Writing Past the Wall

Writing Past the Wall, guest post by Chuck Waldron. Includes giveaway!


Here’s a question for writers. What do you do when you feel like quitting. You stare at the screen, convinced it’s impossible to go on?
I’m not talking about writer’s block. That’s temporary, like a marathon runner hitting “the wall” but able to push through and keep running. It’s like an athlete that thinks it’s possible to work through the pain. Every writer, I’m convinced, experiences what we call writer’s block, with our unique way of getting past “the writer’s wall.”
Writing Past the Wall, guest post by Chuck Waldron. Includes giveaway!
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No, I’m asking what it’s like for you, when you reach the point where Forrest Gump decided to quit running. He hadn’t reached a destination. For him, running didn’t have the same meaning anymore.
Readers have asked me how I do it, write a novel. They suggest it must be easy. I’ve learned to smile and not dissuade them from that notion. Do they want to know the literal beads of sweat writers develop during their writing marathon?
They only want a good read.
I remember the time I asked myself that question, the one about why go on. I was working on the third draft of The Cleansweep Counterstrike. As a sequel to The Cleansweep Conspiracy, I already knew my characters. It should be easy, right? But it didn’t feel right. I call it the sweaty part of writing. It ain’t fun. It’s slow, methodical and dull as hell, truth be known. I couldn’t pinpoint the problem with the story. It wasn’t ready for a reader.
My wife and I decided to go on a cruise, something we’d never done before. It was a way to escape the fear I’d reached the end of my writing, feeling like putting all my writing files in an archive file, turning off the computer and opening a bottle of wine.
I stood on the deck of the cruise ship and decided I’d had enough. It was time to quit writing. The ship docked in Bergen, Norway and we took a bus to the home of Edvard Grieg. I’d won a piano competition when I was fifteen years old. My competition piece was Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor.
What did that have to do with my thoughts of stopping writing you ask?
I looked around the small house, admiring the bucolic setting. Did Grieg ever feel like quitting? Likely. But he kept on until the very end. I looked at the piano he used and suddenly thought of my computer. My computer isn’t nearly as elegant as his piano, but it’s where I compose my words.
My feelings of writing despair evaporated. I knew I still had stories to tell, convinced I could somehow find the words I needed to do just that.
I realized I hadn’t reached a dead end or stop sign. Instead, it was a cul-de-sac, a place to turn around and get back to the main road.
I would be interested to hear if you, as a writer, have ever felt the same.
The Cleansweep Counterstrike is finally in the hands of readers. They will offer the final judgment. Until then, I will keep writing.


Writing Past the Wall, guest post by Chuck Waldron. Includes giveaway!
Chuck Waldron is the author of four riveting mystery, thriller and suspense novels and more than fifty short stories. Inspired by his grandfather’s tales of the Ozark Mountains and local caves rumored to be havens for notorious gangsters, Waldron was destined to write about crime and the human condition. Those childhood legends ignited his imagination and filled his head with unforgettable characters, surprising plots and a keen interest in supernatural and historical subplots.

With literary roots planted in the American Midwest and South, and enriched by many years living in the fertile cultural soil of metropolitan Ontario, Waldron now resides on Florida’s fabled Treasure Coast with his wife, Suzanne. While keeping an eye out for hurricanes, alligators, and the occasional Burmese python, visitors will find Waldron busy writing his next crime thriller.

Connect with Chuck: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook 


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1 Comments

  1. dissertation writing service4 September 2018 at 11:20

    Your writing skill is amazing because only some writers can lead the readers with them and show what secrets are hidden in human minds, hats off and cheers.

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