Chapter Thirty-One: Surviving the Suck

Somewhere in the writing process—generally toward the middle of a story—many writers encounter a phenomenon which is the opposite of flow. It’s a painful, drudging sensation where every single word feels like an effort and the story seems to drag forward only by the writer’s sheer force of will. Also called “the swampy middle” (due to it happening often toward the middle), I call this feeling The Suck—because it literally seems to just suck the life right out of my story (and me), and because, well, it sucks. It’s like walking through a tar pit while it tries to suck your shoes right off your feet and drag your whole body down with them.

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