How Not To Write

Picture the scene...

You are a novelist, working for years to finish your masterpiece. And then suddenly, after an intense period of procrastination - you finish! Hooray!

Right?

Well, no. Actually, you wonder what the big deal is all about. In fact, you're kind of glad to see the old thing go. Worse still, you begin to suspect that you have in fact wasted an enormous amount of time and effort on something that no one will ever appreciate.

Getting Past Done on Lifehack.org reminded me of the biggest hangup in writing: the post-novel let down.

This is one of those "why didn't they tell me this" kind of events that every writer faces sooner or later. Actually, it's something that many writers face every single time they finish a book.

My recommendation to you (as I posted on Lifehack) is that you take a vacation immediately after completing your book. Get some distance between you and the novel and chances are you will see it in a very positive light when you return.

Or at a minimum, you will forget that you wrote it because you had such a good time, which is almost as nice.

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