It is that annoying midpoint time again and we all know what that can mean for a writer. If you're like me, you start off strong, going at your chapters and cutting them down in lightning speeds. I'm talking, a chapter a day almost! But, you start to lose steam. You lose your interest in the characters and their small-time problems, situations and thoughts. They bore you. And you're no longer playing in a fantasy world but now living someone else's life. A life that has consequences. You can't just walk into a bar and pickup a stranger because there are consequences. You can't spend a day at the beach because 1. there is no beach near this city and 2. your character would get fired from work. Work is boring and it's always the same people out at the bars. You don't want to bump up your character numbers and you have to finish one story arc before you hit the next one.
We dread the midpoint of writing novels. And so, here I sit, fellow writers and readers, stumped on what to do next. Pep Talks have been flying into my inbox--pushing, motivating and bragging. I don't find them encouraging at this point. I just want an answer! Where do I go from here? Or, more importantly, how do I push myself to the next step? I know my characters. I know what they want and what they are supposed to do next. But it's like I'm treading water.
I may just need to throw in a giant elephant into the story. Just throw it in there and cause a commotion. Make a big splash in the waves and shake up the story so it doesn't sound so boring and real life. Who wants to read about real life?!
I'm at 32k+ words. Working my way through chapter 6. Over 50 pages. And I've just added a piviotal character last chapter. And one of my main characters has had very little physical presence on my pages yet (because her big scenes are later in the book). Cue the aggrivated sigh of frustration.
I think I may work on something else. Can I do that? Can I step away for another day? I'm well ahead and while nothing is really inhibiting my muses, I feel compelled to dance in another world. I have been trying to find inspiration through other stories, other writers, music, TV and movies. But I think I need a breath of fresh air right now. Jump into it tonight or tomorrow.
Here's my progress so far:
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