How to Keep Writing When You're Stuck

Part of a special month-long event featuring writing tips and NaNoWriMo strategies from guest writers and fellow NaNo participants.

Day 23 - NaNo Tip – How to Keep Writing

by Charlene Roberts

Hello my fellow NaNos! So, how is your writing progressing? With seven days left before writing “The End” to your fabulous story, you’re hoping to race towards the finish line to complete your novel.

But I do know that there are some of you out there who might be stuck in the dreaded “middle”, or have hit writer’s block—the worst thing to happen during NaNo! What’s a poor writer to do?

There are several ideas, but one that I like is to write blocks of scenes. You see, I’m a “pantster” writer; I hate plotting, writing a detailed outline, stuff like that. The most I’ll do is put together a rough outline, name my characters and get their personalities straightened out, and then off I go. However, when I get stuck, I’ll take a break from the big picture (the novel) and work on smaller bits (the scenes).

Sounds random? It probably is, but guess what? It keeps you writing and keeps the creative juices flowing AND it gets those valuable words on paper.

I’ve done this a couple of times when the flow of my story stops. Instead of panicking, I’ll look at my rough outline, decide on a sentence or scene that I want to write about, and work on it. I might do this once or several times (and keep the scenes organized!), but the idea is to keep writing until I feel ready to get back to where I left off in my novel. By that time, I have at least one scene that I can add to my work in progress.

Sometimes you need to give yourself a mental rest from “the big picture”. I find that breaking my novel into smaller pieces such as scenes helps with my focus.

by Charlene Roberts:

Eternal Heiress

Urban Fantasy

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Tari Merytmut, adopted at age five and trained in the arts of swordsmanship, has made it her duty to track and kill the demons that suddenly infest her city. Under the watchful eye of her guardian angel, Tari travels to the remote mountain temple of her adopted father to learn of her past. From glittering cosmopolitan cities to the ancient tombs hidden beneath the hot, arid Egyptian desert, she discovers that a famous French general who sold his soul to Satan is plotting to steal her ancestor’s secret to complete his domination of the planet. Tari will do everything it takes to stop him – even if it means going to Hell.