Work on editing chapter seven began yesterday. For the first time since I starting writing it hasn’t required open-heart surgery to fix or demanded any major revisions. Chapter seven is smack dab in the middle of the book and early on it was my favorite part, the one I looked most forward to writing. It was the non-fiction book writer’s equivalent of a candy bar scene ( search for candy bar scene at http://hollylisle.com ).
Yet, for a while, it seemed like every time I came back to this part in the book something went horribly wrong… like “the relatability of this to prominent theories is too perplexing,” or “This picture has to explain the concept better,” or “The plumbing needs fixing.”
Anyone, author or not, can attest to the stress of middles. Invariably, everyone will come to a moment in some endeavor when they realize that the light at the end of the tunnel they see is really an oncoming train. So what do you do?
Flee in the other direction or try to jump on it? Nope, you’ve come too far to consider retreat or it may not even be an option. The possibility of having one’s remains plastered all over it doesn’t sound that appealing either.
Duck and cover? Sorry, that train will run over you like [ insert metaphor… a steamroller, the Amazon River, a train ].
March headlong towards it and see who wins? That sounds like the only viable option. Best of luck to you!