Recently a young writer wrote to me, freaking out because he had just started the second draft of his novel and was, for the first time, experiencing being stuck--in fact, terrified of continuing, for reasons he didn't understand. In case it might be useful to someone else as well, I thought I'd post my advice to him here:
First, don't panic. Every writer encounters some blocks and some points at which things aren't flowing as well as you would like. The trick is to realize that these are temporary states that you can overcome.
There are a few things you can do. Which one works best for you is something you'll have to find out by experimenting.
First, it would be good if you could take a day or two away from the project without guilt. Just give yourself permission to have a day or two off, doing something you enjoy and that will keep your mind occupied. I don't know what you like to do, but examples could be a weekend of hiking, or indulging in a movie marathon, or watching a box set of some tv series, or visiting out of town friends, etc.
Sometimes that alone is enough. When you go back to the project, you're refreshed and able to resume.
Second, I suspect you are putting a lot of pressure on yourself because while a first draft usually means a rough draft, some writers think they have to get everything right in the second draft.
You don't.
Most writers do a third, fourth, and even fifth draft. So try to relax: the second draft only has to be a bit better than the first one. And the third draft only has to be a bit better than the second one. You keep going until at some point you realize that you've done it as well as you can and it's time to send the thing out into the world--but only when you feel ready.
I hope that makes sense, let me know how you get on.
(For more tips and techniques on how to be more creative, overcome blocks, and be more productive, you can subscribe to my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin by sending an email request to [email protected])
