Keep on

I’ll admit, I loved the first day of school as a kid. All those new school supplies, a new classroom, new teacher, new things to learn. For the first couple of days, it was all pretty exciting.

And then the first week turned into the second and third week. Homework was assigned. Classes fell into a routine. The newness wore off. When the real work started, I struggled.

It can be the same with writing. At first, the idea is so exciting. New characters! A new plot! So many possibilities ahead!

But after the initial rush wears off and those first few chapters are written, the real work begins. Writing the middle chapters can feel like slogging through mud. The characters cause problems and the plot sags. The words won’t come, or they do come but they’re clearly terrible.

Honestly? I’m tempted to quit at that point every time and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one. If, like me, you wonder how you can keep going to the end, here’s some encouragement.

First, remember that what you’re writing isn’t permanent. It can always be changed so don’t put too much pressure on yourself to make it perfect in one try. The important part is to get it on the page and it can always be fixed later. That’s gotten me through a lot of rough chapters. I’ve even written notes about what I think a section needs instead of writing it, giving myself some space to come back to it later. Take some of the pressure off yourself and it might go easier.

Also, remember that all writers struggle with something. I completely expect that I’ll still be trudging through the middle of books even if I write 100. That’s just a hard part for me. Maybe for you, it’s the beginning. Maybe it’s character development, grammar, writing a synopsis. There will always be something hard. But God calls us to put our full effort into what we do (Colossians 3:23) and that includes writing. He will be faithful to help us through, no matter how hard it is.

It’s definitely not easy to put together thousands of words along with characters and plots to get to the end of a manuscript. But it is worth the effort. Breathing life into a story God planted in your heart is an incredible blessing. So, keep at it! Refresh yourself as needed and continue pushing through. I believe in you!

Abbey Downey never expected her love for writing to turn into a career, but she’s thankful for the chance to write inspirational romance as Mollie Campbell. A life-long Midwestern girl, Abbey lives in Central Indiana, where her family has roots back to the 1840s. She couldn’t be happier spending her days putting words on paper and hanging out with her husband, two kids, and a rather enthusiastic beagle.

You can check out Abbey’s books at www.abbeydowney.com