Q: I'm done! Too exhausted to type more. What now?
A: Congratulations!
I'm so impressed with how you kept your head down and your spirits high throughout the writing of the first draft of your story. You did it in two months. You are amazing!
You're on a high. The best way to protect yourself from a letdown is to know that what goes up must come down and take care of yourself. Sleep, eat well, take long walks -- preferably to all the locations in your story: the cemetery, the martial arts studio, the school, the church. Wander and sleep and straighten up your writing area, purge and organize notes but whatever you do DO NOT READ your manuscript for at least a week to 10 days.
I apologize for the caps but I cannot stress the importance of this element enough. You need a bit of distance and objectivity before reading your story.
DO NOT READ your manuscript for at least a week to 10 days.
Oops, there I go again. Just wanting to make sure you understand the importance.
DO NOT READ your manuscript for at least a week to 10 days.
Okay, enough is enough.
Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Feel the accomplishment in the depth of your being. You did it!! You wrote a novel from the beginning to the end. You did that. Feel it. Wallow in the good feelings. Be here now.
In a week, you begin the shift from writing the first draft to preparing for the next one.
For now, you are on safely ensconced on the threshold between two worlds. Revel in the splendor of yourself!!!!
We make up stories in our minds about events in our lives. Are the stories real? Only real to us and only as far as our perception is capable of seeing at the time. The stories we tell ourselves to make sense of the world around us have a direct impact on how we react to new events in our lives.
That is the only explanation I have for why one writer is slain by the antagonists that pop up in the middle of her writing journey. While, another writer faced with the exact same problems is able to effortlessly make her way forward.
Or, perhaps, the answer lies in the understanding one has of the task itself.
The writer who is slain may have heard rumors about the meddlesome, messy, sagging middle but when confronted with the reality of writing her way through the middle, takes the challenge personally, surrenders all her power and gives up (either for the day or for months or even years).
Another writer has researched not only the setting and authentic details needed for her story but also the craft of writing itself enough to understand that the antagonists that arise in the middle are not to be feared or felled by but part of the process itself.
I'm not explaining myself well here and the reason could be because this more informed writer is an anomaly to me. She has only been writing for two years and is well beyond the halfway point to creating a compelling novel. Though slowed down by the antagonists in the middle, rather than create resistance by judging herself as the problem and throwing herself against the wall or curling up in a ball for years before seeking help, she reaches out almost immediately and is now off and flying again.
Replace the story you tell yourself about writing the middle of your novel, memoir, screenplay from one of threat and opposition to a story of strength and determination. Antagonists are self-created and have power over you only so long as you give away your own personal power first.
Q: I'm done! Too exhausted to type more. What now?
This post speeks to me! I sat in that saggy middle for a year. I have fought my way out and am close to finishing my first novel. Thank you for this. It is so comforting to know I am not alone in the struggle to write.
Oh, how your words inspire. I'm ready to grab hold of the wings of some dragonflies today. Thank you!