In
last month's IWSG post, I gave some ideas for what I do when I'm
stuck writing a blog post. Today I'd like to share my tips for what
to do when you're stuck in your work in progress, your WIP. (Which
makes me feel like a real writer when I say “WIP”, cuz, like, I
know the lingo and all. I'm in the club!)
Maybe
I'm not the best person to take advice from, considering I've been
writing my first draft of my first novel for three years. What you
need to understand though, is that I've really only been writing it about
four months, if you count the actual
time I've put into it.
I
did a NaNoWriMo in secret. Got a lot done. That encouraged me, so
the next February I did BuNoWriMo, which stands for Burrow...and you
know the rest of the acronym. You can find them on facebook and
I highly recommend you do because talk about a supportive
environment! Got a lot done. Actually declared myself a participant
and joined the banter. Same the following year. Then if I count the
scraps of time I've invested that wasn't during a big, supportive
push like that, and that's my four months. I'm at about 35k.
Just
sayin', so you don't think that I
think I'm an expert.
My
novel is a sci-fi/thriller (which IWSG helped me realize when I was
having genre-confusion – thanks wonderful folks!) and this rough
draft is set in two separate time lines. I'm not quite
sure how that's going to work out...but that's for the revising part.
However, it leads to my first tip.
If
you're stuck on a certain section, go write on another one.
If the present is plaguing me, I go write a scene from the “back in
time” part. If you're a plotter, you know what's going to happen,
pick something you're in the mood for and write that instead of where
you were stuck. Just because you're methodical, organized, and all those
things I'm not, as a pantser (see, I really am in the club!) doesn't
mean you have to write
it in order. Movies aren't shot in order. (Now that's a club I'd
like to join – screen writing...)
Go
back and re-read what you've written.
Maybe not from the beginning, but read a section. Bask in the
wonder that is your writing. It's like finding a piece of your
wardrobe in the bottom of a drawer and saying, “Oh yeah, I loved
this shirt! Great shirt!” Instead you're saying, “Oh, yeah,
that IS good. This is going to be a a good book. I remember that
part more clearly now.”
I get inspired when I do that. This might
not work for you if you work more, um, consistently on your WIP than
I do, since you probably remember all that you've written, but giving
yourself a little pat on the back never hurts. Just don't edit what
you're reading. (Not that I have that problem or anything...just,
ahem, a warning...)
Write
a scene that's key to the book.
It will make you feel like you've really accomplished something.
Yes, plotters, it might not be where you are, but you
already know where it goes. Me? I have a vague idea what scenes
might be needed to get where I think I'm going, so I go for something
that might be useful later on. At least I'm writing!
Regardless
of what kind of writer you are, you just
have to keep writing.
It's that discipline thing I talked about last month. JUST DO IT.
Good luck!
Alex “Ninja Captain” Cavanaugh is our leader for this wonderful, supportive group. Don't forget we even have our own website now. Be sure to check it out if you haven't already, and "like" our facebook page, too. I'm so impressed with what these talented folks are doing to promote this group! Encouragement month long is now just a click away!
