As a novelist who often feels “stuck” because of certain writing hang-ups, I know that sometimes writer’s block feels like a steel trap caught around the leg of your plot, refusing to let it go anywhere. I think sometimes we writers psych ourselves into a state where we can’t even write because we’re afraid of what will come out of our heads–afraid it won’t be “good enough,” somehow.

Thus, I came up with the following 5 simple tips, which have helped me begin to break through the ice covering my novel; I hope they will help you begin to write again, too.

Image Credits: Source of image of book with pen

After having been stuck on my novel for the better part of a year, I knew I had to do something to light the spark again. I looked at all I’d accomplished so far, and I found myself asking, “How in the world did I ever get to 50,000 words, let alone 150,000, when these days I can barely be bothered to come up with 500?”

You might feel just as stuck in your own creative writing process. It may feel as though those cogs and gears will never turn again, that they are rusted into place. But I have 3 tips that have helped my own writing engine begin to turn over, and they just might help you. It doesn’t hurt to try!

#1: Write What You Really Want To

You have to give yourself a compelling reason to write again once your engine has stalled out for a while. So, if you have an idea that’s simply bursting to come out of your head, write it down. It doesn’t matter if it has anything to do with your current projects or not; write it. If it’s a very future part of your novel, several chapters ahead of where you are now, go ahead and write it–you can connect the plot dots later. If it has nothing to do with anything you’re currently trying to write, go ahead and write it anyway; it’ll help keep those creative wheels greased.

For example, I have several ideas for future chapters of my novel–let’s say these are going to appear in Chapters 14 and 16. But right now, I’m stuck back on Chapter 7 or so. Very, very annoying! But I can go ahead and write those very far-flung chapters; who knows, it may spark an idea for how to finish Chapter 7, and how to build up chapters 8-14 to those next plot points!

#2: Don’t Make Writing a Chore, Make It an Escape

When something’s a chore, it’s not very fun, is it? We dread it, but we put it on our schedules in an attempt to make us do it. Yet many of us creative writers try to mold our writing schedule into “daily writing” programs, or try to follow those “write X number of words daily” plans…and we end up hating to write, where before we had loved it.

I don’t mean to disparage such motivational programs; if they work for you, then do them gladly. But for me, such programs create more anxiety than they solve; I end up anxious about not completing the programs or following the plans to the letter. And believe me, when writing gets associated with anxiety or boredom, you’re in deep trouble as a creative writer. That’s what I’ve run into with my own novel this last year–it’s not that my novel bores me, but that the situation I’m writing is hard to write about. I’ve become so anxious about “fixing” it that I have hobbled my writing ability. Sounds ridiculous, but it happened…and it happens to many more writers, I’d wager.

So, how to break free of this? Make your writing something you do when you need to wind down, something to reward yourself with when you’ve finished a real chore, or something you do when you want to cheer yourself up. Make it an escape, like a favorite book you can’t put down, a favorite food you look forward to eating, or a favorite place you love to visit. Make it FUN again, make it the process of discovery and creation that it ought to be, instead of hedging it about with tons of rules. If you’re like me and have problems following overly structured plans, this might just spark your engine again.

#3: Let Dreams Inspire You

Have you ever woken up from an incredibly intense dream, only to have certain scenes stick with you throughout the day? How about using these scenes as inspiration for your writing? Whenever you have dreams like this, write down the most vivid scenes from the dream in as much visual and sensory detail as you can remember–then save that scene where you can find it easily. You never know when that dream scene may become fodder for a future plot detail! (Being a pack rat is okay in this case!)

For instance, I dreamed a very powerful, evocative scene for a future subplot in my novel about a year ago–I actually woke up weeping and shaking, and it stayed with me for hours. I know it will be a very painful scene to write when I put it into my book, but it will also be a point of great character development, too. So I’ve written some quick notes about it and it’s sitting in my novel file on my computer, waiting to be used alongside a few other little scraps of dreams I’ve written down. The others may never make it into the book, but they just might!

Summary

I hope these three tips help your writing engine start again. Remember, just because it hasn’t cranked in a while doesn’t mean it won’t crank ever again. Unlike old cars, our brains are never rusted!