By: A.B. Timothy
Have you seen this meme?
Some days, when I’m writing, I feel like the man on top. Banging away at my keys, pushing aside shovel after shovel of dirt and prose that I’m bored by, only to finally reach that scene. Hopefully, you know the one. Every story and its author has that scene. A moment where the hero does something (finally) or a battle takes place or something! Something that makes those 8,000 words of prose that felt like a chore, worth it.
Two days ago, I finally reached that scene in The Shards of Arthur’s Shield. I spent the entire first 9,500 words not really sure, and knowing that I will probably have a lot of editing to do in those first few chapters, all so I could finally write the scene. The moment when my hero grasps the rotten leather wrapped around the hilt of the cursed sword, for the very first time. My fingers click-clacking across the keys when I wrote those 2,000 words was like the most refreshing song I’ve heard in a long time. This was the end of Act 1 and the moment when my hero, Thomas’s life ceased to be just that of a small village farm hand.
Now, however, I dread the next few thousand words. I am not sure how much editing I will have to do over the beginning of Act 2, but I know there will be some, because the next scene I am aiming at is not for at least another chapter or two. But I don’t want to be that bottom guy. I can’t bring myself to throw in the towel on this book. I love this story too much to just give up because the words got tough to write. I’ve got so many more scenes of gold I can’t wait to write: a tournament, a dragon slaying, a tower of madness, a final duel. I’m giddy to climb this mountain even if the trail is long.
That’s where I want to encourage you. Calling back to the heartbeat of this blog and my newfound desire to write, the Keeping the Beacon Lit article, this is only partially about me now. I know that the world needs this book; there are people out there who need heroes in their lives again. There are little boys who need to see what they could achieve, and little girls who need to see what it means to be a man, so they can look for that when they are older. So keep writing, if not for yourself, if the words are getting too hard to slug through, do it for them.
Need encouragement? Send me an email at AlfredoTBenedito@gmail.com, let’s chat about your struggles, and let me encourage you! Want to connect on socials? Follow me @ABTimothyAuthor on X or search for A.B. Timothy, Author, on Facebook. Or click either of the social media icons below!
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