Category: Writing Craft, Revising
I’ve been working on my current novel since May. Back then it was a vague one-sentence idea. I wrote about four beat sheets a month, feeling out the story and figuring out how to shape it. In October I started outlining, and as I outlined I’d find problems and head back to the beat sheet stage to revise. But I felt this back and forth (write, revise and repeat process) was moving forward – I was getting closer and closer to completing the outline to my satisfaction, and after that I would write! Oh, the joy! It would happen soon, maybe next month, and then…
I stopped making progress. I started rewriting everything and getting nowhere. Finally, I put down my pen and assessed the situation. Was I in a rut? And what should I do about it? This certainly wasn’t the first time I’d found myself stuck. As I pondered the situation, I came up with 4 Writing Ruts and how to get out of them…