Back In The Seat

[Daniel Hatadi]

I started a novel in October 2006 that was a mix of crime and horror with a large portion of the story set in 1920s Sydney. I worked on it solidly for two years and reached the climactic scene and then spent about four and a half years writing ten pages.

Last night, I wrote a thousand words. The first draft should be finished soon.

Sometimes it takes a while to finish things I start, but I always get there in the end.

Sheesh.

[Daniel Hatadi]

It's interesting how quickly I came up to speed on the novel, and I also solved a few major problems easily. I guess a large amount of perspective can be good ... although maybe it was too much this time!

[Linton Robinson]

I've had very similar experiences with several projects.  In the past two years I've sold or published stuff that had been sitting for over ten years.

It gets kind of mystical trying to explain or rationalize or accept these stalls, but I have developed a kind of faith that they are useful or even inevitable, that whatever deep engines drive creativity, they know when you're not quite ready for something and need some time to grow or develop or whatever in order to do the job right.

[Pepper Smith]

Ugh. I hate those long lag times. Not fun.