Monday, June 7, 2010

Celebration

I have finished my novel.  


I can't even comprehend it.  This project started a year ago in a creative writing class.  The assignment was to write either a short story or the first chapter of a novel.  I had already written short stories and short screenplays for other classes, so a novel chapter seemed like the best option.  And by best, I mean easiest; I was under no obligation to have a perfectly contained ending to a single chapter.  


But then I liked what I had written.  I really liked it.  And so did the people in my class workshop, and the professor.  In one of the written critiques I received, a request was made for me to write the rest of the novel so the reviewer could read it.  And somewhere along the road of positive feedback and loving what I had written, I found myself wanting to finish the story.


So much for the easy option.


One year later, I have just typed the final words of my first novel into the computer.  Now, granted, there are several pages of handwritten work that have to be typed in, and of course there's the whole revision process, but the story is complete.


I will be the first person to admit I am not the greatest at actually completing projects.  Which makes this such a huge accomplishment for me personally.  It gives me something of a self-esteem boost to know that I can complete something that I chose to do, that did not have a grade attached to it.


In honor of this momentous occasion (Hey, it's a big deal for me. ^_^ C'est magnifique.  Pass the eggs.  Read the first blog post if that made no sense.) I have decided to share my favorite passage from the book with you. 


To give you a little bit of background, the novel is called Slayer.  It is set in 2172.  The main character is Clarise, a government assassin.  Her partner in legal crime is Peter, the leader of the assassins.  This paragraph reveals Clarise's thoughts on their relationship.  Without further ado, my favorite paragraph from the very first, now completed, draft of Slayer:


We know each other in an out, but we keep a wall between us still.  There are things we'll never say.  Sometimes he looks at me and I see it in his eyes, like he wants to ask me for something, but I never let him follow through.  To ask aloud and to give permission, both mean being vulnerable, giving the other person a chance to hurt you.  And neither one of us knows how to be gentle enough with the other to follow those impulses.  

5 comments:

  1. Congratulations. This is so awesome!

    I would love to read it even though this would not be a genre I would usually pick up, but I love the writing and the paragraph you share so much that I can see it like a movie in my head!


    Love it.

    bravo!

    annie

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  2. Well done!

    I need to start on some of my longer ideas pretty soon, myself.

    I look forward to the rest.

    Duncan

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  3. Annie, thank you so much! I'm so glad to hear you would be interested in the book even though it's not your favorite genre. I take that as a huge complement. I'm also glad you can see it clearly -- I picture every scene I write as a movie clip in my head, so I'm happy it translates well. :)

    Duncan, thank you very much! I'm excited that you're interested in hearing the rest of the story; that's the goal for every paragraph I write -- to make you want to read the next paragraph. I encourage you to work on your project ideas; I would love to hear about them. :)

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  4. Your excitement in this post is contagious! I did go back and read your first post (re: the eggs). lol

    Congratulations! I look forward to continuing to follow your journey. :)

    ~ Lisa

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  5. Lisa, thanks so much for reading and commenting! And thanks for going back to read the first post. Glad you liked it. :) I'm glad you can feel my excitement; I'm so happy to be able to share it!

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