KEEP GOING! Step Six To Writing A Novel (Writing Tip #87)

Sometimes the words on the screen or paper look like Egyptian hieroglyphics. Or passages written in Latin.

Sometimes you have nothing to give, no emotion to share, no excitement to type up and send out.
Somedays that sensational, sky-rocketing feeling deep inside of your soul is gone. And you’re left to write uninspired horseshit.

Sometimes your head hurts from being up at 1:13 a.m. and 2:34 a.m and 4:32 a.m. the night before because of those wonderful little princesses that should be sleeping in their twin cribs.

Sometimes there’s a scene or a setting that just feels plain old stupid.

Sometimes something somebody said sticks in your mind. A negative review. The lackluster sales. The bill collector asking about an overdue bill.

Sometimes you wonder what you’re thinking doing writing acting feigning posing.

Somedays you slog through sucking and stinking and then you stare at the prose and know it reeks.

Sometimes you want to stop and take a break or at least slow down.

Sometimes the story seems simply lame. Just like you.

The difference here is that this—all of THIS wonderfully spiralling nonsense —does not stop you.

You are stubborn.

You are thick-headed.

You are strong-willed.

You can suck it up and bite down and keep the words coming.

You know that this is just a second, a moment, a phase of a bad day, an echo of a bad song gone astray. You know that tomorrow will be something better and newer and far more exciting.

Tomorrow you might write the best batch of your entire freaking life.

So you keep on. Midstream and midstory.

THIS is what separates you from so many.

Some have raw, oozing, awesome talent.

But you, dear sad sap of a soul, you have strength of spirit.

You have determination.

You keep going until you see the finish line.

Bad days and all.

2 Comments

  1. Don't read your reviews–good or bad. I think what separates real writers from wanna-be writers is that real writers keep writing through the suck.

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