On being...done

"Finishing" my novel allowed me a wonderful, relaxing weekend on the road. The kids and I visited family with my sister. My mind has been churning, however, with all that still needs to be done. For what purpose? What does one do with a "completed" novel?

Talking with my sister (who has read some of the novel, but not yet all of the novel), I realize that I have some inconsistencies I need to clean up. The names of things change. It took me a while to decide just how small of town my story was taking place in. I may have even changed a character name or two.

Since, technically, this was a second draft of the novel, my feeling is that it's in fairly readable format... but still lacking. I'm thinking I'll give myself a week and then read it from cover to cover. I'll make notes, but won't allow myself to do any actual editing or adding just yet. Right now, I'm feeling a little exhausted... but in a good way. It's like the feeling you have after a really good workout at the gym. Relaxed, yet driven. Inspired, yet focused. Determined, yet ready to take things one step at a time.

I'll be working on the novel in some less obvious ways over the next few days. I'm planning to sketch my characters and complete a tree of relationships, map of the town, etc. Since my next two writing projects (at least) also take place in this same town, I need to have a really solid grasp of the big picture. I guess I'm looking for ways to exercise my creativity in different ways while resting.

At one point I thought I'd immediately start "the next" novel when I was done with this one. I guess the reality is... I'm not really done. I've written the last scene. I've got an organized, coherent story. But it still needs tweaking and I'm going to stick to it until I feel satisfied with the product.