You ever get like this?

I got like that.

What do you do about it?

Become ANGRY.
Stephen Parrish | Homepage | 11.05.09 - 9:39 am | #

You ever get like this?

Yup.

It's only the first draft that feels like this. Just get it done; you'll rediscover your love for the story when you read over what you've done and realize how good it is.
jjdebenedictis | Homepage | 11.05.09 - 10:58 am | #

Yeah. What they said. ^
realm | Homepage | 11.05.09 - 11:54 am | #

I'm deep in the muck myself right now. Among other things, my crit partners recently pointed out the sagging middle of my WIP. Those darn crit partners!
So, I got to work, rereading the whole thing/revising/etc. This is unpleasant because it does need to be done in one fell swoop, when you can sort-of hold the whole story in your mind, and it takes a lot of grinding work. So, my advice is if this is the kind of thing you are working on: keep at it. You'll get through it eventually. Maybe make smaller goals and reward yourself for reaching them, e.g. 'if I get through these next 20 pages, I can take a walk'.

If you can take a break from revising, I definitely recommend writing a fresh story or scene from later in the book.
Good luck!
Lesley | 11.05.09 - 3:08 pm | #