I have reached the end of Ohlen's Bane, having written the last scene over the weekend. I still need to go back and add some parts to fill in a few plot holes, but the first draft of the book is more or less finished.
The next step will be to read what I have from front to back, notebook in hand, and make notes of things that are wonky, missing, extraneous, or erroneous. Writing is the exact opposite of carpentry. The woodworker measures twice and cuts once. The author writes numerous times, and then measures once, right before publication. And sometimes even after publication.
As I discovered with Ohlen's Arrow, the revision and editing phase of a book project can often take longer than the writing phase. This is where the rough stone gets polished, hopefully into a diamond. And this is where my editor and beta reading team really come into play. Without them, every book would be nothing more than wasted paper (or electrons).
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