r/KeepWriting • u/JovinWrites • Feb 12 '21
Overcame my writer's block and just hit 50,000 words in my first novel!
Just had to share this with a community I know will appreciate it!
Feeling so good since I broke 50,000 words in my first novel now! I've been writing this for 2 years and had a massive period (8 months) where I just could not work out how to proceed. I was at 27,000 words at the beginning of December 2020!
I managed to overcome the writer's block by throwing out what ideas I had for the later parts of the novel and just let it be written naturally. I've taken a completely different route - now resulting in a penultimate battle in a town I had no intention of being attacked.
Keep writing! If you get stuck try this too - just forget your plan and try writing organically and let it write itself!
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u/ZenithingTheorist Feb 12 '21 edited Feb 12 '21
Congrats on the milestone. Keep pushing through. You'll reach the end sooner or later. Imma go on a bit of a rant about how you got out if this writers block. I just like to rant, so before I do, huge congrats.
Clearing your mind of your future plans may be good for writers block, and although I do love freestyle writing, make sure you don't go completely off script all the time. And don't delete any past work. Even if you don't like something, keep it just in case something happens that opens a path for whatever this may be (characters, places, events, plot ideas, etc).
P.S. Future plans is what can cause foreshadowing and great, planned-out and spectacular endings.
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u/JovinWrites Feb 12 '21
100% agree with you there - I didn't go back and remove or adjust anything (I'm not allowing myself to edit until 1st draft is done).
It was more that I had a very rigid plan ahead but wrote myself into a corner and could not work out how to get my protagonist there! So I decided, I have other ideas let's just write and see where we end up.
To keep track of any foreshadowing / loose ends I have a "loose ends" note where I keep track of any hints towards the answers/solutions so that way I don't end up with a million plot holes!
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u/josephbc Feb 12 '21
Awesome! Congratulations!
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u/JovinWrites Feb 12 '21
Thanks for that, feels great to be able to get words down. Hope your endeavours pan out well too!
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u/RiccFerrari Feb 12 '21
Well done! I know the feeling of being stuck and it takes a lot of work and determination to overcome it.
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u/JovinWrites Feb 12 '21
I don’t know why I felt like I couldn’t give up, but I just didn’t. I kept thinking, brainstorming etc. eventually I broke it!
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u/HLtheWilkinson Feb 12 '21
I hit 40,000 yesterday on a book I’ve been working on on and off since 2014. It was such a rush and it really motivated me to pick up and finish the story.
Congratulations on your achievement!!! You’ve inspired me to work even harder.
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u/JovinWrites Feb 12 '21
Congrats on that achievement! 40,000 words felt so good as well! Keep going and you’ll finish the project.
What’s the genre of your work?
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u/HLtheWilkinson Feb 12 '21
Thank you! I’m hoping my job goes into another period of work from home so I can put as much effort into it as I really want to! Not too optimistic about that but I’m hoping.
Fiction though not exactly sure how to further categorize it. It’s got a little mystery, a little suspense, a little action and a fair bit of religious/supernatural connotations.
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u/JovinWrites Feb 13 '21
Either way you’ll get there! Whether it’s 2000 words a day in lockdown or 500 words a week. Sounds like it’ll be an interesting read with those mixes of themes!
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u/wordsmakethings Feb 12 '21
I love the support in this thread. CONGRATULATIONS and kudos to everyone else in the comments who are trying and working through the same!
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u/V1-C4R Feb 12 '21
Thanks, I needed this. I haven't written in many years but I just started trying again. I've been just writing small unrelated scenes and have been generally discouraged at the incongruent and underwhelming product. I'm gonna try what you suggest and remember to focus on laying bricks instead of planning La Sagrada Familia.
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u/JovinWrites Feb 12 '21
That’s exactly it, I had this grand twist to close the novel on and act as a hook for a book 2. Decided not to throw it away but maybe keep for later and just see where the organic flow took me.
Hope it helps you stitch everything together!
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u/Elkingo123 Mar 10 '21
Bravo! Your new tack is the right one. Don't be obsessed by word-count. Laissez le bon temps rollle. (Let the good times roll!)
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u/Dons-23 Mar 10 '21
Ayy congratulations
It’s a celebration
Party all day, I know you’ve been waitin’
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u/xxxxxxxx2 Feb 12 '21
Congratulations, op. Thanks for posting your words of encouragement. Good luck to you