Finishing

[Jeffrey Marks]

Well, today is my last trip to Indiana University for the biography. I'm nearly done with the writing, and I'm editing like a mad man. Only 2 weeks left until it's due.

I'm feeling a bit sad to be saying good-bye to Anthony Boucher. He's been an interesting part of my life for the past 4 years, and I'm feeling a bit lonely now that I won't be spending time with him.

Normally when I finish writing a book, there's a time afterwards when I feel a bit blue and slightly lost. I call it my post-bookum depression. I walk around the house a lot, looking at things. I usually clean the house more than necessary and try to catch up on all the books I've not read.

The completion of a major project and the time of looking up that mountain to start again usually makes me take pause and reflect. Anytime I start a project, it's hard to maintain a balance in life between work, family and the desire to put words on paper. I get excited and want to buy all the books by the subject, read them all together and start writing away. But life intervenes.

I know in the movie Misery that James Caan had a cigarette and champagne after finishing a book. Does anyone else have any routines for finishing a book?