A constant trying on of characters for size, and writing them into dead ends before I stumble on whoever is going to take me through the whole novel.
"It was this constant trying to one-up each other battle all through life, pretty much, that's never stopped.
Their love for their babies is slightly peppered with anxiety and that constant trying, which I remember so well... trying to be a great mum, trying to have a happy baby.
Batty told the inquest that the past two years had been "a constant test", trying to protect Luke while also managing Anderson's escalating behaviour and their relationship.
We're in a constant uphill battle so we need to prevent that very quickly and the only way we can do that is by working hard, constant hard work, constant training, trying to do the right things and hopefully people will buy in to what we're doing.
The 30-year-old Manoa, now at Toulon, will be a constant try-scoring threat if they can get the ball to him, while Takudzwa Ngwenya, the Zimbabwe-born wing who plays for Biarritz, is another dangerman to watch out for.
On a smaller scale, I remember the constant stress of trying to navigate my emotions during my father's illness.
Jeff's wife was working full-time, and it was hard not to notice that the constant stress of trying to be present for his wife and son while surviving surgical residency was beginning to get to him.
"It's a constant push trying to prove people wrong," she added.
But the world doesn't work that way: it exists in a constant disequilibrium — trying, failing, adapting, learning and evolving in endless cycles.
From the moment the ball is passed backwards through the legs of the centre to the quarterback, 22 players are in constant motion trying to execute complex instructions, each intimately involved in the way the play will be resolved.
