5.) Not Enough Feedback: Trying to revise without an outside perspective is so difficult for me. I try to imagine what other people would think or feel about the action or the characters, but I just can’t. I miss a lot of mistakes and potential plot holes because I’m filling in the blanks in my head.

4). Feedback from People Unfamiliar with the Genre: It’s hard to be a person familiar with, say, modern romance, and then suddenly be immersed in sci-fi or fantasy world building. And while feedback from someone outside of my genre definitely forces me to be as clear as possible with the idea, I sometimes struggle with doubt about whether the conventions are helping or hurting the story.

3) Time: Two kids. Big Dog. Full time, client facing, pink collar job. ADHD. Need I say more?

2) Enjoying the World too Much: I love what I’ve written, which means not only is making cuts hard sometimes, but if I start revising one chapter or scene, I’ll end up reading the whole damn thing looking for other similar issues to revise. It has kept me awake too late a lot of nights. 

1). Burn Out: Those late nights, and all the hard work, mean that I sometimes just get sick of the whole thing. I need a break, but I also want to keep moving forward. When this happens, I usually pick a new book to read, and get away from my own writing for a while.