Beginnings

Beginnings are a delicate time. Frank Herbert, Dune.

There is no one beginning and no one end. You start with a few sentences, maybe an idea, and then you’re at 40,000 words. Soon the first draft is complete, and that’s an achievement. Then you start again, rewriting and editing and getting feedback, until you swear you could recite the entire manuscript in your sleep.

Now I’m getting to the last stages, publication. Which should be an end, but for my characters, it is just the beginning as they go on their own voyages with the readers.