There was an article in this month’s Writing Magazine by Lynne Hackles which stated “Writing is supposed to be lonely. We are often told so.” Sorry, Lynne, but writing has been my passion for over 30 years and reading Writing Magazine (back in the days when it was in two separate magazines – Writing Magazine and Writers News) and attending annual residential writing conferences for almost as long, and I’ve never come across that statement before. Maybe I’ve just ignored it because I’ve never found it so. Solitary yes, but never lonely. There is an enormous difference.
In fairness to Lynne, her article goes on to say that she has never felt lonely as a fiction writer. “The characters in my short stories, and now novels, become real to me and keep me company by sharing their lives, their loves and their problems.” With that, I heartily agree.
In my last blog I mentioned that having had an operation on my foot, I was stuck at home for six weeks with my foot up on a stool, unable to do anything. As I pointed out, if it hadn’t been for my writing, I would have been not only bored to tears, but also extremely lonely. I am lucky to have a kind, caring husband who saw to my every need. Nonetheless, his was the only face I saw for the first four or five weeks apart from regular zoom meetings with other members of the family at the weekend. I’m not sure that really counts, as seeing someone on a screen is definitely not the same as talking face to face. It was my characters who kept me sane. I am not a plotter, and it was fun getting to know my characters as the book progressed. Over the course of the 43,000 words that I’ve now written, I’ve come to know them better than I know any of my acquaintances.
Lynne also wrote – “Writing shouldn’t be hard. It’s what I believe.” My answer to that, is – if only it were so! I have now reached what is popularly called the soggy middle. I’m halfway through the novel and am fast running out of plot. Finding the motivation to get going again every time I sit at the computer is decidedly hard work. It’s why the pace of my writing has slowed down considerably this last couple of weeks and my daily word count has dropped drastically. It takes so long to get into my writing flow that, just as I do, I have to break off to get a meal ready, prepare for a zoom meeting or go out. Perhaps that is a problem that only pantsers like me experience. Those who plot their novels at least know what comes next. I have tried to plot my novels before I start writing but it just doesn’t work for me.
A writer friend I meet regularly on zoom, mentioned that his life coach told him it was very easy to allow distractions to creep in when you are doing the same thing day after day. In both our cases, our regular business is writing, and I’ve noticed how easily I am distracted when things are not going well by things like emails popping up in my mailbox, looking to see how my daily sales figures are going and reading the news flashes that pop up on my browser when I’m researching a detail for my novel.
After 14 published novels, I go through this stage every time, so I have to keep telling myself to plod on and write my way to the end.
Is it just me, or are there other writers out there currently going through the mid book doldrums?
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