it’s official.
the hardest part of writing the
novel for me is THE DREADED MIDDLE.
beginnings are not difficult
(other than taking that initial leap)
and endings are a natural closure to
what came before.
it’s all that stuff in between that
drives me bonkers as the writer. ha!
on friday, i wrote in the afternoon while
the bubs napped and it was the first day
i could not hit 1k in words. it was like
pulling teeth, and i was very disappointed.
on saturday morning, i felt so discouraged.
instead of going to cardio kickboxing, i
surfed online, had a pity party of one on
facebook, and basically was a huge lump
of angst and inertia. (sighs)
i tried to find full episodes of mad men
(season one) online to watch to make
myself feel better.
they are impossible to find.
what i could find had chinese subtitles
(ha!) which were fine, but the lag was
so horrific i watched one show in increments
of one to two second intervals! but my
devotion to don draper was that huge.
i finished watching the pilot, which was
brilliant. now that show has some excellent
writers–who probably do not sit in their
pajamas past noon on saturdays moping.
finally, by one o’clock, i decided to grab
taiwanese food (always a comfort!) with
macbook pro in tow. the idea was that
i’d do some reading and brainstorming.
but the popcorn chicken meal and cappucino
boba must have helped, as i wrote an
unexpected 999 words yesterday. yay!
i’m not sure what will happen today, however.
the irony is that i am smack dab
in the very middle of the novel. all
my writing friends have given excellent
advice. in the end, it’s something i’ll have
to unravel myself. i hope popcorn chicken
meals with boba are not the sole solution.
if so, i’m in serious trouble…
14 Comments
The middle can be a frustrating place to be, but you can do it! Keep your “finale” in mind, and it at all costs, skip what you haven’t figured out yet:)
You’re doing so great, keep on plugging!
taiwanese food… why do you do this to meeeee…
maybe if you’re having trouble writing it, you don’t need that section. (is that a little prosaic of me? that’s what i do…)
Chicken,cappucino boba . . . there are worse things, like Cherry Garcia. That is my personal downfall ;-)
What is cappucino boba? I’m sure I’d like it whatever it is. Coffee is weakness :)
I feel ya.
I’m 22k words into my book, and it contains lots of beginning and a good chunk of ending … but no middle.
Good times.
Did you try swimming in a river of chocolate? Or building a house of naan? Sorry, two cups of coffee first thing in the morning make me rather loopy. Just give it a few days–your mind might be telling you that you need a wee bit of a break. You’ve had quite the full year–give yourself time to rest. You deserve it!
I like the river of chocolate idea, personally. ;)
Hey Cindy! Found your blog on Jen’s. Keep plowing through, the middle is rough terrain but you’ll get through it!
Dolly out a bit…don’t be so hard on yourself…indulge, indulge –even if you only get Don Draper in slow-mo lol. You’ve earned it, sweetie. And you’ll get there, no worries :)
(BTW I BET you the Mad Men writers have off times, too — that’s why there are probably quite a few of them! To pick up the slack, give the other minds some creative downtime…imagine!)
Cindy, you are right…it’s something you have to unravel for yourself. The middle is the worst!!! But it *will* unravel, even if it’s not in the speed you want. Good luck, and OMG, have such a great London trip. I love London too. Enjoy!
thank you so much for all the advice and encouragement, everyone! maggie, boba is tapioca balls–they are about the size of small gumballs and chewy. =)
christa, great to see you!
Eh, you’ll do it. No problems. I know you’ll get through it! And eating through your writing angst is exactly what I do!!!
Maybe, just maybe, if I came to San Diego (in my PJ’s) and had some Taiwanese food and Boba with you . . . I’d get my middle sorted. Yes. Brilliant.
ell, thanks for the vote of confidence. i’m sure i’ll finish it, i want it to be good, tho. ha!
elise, we’re on! ;*)
I empathize – the middle of my WIP kind of looks like my literal middle – two kids later!
I’ve been inhaling holdiay cookies instead of popcorn chix and boba.
But somehow, I can’t envision you getting all angsty – you simply seem too happy and serene. Peace, Linda