The Mid Novel ARGGGHH!

Last book I finished reading: Whispers Underground, by Ben Aaronovitch. Highly enjoyable, though am now left slightly worried because I got all the geeky references…

Book I’m still reading: The Three Musketeers – why does it seem to take longer to read a book on my Kobo? Hmmm.

Words written this week: 7000

Times I thought ‘Holy hell, how much does this WIP suck?’ Too many to mention. Because I have reached the dreaded Mid Novel. The point where I, without fail, say to myself ‘Why the hell did you ever think you could plot/write decent dialogue/create characters?’

I’m not alone in thinking like this. It’s a sort of function of the mid-novel for me, and for other writers too

There is a graph somewhere on the net about the stages a writer goes through as they write a novel. I’ll link to it if I can remember where it is, but it goes something like this:

OMG best idea ever! I’m going to get a best-seller out of this and no mistake. Cake for everyone! *throw confetti*

Okay, could still be good

This sucks

This makes *insert worst book you’ve ever read here* look good

I want to die

Please let me stab my own eyeballs out

Okay maybe this doesn’t suck quite as bad as I thought (about 80k for me)

I think I can make this work!

At least it won’t be *insert worst book you’ve ever read here*.

Okay, it doesn’t suck donkey balls. Much.

You know what, I think I may be able to salvage this…

Done, now where’s that damn tequila?

I’m writing my ninth novel now. I’m at 30k words, and wondering whether I’ve forgotten how to plot, or whether I should just spork my own eyes out now. You’d think I’d be used to it, but I still despair of it ever working. ‘Ack! It’s awful!’ I wail. ‘It’ll never work/be crap’ ‘You say that every time,’ says Other Half. Usually while rolling his eyes. ‘But this time I mean it!’ ‘You say that every time too.’

And, while I am loathe to admit it, he’s right. But I think a case of the Acks! is actually a good thing – if I think it’s crap I work hard to try to make it less crap. If I thought it was good, I’d not work as hard. And then it probably would be crap.