Sometimes You're Up, Sometimes You're Down

On plenty of days

the writer can write three or four pages

and on plenty of other days

he concludes he must throw them away.

~ Annie Dillard

Writing is a psychotic rollercoaster ride. One minute you're pretty sure you've penned the most brilliant piece of work since War and Peace. The next, you seriously doubt you could sell the thing as birdcage liner.

Currently I'm in the not-fit-for-bird-poop frame of mine in reference to my half-finished manuscript, BUT (and I've always got a big but), I'll press on. How? Great question. Let's dissect it.

Top 3 Ways To Slog Through The Middle-of-the-WIP Doldrums

1. Duct tape up the mouth of that negating inner voice.

Be ready to gag the piehole of that next negative thought telling you your writing stinks. Get proactive and Google right now some affirmative thoughts. My favorite source is the Bible. An example is Psalm 118:8..."It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man." To make it even more personal, I substitute 'my writing' for man:

"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in my writing."

2. Set a daily word goal--and stick to it by nabbing an accountability partner.

Even something as small as 200 words a day will keep you moving forward, and most often you'll surprise yourself by writing more. Having a buddy check up on you puts the pressure on. The scarier the buddy, the better. Just think what an ex-Delta force special ops accountability partner could do for your consistency.

3. Add in a quirky new character or ramp up the tension with a plot twist.

Sometimes the reason you're in the doldrums is that you're bored. And if the author is bored, what do you think the reader will be?

That's it. Just 3 simple steps. My plan? I've lined up a buddy to put my feet to the fire for the month of May. My daily word goal during that month will be 500. And I'm working out a new plot twist even as I type.

How about you? Remember...if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.