The hills and valleys of writing.

Every writer develops their own pattern when writing, and we hit highs and lows in every manuscript we write.

I love the beginning of every book I write, riveted by the possibilities and the exciting road ahead. I never know the little details of each chapter until I imagine myself in the character’s shoes, surrounded by the stresses and blessings of their life, and their relationship with the people around them.

Those are the exciting parts, because even I don’t know what’s going to happen until I’m in the scene.

The middle of the book begins the ascent toward the climax, which is filled with suspense and high emotions for the characters.

But it never fails, when I reach 3 quarters of the way through the book, I want to delete the entire thing.

The 3 quarter mark is when I start to question the plot, whether I should’ve taken it in a different direction, were those scenes really necessary, does it even make sense?

My husband knows exactly where I’m at in the writing process because he’ll ask me how it’s going, and I’ll say, “I hate this book!”

I’m a hole-poker by nature, which means when I read a book, the inconsistencies and illogical situations and actions of characters pop out at me. When I hit my “I hate this book” point, I start poking holes and working through all the possibilities.

When I finally finish the book, I’m only just beginning. I go through it several more times, decide it’s a complete flop, and toss it aside for a while. It all works out in the end, but the process is always the same.

Do you ever find yourself hating and loving your manuscript at the same time? When do you hit that point of disliking your book and feeling like it’s a lost cause? Or do you?