Introduction

Hello team! Just a reminder that the Kickstarter for the Enter Here speculative/SFFH anthology starts this week. For how to donate or how to submit, click here. That would make me super happy.

I’m sitting on a few announcements I cannot make yet, but I swear I’ll tell you as soon as I can. They are story-related announcements and I’m very excited about them.

In the meantime, let’s get into today’s topic…

What’s with 20k?

I’ve noticed for a while that I tend to have a breakdown about my books around the 20k word mark. When I say breakdown, I mean full on crying Why-Did-I-Ever-Think-I-Could-Be-A-Writer meltdown. It’s the place where I first feel uncertain. The place where I lose steam. The place where I get stuck.

I was curious to see if I was alone in this, so I crowdsourced it and for other people it’s 16k, or 25k, or somewhere around there. But what really hit home for me is what one person said: it’s the end of Act 1 and the beginning of Act 2.

Mind blown!

Now, not everyone follows three act structure. But if you do, then you know that the end of Act 1 is where all the set-up is done and the “Fun & Games” as Save the Cat says starts. The promise of the premise. The heart of the story. The fun bits that you see on the movie trailer. That’s Fun & Games. I don’t even really use Save the Cat, but boy are they right about that Fun & Games section.

Fun & Games not so fun

So why are they so hard that I have a breakdown before them every time?

I think it’s something about pressure. These are the bits that would make it into the movie trailer, so they need to be extra good. It’s also the most ambiguous of the sections. There’s the first pinch point before the midpoint, yes, but other than that, it’s all freeform. Anything could be written there! Anything could happen!

See why it’s paralyzing? Maybe not. Maybe you’re a daredevil. But I’m an anxious bean, and to me, that amount of leeway is terrifying.

Getting over it

However, I’m not just going to sit aside and not write. Ew. So there are a few techniques I use to get past the 20k slump. If you slump hard here too, I hope some of them can help you!

1. Take a break! Whether it’s a day, a week, or a month, getting some space between me and the words allows me to gain perspective and let ideas percolate. But make sure your break isn’t just avoidance

2. Brainstorm! Back to the drawing board. Get out a blank word file or a blank paper and go to town. This always helps me break through new ideas.

3. Return to the outline! Okay technically I do the outlining first, but going back to my outline and refining it really helps me feel confident about Act 2

4. Breathe! I’m not kidding. Breathe 4 beats in, 4 pauses, 4 beats out, 4 pauses until the anxiety dissipates, if anxiety is part of your hang-up like it is mine

5. Talk it out! Having a CP or friend to chat with always gets my creative juices flowing and helps me see things in new ways

6. Break it down! Think of it like two small sections, one between the start of Act 2 and the First Pinch Point, and one between the First Pinch Point and the Midpoint. Making the sections smaller makes them feel more bite-sized and manageable

7. Escalate it! Play a game of “and then it got worse” with your scenes. Remember, the first half of Act 2 is rising action, so you want to twist the knife more and more as you rise towards the midpoint

8. Draft first, edit later! Just write! Who cares if it’s shitty? Worry about that in post, once you have words to revise.

Conclusion

None of these things are revolutionary, but hopefully they spark some ideas for you when you need them. So the next time that 20k slump comes around, you’re ready for it.

How do you get over the 20k slump? Let me know in the comments!

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