On Being “Done”
I completed two projects this past weekend. Well, to be completely factual, I completed one and completed an important stage on another. In any case, I feel a massive sense of accomplishment, but the work is always there.
The first of these projects is Alive, a full-cast audio production for my podcast. It’s a story set in Chris Lester’s Metamor City, one that I have been working on, intermittently, for a long time. The last episode has a great deal of action, and took me most of the weekend to produce. I believe it to be some of my best work, though it’s a bit early at this point to judge as there hasn’t been time for much feedback. In the end, I believe it was worth it, if only for what it taught me about audio production–and about pacing myself.
The other project is the third draft of “Artbodies.” The first draft of this story was published in my podcast, and it’s the last work I’m going to put out in such an unfinished state. The third draft is much superior, and after a final review by my beta reader, it’s going to be submitted for possible publication, which is why it isn’t truly finished yet. There will likely be another round of editing, or perhaps two, before it goes to press.
And let me tell you, it feels _good_. Hitting ‘send’ on the email to put Artbodies in front of my beta reader felt like pulling off the brake on a charged-up steam locomotive. Listening to Alive, all the way through, all four episodes, in spite of being able to hear every flaw, felt like riding that locomotive over a mountain. Whee…
The thing is…
The work is still there. For one thing, neither of those stories is just disappearing. ”Artbodies” is going to come back from the beta reader with edits I need to do, and if it gets accepted at my dream publisher, they are going to have edits they want, too. ”Alive” is going to have a run over on Chris Lester’s feed, and afterwards we’re talking about having a wrap-up chat to talk about the story and the production.
And then there’s two more stories that need finishing before the end of the year.
And then there’s the promo for Ex Fumo Gaudiam and Riskwear that I need to make.
And episodes of the podcast…
Yes. Being “Done” is great… because it means I can start working on something else.
