How do you know when a novel is finished? People often ask me that, and the true answer, I guess, is when it’s on the bookshelf. As a writer, the most you can do is write it over and over, wait for comments from trusted readers or, if you’re lucky, from your editor, make changes, read it again, make more changes and then — send it off and hope for the best.

And that’s what I’ve just done. I came up here to Anam Cara to put these “final touches” to my latest manuscript. My third novel, my second Cambodian novel, is sitting on my desktop waiting for me to press the big SEND button. But before I press send, I’m going to let it sit for another day or two, just in case (of what, I don’t know).

So, in order to get to this point, what did I do?

    * I took myself away from my usual surroundings. I’m lucky enough to be able to come over to Anam Cara, but even a coffee shop in a different town, or the back seat of your car in some distant car park, would do. I think the idea is to shake things up a bit and see it with different eyes.

    * I made a hard copy (but others might be happy to read straight from the computer), sat down with a pencil  in hand and a Roget’s Thesaurus at my side, and started to read out loud. Every word. Slowly.

    * I listened not only to my voice, but to my gut. If something felt “off,” or didn’t make sense, or made me stumble as I read, I made a change.

    * When I found myself rushing or trying to ignore my reactions, I figured I was tired and put it down and walked away. It’s amazing how much it stays with you at that point, even when you think you’re doing or thinking about something else.

    *Slowly but surely I made my way to the end. En route, I made lots of changes, sometimes to whole paragraphs, sometimes to individual words. I fixed inconsistencies of character or place or position.

    * In this case, I gave into a niggling feeling I’ve had since my last draft and changed the ending. I put a big slash through the last page and a half, added some of the important information from it into the previous section, and ended the book where it felt like it needed to end. That was hard, but very satisfying.

    * I made sure I was happy with my title. I have struggled with this particular title all along, as I wrote about here. But I now also know that in order for people interested in Cambodia to find me and my books, I must have that word somewhere in the title, so I decided to include a sub-title. Hopefully, that will work.

And now here I am on my blog telling you all about it. I updated my word counter (see it there on the right of your screen?). And I know my publisher will have changes. And I know what I see on my computer screen now is not what will eventually be seen by readers behind the cover or on their kindles or iPads. But I know that, for now, I am as finished as I can be.

So, Ladies and Gentlemen, please meet my latest baby,

                                                        Out of the Ruins;
                                                      A Novel of Cambodia

thanks to the beautiful Irish countryside…

…for the inspiration and quiet.