Thinking it Through verses Overthinking
Sometimes you just know. The idea comes to you as if it has been mailed it to you from a divine source. The setting, the characters, even the plot and sub plots seem to rise freely out of the alcoves of your mind. You write effortlessly for hours, days, weeks, maybe months and then...the flow comes to an abrupt or gradual halt.
You begin to doubt your work. Does your story lack character development? Is the plot plausible? Was the last scene premature? Questions like this start springing into full force, and a wave of dread washes over you that maybe you’ve missed the mark for several chapters or more. This is one of those times you face the challenge to think it through rather than overthink. All of those questions listed above are good questions to ask yourself, as long as you keep a balance of not being overly critical of everything you write.
Here are a few things I do to aid me if my writing juices feel like they’re drying up while I’m in the middle of a novel. I hope this is helpful to you as well!
Remind yourself of the initial idea or story that came to you. That early inspiration is what prompted you to start writing your story in the first place, so hold on to it- trust it.
Identify where in the story the writing flow stopped. Overthinking leads us as writers to think, “oh I should just toss the whole thing”, where as “thinking it through” can realign us with the right path of the story while keeping the heart of the story intact.
Create a separate document. Create a separate document you can paste sections of your story that you need to temporarily (or maybe permanently) “cut”. If you keep your writing, you can pull from it later- cutting and pasting sections back to your novel as needed. I call this document “story scraps”.
Revisit or create your outline. If you haven’t already, write out a very basic (or detailed) outline of your story. Then if sections you are questioning do not help tell the story, cut and paste them to your “story scraps” document.
Reevaluate the scene. If a scene in which you shared an important element seems to be hindering the flow-reevaluate the scene. If there was an initial reason for putting that section in your story, try changing the scene but keep the important element. For example: you want your readers to know your main character is sympathetic to the plight of her bedridden brother, but the way the scene ends stumps you for beginning the next chapter. Perhaps you need to cut the scene and find another way to portray her empathy and love for her brother in a manner that keeps the story still flowing.
Pray. (This should have been number 1) I find that consistently asking the Lord for his help and wisdom makes ALL the difference. The Bible tells us He is the author and finisher of our faith! The Lord is the author of life and the author of our story, so He has the best ideas for even our ficitional writings!