The messy middle doesn’t necessarily happen in the middle of your book because it’s not a destination. It’s a phase in the creative process.

It can happen on page 20. Or page 50. It can happen if you’ve laid a strong foundation for your book and know exactly what you’re trying to write. (Planning is critical, but it doesn’t save you from doing all the hard work!)

What happens is that a character surprises you. A plot point stops making sense. The pages aren’t living up to what you imagined.

Now what? Do you revise? Rethink your plan? Keep writing?

After twenty years of coaching writers, I’ve come to recognize three very different kinds of mess—and the trouble is that writers often respond to all three in exactly the same way.

That’s a mistake that can cost you months.

In this week’s episode, I’m breaking down the three kinds of mess, how to recognize which one you’re in, and what to do next.

And for paid subscribers, I’m sharing something special: an hour-long coaching session with novelist Andrew Parrella, plus his actual first 50 pages with my coaching notes in the margins.

Come see what this work looks like in action.

You can buy Blueprint for a Book here, or take my $19 Blueprint for a Book video course, which includes the full text of the book plus 14 video lessons that walk you through the process.

#amwriting is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.