Sometimes even starting can be a problem. I once attended a networking event where I was introduced to a "writer" who spent literally years preparing to write a script. Yet even after all that time (I want to say ten years but I can't remember) the man had not sat down to write word one of the actual script. I was introduced to the man deliberately so that I would give him a pep talk about making a start. Sadly I don't think I helped. He was to addicted to the paperwork.
That's not to say a lot of prep might not be needed depending on what you're writing. If you're writing a historical novel it helps if you have a working knowledge of the period. The thing is preparation needs to stand aside eventually and you have to write. Then having written you have to finish.
Then you have to stare at the computer and wonder, "What the hell do I do know?"
If as a reader you know the feeling of a book hangover. You have lived in that world, be it a spy novel, or history adventure or space opera and now you have to deal with real life. Spare a thought for the writer. We created that horrific situation. We lived inside it and got our hero out of it. Now we have to pull our minds out of it. Then like all addicts go off collecting impressions, facts, thoughts and situations and dive back in again.
I'm thinking about this because I'm about to finish my grouping of three novellas. MONSTERS HUMAN MONSTERS INHUMAN
When I do, I will probably look out at reality, groan then dive back in and start something new. It doesn't take much. I once wrote a screenplay based on the impression I got from wandering through the hallways of a very old converted factory building. I ended up turning that script into a novel.
You can find it on my amazon page at amazon.com/author/tabithabaumander
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