Starting to write a novel is different from being immersed in its middle. And being in the middle of writing a novel is very different from being near the end.
I’ll be mailing Finding Verity to my Beta Readers this week. Beta Readers, you know who you are and, I can’t thank you enough.
Anyway, “write now,” I’m at the point where I’m feeling a bit of relief that this project is nearing completion. But, at the same time, I’m panicking because I’m wondering… Where is the big hole? What did I miss? How embarrassed am I going to be when someone (other than me) actually reads this thing? IMHO I think Finding Verity is better than Windfall but I could be wrong. I know that!
Starting a new story is fun. The middle is difficult. The problem with the ending is that it often changes while the story is being written and, when that happens, oftentimes the middle changes, too. The trick is tying the beginning, middle, and ending together. The transition from beginning to middle to end must be smooth, virtually unnoticeable to the reader.
I want readers to be satisfied with the ending. I don’t them scratching their head and wondering what happened to…
I also want readers to be sad the book’s over, I want them wanting more.
But, it’s hard to know if I’ve accomplished this. That’s why Beta Readers are needed. Beta Readers are “fresh eyes.” I depend on Beta Readers to tell me if I’ve written something that’s worth reading.
So, I’ll mail Finding Verity to my Beta Readers next week. If I’ve done my job, they’ll like it. And if they do their job, they’ll point out its flaws so I can make it better before it’s published.
Next week…
