Friends,
After the shiny beginning of a new story fades, the middle arrives. It’s where the inner critic gets loud, progress feels glacial, and the quiet question starts pressing in: Does any of this even matter?
I recently sat down with L.G. McCary for a conversation about that exact territory. She’s the author of That Pale Host (a women’s suspense novel with a supernatural twist that has already helped at least one reader heal from a deep wound). And now, L.G. is currently deep into a young adult mermaid story that has required her to revisit old high-school pain she’d rather forget.
What emerged from our conversation was honest, funny, and quietly hopeful–the kind of talk we need while we’re still in the thick of the work. She no longer feels ashamed that her first book took eight years and other people’s timelines no longer own her.
Wow! That victory is huge!
There’s more. About critique groups. About measuring success by whether a story helped someone. About writing in the nooks and crannies of motherhood. About Ephesians 2:10 and good works prepared beforehand.
You can read the full conversation here: Finding the Grace in the Messy Middle: A Conversation with L.G. McCary
If you’re in the middle right now, whether your draft is stalled, your confidence is thin, or the work simply feels slow, I hope this lands as a gentle reminder that you’re not alone, and that the middle is not a failure. It’s where a lot of the real formation happens.
I’d love to hear from you in the comments: What’s one thing your inner critic says that you’ve learned (or are still learning) to answer back to? Or how are you practicing patience with your own process these days?
Brandy