Feeling Stuck While Writing? Read This!

That’s strange.

A week ago, you were SO excited! You were finally going to start writing your novel that’s been stored in your brain for months, maybe even years.

You sat down to put your story on paper, or more likely, on a computer screen.

But now you’re feeling stuck while writing. You’ve fallen behind your daily or weekly writing goals.

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Now what?

Here are 4 ways to beat your writer’s block, keep writing and finish your novel, blog posts or other writing projects.

1. Don’t panic.

Breathe. Remind yourself that almost all writers have (and will) hit a roadblock. Wondering what to do when you’re feeling stuck while writing doesn’t make you a bad writer. It just means you’re human, like every other writer.

2. Write about something else.

This seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it?

But taking even 10 minutes to write about something else is a productive way to give your mind a break from the topic or story you’re working on.

And who knows? The different topic you’re writing a few paragraphs about could be the starting point for an idea for an upcoming blog post, or part of the backstory for one of your novel’s characters, or an idea for another book.

3. Rethink your reasons.

When you’re feeling stuck while writing, you might ask yourself, “Why on Earth did I ever agree to this?!” That’s a good question.

Reevaluate why you’re doing a writing challenge, like NaNoWriMo, or why you decided to write a book, start a blog or take on another writing project.

Get clear on how important this project is to you. What are the right answers to these questions? The truth.

Why do you want to write this book? After all, if you finish this book, it might get some attention. You might do interviews, starting with local book reviewers, reporters and/or bloggers. Then you might hear from interviewers from other parts of the country. If any of this happens, the question you will have to answer again and (hopefully) again is: Why did write this book?

You might as well prepare your answer to this question now.

Or, maybe you like writing, but right now you have other priorities that need more of your attention. That’s fine, too. Just be sure you’re okay with taking a break (a week, a month, maybe longer) from writing.

If you know you’ll regret never returning to continue your writing project, then make time in your schedule to do some writing, even if it’s just 15 to 30 minutes per day. You can always plan for longer time periods for writing, if you later realize your schedule will allow it.

4. Set new goals.

Maybe you’ve fallen behind your ideal schedule while writing for your book, your blog or other writing project.

It’s okay to reset the clock on your writing goals, if the timeline or deadline for completing a writing project is totally up to you. The key here is to continue building upon what you’ve already written and move forward with your writing.

If your deadline is set by a client or an editor, then you need to focus on getting the job done. Take a quick mental break if you need it. Then sit down and plan how you will finish the rest of your writing between now and that deadline.

The Takeaway

Don’t be too hard on yourself if you’re feeling stuck while writing. If you need a minute to feel freaked out or overwhelmed, fine. Then, overcome feeling overwhelmed by remembering your reasons for writing and taking time to plan the next steps to bring you closer to meeting your goals. You can even take a productive break by writing about something else.

Your dreams and your readers are waiting. Write to reach to them!