The Novelry on Writing Podcast: 5 Ways to Push Past the 30k Word Slump

Every writer gets stuck while drafting a novel. Don’t panic! It’s part of the creative process. In this episode of our podcast, The Novelry on Writing, authors and The Novelry writing coaches Gina Sorell and Colleen Oakley present five simple and reliable techniques to push past a writing slump and crush your word count. Read on for the episode transcript.

COLLEEN: When you’re on Instagram, you’re on TikTok, and you see all these writers and they make it look like it’s easy for them.

GINA: Write a book in 72 hours!

COLLEEN: Yes! Right? And it’s not.

Introduction

[Gina Sorell] Hi, I’m Gina Sorell, and I’m the author of Mothers and Other Strangers and The Wise Women and I’m also a writing coach here at The Novelry, where I specialize in contemporary fiction and women’s fiction. And I’m also here with author and writing coach...

[Colleen Oakley] Hi, I am Colleen Oakley. I am the author of five women’s fiction titles, the latest, The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise, and I coach at The Novelry. I work with women’s fiction, romance, Up Lit, book club fiction. We’re pretty similar.

[GS] Yeah. Book club fiction. I always forget. That’s a great category, book club fiction. And we’re here today to talk about writing tips, things that get you unstuck. Because something like getting stuck is something that happens to everybody. And I think that’s actually something a lot of writers feel really bad about. They think that it says something about where they are in their writing journey. That maybe they’re not experienced enough or they don’t have what it takes. And, you know, I would just love people to know that’s not true. That I still get stuck now.

[CO] Yes. That we all feel it.

[GS] We all feel it. And in all phases of the novel writing process. I think also sometimes people think that they just get stuck maybe at the very beginning because they’re getting that idea on the page, you know?

[CO] Or they don’t know what they’re doing.

[GS] Yeah. They don’t know what they’re doing. They haven’t done this before. I don’t have enough experience, you know, but we’ve both written many books and it’s something that keeps coming up because it’s just part of the writing journey. So I think it’s really helpful for people to know if there are things they can actually do when that panic starts to set in that you are stuck. And you have writer’s block.

[CO] And we’ve been stuck so much that we have tips for that.

[GS] Yes, we do. We have some really great tips for that.

Tip No. 1: Don’t panic

[GS] So I think my first one is: don’t panic. I mean, just trust that you will get through this. It’s going to pass. I remember when I wrote my first novel, Mothers and Other Strangers, which, you know, I should also mention was my first published novel. Right? Because a lot of us have written books...

[CO] That don’t get published.

[GS] That are getting to that first book. You know, and there was a time there that I was really stuck. Like in between drafts, where I was really trying to understand how to balance the backstory and the front story. And I had all these flashbacks and I had different timelines and I was really... I remember just thinking: it’s never going to work. I’m going to just have to put this in a drawer and, you know, cry myself to sleep for the next year.‍

But something happened, like, over time, you know, it unlocked. And one of the ways—we’ll talk about the different ways that it can unlock later on. But that was... That was a genuine panic. I really wasn’t sure that I was going to be able to get past that. And of course I did, right? And we all will. We all get through. Have you ever had an experience like that?

[CO] Oh gosh. How many, you know, let me count the ways. Right? And I think especially early on, you know, those first couple of books, I’ve been stuck on every single book. So that’s the most important thing to say.

[GS] Yeah. I think that is important.

[CO] Is that it’s part of the process.

[GS] Absolutely.

[CO] I think it’s so easy to forget that. When you’re on Instagram, you’re on TikTok, and you see all these writers and they make it look like it’s easy for them.

[GS] Write a book in 72 hours!

[CO] Yes! Right? And it’s not. I think maybe it is for like one per cent. I don’t know.

[GS] Sure. Yeah.

[CO] Is it easy for anyone? But, yeah, I think it’s really important to say, especially for new writers, that it is just part of the process. It’s like working on this big puzzle. I also kind of liken it to, you know, when you have a necklace and it gets kind of all knotted up.

[GS] Oh, the chain gets all tangled?

