How To Escape A Writing Slump

What happens when you get frustrated with writing?
What happens when you want to quit?
How do you cope with a persistent case of writer’s block or the writer’s blues?

Here are my five go-to solutions for escaping the doldrums and getting back to work.

1) Save the document in a new file and cut everything back to the point where you loved it. This works well for writer’s block and, because it’s saved as a new file, it means you haven’t lost anything if you want to put pieces back in later. 

2) Quit writing for a week or twenty and reload. Go do other things. Read. Listen to audio books. Color. Go outside. Play a video game. Do whatever you do to recharge and refill the creative well until the story starts talking to you again. This works particularly well if you are burnt out. Giving yourself permission to *not write* 

3) Chase other story ideas. If it’s just one story giving you problems and you want to write, but it doesn’t feel like writer’s block (blank brain and staring with no ideas at all) then this might work for you. Write down the sparkly ideas tempting you. Write an outline or a plot for a new series. Brainstorm. Do character sketches. Write fanfic. Write fanfic of your original fic. Make a list of possible ideas for new books. This works particularly well if the problem is fear of finishing the book or a fear that this book will end your career. Knowing you have new stories waiting for you when your main project is finished can help quiet your writing-related anxiety. 

4) Quit writing that book and move on to another project entirely. Some stories just don’t have legs. They sound great for a bit, but you can’t take them anywhere. If you’ve tried multiple approaches to fix this story and nothing is working, shelve it. You can break it down and use your favorite parts for another book. Or, who knows, maybe in ten years you’ll find the missing piece and be able to take the book off the shelf. This is what you do if you tried #3 and realized you never want to go back to a book. It’s okay. Here’s written permission to throw that story in the scrap pile

5) For extreme cases with deadline and contracts there is always bribery. Don’t wait until the book is finished to celebrate.

Give yourself a sticker for every 500 words you write.

Give yourself $1 for every chapter you finish (or a piece of candy, or a trip to the pool, or a hike, or 30 minutes of Netflix…something small and measurable but rewarding).

Have a friend, roommate, or partner buy you presents and wrap them (one for every 5,000-10,000 word written seems common). Take yourself out to lunch after you finish the outline. Treat yourself to your favorite dessert or fruit or drink when you write the blurb or query.

Make writing fun by celebrating the little things you do. Writing should be fun, but it won’t be fun if you treat it like a chore that needs to be done. You aren’t pulling weeds, you are creating worlds. Celebrate your creativity and hard work.