Killer Questions - What We Find Is The Hardest Part of a Book or Short Story

Killer Questions – What We Find Is The Hardest Part of a Book or Short Story

Heather Weidner - For me, it's not the writing part. It's the revisions. I really have to focus when it's time to polish a manuscript.

Debra H. Goldstein – Finding the perfect first sentence.

Martha Reed - The middle muddle. The first hundred pages is easy and fun because I’m exploring my research, meeting my characters, and tentatively feeling my way forward. I generally know the big bang rush at the end. It’s crafting those two parts together than seem to bog me down. The trick then is to either hit my personal daily word count, or my daily hourly commitment count so that I feel like I’ve kept the momentum going and I’m making progress toward the end goal of finishing the book.

Connie Berry - The first draft. Putting words on a blank page takes courage.

Grace Topping - Description. Since plays don't have description, I would have made a better playwright than a novelist. Another thing is romance. I write mysteries with only a dash of attraction between characters, and even then, I have to work at it. 

Paula G. Benson - Moving from the muddling middle to the conclusion.

James M. Jackson - Creating a one-page synopsis, which for me can take as long as writing the novel (if you don't mind a little hyperbole).

Sarah Burr - The first three chapters are always the toughest. Whether I'm laying the groundwork for the mystery or doing a “recap” for a series, getting past those initial chapters is the real challenge. Once I'm over that hump, it's usually smooth sailing. In fact, those first three chapters often take me longer to write than most of the book!

Annette Dashofy - Whichever part I’m writing at the time. 

Kait Carson - All of the above! There’s a point in every book, and it’s different in each book, where I wonder what I’m doing, why I thought I could do it, and who do I think I’m fooling. 

Lori Roberts Herbst - I imagine many of us will say the same thing — whatever part we’re on. But probably the hardest part for me is overcoming the intimidation of the blank page and just getting started.

Margaret S. Hamilton - The first line.

Korina Moss - Everything beyond the first draft! 

Nancy Eady - The end.  Wrapping up a piece and figuring out the final words can be tricky.  

Mary Dutta - Plotting. I always figure it out, but it’s invariably a challenge.

Molly MacRae - Nothing sticks out. It probably varies from story to story or book to book, and depends on what’s going on in my life. 

Shari Randall - Beginnings! Absolutely the toughest for me.

K.M. Rockwood - The hardest part comes after the first draft is pretty much wrapped up and I sit down to edit and revise. My first reaction is, “How could I have written such drivel? I should just put this one in the never-to-see-light-of-day file.” Always.