[CO] Yes. And it’s very hard to undo. You really have to have the patience. But you know that you will get it unstuck. And it’s the same with books. It will get unstuck. Every single book that I’ve been stuck, my husband loves to remind me of this because I will come to him in the middle of the writing process and I’ll be crying. No! This one, I’m so stuck! I’m a bad writer. I’m never going to figure this one out. I don’t know why I thought I could write this book, right?

[GS] Yeah. Yeah.

[CO] And my husband always says—at the beginning he would panic. Like the first couple books he would be like...

[GS] What have we done? Oh no!

[CO] What, what can I do? Is this the right book for you? I don’t know. Should you be doing this? And he’d try to help me figure it out. And now I come to him crying and he’s like: well, I mean, you’re 30,000 words in and you do this every book. And I’m like: no, no, no, no. This one’s different.

[Both laughing]

[GS] THIS one is different. No, but it does feel different every time. And it will happen at different parts of the novel at every time. But you will get through it every time.

(Getting stuck) is just part of the process. It’s like working on this big puzzle. I also kind of liken it to, you know, when you have a necklace and it gets kind of all knotted up... And it’s very hard to undo. You really have to have the patience. But you know that you will get it unstuck. And it’s the same with books.
—Colleen Oakley

[CO] Yes. It’s like... I also think of you know, The Wizard of Oz. Like: ‘You always had the power to go home inside of you.’ And I do feel like, you know, you have the answers inside of you. You just don’t have the answers YET.

[GS] Yeah. And just like that chain, you don’t untangle it all at once.

[CO] Exactly.

[GS] You do a little bit and then you come back. So definitely don’t panic.

Tip No. 2: Get moving

[GS] And the other thing that I like to do, our second tip would be: I like to get moving.

[CO] Me too.

[GS] I just like to get moving. Like just shake my body up, do something different. Like sometimes literally shake my body up. I have one of those mini trampolines that I jump on, a little rebounder. And I’ll just, you know, sometimes I’ll blast some music and I’ll just jump on that. Or I’ll have like a little dance break or I will go for a walk around the neighborhood, you know, without music to work out plot points. Same thing with my first book. I think I covered all of Los Angeles on foot. I mean, really, every day I would just walk for hours trying to untangle it. And it actually made a big difference.

[GS] There’s something about putting my body, moving through space, letting it work in my subconscious, seeing other stuff. It’s also just being reminded that it wasn’t a life or death situation. There was still like a world going on outside of my office that other people were operating quite fine in, you know, that I could one day participate in. That made a really big difference to me. Do you do that?

[CO] Oh, for sure. Yeah. I remember my first book, Before I Go, when I was working on that, I got really, really stuck. I think... I’m sure halfway through, halfway always seems to be really...

[GS] Yeah, halfway is tricky.

[CO] A really messy place for me.

[GS] The squishy middle section.

[CO] Yeah. And I remember I was really stuck and, you know, not having done it before, I didn’t know—was this normal? All that panic and anxiety really started to set in, like: can I do this?  You know, you just really start to doubt yourself. And I found myself sitting at my desk day after day and staring at the computer and kind of wallowing in that anxiety.

[GS] Oh no...

[CO] Spiraling. And that just makes it worse. I mean, talk about ‘don’t panic.’ The panic just ratchets up. And so I very vividly remember pushing myself away from the desk and we had a really messy kind of dead garden at the mailbox. And I thought: you know what, I’m just going to go to Home Depot and I’m going to get flowers. And I went out and I redid the whole little flower section at the mailbox, and it looked beautiful. And so for half of the time I was feeling very guilty. I was like: I’m not a writer.

[GS] I’m not writing.

[CO] Yes. I’m not writing.

[GS] I’m not at my desk.

[CO] I’m not a real writer. I’ve quit. I felt like I’d quit myself and given up. But then as I was working, things started to unravel. And I got a little piece of dialogue or a little... Maybe the chapter could start this way. And that was really the first kind of lesson that I had given myself of like: oh, you can still be working while you’re not sitting at the desk. Like, your brain is still working on the story.

