QOTW: Novels are Hard.

In response to Ann's question: All of the above.

But to be more specific, of the choices given, I pick middle. The middle is hard because usually when you begin a novel you have an idea about the premise, which gives you a clue how to start the thing. Like a lot of people I tend to start too soon, but it isn't hard--wrong? Yes. Hard? Not so much. Same for the ending. If you tend to write mostly chronologically (as I tend to so far), by the time you've muddled through the middle, the ending is less difficult, at least, in terms of HOW it happens.

But the middle. It's the bridge. It's the juicy filling. It's the part between slices of bread. And it's hard because this is where I tend to wander off into the desert and take detours and forget that I'm supposed to be going THERE. So the middle ends up being a huge mess, mostly, for many drafts. At it's best, it is an exploration of themes with some good stuff to keep for the later drafts (only to throw it out later because you realize it really really really doesn't belong after all, but I digress--see? I'm bad at this). At its worst, the middle is a convoluted, disorganized, wretched annihilation of things like character development, through lines, and yes, the English language itself. Me no like middle. Me afraid of middle.

My solution is to write a novel with no middle. Yep, just a really long beginning attached to an equally long ending. Now that was easy. Endings I can do.