Today’s weekly posting is writer-focused, so if you’re confused, don’t worry; we are all.
I’ve been whittling away at my WIP for about 7 months now (I think?) and while I’ve consistently made progress on it, I started to hit snags of doubt and concern.
-Why are the characters starting to feel stilted and unrealistic?
-Why do I keep stopping short of finishing a chapter?
–Why does this feel like it’s moving too fast?
These are all valid questions and should be looked over. I’m what the writing community calls a “plotter”. My best work comes from having laid out the story is a format, most likely an outline, that I can go back to and see what’s coming up.
Occasionally, I’ll come across something in the outline and realize that a section would be better in a different chapter, so I’ll shuffle things around while they’re still ahead of me.
But then I’ll realize that I’m spending more time on the outline than the story, and I’ve added notes to previous chapters.
What’s going on here?
I’ve hit the point that is in every story and the one that will, most often, tempt me to leave the WIP:
The BFM.
What is the BFM? When I first learned the acronym, it meant “Big Fuzzy Middle”. I started learning the Writing Craft when I was very young, obviously. Now it’s the Big Fucking Middle, and it’s absolutely terrifying.
I’ve lined up all of the plot points for the story, and I’ve lined up how they’ll all collide, and then fallout afterward. But there’s that one section of a story where it’s just before these points collide, and my confidence wavers.
So what did I do? I retreated, told myself I should go back to those previous chapters and put in the notes I’ve come across or wrote up recently. I’ll add and add to the previous chapters without ever meeting that BFM.
Because that’s where the imposter syndrome lurks and where I worry if the story will be good enough.
How do I combat this? I could, of course, just dive into the BFM, write out everything I have in a frantic hurry, and run for the finish line. That’d get the WIP done, sure. But it’d make a self-fulfilling prophecy and ensure the story’s own demise.
So…what to do?
From one unpublished writer to the others that wander onto my site: have faith.
Now, before you roll your eyes, understand that my own are already delivering the snark to my own advice. It’s annoyingly trite, especially when you’re stepping into the BFM and marinating in the imposter syndrome, but it’s also true.
I’m having to tell myself this, so I might as well tell y’all, too: if you’ve made it this far into the novel, you should finish it. Yes, there’re things you need to go back to and write in, but that won’t make the BFM any smaller. Take the chapters to a beta reader and get their take on it. If you know one, take it to an editor. You don’t need to tackle all of these things on your own.
Stay with your story and keep going. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. You’ll get to the finish line eventually.
Stay safe out there, readers.
-JB Swift
Swift's Corner 