when the story is too big

I’m having trouble knuckling down today with this book.  The chest infection and day jobs have kept me away and distracted.  Now I’m having trouble rekindling that first flame.  Worse, at only 11K in, I’m looking at what I have and thinking – no, that’s not it at all.

What to do when the story is so big and you feel certain you are too small to tell it?

Think small.  Work on the details.  Create tiny little moments that will somehow stitch together into the big picture you can see in your mind but your fingers won’t interpret.  When the story is too big, make it small enough to deal with.  If the choice is between narrowing your field and focus, or sitting slumped in the chair overwhelmed, the choice is easy.  Little thoughts, little words, little steps.  That is how a novel gets written.