5 Ways to Break Through a Fiction Writing Block
It happens to all writers. You’re cruising through a story and all of a sudden you hit a wall. Your characters freeze up, your plot stops cold, and you’re stuck with nowhere to go.
You’ve hit a fiction writing roadblock.
All of your ideas have evaporated and you sit there staring at your screen with a blank look on your face. Where were you going? How did you write yourself into a corner? More importantly, how do you write yourself out?
Fortunately, there are techniques you can use to break through the creative blocks that arise in the middle of a project. Some of these techniques also come in handy for developing ideas for new projects.
The main thing you need to remember is that hitting a roadblock does not have to mean the end of your story, your fiction writing, or your creativity. You just need to reboot and see your project from a fresh angle.
The five techniques explained here are sledgehammers. They’ll blast through walls, blow away obstacles, and create doorways that you can step through to reconnect with your fiction writing.
Break-Through Techniques
- 1. Pull Your Characters Out of the Story
- Is your character stuck in a situation with no way out? Has your character gone on strike, refusing to take further action? Does your character need an obstacle of his own? Try removing your character from the story you’re writing and placing him in a completely different situation. You don’t have to write a novel, but sketch some ideas about how your character would behave in various scenarios. Then, bring him back to the story you were working on and see if your creative wall hasn’t cracked.
- 2. Try Fiction Writing Exercises
- Fiction writing exercises provide a constant stream of ideas. You can find websites, magazines, and books that provide activities that will kick your writing into high gear. Look for exercises that are specific to the problems you’re having. If your plot isn’t going anywhere, find plot exercises. If you are having trouble with dialogue, look for dialogue exercises. My favorite all-in-one resource for fiction writing exercises is What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers
. It has a little of everything and can knock down all kinds of creative walls.
- 3. Take a Break and Do Something Else
- You’ve probably already experienced some of your best writing ideas while you were doing anything but writing. They arrive while you’re driving, taking a shower, or trying to fall asleep. So, when you get stuck, step away from your project and dive into another activity. Exercise, cook, play with your pets. Take in a movie or just kick back and listen to some music. The idea is to get your mind off writing and onto something else. Before you know it, a solution will pop into your head, and it will happen when you’re not even thinking about the problem.
- 4. Review Your Project and Add a Twist
- If your story is stuck, then consider adding a twist. Give your characters an unforeseen challenge. Bring in a completely new and unexpected character. Spend some time writing backstory and see if anything evolves that will breathe new life into the current story line. Jump back in your plot and look for opportunities where you can add subplots and undercurrents that relate to your story’s theme. Maybe you took a wrong turn somewhere. Retrace your steps and then reroute your story.
- 5. Shelf It
- Maybe you’re not ready for this particular story. Or maybe this story’s not ready for you. If you simply can’t get around your blockage, then shelf your project for the time being. Don’t go shoving it into a bottom drawer. Just set it aside so you can come back to it in the near future. Maybe you just need to spend some time doing other things, like research. Revisit your project every few days or so until your inspiration has returned.
Don’t Give Up on Your Fiction Writing
Fiction writing is tricky, and the best trick for a writer to learn is sheer determination. Sure, some stories are destined for the recycling bin. Successful writers produce a lot of garbage before they eke out a gem. But don’t give up on a project when you hit your first block. If you do that, you’ll never get anywhere.
Pay attention to what’s going on when you’re at your most creative and learn how to get into that state on command. A writer has to get to know how her mind works and what brings out the best ideas. This is how each writer develops a regular set of techniques or a routine that works and produces good results.
Also, stock up on creativity resources. Visit the Abundance Blog at Marelisa Online, where you’ll find tons of creativity tips and resources. Look for books on creativity and take in the arts. Also, try other creative outlets, such as painting, dancing, photography, or singing. Remember that like attracts like, so the more creative you are, the more creative you’ll be.
How do you break through fiction writing blocks? Share your thoughts and ideas by leaving a comment.
