Finished! by Keren David

 This week -  in a miracle of bad-timing -  I finally finished my latest book. It's been drafted, re-drafted and line-edited, it's been copy edited and proof read.  It's being type set. It is (dedication and acknowledgments aside) written, it is complete, it is DONE. I am FREE. It is OVER.

The bad-timing aspect is that my freedom-from-book comes just as the shutters go down for our second lockdown.  No idle lunches with friends for me. No Sunday morning trips to galleries or museums. No weekends away, or nights at the theatre. Life post book will be much the same as life while writing book, for the next month anyway.

But even in lockdown there are ways in which life is changed by pressing that magic 'send' button. There are the ones I can think of. 

 - Weekends will no longer involve long hours at the laptop. Similarly, I can book days off work for reasons other than writing and editing.

 - I can read books without feeling that they are invading my creative brain space.

 -  I can watch television without feeling like I should be doing something else. (The Queen's Gambit on Netflix. Superb)

 - When my husband asks if I want to come for a walk, I can say 'Yes' and not 'You must be joking, hahaha, sorry I have work to do.' 

 -  When people ask if I have plans for the weekend I can say 'Nothing much.'

 -  I can sleep late. I can go to bed early. I will not be lying awake thinking through plot holes or backstory or character motivation.

 - The notebook at the side of my bed is less likely to have scribbled notes in it in the morning.

 - I can strip all the post-its off the whiteboard that sits on the landing. Post-its that say things like 'L/A - rewrite this, remember R' which once meant something to me. 

 - When people ask if they can read the book I no longer have to say 'Wait -  it's a horrible mess, I'll let you know when it's ready to read.'

 -  I no longer have long conversations with friends about what my editor REALLY means.

- I might even go to the garden centre tomorrow as it's a shop that's open. Just because I can. 

 - I have (sort of) done my tax return. I may do some filing tomorrow. My desk will almost certainly be tidied very, very soon.

 -  The kitchen is SO clean.

 -  I have bought myself a new scented candle. A gift to reward myself for finishing the book. 

 -  I no longer say to people 'Actually, I'm writing a book about contemporary antisemitism.' I now say 'I've got a book about contemporary antisemitism coming out next year. It's called What We're Scared Of, and it's no way as grim as you might think given the subject matter, trust me on this one and do preorder. ' 

 - My brain has flipped straight from 'I'm never writing another book again' to 'I wonder what I'll write next?' It took one day. 

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