Fifteen minutes ago I drew the final inky jot on the final page of Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? That doesn't mean my work is finished. I still have hours and days and weeks of coloring, correcting, cutting, pasting, editing, rewriting, and Photoshoppin' to do. I still don't expect to get a lot of sleep or surface for air for a while. Still, completing the ink-and-paper drawing is a goal I've been working toward a long time and reaching it feels like a real accomplishment.
My final page is not the last page of the book, by the way. I didn't do them in order. The page I just finished and still have lying face down in my scanner is Page 162. Remember that and check it out in five or six months. It's a good one!
Each page of a 200-page book represents 0.5% of the total. I kept a running tally in my mind. I remember how daunting it was to be at 1%, 2%, 5%. I remember being 20%, 50%, 80% done. The day before yesterday I was at 99%. Today: 100%.
Wahooo! Now, back to work.
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POP! gurgle gurgle gurgle
ReplyDelete[cheering and clinking sounds begin here]
Hoo-ray!! So good, so good (and now we can take the "so far" out of that expression, I think!)
[Cheering and clinking continues, but muted, in the background, along with lively conversation and giggles. And some snarky comments about the 5-gallon jars of hors d'oeuvres from Costco.]
So, what page in the draft does page 168 correspond to? I think that would put it somewhere in Chapter 5, but not knowing how many pages of front material you have, I can't be sure. Any hints?
Actually, I mistyped (and have corrected the post), forgetting that front-matter pages aren't numbered. It'll be p. 162, which should correspond to "526" in the draft you kindly reviewed for me. Chapter 5.
ReplyDeleteCostco sells some good stuff.
If I've got it sorted out properly, then you've finished with a page that itself finishes with Ad astra per aspera, Cap. I can't think of a more fitting way to finish.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's spurred me to resurrect Pro Deo et Patria ad Astra from the heap of discarded dreams, and at least makes me think about it again. Who knows, I may even bug you about the Fire King once again (if your memory needs a jog, see your comment on this post.)
Bravo, sir! How very, very cool this is from my side of my eyeballs; it must be hyper-wonderful from yours.
Congratulations, Brian! Bask in that good feeling. You deserve it.
ReplyDeleteI assume you're still working full-time while doing this project on the side? That's even more impressive. Good on you!
Sherwood, that's the page. And I remember the Fire King well. It's a great story that somebody should tell.
ReplyDeleteRonnie, I had the foresight to turn down freelance jobs I would have otherwise taken in anticipation of being busy this summer. I have a few assignments I couldn't dodge, but the the last couple of months have been mostly dedicated to the book.