I like the post’s structure – it is prescriptive and it is easy to follow and implement.
#3 and #4 are my favorites here.
Love the picture too – live w/o walls…..
Alik Levin | PracticeThis.coms last blog post..Apply 80/20 Principle – Focus On Stuff That Matters
Thanks Alik!
Some good tips here Melissa but #5 is truly great. It takes courage to shelve something creative, to admit you’re not ready to write something and not feel like you’re giving up.
I particularly like number 1 as well. It’s something I occasionally daydream about while watching TV. How would my character act if he was stuck on that island in LOST? What power would he have if he were in Heroes? How would he interact with Jack Bauer?
Marc – WelshScribes last blog post..How To Effectively Manage Your Time
I have a tendency to make up my own story lines when I’m not happy with the way a plot is going in a book, movie, or TV show. I will start out by thinking, “They should have…” and I’m off, taking over the characters and making them my puppets (muhahah).
I’m just chuckling at #6, because while it is great advice–sometimes walking away is the only option–it’s too easy to walk away indefinitely, whether you meant to or not. Like, say, for the book that I haven’t touched since about 2004 because I ran up against a historical-reference question I can’t find an answer to and can’t figure out how to sum up my story without knowing the answer (sigh).
It’s a really good book, too. (Or, well, I think so!)
–Debs last blog post..Is What You Write More Important than How You Write it?
You have Internet access and can’t find an answer to a question? Must be an intense question! Have you thought about contacting a history professor at a nearby (or far-off) university? I bet those guys love getting interviewed for books
The first thing I ever wrote is a 600 page manuscript now sitting on my hard drive. It is an epic and rather amazing story, but I simply do not yet possess the skill I need to carry it to fruition. It will be written, but it is shelved for now. I will return as a better writer and breathe life into it in some future once upon a time.
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Coming from someone that oozes skill like you do Sean all I can say is I can’t wait to read that story!
Marc – WelshScribes last blog post..Storytelling In Carmarthen | Adult Learner’s Week
That’s smart, Sean. I think a lot of writers tackle projects that are beyond their skill and then they fall short. It’s important to know when you’re ready for a particular project. But don’t put it off indefinitely! It would be too easy to keep waiting and waiting…
Really great ideas here. I think, at one time or another, I’ve tried all of these and they’ve worked. I’m currently working on a fiction piece and it’s a rough road at times. Reading this really put things in perspective and provided some great ideas for me to motivate myself. Thanks!
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Awesome! I’m glad you found this post helpful
I find that #3 works for me more often than not. Lately, I’ve had several bouts of the blahs regarding segues, especially if they come on the heels of a particularly intense scene. It’s almost as if I’m exhausted for my character!
One trick that’s been working for me is to short-circuit a scene if it looks poised to drag me down. If, after walking around the scene for days, I still don’t know how to proceed, I just leave a note for myself and move on. Something on the order of “Character A discovers something here that changes his outlook. Assume he’s suddenly bolder and more confident.” Later, when the story has congealed in my mind, I figure that scene will come to me. It’s true too that sometimes I end up just cutting it altogether, which can be the biggest improvement of all.
A technical trick I use to keep track of these notes is to tag them with a separate heading in Word that I’ve designed just for notes — Heading 3, for instance. That way I can open the document map view and see at a glance where my notes are, then step through each to do the necessary cleanup when the time comes.
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Ah, I love your idea of customizing a heading in Word for special notes. I use the comments feature. I use the headings too, actually, but mostly so I can generate a table of contents and that may contain special notes as well. I could probably write an entire post on how to use Word for stuff like that!
I’m a fan of shelving things.
Somebody once told me that Stephen King writes his work fast then shelves it for six months, then gets a fresh look.
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Six months sounds about right. I did a first draft back in November and then waited until the end of April to read it for the first time since I’d written it. I do feel like that gave me a very fresh perspective, and I was glad to find that it wasn’t quite as awful as I’d been expecting. Hey, don’t shelf too much!
