Hooray! Yes!
I'm pleased to report that jumping to the bit I fancied writing about worked a treat and I wrote lots. I'm still pretty certain that what I've written so far is way off the mark and is going to need serious work to bring it to anything like publishable standard, but at least I'm writing again and moving forward in the novel instead of sitting slumped in a quivering heap trying to work out what other job I might possibly do.
Before I jumped I rang a friend for a moan, and my wise and lovely friend kindly pointed out that people often had problems writing when they'd run out of things to say. (Luckily they were at the other end of a phone so couldn't see me getting grumpy at the very idea I'd not got anything to say.)
They were, of course, quite right. Thinking about it now - with 2500 words under my belt - I'd run aground on the research detail of the story which I didn't know. My characters are trying to organise an event, and they're going to have to get in touch with the council and get told stuff about planning requirements and health and safety and probably food hygiene laws, none of which I know or have much interest in.
I'd forgotten one of my golden rules - don't write the boring bits. No one wants to know that stuff any more than I do, so I gracefully leapt over it and carried on at the point when I more or less know what happens. At some point I'm going to have to come back and fill in the gap, but for the moment I'm back writing again. It's still not very good, and the beginning is going to have to be re-jigged, but I'm up and running again. Crisis over - for today.
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