I’ve posted this before. Elisabeth’s Manuscript Stages. Ironically, it’s still the same today as it was nearly two years ago. Right now I’m in the middle of state two – give or take a few chapters – where my hero is sooooo completely irritating, I’m considering dropping him and letting the heroine have her HEA with someone else. I realized I was in trouble last week when my hero and heroine were in a car that goes off into a slough in the Everglades. The heroine (bless her soul) swims toward shore, but something brushes past the hero’s leg. And when I stopped typing and seriously considered letting the hero be lunch for some innocent gator, I knew I had a problem.

I go through these stages with every book. Doesn’t matter how much I love the premise or the characters or the plot, eventually I hate the entire thing with every fiber of my being. But I’ve learned if I push through I’ll end up loving it again and all will be well. The plot problems will work themselves out, the heroine will stop being wishy-washy (thank God for edits), and if he’s lucky, the hero will find redemption (and save himself from being a tasty morsel). Sometimes I just wish the process would move along a little quicker.

In good news…today was baseball team day at my gym. (Meaning, the local minor league baseball team was at my gym working out). Hubba Hubba. Now that’s inspiring.

How do you keep your enthusiasm up for a project when it starts to dwindle or gets tough?