Write Through It

It’s almost that time of year. The time when the air starts to cool off just a bit in the evenings (at least here in the south), the traffic increases in the mornings and afternoons every Monday through Friday, and each Friday night finds most of the school gathered down at the football field, rooting on their team for better or worse. As we sit on the hard metal bleachers, catching our preschoolers as they run up and down in circles with no fear of falling, the excitement grows as the cheerleaders stand on the field, a large paper banner between them encouraging the players to win. The announcer welcomes everyone and the team rushes through the paper, ripping it wide open.

What does this have to do with writing? This is what I want to happen while I’m doing it? What do I mean? I’m not talking about the people gathering, or even the excitement. I’m talking about pushing through that barrier and moving on to a win.

I don’t really have trouble with writer’s block most of the time, but I get more excited about certain chapters than others. Let’s face it. Writing a first kiss or a climax or even an argument is much more riveting than writing the chapter before, when they’re learning and growing, but maybe not facing anything so explosive. And I have to force myself to get through the slower chapters, which are still just as necessary, so I can reach the parts I am really excited about.

I am like those football players, standing in my gear, ready to go out and win the game. But to be able to do that, first I must push through the paper barrier ahead of me.

I also remind myself that I get the reward of writing the “fun” stuff after I write this other chapter. Because I am all about rewarding myself in order to get through something that isn’t always as enjoyable.

How about you? How do you get through the parts that aren’t as much fun, but are still necessary? Do you have a different trick I haven’t mentioned?

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Amy R Anguish, author of An Unexpected Legacy, grew up a preacher’s kid, and in spite of having lived in seven different states that are all south of the Mason Dixon line, she is not a football fan. Currently, she resides in Tennessee with her husband, daughter, and son, and usually a bossy cat or two. Amy has an English degree from Freed-Hardeman University that she intends to use to glorify God, and she wants her stories to show that while Christians face real struggles, it can still work out for good.

Check out her new book, Faith & Hope, available now.

Follow her at http://abitofanguish.weebly.com or http://www.facebook.com/amyanguishauthor