Finishing a novel requires enduring a wretched, consuming state of near-readiness.

Evidence

What is worst, what is most wretched, is being almost ready to write. A horrible day dawns when the prospect of writing hangs over you like a cloud from which you are afraid you might never emerge. You know you will do it, you know you will commit. You know that by the end of the day you will be wrung out, speechless, barely human. — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 45

Categorization

• SEED: SEED: write on the haunted, obsessive nature of finishing a long historical novel.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 45
• XREF: connects to: Writers should leave readers hungry and mildly estranged, not fully accommodated — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 873; Writing often requires passing through a muddle and despair before shape emerges. — Janet Burroway; Elizabeth Stuckey-French; Ned Stuckey-French, Writing Fiction, Tenth Edition: A Guide…, 78

Broader Connections

• Writers should leave readers hungry and mildly estranged, not fully accommodated #qualifies (0.40) — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 873