Writing is straight up hard.

I am currently in the middle of my story which I’m only half convinced I am actually there though. How does one know? It feels like I am. My introduction to the world and characters is over. My characters have goals that they are working towards achieving, so I guess its the middle. And it is not easy. From my research into writing from various books, YouTube videos and podcasts, the middle is a challenge for many writers. And, I can see why.

I have practiced my intro a thousand or more times in my head. That’s easy to do. Many of my daydreams will start out at, well, the start. Like most people no doubt. My imaginings are often a series of beginnings and climaxes on repeat. Cue the cool training montage, fight the epic battle with evil boss. And... new daydream. Let’s do it again, brain. Now I'm in uncharted territory within the realms of my mind.

It’s at this point that I have a huge backlog of things I need fixing too, which is so great to think about. Just so great. And huge is accurate. I literally couldn’t tell you how many sentences I hit the full stop on and think ‘yeah that rhymes with trap.’ But one of the main things that has gotten me so far is the unrelenting need to forge on, lest I lose momentum and get bogged down in revisions. Another trap that many authors have stated to be wary of.

Yet, I have found tools from others that I think are useful. Number one being; If I find it boring, then make it interesting. Anyone hearing that, writer or not, would likely smack their foreheads in frustration. How could such a simple idea be only just getting through a so called ‘writer's’ head? Trust me, if you have never tried to write an extended piece, its amazing how easy it is to just continue with the flow of the path and forget to look for the rabbit hole that has all the exciting ideas. Keeping this idea in mind though makes writing a lot easier. The next challenge is having the presence of mind to remember to do that when you’re brain dead from looking at a screen for hours on end.

Like I’ve said, writing is hard. But I want to be published, so I will be. Just have to keep going, my mantra at the moment.

Thanks for reading.

Matthew D Masters.