Getting Over the Hump and Rolling Down the Hill

Just how does one get to the to the top of the hump?

Writing a novel for me has always been like climbing up a huge-ass hill. You look up at the monstrous mound looming before  you and are overwhelmed by the mixture of apprehension and excitement swishing around in your stomach. After taking a deep breath and placing your foot on the first little green tuft of grass, you’re overcome with a rush of enthusiasm. You want to work diligently and consistently–if not more consistently than the rigorous work schedule you had established before setting out to work on your project. But as you get closer to the top, something happens. You begin to get tired. Eventually you get to the point where you’re almost to the very top and your feet are dragging. You sit down to rest for a little while—just a little while—and probably never get back up again.

That is currently where I’m stuck with my first novel. I’m guessing this thing is going to have around thirty chapters in it, and I’m stuck a little past chapter fifteen. I’m in the dead center, only a few chapters away from rush of action preceding the climax, and I absolutely cannot push myself forward into the top of the rising action. I’m sure that once I get “out of the woods” the narrative will flow like water.

That’s an inside joke that only I will get, you see. My characters are currently about to enter a swamp.

Yeah, I know. I left reality long ago.

So how do you get out of that situation once you find yourself stuck? Well, there are an infinite number of ways.

Me, I just push on through. Open up your notebook and keep on writing. It’ll happen. It always will. I forgot who said it, but I once heard a writer say that sometimes the writing itself creates the mood. All you need to do is start and continue once you do. If you said that, let me know and I’ll change the post to say it was  you, but right now I’m just going to call you, “Writer guy.”

If you don’t want to  begin writing your story when you’re not in the mood for fear that you’ll sacrifice quality, then begin to write to put  yourself into the mood by warming up with a few stream of consciousness exercises or random prompts. Put two of your favorite characters into a random situation and write through it. It isn’t even going into the novel, and perhaps doesn’t even take place in the same universe. No pressure. Just writing.

You never know whether or not you’re going to end up with something you actually like or not.