[GS] No, a hundred per cent. The 10,000 scones that I baked when I was stuck last time. You know, I can absolutely attest to that. Like it does, it makes a big difference. You’re doing something. And it’s also—you’re doing something, I think, that has a sense of completion.

[CO] Yes. Oh, that’s a good point.

[GS] So, you know, you’re digging and it’s done, or you’re baking and it’s done. So...

[CO] It’s like an accomplishment.

[GS] It’s an accomplishment. Yeah. It’s a tangible accomplishment while you’re working on something else in the background. I think that that’s really important.

You have the answers inside of you. You just don’t have the answers YET.
—Colleen Oakley

[CO] And I think to your point, you were talking about walking without the music. I think that’s a huge point because, you know, typically when I walk my dog I’m listening to a podcast or I’m listening to music.

[GS] Or an audiobook.

[CO] Or an audiobook. And when I’m stuck, I find if I don’t listen to anything, if I just be silent, that can be a little anxiety-making at first. Because I’m so used to multitasking. But just taking that hour walk through my neighborhood without listening to anything. And it really lets your brain wander. Which I think is why I also get a lot of ideas in the shower.

[GS] Oh, okay.

[CO] Yeah. Do you do that?

[GS] In the shower? No, not as much for me. There’s something wrong with my shower...

[CO] You need to build a brand new shower!

[GS] I need a new shower! No, it’s definitely walking. It’s definitely walking and baking. That’s really when it happens for me. And just because I love seeing beautiful things, and that inspires me. I look at other people’s gardens. So YOU keep gardening, I’ll look at your garden...

[CO] I’ll come eat your scones...

[GS] I’ll be inspired, I’ll get unstuck, I’ll give you scones... We’re settled. That’s it. It’s done. Next book: easy peasy.

[CO] That’s right.

Tip No. 3: Use music

[GS] But with music, that’s actually my third tip would be: music can help you sometimes. But maybe used in a different capacity, right? So I have a playlist that I create for every book. And so sometimes, I’ll remember that: oh, I wrote the opening with these five songs on repeat. You know, ad nauseam. And then if I’m stuck in the opening, I’ll go back to that and I’ll play that music again. And sometimes it kind of unlocks it, like it reminds me: this is where you were, this is how you felt, this is what you were thinking. And even if I can’t actually solve the thing that I’m working on, it calms me down. Because I like the music, right? I created that playlist.

[CO] And do you create it before you start writing...?

[GS] No, it kind of happens.

[CO] As you’re going.

[GS] Yes. It happens concurrently, which is really interesting. And there are some songs that I will transfer from book to book. Just because they’re getting me in the mood to write. You know, like they are... And often there are things that they have maybe a little bit dancey, but I’m not going to get lost in the lyrics. It has to be something that I’m familiar with. Right? So that I’m not, you know, just thinking about the songs.

[CO] Singing along too.

[GS] Yeah, exactly. Oh no, it’s a full dance party. It’s a full dance party at my desk. But I find that that sometimes really helps.

[CO] Yeah. That’s interesting.

[GS] Do you create playlists?

[CO] Well, I don’t, but I do have songs that I know will put me in a specific emotional mood. So when I was writing You Were There Too, which is quite a heavy, emotional book, and there were very heavy, very sad scenes that I needed to get in that zone for, I will put on those songs that I know kind of put me in that mood.

[GS] A sad song playlist.

[CO] Yeah. So I just start crying.

[GS] Well, that’s good. That’s good. That’s healthy. You let it release. But I do think that music can be really powerful.

[CO] I’m going to have to try that. I think that’s super interesting how it can trigger you, almost remind you like: this is the writing time.

[GS] Yeah. This is the writing time, or this is what the character was thinking. This is how they were feeling. And sometimes that can sort of trick your way back into a little bit. Yeah. I think that that’s really helpful.

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Tip No. 4: Put it away

[GS] You have a really interesting thing that I’d never heard of before that I would love you to tell for our fourth tip.

[CO] Yes. Okay. So this one also comes with a caveat.

[GS] Okay.

[CO] So, when I really, really get stuck, if it’s one of those where it’s not just like, you know, it feels like I really can’t move on...

