Writing, for me, involves a few stages. From getting an idea and molding it into a plot, to actually writing the story on a notebook or two, then typing it, reading the draft and editing it, having a reader or two give me feedback, doing another round of edits, all the while letting a few weeks or months go in between the checks…Then come the formatting for both e-book and paperback editions, as well as figuring out the cover situation. And last but not least, it’s preparing and scheduling the website content and the social media posts. So, there’s a lot involved, and it doesn’t even include marketing or promotion beyond the occasional Instagram and Facebook post.
While there’s plenty to distract me, throughout the whole process, when it comes to the actual writing, there are also a few challenges, no matter how organized I may be.
Even if the plot is mapped out and I’ve got a clear structure and a chapter-by-chapter breakdown, even though there’s a clear idea in my mind of what I want to write, there’s nothing to stop new brain farts from popping into my head. So, I need to shove them away and wait and see if they’ll come back and I’ll need to scribble them, or if they’ll just disappear.
Sometimes, when I know I’ve rushed through a chapter because I was more interested in writing the following one, I have to fight back the urge to edit it immediately, even if it means doing so in the notebook or typing that specific part and working on it. This doesn’t last long—it would change my MO too much and I wouldn’t be able to continue with my writing flow.
Added to that, there’s a general impatience that builds up, usually when I’m about three quarters in, to finish the story. And coupled with my somewhat limited writing time, this impatience only grows with every passing day. The only way of dealing with it is to push forward and write.
Sometimes the final chapters may need a lot more work than the opening ones, and it’s a reflection of my state of mind when writing them.
Last but not least for the struggles mentioned today, is typing. I enjoy doing it—I like to type, I get to play music, I can catch typos or make brief edits as I go…but it’s also time consuming and, when the weather is especially nice, I just prefer being outdoors, so there’s a productivity dip when compared to, say, winter.
So, these are a few of the struggles I have to deal with when I’m writing. Do you have any that you’ve learned to manage or that burden or annoy you?
