Writing a Novel is a lot like walking a tight rope. Only when you get to the end, does the net go up.

You start off confident, feet planted and plan plotted clearly on the path to success. A couple of steps in and you’re even thinking, “I can so do this.”

“Don’t look down,” the seasoned vets tell you. “Keep going, no matter what, all the way to the end. Don’t tell us you can do it, show us.”

The voices in your head lead the way and things really start to pick up when you realize they were actually in charge all along.

When all of a sudden, there’s a saggy middle.

You look up, hoping for a lifeline. It’s getting wobbly up here and you’re not sure you’re going to make it.

Left with no choice but to push forward, you put one foot in front of the other and trust your training to do the rest.

Foot after foot is creeping that line and you allow yourself only a brief moment to imagine the safety of the end, a path well walked and worthy of sharing.

As sweat chills your brow and you let your stiff shoulders soften, you look down. The necessary tension to get across rivaled only by perfect pacing has led you here.

A smile slinks across your face and those voices give a nod of approval, as they’ve reached a satisfying ending with you.

“You did it!” You say to yourself. “Hard part is over. Now let’s throw up that net and make this good.”

What’s Your Process?

Every single time I think about writing I think about the tightrope. Is writing scary? Sure, it is! There are a lot of reasons writing is so freaktastic. It’s full of personal thoughts and when you put it out there for the world to judge, it’s essentially an invitation for others to critique it and dare I say, maybe not even like it.

That’s not what frightens me about writing a novel. The terror is a showdown between me and the keyboard. It’s downright intimidating to me when you think about how many elements go into writing a novel, and how many more when you’re really trying to do it right. I’ve studied dozens and I mean dozens of books on writing and I’m still learning stuff even when I figured I’ve been over it ALL. I feel lucky that I love to study writing as much as I actually love the writing itself, but writing the first draft is that tightrope for me.

When I start a novel, I’m gearing up to basically be scared stiff until I get to the end. There’s just something about the self-doubt and the worry, always wondering if everything will land the way it needs to or even if it will get finished. Every day at the keys feels like a marathon of stress and anxiety. Sure, if I fail, I’m not going to plummet to my death, but my dream might, so I absolutely have to do this.

So I put my head down and do the work. And then something happens. I finish it and an extreme weight comes off my shoulders. Even if it’s crap, I can fix it! I have something to fix! And the best part of all, the fixing when the net goes up is my absolute favorite part. Metaphors come out where they belong, I spend more time with my characters and sometimes they get me to add quirks about them that I find interesting, and this is the part I throw my headphones on and truly just watch the magic unfold. I’ve even compared this to an out of body experience. At this point, sometimes I feel like I’m not even writing it anymore. The story has taken over itself and I just need to make sure I key it in right. This is no longer my burden, but an accomplishment to tweak and twist until it’s ready for the show.

I’d love to hear from all you other writers out there, those just getting started and the seasoned vets. What’s the scariest part? Writing the first draft? Writing that pesky blurb? Or hitting “publish?”