Standing up to move around and do something mindless is a great idea. This is not strictly about writing, but many times at work, when my co-worker is stuck on something he cannot figure out, he comes over to our side of the office and throw darts at the dartboard. And when I can’t figure something out, I walk over to their side and shoot a toy gun with suction bullets at the white board. Sounds a lil weird, but it works.
I think what’s happening is, a lot of times our subconscious mind is thinking a lot faster, and can attempt a lot more different methods and come up with lots of creative ideas. So sometimes it’s good to step away from something, put it on the backburner and just let the subconscious mind work it out. Sometimes I just start channel surfing or juggling when I am stuck. (Or sometimes I just call it a night and go to bed. Many times I just magically have the solution I want within the hour that I wake up the next day.)
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I absolutely agree Kelvin – it’s our subconscious working to solve problems while we keep the rest of our mind trained on something else. It seems like those random solutions come most often when I’m doing something physical and mindless – exercising, driving, etc. That’s why I think stepping away from the computer is the best way to break through blocks.
I talk myself into trying something – anything – to get the story moving. I say, “Okay, we can chuck this if it sucks” and keep on writing. Usually, I just keep it.
And for inspiration, I go outside on my swing.
That’s a smart solution because I think a lot of writers get stuck if they can’t move past a particular scene. In some cases, this may lead to a writer giving up entirely on a project. We all have to remember your words of wisdom: “We can chuck this if it sucks.”
Hi Melissa: The “What if?” book is going on my wish list. It looks fantastic! Thank you for the link
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I love that book, and in fact I took it down off the shelf recently so I could start working through some fiction writing exercises. With all this blogging, I feel like my fiction and poetry have really suffered from chilling out on the back burner. Let me know how you like it!
#4 is my favorite. If the story seems stuck, the characters don’t have enough problems!
That’s what characters are for; they are for overcoming obstacles. If they don’t have enough, the story stalls, and readers get bored. Just like the writer does!
Another tip that works very well for me is simply switching to another part of the story. I don’t write in the order the story is to be read, anyway; an organic approach where I water and fertilize the part of the story that is actively growing is how I grow my plots.
So if this part is stuck, pick another part, anywhere, and work that scene. You might be surprised how often the solution to the stuck scene lies in a part you haven’t written yet.
Then the two link up in a way that shows the back of our minds have been working on this; even if our conscious minds don’t know it yet.
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Good point WereBear! It’s true – characters need a lot of problems for the story to maintain a sense of tension and forward-moving action. It’s not always easy to give characters problems, but it must be done!
I love the idea of pulling your characters out of the story — I’ve never tried that. But since I’m a big fan of changing context to get new perspectives, it makes total sense! Awesome — thanks, Melissa!
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I’ve tried this technique. Usually before I actually start a large fiction project, I like to experiment with the characters by writing about them (and especially from their point of view) outside of the actual story. It’s a huge help in getting to know your characters and working out (or working in) their flaws.
Hhm fiction writing, interesting. It is one type of writing i have never thought about doing but your post here made me think otherwise now!
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Give it a try! Fiction writing is a lot of fun.
I will!
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These are all good pieces of advice.
#1 made me smile, because I know the ‘character gone on strike’ feeling well. It usually means I’m trying to write them out of character. Which is, I suppose, why writing the character in other situations helps. It reminds you who they are.
#5 would be especially good in the situation where a plotting problem is the cause of the block.
Another thing I find works is going somewhere else to write. I know a lot of people swear by writing in a special writer’s place but if I have a block I find grabbing my pad and pen and heading to the park (if it’s a nice day), a coffee shop, or other pleasant place that isn’t my own four walls can work wonders. I’ve done some of my best writing in the local park.
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I think #1 is definitely the most fun and possibly the most beneficial of these techniques. I’ve gotten caught up in playing with characters and putting them in various situations or just writing lengthy backstories that help be understand them better.