The joy is in the finishing.

I'm just going to say this.

I think I'm getting better at writing.  And that it is getting easier.

I don't have any way to measure these conclusions.  I don't have any outside confirmations.  They are just feelings.

It makes sense, of course.  Anything that you do lots of you will get better at, usually.

I'm having more fun doing it than I did at first.  I'm feeling more confident.

There was a time when I rejected the idea of just writing for "fun."  When the idea of writing and not selling or not having a guaranteed readership was enough to stop me.  I don't think that will happen again.

One important thing, that I've always known but which has been reinforced.  If I start a book, I should be pretty sure it's a book and not a start and that I will finish it.  There is nothing satisfying about not finishing.

Maybe that's why so many writers are frustrated.  They don't finish.  I guess my advice would be to finish a book, and see how you feel.

It's not just the writing, it's the finishing.  Once it's done, no matter bad it is, you've actually created something that stands alone.  Without the finish, it's not a completed thing.  It's been aborted, if you really want to be harsh.

I think writers believe the joy is in the writing -- and it is -- but the real joy is in the finishing.