A hump

There is a point when you are writing something as long as a novel when the new-ness of the enterprise has worn off and the enormity of it all settles it. Consider that no matter how long it takes to read a book, it takes much longer to write it. And even with exciting book, there are peaks and valleys. You can't maintain the same level of excitment throughout the reading. And maintaining same level of excitment throughout the writing is also virtually impossible. Or at least it seems that way to me.

I started my second novel roughly six weeks ago. I still enjoy meeting the characters and discovering them and what motivates them. And I am still surprised with the things that are developing.

But I am at a stage where it seems like no matter how much I write, I don't feel like I am getting closer to the end. The story is coming along nicely and I write and write and write but it seems like it will take forever to complete.

Now is the time when, as a writer, I have to buckle down and just pound it out. That seems simple but that is the only plan I have. So I will just keep pounding it out. And hopefully one day I will wake up and see that I have 75,000 words done and will be within a week of finishing.

Then, I suspect, I will hit a snag like I hit when I neared the end of my first novel, "Fighting Chaos." When I got to the point where I was nearly done, I froze. The unfinished work had been a part of me for so long that I didn't know what I'd do when it was no longer unfinished.

I stopped writing for several days then had a big burst of writing energy and plunged forward.

I'm looking forward to that again. But for now, I just have to pound it out.

So that's it for now. Thanks for reading and don't give up on writing.