Struggling.  Really struggling here.  Writing scenes that involve a reporter and law enforcement sources and all this enormous conspiracy is not easy.  Nope.  Not one bit.

But, I have set the goal to write every day.  And to finish this novel.  So, I keep vomiting ridiculously terrible strings of uninterrupted dialogue and other pathetic-ness onto the page.  All the while asking myself, is this just a huge waste of time?  Oh, and whyyyyy?!

First, I whine to the dog, or the cat, or both of them.  The usual response…

Full of helpful tips, they are.

Sometimes, I go for a walk, or a bike ride, or something, in hopes of getting the blood flowing to my under-performing brain.  Unfortunately, no little house troll ever comes along to finish my scene while I’m gone.  In fact, I think one comes along to make the already terrible trash I’ve written even worse because I don’t remember it being that bad!

So, I move on to complain of my inability to write anything but complete garbage to my more helpful writing buddies, my sisters.  As usual, they have an answer for me.  And, as usual, it isn’t what I want to hear.  (Just kidding, for dramatic effect.)

Anyhow, my big Sis, being very wise, said the other day, “just keep writing.”  Just keep writing.  So simple.  And yet, sometimes, it’s agony.  Incredibly stupid, terrible, vomit-spewing, one-sentence-a-day, garbage agony.  But, just keep writing.  Somewhere in that dump is a gem, an idea, a thread that can be worked with to weave an epic scene.

Put on a hat so as to avoid pulling out hair, and just keep writing…