[GS] Garden’s done, all the walking has happened...

[CO] Yes. Yes.

[GS] Eaten all the scones...

[CO] I’ve done all the tricks. And I just have no idea how to unknot the story. I will physically send it, like email it, to my mom or my sister, which is this very panicked— I mean, don’t panic, but I DO panic. This very panicked, you know: I’m so stuck. I don’t know what to do next.

And I say with the caveat, because particularly a first draft, particularly for new writers, you don’t want to send it out for feedback. You don’t want cooks in the kitchen. It’s a mess. You don’t want anybody kind of derailing you from the first draft.

[GS] Yeah. Hundred per cent.

[CO] But for me, that act of getting it off of my desk, it’s like it unburdens me. I feel like it’s somebody else’s problem.

[GS] Amazing. Yeah.

[CO] It’s now my mom’s problem, and even though I know she’s not going to fix it—she has no idea what I’m doing, it’s a messy first draft—it’s something about getting it off my shoulders that unburdens me and allows my brain to just open up.

[GS] That’s incredible.

[CO] Isn’t that weird?

[GS] And you’re just convinced that she’s not going to read it?

[CO] I mean, she might read it and that’s okay. But my mom... My mom would be a cheerleader.

[GS] For sure.

[CO] She would be like: it’s great! I don’t understand the problem!  You know?

[GS] It’s finished!

[CO] Or she’d let me just talk about the problem and she knows that I will figure out the answer. So she will be just a sounding board without feedback. And knows, you know, I can cry, but then she knows I will work it out and sometimes I just need to say it out loud to her.

[GS] That’s wild.‍ I don’t do that. I’ve never done that.

[CO] You haven’t?

[GS] No, but I’ve emailed it to myself.

[CO] Oh! Well, talk about that!

Something about getting it off my shoulders ... unburdens me and allows my brain to just open up.
—Colleen Oakley

[GS] Sometimes I’ll just email it to myself. I’m like: okay, you’ve done it, you’ve sent it somewhere. It’s sitting, you’re not going to lose it. It’s just going to live out there, online in your inbox. And, you know, I usually call it ‘for safekeeping.’

[CO] Well, that’s kind of the same thing, right?

[GS] Yeah. I guess it’s...

[CO] The same mental trick.

[GS] I guess it’s kind of like the equivalent of like: I put all the ingredients away and I clear the whole workspace, right? And I’m just like: tomorrow I’ll start fresh.

[CO] Do you ever take a break and then work on something completely different, even if it’s just like a poem or...? Do you know what I mean?

[GS] Yeah. Actually, I’ll email a friend a letter. I have two friends who it’s not just the ‘Hi, how’s it going?’ kind of emails, where we actually write letters to each other.

[CO] Wow. By hand or email?

[GS] Well, I would love to do it by hand, but no one can read it then but me. Right? So I do, by email. But just sometimes having to collect my thoughts and get a story out in a linear fashion. Which is not always how my mind works. You know, sometimes it’s tangentially all over the place. And so being able to really focus it and tell somebody: since we last spoke, this is what’s happened.

[CO] Yes.

[GS] You know, and I’m telling a story and it has a beginning, a middle, and an end, and hopefully it’s remotely entertaining, but I’m catching up with somebody who I also know really well. And who I know cares about me. And both of these friends are really good at emailing back right away. So there’s something about that that shifts gears, but it’s still about communicating and getting my message across and my story out that I think can also really help me sometimes.

[CO] That’s so interesting because it reminds me, my next book that comes out in March was probably one of the hardest books I’ve ever written as far as getting stuck.

[GS] Really? Okay.

[CO] Which, I know that can be disheartening for some writers to hear...

[GS] No, I think that’s actually very heartening because, you know, that’s so many books in, right? And it’s coming out in March.

[CO] And you keep hoping that it’ll just get easier and easier and, you know, but it’s just not like that. The process is so different.

[GS] No, I think it gets easier in some ways and harder in others. You know, there’s things that you challenge yourself with or that you want to try that are different. You know, different parts of the process.

