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Getting stuck

Does anyone ever get to a stage in the book they're writing and feel unable to carry on with it? I am 3/4 through writing my book and am really struggling to get on and finish it. I know what I need to get done but can't get motivated, although I desperately want to do it. Any tips or advice would be most welcome

Asked by: Gilly Ansell

  1. Phil Rogers on August 13, 2012

    I've been through days like that and seeing as my writing time is so precious, what I do is go back to a chapter I haven't read in ages and start to edit. I know that people say you shouldn't do it but, the way I see it, it means I'm doing something positive instead of just looking out of the window and watching the world go by.

    Failing that you could always pick up a good book, I always find that gets me raring to go again.

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  2. Gilly Ansell on August 13, 2012

    Thanks Phil. I think I may try your first suggestion and edit a chapter. If I start reading a good book I'll be there for hours.

  3. Jonathan Hopkins on August 13, 2012

    You've probably got to the 'I don't think thos story is working' stage. Or maybe you know what happens next but whatever you write isn't good enough.

    In my WIP there were two essential 'sex' scenes I really did not want to write. So I left them out. Once I'd written 'The End' I went back and wrote them in because I had to. I suppose I blackmailed myself into writing them, if that's possible.

    Worth a try if you're really desperate, you know what you were going write and how the book ends :)

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  4. Gilly Ansell on August 13, 2012

    Thanks Jonathan. I have written the beginning and ending and most of the middle but just need to get on and finish the middle. I like the idea of blackmailing myself - hmm, now, should I choose chocloate or a glass of wine? Decisions decisions

  5. Adrian Sroka on August 13, 2012

    Gilly, if you are apprehensive about reading a good book for fear of not putting it down, then read some poetry.

    Failing that, lie down, close your eyes, and imagine the next scene. Play it out in the theatre of the mind. That should inspire you to start writing again.

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