Writing the last page of the first draft is the most enjoyable moment in writing. It’s one of the most enjoyable moments in life, period.

–Nicholas Sparks, author (1965- )

Two things jumped out at me from this quote. First, that Sparks is the same age as my brother. And it always galls me to no end to see that writers younger than me are several laps ahead in the writing game. I would have guessed the third digit in that year might have been a 4. Dang.

Second, he’s right. There is a great satisfaction to getting to the end of a work, making a beautiful, powerful end to it, and looking back at its totality. Alas, it doesn’t often work out that way, does it? I frequently find the end fairly soon after the beginning, or somewhere in the middle, as a means of knowing where I’m going. I’ve heard this is not uncommon.

But good on ya, Nick!