Categorized | General

Will Finishing a Book Change Your Life?

Posted on 11 February 2013.

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GalleyCat referenced an interesting post by Arthur McMahon in which he expresses a bit of amazement at the fact that “Completing a novel didn’t change my perception of life like I expected it to.”

Some commenters at GalleyCat claimed they didn’t expect completing a novel would have any change, they write for themselves, not riches or fans or feedback, and all that.

But I totally understand what McMahon is getting at.

In his full post, available here, he writes that it’s a long-haul proposition. The completion of the first book is but a step towards the next one. And so forth.

It’s worth checking out and then examining your own opinions… Do you think that completing a book will change your life?


  • Arthur McMahon

    Thank you for expanding on the topic and linking back to my post. It really does come down to a “click” these days.

    I have thought to myself about how many people in the world never even desire to write I novel. I thought about how many do think about it but never act upon it. I thought about how many do start one but never finish it. How many finish a novel but never publish it. How many publish a novel and never move on to the next one.

    I decided I don’t want to stop at one novel. I don’t want to be one of the ones that gave up along the way. There are too many. Moving onward is the only option.

  • Heather Hill

    I honestly believe that finishing a book may not be life-changing for some, but can be for others. After reading McMahon’s post, I do also see where he’s coming from, and that yes, finishing one novel can be the first step on the way to many more. For some, however, finishing something like a novel (especially for someone who has a tough time focusing, such as myself) for the first time can be a huge accomplishment in itself.

  • Therese Lacson

    I don’t think it’s as black and white as completing a book will or won’t change your life. For many people, they can’t claim that about a book at all. It may be something that alters your opinions on things in the long haul but has no serious effect on current life. Books marketed towards ‘self-help’ obviously are meant to change your life and make you go into over haul mode, but I find sometimes even a simple fiction novel can make you reconsider many things.

  • http://www.facebook.com/eshansen1992 Elizabeth S. Hansen

    I agree with Heather Hill. Finishing a novel can be life changing, but I would it ultimately depends on what one expects or wants out of this accomplishment. For example, a friend of mine has finished 3+ novels, but has yet to get any of them published, so she feels like she has yet to accomplish anything–it hasn’t been life changing. For myself, however, I have a hard time finishing my stories (for various reasons), let alone a novel, so it would be amazing for me to finish one.


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