I'm not sure how common this is, but it seems like every time I hit around page two hundred or two-twenty I also hit this strange, surreal slump that seems to persist until I force myself to take a day or two break from my work.  I think part of it is seeing that speck of light peeking in from the end of the tunnel, and another likely factor is that small sense of burn-out that comes with working and perfecting one storyline for months straight, knowing just how much work the hundred or so remaining pages might be ... hoping that the last third of the story will live up to the first two.

All that a writer must do to lead up to a good climax and conclusion really can be draining ... physically, mentally, and sometimes even psychologically and spiritually.  It can be every bit as difficult as finding just the right text for that first empty page of Chapter One.  Endings are easy to rush, and a rushed ending is never any good.  I've taken more than one approach in working to solve this issue in my own writing.  Sometimes I find it easier simply to go with the impulse to rush through to the end, and then go back through it, a week or two later, with a red marker and a fresh approach.  When I have the energy, and the Muses are also feeling particularly helpful, I literally force myself to take my time.  If I'm tired, I force myself to take a break.  This is not always easy, but I'm getting better at it.

Although this is probably the longest I've ever worked on a rough draft (only averaging 2-5 pages a day) I am very happy with the progression of this story, so far.  I'm at 180 pages, and the pacing is coming along well.   I just cannot express enough how excited I am about this project; I can't wait to share more.  Oh, the joys of writing a well-organized and heavily inspired piece!

I am so glad I decided to take a chance and start this series.  I almost didn't, fearing my ideas for the project were possibly just a little too experimental to pull off.  One lesson I've learned in my many years of writing, however, is that sometimes one must simply take a chance here and there, come what may.  Those ideas turned into more than even I could have hoped for.  This one has been an amazing, enriching, and surprisingly deep adventure, and I thank the Muses for their continued generosity.

The Darkness and the Night series is very loosely based on the novel, The Nightcrawlers, which I co-wrote with my twin sister, back as a teenager.  Of course, when I say "loosely" I mean it in the most liberal sense; I've thrown in a few hidden treats for the handful of people who had a chance to read the long-lost manuscript, but the actual storyline has much evolved.

I hope to have some other material to post here as well, beyond the retyped essays.  Soon ... very soon....

Well, it has been an interesting week or so, to say the least.  I have probably only written twenty pages in about half as many days, which is always frustrating, but I can feel myself slowly coming out of the fog.  Writers' block happens to everyone, and I'm aware of the fact that I'm not immune to this torturous phenomenon, but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with each time it does come along.

I normally average five to ten pages a day.  On an exceptional day I can pump out twenty good pages, although that only happens once in a great while.  When the Muse is on strike, as I put it, I'm lucky to get one or two pages, and that is after hours upon painful hours of squeezing out each sentence, one laborious word at a time.

I'm a huge advocate for writing every day, no matter how heavy or hardly the inspiration comes.  Bad days produce little work, and that work is usually also in need of redrafting, but I've found that every little bit still eventually adds up.  I do also believe, however, that every writer needs to know when it is time to take a self-imposed day off, no matter how exciting the project; sometimes a step back and a day or two of reflection is all it takes to get that Muse singing again....

I'm sure this is common among writers.  There are days when all I can think about is writing, to the point of being useless on just about all other fronts.  I end up sitting in front of the computer until my wrists are sore and my eyes can't focus, literally writing until I cannot write another word.  Sometimes I'm lucky and end up amassing a huge amount of quality work in a short period of time, while others I find myself writing for so long that the last of it is garbled nonsense that I end up having to rewrite ... after at least a couple of days of self imposed rest.

It is tough to find a balance, given the uncertainty of writer's block contrasted against the intermittent (and blissful) surges of inspiration.  Sometimes I feel like I'm racing against an invisible clock, struggling to get as many stories "out" as possible before I die, certain that there just isn't enough time....

I believe in Muses.  I think I've been the willing slave to a few of them, actually....

Inspiration is like air for me: without enough of it, I know I will surely suffocate.  Sometimes it comes in heavy waves, however, and during those times I feel as though my mind has become a tea kettle, the ideas turned to steam, and something is going to blow if I don't do something about it.  One can only write so fast and go so long without food and rest, as unfortunate as that may be.  I've found that I have to perform, both regularly and well, if I want the Muses to keep returning.  I really can't complain, though: I am grateful for the Muses, even if they do sometimes get a bit demanding.

I'm grateful to be a writer.  I'm grateful for inspiration.  I went many years without writing, mainly due to depression and illness.  I hope I never know that ever again.

I'm not sure what percentage of novelists also consider themselves screenplay writers, or vice-versa, but I really have to consider myself both, as completely different as the two formats are.  While novels rely on narration and internal dialog with which to move forward a story, screenplays must rely solely on what can be perceived through a camera's eye.  Both present an equal number of challenges, especially when it comes to converting one format to the other, but both are also so wonderfully rewarding to write.

Speaking of format conversion: I recently took on the challenge of converting my most recent novel, The Darkness and the Night, into a screenplay, and I have a whole new level of respect for people who do that type of work for a living.  The hurdles that present can be more complicated than one might think: What to cut?  What to add?  How to stay true to the story, given the constraints in time and media?  I am happy with the draft, but I do have to say that I very nearly went insane in the week it took me to get it done.  I set out to convert The Last Great Minds of 2084 in the past, but set it down to start other projects ... I have no doubt in my mind that, after The Darkness and the Night, The Last Great Minds of 2084 will be a piece of cake....