Soggy middles
I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to listen to best selling Kate Mosse talking at a Society of Women Writers and Journalists' meeting a few years ago. It was fascinating listening to this best selling author talk about her writing process and its struggles.
One of the things that stuck in my mind was the idea of 'soggy middles', how every writer gets bogged down in the middle of the book, beset by self-doubt. We think we're writing rubbish, and wonder if it's worth continuing.
So how do we combat that? I've found that I suffer less from soggy middle syndrome since I've started to plan my books out before I start writing. So if you've not been a planner up to now, giving it a try could help.
But the biggest help is to just keep writing. Push on through the middle to the end and see what you've got. You can't improve a text until you've finished it.
Having large dollops of self-doubt goes with the author's territory. We have to believe in ourselves and our story to get the job of writing done. We have to push on to the end regardless.
I always find when I go back to read my text the middle isn't so soggy after all. So take heart from the knowledge that these doubts beset every writer, and hang on in there.
One of the things that stuck in my mind was the idea of 'soggy middles', how every writer gets bogged down in the middle of the book, beset by self-doubt. We think we're writing rubbish, and wonder if it's worth continuing.
So how do we combat that? I've found that I suffer less from soggy middle syndrome since I've started to plan my books out before I start writing. So if you've not been a planner up to now, giving it a try could help.
But the biggest help is to just keep writing. Push on through the middle to the end and see what you've got. You can't improve a text until you've finished it.
Having large dollops of self-doubt goes with the author's territory. We have to believe in ourselves and our story to get the job of writing done. We have to push on to the end regardless.
I always find when I go back to read my text the middle isn't so soggy after all. So take heart from the knowledge that these doubts beset every writer, and hang on in there.
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