I’m almost done with the current revision of my heart novel. I edited, revised, and reread two chapters yesterday. That leaves the climax chapter, which is really long and needs to be split in two, and the denoument (resolution) chapter. I started working on the climax yesterday, noticing that the main character had an emotional swing that while justified isn’t accounted for in the text. So I started to add details to the text to account for the character’s emotional transition.
It went well, until I realized it was drivel. After editing for a while, I reached the creative-insight endpoint and descended into hokey overwrought tripe. I’m sure I’m not the only writer who experiences this. How about you all? How do you realize when you’ve burned through your creative stores for the day? I’d like to know the warning signs so that I can “back way from the novel” before I destroy something good.
I’m considering adding Ellie, my daughter’s hamster, to my early warning system. She seems to befairly talented. Here’s a picture of her reading the text.
Here's another picture of her typing out, “Stop, you crazed woman, you’re ruining the chapter.”
