7 Tips for Writers Who are Stuck Midway

So you’re in the middle of your book and are having trouble moving forward. All that momentum seems to have come to a halt, and now you are worrying that you are out of ideas, that your ideas won’t work, or that writing a book was a bad idea.

Please don’t panic! We’ve been there too. What has happened to you is normal, and definitely curable.

Take a moment to read our 7 tips below. Don’t worry, this is not procrastination – but don’t let it serve as your substitute for writing today.

One: Don’t view this current situation as a wall, but rather as a speedbump. Writing a book is a hugely psychological endeavor, and the perspective that you keep is extremely important. Don’t fall victim to catastrophizing your situation. Your momentum has slowed down, but although you may be down, you are not out. Keep telling yourself that your book is “finishable”. There really is nothing and no one acting against you – pressing forward is largely a question of your own willpower.

Two: Don’t fall into the trap of re-writing what you’ve written. Yes, there will be a time for re-writing, but that comes AFTER you have finished your draft. Re-writing it now, or editing it, is just an exercise in procrastination. You need to keep getting words on paper and putting down ideas, characters, scenes, etc.

Three: If it is a fiction book, focus on the problem that your story is aiming to resolve, and then think about the next step. Don’t get overwhelmed with thinking too many steps ahead and tying your mind in knots. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and each day of writing is another step on that journey.

Four: Read your second-to-last chapter and decide if your most recent chapter has taken you off course. You may have hit a snag because what you’ve written over the last few days or week is just not moving the story forward. If this is so, re-think that chapter and slash what you can.

Five: Write a 250-500 word summary of your book, from start to finish, as if you were going to give the summary to a magazine. This will keep your writing momentum going and will also outline for you where your story should be going. You can then actually “work backwards” from the conclusion and see what needs to be done at this crucial midway point. Psychologically, this will also help you envision reaching the end, which will reinvigorate your mind.

Six: Write a short story about something else. A short story should be a maximum of 4000 words (ten pages). This will force your mind to take a break from the novel but will still keep it active. Very often, we get our best ideas when we are not giving our mind pressure to come up with them. That is why we tend to get great ideas when we are in the shower or exercising.

Seven: Try some “Trial and Error”: You are required to write 500 words per day, but since this is not an overwhelming amount, throw caution to the wind and invest in a few days of trial and error. For a few days, just sit down and go full speed ahead. Chances are that you’ll discover a few things that “work” and a few things that don’t. Even if you end up just keeping a handful of sentences, you’ll be in a much better place than you were when you were stuck!

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