Is there anything more boring than listening to unpublished authors talk about their “writing process”? Well, maybe out-of-work actors talking about roles they used to play and, in LA, The Industry. And any gamer anywhere talking about their avatar like it’s them. And first-time parents going on and on…and on about their week-old genius baby.
“Confession: Sometimes the ‘S’ in ‘S.T.’ stands for Snarky…” S.T. Ranscht
So apologies, but I won’t keep you long. I just want to tell you about one moment in Time. The moment I finished a 104,000 word book.
I had imagined that moment for a couple of months, from the minute Robb (my writing partner) and I could finally see The End powering over the hill, gathering climactic steam. An unstoppable force I welcomed with late night/wee hour writing marathons fueled by pot after pot of Gold Coast Blend.
That’s all I’m going to say about my “process”. I promise.
“…very early on, I knew what the final image of the show was going to be. His eye closing.” Matthew Fox, LOST’s Jack Shephard
It was my privilege to write the final chapter of Enhanced. Like Matthew Fox in LOST, I’d always known how it would end. During the three years we wrote, that never changed.
The surprise struck the moment I typed:
End Book One
Silence.
Not the whole world, of course. Just mine. Sitting alone, late afternoon sun bouncing off the condos across the street into my east-facing living room, glancing into the dining room to light my work space from the south. Falling into a silence-filled satisfaction that had no room for excitement or triumph or emptiness.
An indelible single moment in my life.
Have you ever had an inevitable moment that you thought would have one quality, and then turned out to stun you in a completely different way? I’d love to hear about it. Please share. I know I can’t be the only one.
“…and sometimes the ‘S’ stands for ‘Shameless’.” S.T. Ranscht
*Ahem* While you’re here:
You can read Chapters 1 – 3 here.
You can follow ENHANCED on Facebook, Twitter @EnhancedYASyFy, and Instagram @secondearthtrilogy.
You can find me on Twitter @STRanscht.
Space, Time, and Raspberries 
Congratulations, I think… now you just have the REST of publishing to deal with! haha!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! I anticipate a leeengthy repetition of submission/rejection/re-writes till it’s irresistible to a savvy agent. 🙂
LikeLike
I spent two years trying to find an agent and publisher for How To Climb The Eiffel Tower. I thought the day someone said they wanted to publish it would feel like fireworks and rainbows, but by the time it happened, I was kind of over it and had moved on to writing other books. I was excited, but not jumping up and down.
Good luck with this year’s A to Z Challenge.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s discouraging how long things take in the publishing industry. I can understand your sense of anti-climax, but congratulations on making it happen!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I saw 104,000 words and I suddenly got very tired and felt old. Good job!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahaha! Thanks! And thanks for the follow! The challenge was to fold all that world building into the showing. I know I’m a more skilled writer now than I was at word 1 — the revisions that followed look almost like someone else wrote them!
LikeLike
I love the cover!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Robb and I think Brylan did a great job. My favorite part is the DNA strand in the pupil. 🙂
LikeLike