Dealing With Rough Patches

Randomgold · Post by **Randomgold** » 29 Nov 2016, 12:01

So, I'm working on the second draft to my first novel. When I started, I had planned to write a minimum of a thousand words a day, and be finished by the end of October. That...that hasn't happened. I've been plugging away at it, but it's barely passed the halfway point. I'm not sure why, but I just haven't been able to muster up the words I need to put onto the page. It's not quite writer's block, since I have plenty of ideas, and a rough sense of where I'm going. I occasionally get inspiration and manage to squeeze a few hundred words out, but it's not where I want to be. Like I said, I have lots of ideas for this draft, and even a few for the third, but I'm just having trouble squeezing them out onto the page at the pace that I had wanted.

Has this happened to other writers out there? And if you have, how did/do you overcome this slump?

kc2514 · Post by **kc2514** » 30 Nov 2016, 20:54

What I would do is maybe try and work around your ideas. Maybe change the words a bit and instead of looking at the idea head on, take a side view look of how the idea might look from different perspective.

brianference · Post by **brianference** » 01 Dec 2016, 13:13

This has happened to me many times. It really helps to take a break and to take your mind of writing for awhile. I try and seek inspiration by reading something else or even remembering a trip I took in the past. This usually helps.

KS Crooks · Post by **KS Crooks** » 02 Dec 2016, 21:16

It seems to me like you're treating writing like a job. Unless you're under contract don't put so much pressure on yourself to perform. Enjoy the writing. Accept that some days you will write more tan others. Allow yourself to take a day or two off. Have fun with the creation of your story and it will begin to feel like it's writing itself.

Jasmine M Wardiya · Post by **Jasmine M Wardiya** » 13 Dec 2016, 00:47

This is my last year's nano novel exactly. I'd hoped to pick it up again this nano, but exams were right in the middle of it so that didn't happen... The hardest part I find is just starting again. Once you get into a rhythm, you can keep going and you can miss days and not feel guilty... But at the same time, is reading a pass-time, something you really want to have time for or a job-like thing? That'll impact on how you break up your time as well.

If it's the story itself you're struggling with, maybe just try working on something else, get your mind and muse off this project for a while, and then approach it with a fresh head and see if the words flow better. Or you can skip the scene/s you're struggling with and write a new portion of the same story. Or just don't work on the story at all for a bit and come back to it later once you've had a bit of a break. It may simply be you've burnt out on it and need a breather. Definitely don't let this prompt you to start too many projects though, otherwise you'll be like me and wonder when you'll finish it all.

If it's a little extra push you need, you can try word sprints with a friend, or nano/camp to give you a time-limit, or do that on a smaller scale and set goals and reward yourself (like the cookie jar) if you make it or pay up (swear jar) if you don't. But some people find the limitations more stressful, so it's just a matter of seeing what works. If you're stuck on a particular scene, it may be the rewrite that's stilted it so you may try rewriting the scene again and see if the words flow better the third go around.

And good luck!