Note: This post is geared toward novelists, but there’s advice in here that can be applicable for other types of writers, too!
Writing is hard. Sometimes the most difficult part is actually sitting down to write. And sometimes, we truly don’t have the time or the energy.
Plus, there’s that pesky little thing called writers’ block. Even the most detail-oriented plotter can run into it.
Before I jump into this list, let me remind you that nothing is a substitute for actual writing. The only way to get it done is by putting one word after the other on the page. But if you’re stuck and you want to do other things to help your story, here are a few fun ways to make progress with your novel.
Create a playlist
Movies have soundtracks–why not your novel? Find music that works with the aesthetic of your novel, or songs that fit well as the background music to a scene. You can also make more than one playlist depending on the purpose you want it to serve.
For example, for my novel set in the early 1930s, which I’m currently revising, I have a playlist of songs from the actual time period (and from scores of movies set during the time period) to root me in the time and place, which is great if I want to immerse myself in the setting. For the same novel, I also have a playlist of modern songs that fit scenes or character emotions.
There have been many times when words weren’t happening and I just wasn’t up for writing. But after I went for a walk and listened to one of said playlists, BOOM! Words. Energy to write. Inspiration for something to add to a scene. So that’s an added bonus.
Map out your world
If your book is set in a real-life city, print out a map of that location. If you’re writing historical fiction, there are plenty of historical city map images online that you can print out for this purpose. For one of my novels, I printed a map of late eighteenth-century Boston. For another, it was a small German university city in 1930!
If it’s a fantasy or sci-fi novel that requires intensive world-building, this will require your own drawing by hand or on a computer, but it’s a great way to get a clearer picture of what said world looks like. Since you’re making it up, you want it to be consistent!
After you have the map in front of you, here’s the next important step: Mark the main locations in the novel (ex. the protagonist’s house or apartment, the scene of the crime, the place two characters fall in love, etc.). It can spark some ideas and help you see potential you didn’t realize was there. For instance, after adding key plot locations to a map, you might see that it makes sense for your protagonist and villain to live next door to each other to heighten the tension in the novel.
Play icebreaker games for your characters
This-or-That, Never Have I Ever, Would You Rather…all are fun, quick ways to get to know your characters. You’re working on characterization even if you’re stuck on other areas of your novel.
Maybe you find out that your protagonist has a guilty-pleasure TV show, or that your villain is afraid of the dark. Or maybe, on a deeper level, the game gives your characters skeleton-in-the-closet secrets that you can work into your novel.
Take a personality quiz as your character
If one of the reasons you’re stuck or not up for writing is your characters, here’s another strategy to get to know them better (or make them more interesting): personality tests! What’s their Myers-Briggs type–are they a gregarious ENFJ or an ethereal INFP? What’s their Enneagram–are they a goal-oriented 3 or peacemaking 9?
There are so many options here–the point is to have fun with it and get to know your characters. Heck, which of the four Hogwarts houses would they be in? How would this affect their interactions? For example, as I was writing this, I just realized that my ’30s novel’s four main/main supporting characters would each be in different houses. Things could get very interesting with that in mind!
Lastly, if you’re into astrology (or, actually, even if you’re not), you can use it to help figure out your characters. If you haven’t chosen dates for your characters’ birthdays, this is the time to do it. Look up their sign’s typical characteristics and it might help get you out of a rut!
Create setting or character “vision boards”
Okay, full disclosure: My so-called “vision boards” are actually just photos I pasted from a Google image search into a document in Scrivener. (If you don’t know Scrivener, it’s a fantastic writing software that helps me keep my writing and ideas organized–check it out! No, they’re not paying me to say that.)
Look up (or use your own) photos of the city or country where your book is set, and compile them to give yourself a stronger sense of the setting. Even if you live in the location where your novel takes place and you see it every day, it can be a helpful exercise to have multiple images right in front of you.
Or, if you’re doing fantasy world-building, find places that look like the world forming in your head. For example, is your fantasy novel’s setting a place of rolling green hills and craggy cliffs? Ummm, hello, Ireland and Scotland!
And here’s another fun one: What do your characters look like? Is there a celebrity, historical person, or fictional character who comes to mind? Collect those photos!
Each of these activities is, as I stated above, no substitute for writing. But any one of them might help you become more invested in your story, get you past a writing block, or give you a little energy boost to help you get words on the page.
Image: Canva-venicedesigns
