A few years ago, I had a conversation with someone who said he’d tried to write a number of stories, but could never seem to get past chapter eight. I was familiar with the feeling, and maybe you are, too. It’s easy to blaze through the start of your story, fueled by all the excitement of a bright new idea, banking on momentum until… that momentum inevitably runs out. Today, I want to talk about how to get past that initial loss of momentum to keep going and complete that exciting new project you’ve started.
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What is the “Chapter 8 Slump”?
For the purposes of this post, I’m discussing that first big case of “writer’s block” after you’ve started a new story. For some reason, it seems that has a tendency to hit around the chapter-eight mark, or after 10-20k words. In my own personal experience, it’s also more prevalent when “pantsing” a story vs. working on a story that has already been plotted out ahead of time, but that could just be a personal issue; if this “chapter 8 slump” is a problem you’ve faced, I’d love to hear in the comments whether you’re usually a “pantser” or a “plotter”!
Tip #1: Expect the Slump
Here’s the thing: Every new story idea loses its luster and causes the author’s momentum to falter. As Rick Riordan put it,
“Writing a book is always hard work. It’s much easier to think of new ideas. You’ll get to the middle of the manuscript and you’ll think, ‘Oh, this is too hard. I’ll start another book instead and that will be easier.’ DON’T! That new book won’t be any easier.”
Part of having a strong defense against the chapter 8 slump is to expect it and prepare for it ahead of time. One way to do this Continue reading “Getting Past the Chapter 8 Slump”