Wednesday 19th April 2006

I typed the final word of the book today – saints be praised. Not the last word I’ll ever contribute to the project, obviously, because there’s probably months of rewrites ahead, if it even gets that far, but the last word of the last chapter. Which was the word ‘Day’, with a capital ‘D’.

There wasn’t a great celebration or anything, I’m going to save my riotous lost week until I send the thing off, but I did take pleasure in printing out the final chapter and adding it to the back of my file which already contains the rest of the tome. I could then pick it up, hold it in my hands, and say quite accurately “I have written a book. Look at it. This is my book. It might be a book about an unworkable theory and is therefore of no use to anyone, but it is a book. My book.�

I took my book for a walk around town. I’m nervous about the editing, which I know I’m going to have to do before I send it off. Not anything drastic, but I know the early sections aren’t as good as the later ones and I do need to pay them some extra attention. I spoke to Byrd in New York this afternoon and he said to not worry too much about sending it to him, even though he’s a well respected literary agent and editor, but just send it as something “between friends�. This makes me feel better about it. He also said how much he’s looking forward to getting it, and that he has to say that to people several times a day but this time he means it. What a nice man.

So yeah, we went for a walk, the book and I. I sat down in Korova with a red pen and started at the beginning. I hate the first two chapters. I hadn’t really found the ‘voice’ of James Crisp, if you like, by then and it doesn’t read very well. So that’s full of red pen now. Who ever said this was going to be easy? At least it’s only two chapters out of thirty I really object to. I hope – I’ve not read much past Chapter Five. But it’s picked up by then.

I found the process of reading my own stuff and trying to be analytical quite tiring and I only lasted about an hour until I just decided to go for a stroll instead. I showed my new book around the Ropewalks area and then zig zagged across town towards The Lion where a pleasant evening was spent in front of the football.

Then to Bar Italia for a meal all on my own. Some people might think it strange going out to a restaurant by themselves but I think it’s fine, it has an air of mystery about it. Not pathetic loneliness – mystery. And besides, I wasn’t alone, I had my lovely book with me. And it didn’t drink its espresso so I had two. Waste not want not.

Good to note that writing this thing hasn’t cost me any degree of sanity. We’ve come a long way since the day I came up with the idea. God only knows why I didn’t write any of it for about three months during December, January and February. I am a fool to myself. But a fool with a book, let’s never forget that.

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