This is from a letter I wrote my creative writing students, an attempt at inspiration. The middle of the semester is often a tough time to write, moving away from the initial burst of enthusiasm but still far from the deadline. I feel like there’s a glut of writing advice out there, so I don’t want to contribute too much to the pile. But if you (the reader) want more of that here, let me know with a reply.
Sometimes when you’re working on a large writing project like a novel, things get tough in the middle. Both the middle of the manuscript, but also the middle of the writing itself. Enthusiasm can come in waves, and when you’re not riding the crest of one, you can feel at a bit of a loss.
Every novel I’ve written, there’s been a point of doubt, if not a crisis in confidence. Is this turning out like I wanted? Is the idea really any good after all? (I’m speaking only of my own experiences.)
To be honest, I have given up on a couple of projects over the years. Both had a scope that was beyond the normal 300-page books that I write. I got bogged down, or tried for too much, or got a hundred pages in before realizing I really didn’t know the story as well as I thought.
If you find yourself facing doubt, here are a couple of strategies that have worked for me. (These are not guaranteed fixes, but tend to lessen the problem).
First, just do a little every day. Novels are like laying brick, one writer said: they benefit from slow, continuous, and gradual work rather than bursts of inspiration (though those are nice, too). If you can give yourself an hour every day to nothing except write, even if you don’t get much done, slowly you’ll work through your blocks. Allow yourself to get bored, and the writing will become all the more fascinating.
Two, keep reading. Thrill Me by Benjamin Percy and This Year You Write Your Novel by Walter Mosley are fun craft books. The Janet Burroway book has a lot of great examples in it, too. For a tougher but also rewarding read, How Fiction Works by James Wood is good.
But also read novels, or short stories— stories can be great inspiration because you’re reading that many more beginnings, middles, and ends. You’re seeing in rapid succession the mechanics of storytelling.
Three, skip a problem area. If you’re stuck on a passage that requires research which you haven’t done, simply skip it! Add a [insert description of 18th century asylum here] and move on to a part where you have surer footing. A rough draft maps the contours of the story; if a few points are still unclear or need to be filled in, that’s fine.
And four, feel free to revise or reassess your project. Maybe it’s a novella, or a group of linked stories, or something else entirely. I wrote a novel once that was unpublishable, but then had an idea for a coda involving two of the characters. That scene became a short story, which became my first published credit. (An entire novel written for one publishable short story is not an inspiring ratio…but that’s how it goes sometimes.)
Anyway, don’t fret, do what you can, and get in touch if anything’s confusing or causing you doubt.
I hope this is of some use, or at least not a drag to read.
If you pre-order A Lonesome Place for Dying now, you’ll not only help my buddy Nolan Chase out, but you’ll give yourself a nice little mid-spring present. What could be better? The book has been getting some great ‘buzz’ in the film and tv world, from what I hear from our agent. (We have the same agent, yes.)
About skipping the part that doesn't "sing"... I'd say, write the scene that you want to write, even if it's the very end of the book, or a new chapter one you stick in front of everything that's already there. These things will find a way to rearrange themselves.