Closure

No, I don’t plan to stop writing. I do plan, however, to stop rewriting my first novel, A FALSE DAWN. I’m now working on the fourth – fourth – version of the book. Who self-publishes four versions of the same book?

Some people tell me I’m obsessed with getting it right. Leave it alone, they say. Other people, painters and poets among them, say, “Why not paint over an early canvas if you think you can improve it? I do it all the time.”

I don’t think I’m trying to make the book perfect. It can never be that. And I’ve learned that I can’t make sure that the end result of all this rewriting will be great, or even good. All I can make sure of, is that the final (?) version will be mine. Mine. The best I can do with the time that I have and the energy for the task that I can summon.

Maybe after this version, I can achieve some real closure, which I’ve never felt for this book, particularly because many smart readers have given me such good feedback over the years. Maybe soon I will be able to “close the book” on this book. We’ll see.