’t really exist!

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  8. Well….I don’t have any great advice…I’m sorta in the same boat. Been writing my first book and almost done but am stuck now. What’s stuck me was the word count issue… suddenly all I could think about was…is my book going to be long enough…. panic set in… so my book paused. But my sister told me something… Just tell the story. A book is as long as the story. So Im back at it… shoved the panic of word count aside.
    Hopefully I will finish my book soon.
    Hoping you get unstuck and finish your book too!
    Good luck!

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    1. Thanks so much … it’s really good to hear about others writing too. That’s a good point about the word count. In fact I was wondering much the same thing. It’s funny because on my posts in WordPress I’m always trying to cut them down so that they’re not too longwinded … but in the book, I feel I need to pad it out a bit! May I ask what genre your book is? Katie

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      1. My book is both fiction and paranormal. Also working on my Memoir but since Im going to Self publish…Im doing the fiction/paranormal one first.
        What genre do you write?
        I never thought about the word count in my blog posts… will consider now. Im new at this blogging thing.

        The word count thing for novels kind of freaks me out but Im just going to focus on the story. Internet says a standard novel range is 40,0000-90000 words! Daunting to me!

        My blog is serious issues up front but will hopefully get to more fun topics.
        briannakenzielivingoutloud.wordpress.com

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      2. This is all so exciting! Fiction and paranormal sounds fantastic … mine is a commercial memoir. It’s basically finished so I am now at the editing phase which I am finding is far harder than the actual initial writing of it. Hopefully this will become easier!

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      4. So a commercial memoir is a memoir that is not as sophisticated as a literary memoir. A literary memoir, like literary fiction is a book that’s extremely well written and at simply a higher level. Sadly however literary memoirs and literary fiction don’t sell as well as their commercial counterparts. There’s just not such a strong market for it. This of course is good for the likes of me, who would never be able to write at that sort of level anyway! How lovely to have your sister helping you out!

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      5. Your blog posts are written very well and I’m certain that your book will be awesome! Let me know when it’s out for sell.

        It’s not easy to let anyone edit my work 🙂 but editing has to be done…I’m my worst critic though.

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      7. Editing is hard. I’m my own worst critic. My sister helps me edit mine and she is brutal…but I am worst. So, maybe…take it easy on yourself…I’m trying to learn to look at what I’ve written—as if I was just the reader not the author. It helps me be a bit more objective and not as critical. Plus I think I see more grammar mistakes in reader mode.

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