It’s practically inevitable. You’re rockin’ and rollin’ through your writing, feeling invincible, and then you reach a sudden halt: You’re blocked. The words won’t come. It seems like there’s nothing more, and yet you’ve got things to do! Deadlines to meet! Dreams to fulfill!
It can seem impossible. But never fear: it can be done.
Here’s how to write a book when you’ve got writer’s block.
Writing a book is a bit like going to war. It takes blood, sweat, and tears, often over the course of years to finish writing a book.
And when going to war, it’s important to spend time planning for battle. As Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.”
But how do you plan? What makes a good plan to write a book? And are there any materials that can help make it easier?
Good news: there are now plenty of practical and user-friendly planners, both physical and digital, specifically tailored for the needs of writers.
In this article, we’ve listed some of our favorite book planners, both physical and digital, created with authors and writers in mind so you can create a strong plan for your book that you can actually finish.
How many of you have been writing for a while? This article is for you—though if you’re brand-new, this will eventually apply to you, too. Ahem. There will come a day when it’s time to start that story over from scratch.
Writing is hard, and publishing adds another layer of challenge into the mix. You might think that after launching your first book, any subsequent books would be easier. I thought so once too. But from writing to launch, each book presents new challenges. Read on to see what I’m learning as I launch my second book in a series.
It’s difficult to know how much to plan when starting a new story. Is it essential to have each and every character, scene, and key change in mind beforehand? How much, or how little, do you need? (Hint: it’s less than you might think!)
The bad news is, no matter how much you plan, your first draft is destined to be messy. But even if you’re a pantser, there are a few key questions you should answer before you start. When you do, you’ll be building your story on a rock-solid foundation that will give you the freedom to take risks that won’t cost you a ton of time and energy in the long run.
So, you’ve got an intriguing story idea and you’re picturing some of the scenes in your mind, eager to get them down on paper and begin wowing readers. But unless you ground your reader with deep POV, you’ll have a hard time getting them to care or like your book.
There are specific techniques that master writers use to draw readers in and keep them engaged. In this article, I’ll be teaching you about the first and fundamental—absolutely indispensable—technique that pulls readers in and makes them forget they’re reading.
So get out your notebook and prepare to level up your writer’s toolbox. This will be a game changer!
