Finished Latest Read Through

I decided not to just wait for the edits to come back for the second round. I decided to do what I know can be done. Continue to improve the writing. I figure it this way. Every single time I read through one of my manuscripts, no matter which one it is, I find ways to make the writing better. Yeah, after five years, KILLER OF KILLERS is very well written. But that doesn't mean it can't get even better. And after that last read through, it is.

And when the second round of edits come back to me this week, it will get better still. It makes me feel real good, too.  Any writer will get a rush when they read something they've written and then find themselves thinking, "Whoa, I wrote that. Awesome."

It's like when I did artwork. As an artist, it's a great feeling to finish a drawing, a painting, or a sculpture, and then stand back and look at it. And you have that great feeling of accomplishment. You don't need anyone to come up to you and say, "Hey, that's a great drawing, or painting, or sculpture." You can see for yourself that it is. And that sense of accomplishment is like a natural high.

Same thing for playing a great piece of music on the piano. When I used to play Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, I would get that same feeling. Even when I was alone. And even when no one else was around to hear the masterpiece that the Moonlight Sonata is. But when I played it, and without a mistake, the feeling was tremendous.

And that feeling was even better, really, when I would play one of the many songs that I composed, myself. Okay, I'm not comparing myself to Beethoven, but composing a great song, and listening to it, even the recorded version, is still much like rereading something I wrote or gazing at a work of art that I created. And the feeling of accomplishment is still just as great.

So yes, it's all a similar feeling. And for me, at least at this point in my life, the writing of a complete novel is what makes me feel that feeling now. But unlike a work of art or a musical composition, the novel can always be improved. It can always get better. And that's what I'm doing for my novels. Until they are in print, they will continue to get better and better.

And that's what I would suggest for anyone else who is a writer. When you've finished your novel, don't just quit. Sure you can take a break from it. But get back to it sooner or later, and keep making it better. You'll be glad you did. I sure am.