Resistance is Futile, Persistance is Useful

So, I'll start with an admission: I haven't written anything on a novel in a few weeks.  The truth of the matter is that I have made excuses to myself and, in the process, slacked off a bit.  What I haven't done, though, is lose track of how far behind I am.  Hopefully, that will motivate me to catch up and get back into the swing of things.  Overall, my novel has hit the point where I am struggling to get to the giant climactic scene and at the same time I am not trying to rush to get there too too quickly, lest I find that I will have to somehow add a whole lot of subplots to get the word count up, since padding is most definitely a no-no.  As such, I've started to struggle with the question of what happens next, and, as a result, I find myself putting off the next page.

Sadly, writing friends, that is not how this little hobby/profession/whatever works.  I know a ton of people with ideas for novels.  I know several who say, "I think I'm going to write my novel someday."  And I know just a few who sit down and write it.  The truth, no matter how many times I hear published authors say it, is that the only way you get through it is by putting your butt in the chair and typing out words.  When you start writing, you will find that the inspiration hits you, and you have actively found it, rather than standing around, hoping to be hit by the magic plot fairy who gives you the next twist and turn in the tale.  Just the act of writing will often unleash a series of "what if" questions in your head, and you'll start to move right along with more and more words to follow.

What you must avoid is resistance to write.  There are a thousand other things to do: Happy hours to attend, chores that must be done, the latest episode of Lost to watch (which I just watched).  Ultimately, though, you can still do those things so long as you find time to write.  If you do these things instead of writing, you are pretty much only doing yourself a disservice.  Nobody is waiting on your book to arrive.  Very few people are sitting around waiting for your story to change their life and fewer are hoping that they can make money off of your work.  You have to make these things happen yourself, because nobody else has an incentive to care about your work.

It is somewhat hypocritical for me to say so, given my current sad sad state of affairs, but the reality is that the only thing that seems to separate an author that has several published novels from the one that would like to write a book or would like to get published is persistence.  Sure, there's luck in the draw once in a while.  The vast majority of times, though, it is just a lack of dedication.  Edit the story one more time.  Write a different story, using the first one as practice.  Finish the story.  Send your work to another agent.  Send it to another.  Persistence pays off.

One of my favorite sayings is the answer to a question.

Q: How do you eat an elephant?
A: One bite at a time.

The truth is, that is the same way you finish a novel.  One word at a time.  Every single task that seems insurmountable is generally accomplished through a series of smaller and smaller tasks.  When the overall seems impossible, break it down.  It can always reach a point of possibility.  For example, if finishing the novel is too daunting, try finishing the current chapter, or scene, or page, or paragraph, or sentence.  If that's too much for you, then perhaps just figure out what word you are going to write next.  Writing a first draft is a marathon, not a dance competition.  You can worry about the style points on a second draft, but for the first time through, your goal is simply to reach the finish line by putting one word in front of the other, and moving towards the ticker tape.

So, that said, I'm off to write on my own novel for a bit.