You’ve been
working on a story for weeks, months, or even years. It’s going great and though you began with a pretty
clear-cut plan, you’ve been relatively happy to allow your characters and their
story a bit of leeway to make some interesting plot turns. Now you’ve hit that point in the story
where you, as the writer, stumble.
Even though you
know where you’re headed and the general path you intend to take, the words
just aren’t coming. You write, and
write, and write, but when you review you’re nearly disgusted with what you
read. We’ve all been there. We’ll all be there again sometime –
maybe soon.
So how do you get
through it?
I wish I could
say that there was some simple method, an easy way to get over the hump. The honest truth is that you just have
to find something that will work for you and use it. And you need to understand that what works one time, or for
one person, may not work for another.
Generally that
means that you just keep writing.
Good or bad, you need to get the words on the page; you can and will go
back and edit, delete, revise, and even rewrite later. The important thing here is just
getting the words out.
Sometimes, and
for some people, forcing the words out just doesn’t work. In this case you may benefit most as a
writer by going back to the beginning and (re)reading and editing the work you’ve
already done. As I said, you know
exactly where you’re headed, taking the time to review where you’ve been won’t
hurt. And may in fact get those
creative juices pumping again.
It could be that
reviewing your own work may only make you feel more frustrated. Then you’ve got a few other
choices. If you write a blog, work
on a new post. Tired of trying to
write? Try reading. Whether it’s doing a critique read for
a friend, picking up a new release at the bookstore or the library, or
reacquainting yourself with an old favorite; reading someone else’s stories
might just be that metaphorical nudge that helps to clear your mind and allows
the words to start flowing anew.
The truth of the
matter is that everybody is different, which is a pretty basic fact of life, so
it makes sense that no two writers use exactly the same process when writing,
none of us use the same methods when working through the tough spots. So as I said at the start: find a
method that works for you. You’ll
need to adjust and adapt as necessary, and always remember that just as your
stories evolve from the initial idea that got the ball rolling, to the finished
product you share with the world, your writing process is an ever-evolving
thing as well. You merely need to
accept that things will never remain precisely the same each time through.
Sounds a lot like
life, doesn’t it?
