The dark and dismal middle

I am lost and wandering through the "dark and dismal middle" as Deborah Chester puts it in her fantastic book The Fantasy Fiction Formula. There is a piece of every book wherein the characters must get from the exciting beginning to the climax. And if you don't have a map, they could very well get lost on their way, leaving your reader wandering around without making any progress.

I am currently writing in the dark and dismal middle. And I feel like I'm the one who is lost and doing the wandering, even more so than my characters.

This book is hard. Its hard for numerous reasons, one of which is currently napping, and the others of which have more to do with the book itself. Its a high fantasy book, which requires that I know everything about a fictional place, including how a rather complex magic system works. Its filled with made up words and places and ideas. It is also a dual perspective, where the story lines start at opposite ends and then eventually meet, and I'm petrified that I won't do the meeting justice. Or the whole idea justice. Or that the whole idea might be a dud.

I am, indeed, in the dark and dismal middle. On my journey as a writer. I'm past the exciting part, the part where I figure out that I am capable of writing a book and am now to the waiting part. The part where I'm starting the next book. The part where I'm starting the next book even though I'm not convinced that this can ever be anything but a hobby... and shouldn't I be doing the dishes instead of just writing? Because writing is what I want to do and dishes are... not.

My plan to escape the dark and dismal middle has to do with pushing forward, writing more, and drinking a lot of tea out of my fancy new diffuser. I will keep you apprised.