Don't Second Guess Your Story

This is an issue that I do believe every writer faces. It is that moment, when you are well into your book that you start having second thoughts about the project. I know that many of my clients face this same moment. Understand that you are not alone.

So, first rule when this happens. Don't panic! You don't have to throw the entire book out. At least not yet. Take a deep breath and just think.

Part of the reason this is happening is that you have been immersed in the writing. The odds are, your brain is getting tired and you need to be able to step back. One of my authors always faces this at two points in the writing process. The first is in the initial writing when she just gets past the half way point in the book and she sees the end, or at least knows the end is out there. The second happens when she is going through her revisions from her editor and, get this, she is closing in on the deadline. She will call and complain saying the book is "just garbage." At this point she also knows all of her readers will disappear and her publisher will fire her. These negative comments are simply not going to help her out at this stage.

As I said, her negative thoughts are coming from being too immersed in the writing. But there is also the issue of the pending deadline that seems to be moving faster than she can write or edit.

As her agent, this is where I step in to inject some positive thinking. We discuss all of the great things she has done so far. We talk about how these issues will work in the story, and even how it has worked for other authors. And yes, we even will throw the readers under the bus by saying that if there is someone who complains about this one little point, that person is not worth it. The rest of her readers like her writing.

Now, another reason this occurs stems from a lack of planning on your part. If you don't know where you are going, you will end up some place you don't want to be. AGAIN, this is the reason why I fully recommend planning out your book and not just sitting down and writing. If you don't see that future in your book, you will feel lost.

So the solution here is simple. Make a plan to get yourself through that phase of the writing. What needs to get done to work your character through just that scene or that predicament? For my author, she starts panicking the moment she thinks of all the changes her editor wanted. We have to talk her down off the ledge and focus on only one issue at a time. When we do this, all is fine.

Just understand, this is normal. You can get though it.