Why Writing a Novel Is Like Raising a Puppy

When puppies are first born, their eyes aren't open. They can't hear, they can't walk. They pretty much just whimper and shuffle around seeking comfort.
Meet your first draft:

(Photo credit: Canine Companions for Independence®)

With some nurturing, your puppy/manuscript starts to walk and eat solid food. It also trips over its own feet and falls asleep in the middle of playing. But you can't help thinking it might be the most adorable thing you've ever seen.

Soon it gets a little less clumsy. It starts following you around and learns to sit for a treat ... most of the time. It's full of cute shenanigans. But it also eats shoes.

You put in some serious training/revising time, and it learns a few tricks. But just when you think it's almost grown up, it pees on the rug in front of company or destroys your couch. It does the opposite of what you ask.

Some days, you wonder why you ever got into this in the first place.

These things take time. And demand lots of attention. Eventually, your puppy/manuscript is ready for the world. Once it's out there, it'll still occasionally jump on strangers, tug on the leash, act like it's never heard its name before.

But you love it anyway. And you can't help hoping everyone else loves it just as much.