My heart is pounding, breathing shallow. There may even be some perspiration glistening at my temples ... and other places I won't mention ... but yes, there's perspiration and shaking.

My hands tremble and tears fill my eyes and I think, it's really over. The novel is complete - the first draft anyway.

Finishing a story is an emotional experience, one that is beautiful and sad and confusing and exciting. It's something I've never felt over any other accomplishment or any other endeavor.

It's possibly one of the reasons I write.

It's reaching the point where I've stretched myself to my creative limits, to my very ends and written the words, The End.

It's striving to create something better than I've ever done and feeling deep within my trembling limbs that I've succeeded.

                  ... then realizing with stark terror that readers may not like it. They may actually hate it.

But I love it and I feel good about the plot twists and turns, the growth of my characters and most of all the emotional impact of the ending.

Because that's what makes a good book, the emotional impact that slams through your chest and leaves you a different person ... or I should say me. I feel like I've got something good when I experience that physical jolt at the end ... and then I rejoice and cry and wish I could do it again.

It's a beautiful experience - for me. It's a high and a low and everything in between. It's so wholly encompassing that it's difficult to relieve the feeling. The moment I finished inDIVISIBLE, I strapped on running shoes and ran over 10 miles. It's snowing today. No 10 mile run ... but there will be dancing, yes, dancing!

So turn up your music and party with me, then let me know in the comments what you feel when you write the words, "The End."