Typing “The End” Never Gets Old

On Saturday I shared on my Facebook Author Page that I’d finished the first draft of Faith Departed, the first book in my next series. I don’t actually type “The End” at the end of my manuscripts, but I’ve thought about it. There’s definitely a big, happy sigh that goes along with knowing that the first draft is complete. But it’s often followed by that knot forming in your stomach as you realize the next step is editing.

I hate editing.

I guess maybe there’s a caveat there. I don’t mind copy editing – I can fix punctuation and grammar issues, no problem. (Of course, there don’t tend to be all that many of them to start with. I’m a bit of a grammar nerd.) But the more substantive editing is hard. It’s like looking at your baby, who you adore, and forcing yourself to evaluate every speck and freckle critically. Maybe you get to leave the freckle there…but most often you have to figure out how to use lemon juice to try and bleach it away. And no one really wants to do that to their baby.

Still–even with that looming, it’s a huge relief to be finished and I’m looking forward to being able to share it with you. In the mean time, I think I need to rename one of my minor characters. He’s an Asian programmer, not born in the U.S. and he’s got a big chip on his shoulder. In addition, he’s sloppy with his work – says he can do all kinds of things he can’t actually deliver, and is working hard to get June’s job. Got any ideas?