Writing A Perfect Finish
Thirteen Months: May 2022 to June 2023
It Was the Best of Times. It Was the Worst of Times.
It was a blast. It was a ton of work. It was dreary. It was exhilarating. It was frustrating. It was satisfying.
It was one of those things I had wanted to do for years. How can someone who wants to write a novel turn forty-two years old and not even begin writing? And then if you thought starting was difficult, try finishing. Tick tock. How long did it take? Hanna wants to charge me twenty years, since the first time I vaguely mentioned anything about holing up in Santorini for a winter to write. I think I shouldn’t be charged until the day I created the first Google document, and that since then I deserve credits for forced stops and time wasted on vacations. Oh, and I also want credit for those two times I shoveled snow. Can you imagine?
Bucket, Tuck it, Chuck it
The problem I have with bucket lists is that too many people with bucket lists end up dying with buckets full of chits. If you want to write a novel, start today. If you want to travel the ALCAN to Whitehorse or Alaska, well . . . you shouldn’t necessarily head out tomorrow without checking the weather, but you can depart on your next June 1. If you want to learn to ride a motorcycle . . . well, again, maybe not on the Alaska Highway. But if you already ride and haven’t ridden to Alaska, that’s definitely a mistake. Do it! What have you got to lose? Go make your own story—you’re as likely as not to live and tell it.
Nothing but Outtakes
So far I’ve written nothing but outtakes here, but there is actually a point to this page.
Bottom line, what do you want to learn by reading about my experiences in writing A Perfect Finish?
I’ve divided it into four sections. If you are looking for more, please drop me a line via the Contact Author page.
Inspiration for the Story
Assistance-in-dying, Whitehorse, and all those bears
The Story of Writing the Story
A log of writing A Perfect Finish
Alaska Highway Riding Log
A log of riding from Denver CO to Whitehorse YT to Denver CO
So You Want to Write a Novel?
What I learned in writing a debut novel