Panic! at the WIP

I've been going through a semi-existential crisis the past few days. And by me, I mean my WIP manuscript. Perhaps you can relate?

This second round of editing / revising / writing has left me with a sudden, unwieldy mess. I keep asking myself if the plot makes sense anymore, if I've added too many sub-plots, if the sub-plots have become plot points, if I need to cut characters, POVs, or entire storylines from the book. 

In short, I've been feeling overwhelmed. Overwhelmed to the point where I tried to sit down and re-outline my WIP. I didn't get very far. 

So what do I do?

I woke up this morning and I decided to breathe. 

Worst case scenario, I have a bunch more work than I thought to get my WIP to where it needs to be for betas. I've given myself all of Q4 2017 to do that, though, so why am I stressing? I'll finish my outline, I'll ask my critique partners about the plot points and plot holes, I'll rewrite and revise whatever I have to, and I'm going to keep polishing. It's all do-able stuff. It isn't a unique problem I'm having as a writer. It's just another stepping stone towards that last goal. 

That's why we do this, right? Because we care enough to put in the work and overcome these obstacles. That's why we are choosing to be writers. No one's forcing me to do this, I can give up at any time, continue with my day job, and that would be it. 

But I want this. So, I'm going to make it happen.

And you can, too.