The day you complete the draft of your novel is so hard won

You may have been there, and know what I'm talking about. That moment when you finally complete the draft of your novel. Something that has consumed you longer than you recall. The sacrifices you made to make it happen. The long nights, the early mornings, the afternoons where you wanted to rest, but plots, story lines, characters, and yes - sequels, popped into your head. It happens most for me when I'm in bed, or having a well earned bath. You know - moments when you are supposed to be doing absolutely nothing. 

But you can't leave it there, no.

You have to do something about it. So the slumber ends, or the bath plug is pulled. You go back to the novel and work on it some more. I arrive at an expanse now - one that says 'hey, you got your life back', but I know this is only a temporary thing, a ceasefire between writer and its creation. Is there a point to all this? Well, maybe.

For me, for many of you, perhaps, you've reached a point where you say 'Yes, I'm done, I'm happy' (for now). Of course, you feel happy, feel proud. My latest 'work' clocked in at over 85000 words, and the previous one at 101,000. I've never worked on anything so hard in my life. With my first book, the semi-autobiographical 'Essence of Martial Arts', I learned so much about the process that with all the plethora of errors made, I resolved to make future books - should they ever be published - far better than that one. Isn't that the aim of writers, to better their previous works? Absolutely, we have to be committed to that. Should money come into it? I say no, because you have to write because you enjoy writing, telling stories, enlisting people's opinions on your creation.

 Money corrupts. Would I like to be living more comfortably? Of course. But as I ploughed through my book, things were not so bad, because I could slip into that world, any time I liked. It is far better a feeling than any drug I could take (not interested in that, never was, never will be!) or to indulge in some other past-time that leaves you, well, feeling cold, like a lover with you in the night, but departed by morning. So yes, I feel a bit lost since completing the draft, but there are other things to do, pay attention to, and work on. My family may even have me back for a while. When they tire of that (And they will) they will want me to go back to my writing.

 The draft has been completed, a small battle won. War is about to break out though - with myself (am I happy, truly happy with what I've done), with agents (they can slam a text out of existence because it doesn't meet a-b-c criteria) and publishers (remember how Harry Potter was thought of as 'a book about a boarding school...who would be interested in that?' Thankfully JK Rowling pressed on! Whatever your thoughts when you complete your first draft, I wish you happy writing.