Some folks think writing is too hard.

But, writing a novel, or anything with words in it, is easy.

Waiting for the story to arrive is hard.

It’s like holding an open house for a dysfunctional crowd who arrive at different times with varying intensities, conflicting purposes, all talking at once, nobody really listening. Characters, plot, setting, theme, point of view, conflict, resolution, pace, flow, style, plausibility move randomly, sometimes crowding each other, either jostling for attention or shyly withdrawn.

Story arrives in its own time. It gentles the crowd. It’s worth the wait.