Finished...

...this will be short, for at this point I'm spent.

Last evening, or rather, early this morning, four-ish or about, I crossed out the word "secretly" with what was once a red Sharpie, but over time had dwindled to a pink highlighter.

I re-read the final two paragraphs splayed before me for probably the thirtieth time in the past hour.

I pasted the page to an email and hit "send." The paper covered in faded red ink, I shoved into my fax and hit "send."

Then I did something I haven't been able to do in quite some time. I closed the page I was working on, clicked the "shut down" tab at the bottom of the screen, and hit "ok."

Revisions are done...

Following a six month battle against time, and re-working my re-work, the real task of writing has come to an end. Stephen King, among others, have said that by the time your work makes it to the shelves, you've read it so many times that you literally never want to see it again. Then if it does well...you have to.

My editor is not a man with a jaw full of jargon. He offers me hints, and allows me the freedom to figure out what he's after. I've sent him re-writes, and the next day received, "No way." Or, "Try again." Or my favorite, "Think this through." I lay siege to the delete button and start over.

Then on occasion I'd find this message. "Nice." Or, "Better." Once I got, "This is good."

Today, after finally waking up to the sounds of my kids terrorizing the kitchen in search of breakfast, I checked my email, opened the one from David in response to the final paragraphs I'd sent him the night before, and saw....

:)

I'm to assume at this point that we're off to the final draft and the galley. The story remains untitled at this point, after being called "Broken" since its inception, which concerns me a bit, but really isn't for me to dwell on anyway. I managed to get in my two cents on the subject by saying that I was hoping for something original. Hoping for a reader to Google the title and not find thirty-thousand entries to sift through until boredom wins out. So we'll wait and see.

As for now...my brain hurts, and my family's been neglected. I think its time for some R & R at the pool...reading a good book that someone else wrote for a change.

Thanks for reading:)