The End.

I finally got to write those two words!

The End.

Gosh, it's even fun writing it here. But it was funner when I wrote it at the very end of my book. Today, all is right with the world.


"So, Peggy. Does that mean you're ready to find a publisher?"

Um... No. Not at all. Because first comes the fun part!

Editing.


"Editing.... That's like fixing punctuation and grammar and spelling, right?"

No.

Well, I guess that's a small percentage of it, but that part's mostly taken care of. And it's all because of this lady:


She's Ms. Stakeless, my inner editor. She walks around in my head while I'm typing, ruler in hand, ready to rap my knuckles.

She demands that I use correct punctuation.
She demands that I use correct spelling.
She demands that I use correct grammar.
She demands that I don't use words that end in "ing" or "ly."
She demands that I vary my sentence structure.
She demands that I don't use the same words too close to one another.

She tells me that if I take it slow and get it right, I'll be happier later. "Slow but steady wins the race," she says WAY too often.

I'm a little afraid of her, so I listen and I do what she says. My knuckles are pansies.

I'm trying to get her fired, though, so I can replace her with this guy:



His name is Doodle, but he prefers to be called Dood. (Heavy on the "oo.") Sure, he's a punk. And sure, he needs to pull up his shorts a bit. And after a while, that surfer lingo might get a little old.

But he's a genius.

And I've heard he'd be quite content to surf while I type, and only get picky about the editing when I'm good and ready to edit.

Plus, cartoon Inner Editors just seem so much more... fun. If I can ever find a way to get rid of Ms. Stakeless, I think I'd enjoy having Dood take her place in my head.


"So, what is it you have left to do, then?"

Well, for one, go through this stack of revision notes:


When you squish this stack of papers completely flat, it's well over two inches deep! Some of the papers are full chapters, with critique group member comments. Some are my own notes things I need to change.

Some are small things, like "change the wording on this paragraph--- it makes the reader feel like they are being told what's happening, instead of experiencing it."

Others cover several chapters, or even the entire book, like "Lincoln doesn't have a strong enough character arc." Or "I need to get to the action quicker."

Or, the biggest... The one that may prove to be the bane of my existence: Find 15,000 words that can be deleted.

Yep. Fifteen Thousand. Or, roughly translated, sixty eight pages.


My book is for 8-12 or 13 year olds. Not all kids that age are okay with picking up a 350 page book. Things will be better if I can make it shorter.

Needless to say, what lies ahead of me is a fairly big job. The Queen's army, a band of protectors that can be seen roaming the streets of my brain day and night, carry the banner of Hope and Determination. Usually, they're uncontested by anything of great significance. About two hours after I wrote "The End," a large opposing army carrying the banners of Doubt and Overwhelmedness set up camp around my brain city, though. They're trying to give Hope and Determination a run for their money.

I keep sending Hope and Determination reinforcements. They've done me good in the past-- I'm sure they pull through for me once again.

And, some day, when the mound of editing is all said and done, maybe Ms. Stakeless will be so worn out, she'll beg to be fired.

One can only hope.