Marathon Of The Middle | Getting Through It
Hey guys I’m back again,
It’s so good so see you here again. I missed you. As I always do. This is becoming such a normal part of my life now that I miss it when I skip a day or am unable to post a certain day so I post a day late. I enjoy doing this, talking to you about things that I believe in and about reading and writing. I did actually post my reviews for two books I finished since we last spoke. Which is exciting for me. May just began and I’m already 2 books in, yay me.
Okay so about today’s topic. I realize that my earlier post about the marathon of the middle has done extremely well and I am giving you what you obviously want. I am listening to you, I promise. So I’m bringing up this topic again. Sadly, I’m not currently experiencing this as I’m editing not drafting right now, but I do have a few things that I do to get through the middle when it feels like you just need to turn back or give up. Well, these are things I do so that I don’t have to do either.
Now, I do realize it’s hard to not listen to that voice in your head, your inner critique and give in. No, you are not a terrible writer and yes your writing may suck now and may stink worse than a trash fire, but only for now. Editing makes things a lot better, trust me. It makes all the difference.
You just need to keep going, keep pushing. Refuse to give up, refuse to give in. Keep pushing forward, the end is nearing and the end is where you’ll soar like a bird through the rest of the draft. And yes, I understand what it’s like, to feel like you’re stumbling around in the dark and you don’t know which way is up. It’ll pass, but only if you keep changing ahead. Sometimes blindly scurrying around in the brush is the only way the best part of the middle will be pulled out of you. You’ll get an amazing idea for action and it’ll take over leading you straight to the end.
At this stage, the worst thing you can do is stop. It’ll cause you to lose momentum, but also lose your train of thought which was leading you to the better idea. With the better idea, you’d be able to respin the entire middle to lead up to the changing point and toward the climax.
Don’t give up. Keep moving forward, however slow your progress feels.
Don’t get caught up. Mistakes can and will be fixed later. Don’t let them slow you down. If you have momentum plough right over those mistakes. Don’t let your critique slow you down.
Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid to finish or to write something bad. Think of it this way, every good book you’ve ever read that you loved or moved you to tears had a shitty first draft like what you’re trying to complete. They all started exactly where your book is starting. There is no other way. If you’re afraid to finish, then the ending won’t come.
Relax. Keep calm and create a flow. Enjoy the writing, however shitty it may be. It’s words, more words that you had yesterday. Be thankful for that. And more words than people who aren’t writers write. Words means you’re winning.
You can do this! Whether you’ve done it before or you haven’t every writer feels the same at this stage. The fear begins to take over, even if you’re published or you’re a New York Times Bestseller. The sinking feeling takes hold and you wonder if you’ll ever be able to finish another book. But you can and you will. as long as you don’t give up and give it your all. You will finish, every single time.
It doesn’t matter how many mistakes you’ve made or how terrible that one character acted or what they said. Those can easily be fixed later I promise. Right now you just have to stumble around in the dark until you find what you’re looking for, the way to connect the beginning to the end. Just purge and keep purging until the right stuff eventually comes out or the right connection comes and it will come. It always does. You have a sudden realization and it spins the rest of the story into place.
Thank you so much for joining me today guys. I had a blast and I absolutely loved writing this inspiring speech. I hope it does just that! I hope it inspires you all to give it your all and push your book as far as it can go. But don’t push yourself too hard, know your limits and be safe about it. We want your book, but we also want you around to present it to us. ;)
This post really took me back to how difficult finishing my last draft was as it was the last book in the trilogy and I really felt like I was letting the entire series down by not having a good ending, but I can fix it later. Right now I’m focusing on BK 1. So this was hard to write for me too.
Well, that is it for me you guys, but I had a lot of fun going back in time to when I was drafting and how difficult it was for me. I’ll be back again before you know it. Lots of love. Kisses. Happy reading and writing. I wish you all the best. Until next time, bye.
Celine Rose Marie
