Yup. It’s about that time, two thirds of the way through the manuscript*, when I just want to murder the book and have it over with. “Why did I sign on to write this again?” I ask myself. “Who thought this was a good idea?” And, most importantly, “WILL THIS NEVER END???”
Which is not to say that a) things aren’t going smoothly** and b) I’m not enjoying the book. I’m dusting off knowledge I haven’t used since uni, learning a bunch of new things in the process, and coming up with cool world building ideas left, right and centre. It’s just… the Middle. And pretty much every author I’ve ever known gets what I mean by the Middle: that part of the book where you start to question what you’re doing and why you’re doing it, and writing The End still seems just so interminably far away.
But you know what? I’m okay with that. This is not my first time in the trenches, and that makes it easier to look back and remember that hey, this is normal, this is okay, this is if not supposed to happen then at least all part of the process. And it’s getting to the point where even my husband knows this too; when I was freaking out last night about how on earth I’m going to finish this book on time, he hugged me briskly and reminded me that I always have this freak out about everything that I do, whether it’s books or uni assignments or marking or even cleaning***, and that I always pull the hours at the end and Get Things Done On Time.
Oh yeah. I’m 2/3rds through. Cue the panic that is the only thing that gives me enough OOMPH to get my second wind and make it through to the end. Right. Yeah. I remember this.
*sigh* Anyway, so that’s how the writing is going over here. As well as the seemingly-interminable #FGU (or more properly, From The Ground Up), I’m also working on drafting an SFR novella, getting the final proofs of the print version of Cherry Blossom done, and starting formatting and edits on a book of plays I’ll be releasing later in the year. So you know. Business as usual.
So tell me. What have YOU been up to this Easter? Are you writing, drawing, creating, plotting? Do you reach a point in your creative process where you reliably freak out, and if so, what do you do about it?
* If any of you tell my publisher I’m only 2/3rds of the way through the manuscript, I WILL hunt you down.****
** Or at least, going NORMALLY, because when does a book EVER go entirely smoothly?
*** Okay, so I added cleaning in there, but only because I realised as I was writing this post that it’s TOTALLY TRUE. Man, I am SUCH a procrastinator when it comes to mundane tasks >.< #TimeManagementFail.
**** And, you know, take away all your cookies. Or something equally as horrendous.