How Do You Cope with the In-betweens?

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@Brian Jackson – Stock.Adobe.Com

For Indie Authors, sending off your finished manuscript to the book formatters is like bursting through the finish line after a long, arduous race.  You prop up your feet. Have a glass of champagne. Binge watch that murder mystery series you’ve heard so much about. Life is good.

Then bouts of boredom set in. A few hours of aimless wandering take you away from the next story in your queue. You begin to get a bit restless until you remember a few home improvement projects you’ve been putting off. A week goes by without one word written. You’ve entered the dreaded “In-Betweens!”

I experienced the “In-Betweens” a few weeks ago when I completed The Obsidian Gates, Book Two in my Heart of the Warrior series. Book Three is all outlined and ready for me to start writing. I just couldn’t force my brain to focus on the new story when I felt Book Two wasn’t “done” yet.

I’m happy to report the dreaded “In-Betweens” has ended and I’ve started writing Book Three in earnest. How did I kick the In-Between Blues? I’m not 100% positive how I did it. One day I woke up and was motivated to start writing again.

Here are a few possible reasons:

I let go of Book Two and accepted The Obsidian Gates was in someone else’s hands during this stage of the publishing process
I reminded my creative brain working on Book Three won’t be the same soul crushing daily drudgery as doing final edits for Book Two. We’re at the fun step – story creation
I gave myself permission to write a crappy draft rather than trying to force perfection. I’ll save the angst of unachievable perfection for draft four

How do you beat the In-Between Blues? Share in the comments section. I’d love to hear from you and get a few ideas!