Sometimes the spark dies. You take a long break. You put your book on the backburner for some reason. Then you have to figure out how to start writing again.
Maybe you’re coming out of burnout or have simply been too busy with other things to write your current book. Whatever the reason, when you open up your document it hits you hard—you’ve fallen out of love with your WIP.
Some people would give it up at this point. Maybe it’s kind of a lame story after all. It just doesn’t interest you anymore, so why keep torturing yourself over that blank page? It was just a phase. Maybe I’m not really a writer at all.
But you’re here because that isn’t you. You want to start writing again and finish that WIP. You’ve poured too much into it to abandon it now. So, what are you going to do? It’s up to you, but here are seven possible strategies that might help you fall back in love with your WIP.
#1 Make and listen to a playlist
For a lot of authors, music can really get the imagination going full-sail. If you haven’t tried making a playlist for your WIP, maybe you should blow some time doing that now, since you feel stuck anyway. You can go with instrumentals and soundtracks, or try hunting down songs with vibes and lyrics that line up with your characters and themes.
Once you’ve got your playlist, spend some time listening to it while doing other things. You’ll probably start daydreaming which could lead to brainstorming, which could lead to actually wanting to write.
#2 What do you love about the project? Write some of that
Go ahead and write some scenes you’re looking forward to. Write the things that excite you about the story. You know which characters you enjoy the most—write some interactions between them or throw them into a fun action or humor scene you may or may not actually use.
Don’t try to do a good job or fit these scenes into your manuscript. You don’t even have to finish a scene if you don’t feel like it. Skip around to different scenes until you find one you do feel like writing.
#3 Write letters, journal entries, etc. by your favorite characters
You need a deep connection with your characters. Getting into your main characters’ minds and immersing yourself in their hopes struggles and views of their world is a powerful exercise. Writing letters from one character to another, from yourself to your characters, is one way to do it. Journal entries are also great.
Feel free to pick any point in your story to write from. It can be from before the beginning, after the end, near the climax, or exactly wherever it is you’re stuck right now. Grab a notebook or open a new document and start writing. (Plus, this could potentially double as fun bonus material to help promote your book later.)
#4 Re-read your favorite parts
If you feel like your writing as terrible right now, try going back to some scenes you’ve already written and rereading them with an open mind. You might even be able to remember some scenes you actually enjoyed writing, or felt good about once you got them down. Check those out.
You might even end up re-reading several chapters—or even the whole manuscript so far. This is actually a good sign. That means you’re more interested in your story than you might have thought.
#5 Tell someone else about the project—tell them what makes it good
This is a great project. If it wasn’t you wouldn’t have started it. Try talking to someone—anybody who is nice and will listen. Tell them your premise. Tell them why you love the characters and why you wish you lived in their world. You started writing the book you wanted to read, didn’t you? Why did you want to read it?
Recommending your book to other people is a skill you’re going to need to learn anyway. If you don’t want to bother an actual person with your rant, try just writing it out. You might come up with some good loglines or material for your blurb that will come in handy later, so be sure to save it.
#6 Make fan-art or write fan-fiction of your own stories
Be your own biggest fan for a while. If you draw, crack open your sketchbook and start drawing some of the best moments from your story. If you’re not inclined that way, just try writing. Write some alternative universe pieces. Drop your characters into the modern world, or Narnia, or swap them out with the crew of the starship Enterprise and see what happens.
These fan-works can be as lazy or as elaborate as you’d like. The point is to shake out the creative stiffness and have some fun with your characters again. This will give you a chance to develop their personalities and might even give you some idea for plot twists that could liven up your actual story.
#7 Find what’s making you feel stuck and fix it
If you feel up to it, maybe you want to get down to business and find out what’s really making you feel stuck. Is there something you’re actually struggling with about the project itself? Do you know what it is?
Put some thought into it and then start brainstorming. Treat it like a puzzle with an answer you want to find. But don’t put pressure on yourself to solve it too fast. Remember—this is part of the writing process. Not all writing is putting words down in a document. That’s the easy part. This is the part where you have to use your brain and do what only you can do for your story. Don’t be afraid to work hard on it and take your time.
What If I’m Still Stuck?
Did you actually try everything? Have some hope. I doubt you can really stay uninterested in spite of all your efforts to start writing again. There’s a reason you started this WIP. You’re going to find a reason to finish it. There will be hard parts. It’s probably going to take a lot longer than you expected. But if you are truly meant to write it, you’ll fall back in love with it eventually. Trust the process and give yourself grace.