Party Time!

Dear Maggie,

Do you do anything special to celebrate when you finish writing one of your books?

Sincerely,

Party Girl in Patagonia

Dear Party Girl,

Funny you should ask, because I just finished drafting a novel the other day. I’ll admit, when I completed the first draft of my first book years ago, I rode that high for weeks. My husband took one of the original manuscript copies to Staples and had it bound and the title page laminated. We drank a bottle of champagne. Later, I had a big, festive launch party. It felt like such an accomplishment, and it certainly was.

Now, though, I mostly feel relief when I finish a project. Usually, I have some kind of deadline I’m working under, whether it’s self-imposed or not, and finishing the manuscript is a weight off my shoulders. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great feeling to know I’ve written yet another book, and to acknowledge that my imagination and skillset didn’t fail me, so I try to take a few moments to revel in that, but inevitably the next story is already nagging at me.

Currently, I need to finish drafting the final three books of the TSI series before my summer semester of graduate school begins. I don’t mind editing or working with my team on production and publishing, but I want to be fully attentive to the new projects I’ll be working on in school, so these drafts have to be done and dusted. About half-way through book five, though, the writing felt like pulling teeth for no apparent reason. I loved the characters, I’d worked out the major plot arc, but I couldn’t seem to find my groove. You can imagine how panic-inducing that felt with an imminent deadline looming. Desperate to find my flow, I did something I’ve never done before. I wrote out of sequence. I set aside book five and started in on book six. For whatever reason, this one chugged along at a great pace, and that’s the book I just finished. There was much rejoicing, for like five minutes, because that aggressive deadline is even closer now, and I still have one and a half books left to write! Maybe when the series is finished, I’ll break open a bottle of champagne and throw myself a little party.

Thanks for the fun question. If you have a question for me, send it to maggie@msmaggieclare.com, and I’ll answer it here on the blog.