Miscellaneous.  Now there’s a word you don’t see spelled out very often.  (Hands up, those of you who could spell it correctly. )  I wonder why it, more than other awkward words, gets to be used commonly in the abbreviated form?  That, and et cetera.   I suppose it will all be academic soon, given the new abbreviated texting  form of the language that seems to be taking over.  I think most people under thirty can write an entire sentence without a single word in it..  I don’t text, but if I did, I would laboriously spell out each word.  It would be quicker to drive over and see the person I’m texting. 

I have to confess; this whole discussion so far has been a digression.  A “tangential digression” as Prof Willard Overgaard would have said.  How can you have a digression if you haven’t even started a topic, I hear you ask.  I don’t know.  I just did.  The point is, I’m in shock.  In a brain fog.  In LaLa land.  Yes, I’m bewildered.  It’s difficult to describe.  Last week I was moaning about my brain being cluttered.  Well, I think I may have gone too far and cleaned the whole thing out.  I don’t seem to have anything left in there.  It’s like my head is empty.   You’re probably wondering what I did to achieve such a thorough evacuation of my brain.  Well, I’ll tell you (That’s why I’m here, after all.)  I finished my book.

In case you missed it, I’ll say it again: I Finished My Book!   I still can’t believe I’ve done it.  I’m very pleased and excited about it, but I suddenly feel empty.   One minute I’m typing 90 mph and the next — nothing.  But it wasn’t just the physical act of writing it that changed abruptly.  It was the instantaneous loss of anything going on in my head.  I don’t know what to think about.  I feel . . . vacant.  There isn’t even a satisfying stack of pages, a proper manuscript to look at proudly — it’s all  on computer.  There isn’t much of a thrill looking at a memory stick. 

Of course the book isn’t finished — there is still editing to do, but the story is finished and I’ve had to leave my characters behind.  They’ve dominated my life for nearly three months, and I miss them already.   I might just have to start working on the sequel . . .  Or I could start work on writing a Query Letter to send to publishers.  That’s the scariest bit of all.  (Perhaps it should be called a Scary Letter.)      Oh, dear.  Where did I leave those M & Ms . . .           MM