Nine months. That’s how long I’ve been working on one chapter. Granted, that one chapter has turned into four chapters now, but still… NINE MONTHS! I now have half a chapter left and that section will be done. HALF A FREAKING CHAPTER!!! Why is it so hard!
And it has been hard. I’ve gotten myself so worked up and stressed out about this section of my novel that I’ve made it nearly impossible for myself to work on it. Why am I stressed about it? It has all the elements I’m bad at–mystery, suspense, and action. Especially action. Action sequences are so dang hard for me because I struggle with blocking (telling readers what things/characters are where and how they relate to other things/characters). People don’t like to do what they feel bad at.
But for all the struggling and anxiety, these chapters are turning out very interesting. They’ve really developed my story and added depth and intrigue that wasn’t there initially. So, has it been work nine months? I hope so.
So, this is my post getting me psyched up to attempt the last portion of this very difficult pursuit. I will finish it. Then I will bury it under all the other words this story has to offer. It will be good and buried. And hopefully, it will be a treasure my readers can discover and enjoy.
Somehow, it’s worth it–this very strange torture we writers put ourselves through.
Amy Henrie Gillett 