Writer's high after finishing a story

[W_L]

I have heard of runners feeling euphoria after running a great distance, but never heard of writers experiencing it after a very long writing challenge. Last night at around midnight, i finished rewriting my Novella, at least book 1. (For those who don't know, i had a computer virus that took out my story, so i had to do an emergency rewrite from an older version.)

 

Today, i just can't help feeling giddy and aggressively happy.

 

Does anyone else feel like that after writing?

 

Is there such a thing as writer's high?

Edited August 2, 2012 by W_L

[Ashi]

Good for you. It's the reward for yourself, that you feel nice after something is completed, especially if it's a very significant and hard to achieve one. You earned it.

 

I only finished one longish story in my life, and I felt more like exhilarated or relieved.... LOL.

 

And I see your age bumped up. Happy Belated.

[Bill W]

WL, I often get a similar feeling, or high, after finishing a story, because I'm relieved about making it to the end, as well as anticipating the responses I'll get to it (although there are never enough of these). I generally feel good about what I've done, but uncertain as to how it will be received, so the feeling is kind of an exhileration and euphoria about finishing the story, mixed with dread about how the readers are going to react to it.

[Dark]

I do, too, but it's more like being a little kid again shoving a drawing in my mom's face or the pride only little kids feel when your dad posts your report card on his office cubicle. Only this time, it's a story and I want people to read it NOW! and be amazed by my genius. I swear that the delay between finishing something and having it public here is torture!

[Warrior1]

Haven't really finished anything in recent times, so can't say. I do think I will be very pleased with myself if I can finish my story - but it depends on the story, right? I don't think I will be all that happy if it's a tragedy. I mean, I will still have that sense of accomplishment, but writing a tragedy can be heartbreaking as well.

[K.C.]

W_L I know exactly what you mean. I love finishing a story. It is such a rush. I also become very antsy right before I finish as I fill with worry about finishing, tying up the loose ends, and having the end come together...and worried about if anyone will like it or not.

 

Congrats on getting done! I can't wait for the Anthologies to come out to read full novels without having to wait for chapter updates!!!

 

**Giddy with Excitement**

[W_L]

Well originally i wrote 75k from April to July, but lost it due to the virus. After trying to rewrite it, i realized that i was writing way too much into 75k limit earlier, so i am breaking it into several parts.

 

Instead of waiting for chapter updates, you will be waiting for book updates (I'll make sure there's a few cliffs)

 

Glad to know i am not alone on the writer's high.

[Andrew Q Gordon]

W_L,

 

There is some giddiness, there is some relief, and there is a lot more anticipation. It's always great to finish something, there is a feeling of accomplishment. There is also a great deal of relief, that I finally finished it.

 

But for me, by the time I finish something, toward the end it starts to feel too much like work and I'm ready to move on to the next project. When i was working with the editor on Chosen, I remember a point where I told my editor, I was tired of this and wanted to move on the next story and got my retina's singed by the response. I have several project I want to work on, but realistically two is my max and that generally is one new store and one rewrite/edit existing chapters.

 

But that is just me.

 

Andy

[Y_B]

I think I got it once, with an essay.

 

Then again, I was sitting outside in the center of Austin while working on it and may have just 2nd handedly doped...so mebbe not the same thing

[NotNoNever]

Ah, well! There's finishing it, period. And, there's finishing it and sending it to the editor!. As for data security, my advice would always be to have an arrangement where you could send stages to your editor as security backups, but which they wouldn't read. Or, set up a holding hotmail / etc account, and email your work to that as a backup. Less likelihood of losing stuff. Editors are cool that way, you know! xx

[NotNoNever]

W_L,

 

There is some giddiness, there is some relief, and there is a lot more anticipation. It's always great to finish something, there is a feeling of accomplishment. There is also a great deal of relief, that I finally finished it.

 

But for me, by the time I finish something, toward the end it starts to feel too much like work and I'm ready to move on to the next project. When i was working with the editor on Chosen, I remember a point where I told my editor, I was tired of this and wanted to move on the next story and got my retina's singed by the response. I have several project I want to work on, but realistically two is my max and that generally is one new store and one rewrite/edit existing chapters.

 

But that is just me.

 

Andy

 

There's a thing about creatives - ideas. They can't stop having them! Sometimes the finish line us just that - sometimes it's like the potter's shape before the firing, before the glazing, before the painting, before the cleaning, before the packaging, before the delivery.

 

My point is that there comes a point where you just want it out of your life. The successful writer learns to control that impetus and return to the project. Hence why ppl like QT / AQG are so good ... they persist! It's a lesson!

Edited August 2, 2012 by NotNoNever

[myself_i_must_remake]

i do get a high, and like most highs, it is followed by a low. i go from loving it the day i finish it to hating it within the week.

[stuyounger]

I'm currently only about 40% of the way through writing my first book, but I can imagine I will feel amazing when its all finished (and even more so if eventually it gets published). Imagine there will always be a part of me thinking some bits could have been better though.

[LemonFresh]

Sadly i havent expiernced it yet, However i hopefully will soon as i am entering the final strech with Derailed. one thing i have experienced is a feeling like "Holy shit i can do this" writing a story a chapter at a time you dont ever realize quite how much you've really acomplished untill you put it all together. like with Derailed i put it all togetther in one file anf formated the pages to standard book size and was blown away to see i had written 245 pages of a novel (so far).

 

and to some of the bigger author's on here that might not seem like alot comapred to the amount they have contributed but for a socialy awkward kid with Dislexia it ends up being quite an ego boost. never in a million years did i think i would be any kind of writer let alone a long form story like this.

[W_L]

Www hugs, i like disabled writers, I am blind in one eye too and can understand the feeling.

[LemonFresh]

Www hugs, i like disabled writers, I am blind in one eye too and can understand the feeling.

 

Awwww thanks for the hug. lol although i dont know if i could say Dyslexia is a Disability, maybe a disadvantage when it comes to writing but i dont know if id say Disability.

[hh5]

Its ok ... it may take us a while to do edits and rewrites .. we might get there

we might get help from a good editor

 

Don't be down about your ability ... someone who can see the spirit and soul of your story will appreciate it

 

who knows you might introduce us to another way of looking or knowing things

 

the story will evolve

 

Awwww thanks for the hug. lol although i dont know if i could say Dyslexia is a Disability, maybe a disadvantage when it comes to writing but i dont know if id say Disability.

 

[hh5]

Yes there is ... but I don't look forward to the editing and rewrites ...

I guess its because we wish to write another story after some RnR

But that will distance us from the editing and rewrites .. writing in the same spirit and flavor becomes hard

 

Sometimes we're the mozart of creating stories ... but there are too many to write down

Is there such a thing as writer's high?

 

Edited September 3, 2012 by hh5