Hey all! Hope everything is going well. I have several blogs lined up for the future, which is great! One of my biggest issues is figuring out interesting content for this. I don’t like sounding stupid or redundant, so I’m sometimes hesitant to post. Anyway, interesting things coming up! Hopefully!
I’ve been pretty distracted with Pokemon lately – not Pokemon X and Y like everyone else. Nope. I restarted my Diamond game because I was jealous of everyone with a 3DS. So…Pokemon!
I’m really a mature and responsible adult.
I’m REALLY enjoying my new writing space. I’m not sure if I’m more productive up here or downstairs or anywhere. But I definitely like a devoted space for my computer. I guess it’s nice for mental organization? Something like that.
Finishing Novels
So! On Friday evening at 11pm, I finished my NaNoWriMo novel. It’s temporarily called Bloodbond. It’s also currently with one of my most trusted beta-readers, Neil (who now has a WordPress, you should check him out). I’ve blogged before about finishing novels and revisions before. I get really emotional when I finish a novel. Sometimes I cry, sometimes I don’t.
Right now I just kind of feel listless.
It’s the strangest thing. I’m ecstatic, because no matter how many times I complete a novel, I think I’m going to be in awe that I managed to come that far. Every single time. A friend of mine said that no matter how many you’ve completed, finishing a novel is still a big deal.
This time I didn’t really lock into a single song. No, I was switching between image songs from Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors, Sengoku Basara music, and my writing 2.0 playlist (which has expanded a bit since the last time I mentioned it). But a song that was really resonating with me was Cao Pi’s image song Last Forever. I think it was playing while I wrote the last paragraph of the song. There was just something about it that really clicks with Mako’s mindset at the end of the novel.
I’m not entirely happy with the final chapter of the book – but this is a first draft. It doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to be written (on that note, I’ll be writing a blog about my take on first drafts some point soon.)
I guess the most exciting (and frustrating) point about Bloodbond is that it brought me another series. I’m not sure how many books it is. I know what’s going to happen in the next book already…though I’m going to take a bit of time before I write the sequel. Mainly because Opus Crescendo is on the docket now.
Emotional Connection
I always get out of sorts after I finish a novel. I was just on a huge adventure with my characters. I learned all about them, crawled into their minds and made a nest, so to speak. Maybe part of it is me getting really close to my characters.
I think the main problem is that I never want the adventure to end.
One of the main reasons I’ve been hesitant to start work on Opus Crescendo and Opus Requiem is because once those two books are completed, the main Opus series is complete. I fully believe that I’m going to be somewhere between sad and emotional trainwreck when I write the ending to Opus Requiem. Finishing those books means the end of a big adventure.
I’ll bounce out of this little funk soon enough. I’ll continue work on Opus Crescendo and start outlining Opus Requiem as well. Never is slated for completion this year as well.
Any other writers out there fall into a little mini-depression when they finish novels? I can’t be the only one.
~LL Lemke
Oh! Here’s a peek at my workspace!
(The Loki art on the left is done by Danielle Sylvan)
Rants from a Starving Writer 
I sometimes end up in one, whenever I complete a work of short fiction. I can’t really say I’ve finished a novel, though I’m working on one. Trying to anyway.:p
I can’t remember if I got this way after short fiction, it’s been a really long time since I’ve written any. But it is comforting, in a way, to know that there are others who go through the same blah moods after finishing something.
I wish you all the luck on your novel! It’s a fun journey and I hope you complete yours.
I love your workspace––looks awesome! 😀 And I absolutely know what you mean. I also feel pretty depressed and empty for a while after I finish a first draft of a novel. You spend so much time with the story and characters, it just feels really strange when it suddenly comes to an end. It’s like suddenly losing contact with a good friend. For me it always feels kind of surreal when I get to that last line because it’s hard to accept that it’s “over” after working on it for months on end.
thank you! It’s nice to have a real workspace, finally.
I think its even weirder this time because I wrote the novel SO FAST. It was my NaNoWriMo novel, so I only started it in November. Usually I take awhile to finish projects because I take breaks and come back (usually to avoid the sadness that comes from finishing a project). And it really is like losing contact with a good friend, that’s a great way to explain it.
I know that feeling! I’ve also done that before––started something for NaNo and then finished it by January. It is pretty disorienting to get through a draft so quickly.