[CO] Right. So this one was really hard and I got so stuck that I truly didn’t know. I mean, it was like a month and a half of really taking a step back, really trying to unknot this thing and figure out: what had I written? Where did it need to go? What needed to be revised, you know? The whole thing. It was really challenging. And what I did was, I’m a journalist by background and I thought: you know what, I’m going to reach out to some of my old magazine editors and I’m going to pick up some freelance work. Because writing little short stories—a thousand words, 2,000 words—it gave me the sense of accomplishment. And it reminded me: you are a writer. You can do this.

[GS] Yeah. That’s true.

[CO] Right? And it gave me that confidence that I think I needed to then go back into the story. It’s like I had been stripped of all confidence.

[GS] Oh...

[CO] And I felt like I’m not a writer anymore. You know, I forgot how to do this. And so it was like building up; it reminded me of the letter you write. It’s almost like you’re building up your confidence.

[GS] You are.

[CO] With these short snippets, reminding yourself: oh, I CAN do that.

[GS] Yeah. No, absolutely. I think that’s really important. And I also sometimes like to read other people’s stories. You know, some writers are really great about sharing their stuff online or talking about their experiences. And I always think it’s amazing, you know, how we’ll forget that everybody feels this way. Like, everybody feels this way at some point. You know, some of the most accomplished writers will talk about: oh, yes. That project was so challenging. It took me a year to figure out the plot line. Like, what? But it’s going to happen and it still turned out successfully. And I think sharing those stories and hearing other people’s tips can really help.

If I’m stuck... I’ll go back to that and I’ll play that music again. And sometimes it kind of unlocks it, like it reminds me: this is where you were, this is how you felt, this is what you were thinking. And even if I can’t actually solve the thing that I’m working on, it calms me down.
—Gina Sorell

Tip No. 5: Change environments

[GS] I also sometimes just like to—and this is my fifth tip: I just like to change environments. You know, it’s funny, I really like to control my environment, so I’m not necessarily somebody who’s like: oh, I’m so good at this coffee shop, listening to your conversation. Like, I’ll just listen to the conversation, which can also be inspiring. Sorry for all the people I’ve eavesdropped on.

[CO laughing]

[GS] But sometimes I’ll just go to a different part of my own home. You know, so I’ll go to the living room, or I’ll sit outside, or I’ll sit in a different part of my office, just shifting the environment a little bit, or I’ll write in the park. I like to get outside as much as I can. And I think that will sometimes just change the way that I feel about it. Even if I’m not necessarily working on my novel, I will just maybe go with my laptop and send emails from a coffee shop, that kind of thing. Or I’ll just take a page or a paragraph that’s really troubling me. Something that, you know, I don’t have a giant expectation of myself that I’m going to solve the whole novel today in this coffee shop.

But it does shift. It does shift things. And I think anytime that I can shift those things, you know, makes a big difference. And I think also, it’s just when you get outside of yourself and you get outside of your environment, it’s a really great reminder—and I said this with the walking—that there’s a huge world out there and it goes on.

[GS] And that’s so helpful to see and to remember to have a sense of lightness about it and a sense of humor about it. And to just know that it really is going to be okay. It’s so hard sometimes if we’re always writing on our own, it gets so insular.

[CO] And then it feels so big. The problem feels so big.

[GS] It feels SO big, you know? And it’s really like... All of it can actually be solved really quite easily if we just trust that it will happen.

[CO] Yeah. I think it’s interesting because the physical movement or changing locations, it’s like physically unsticking yourself. Because you can sometimes relate, like: well, I’ve been stuck at my desk. That is where I was sitting when I couldn’t figure this out. And so subconsciously, when you move to a new place, it’s allowing yourself to not be in that stuck place, literally. And with location, you know, I will do a lot of different writing retreats throughout the year. I have four kids.

[GS] That’s so smart. Yeah. Got to get a writing retreat.

[CO] Yeah, getting away from those responsibilities of home, which can kind of weigh on you. And so, sometimes I’ll go to my parents’ house in Savannah and one time when I was on their couch I wrote 8,000 words in two days.

[GS] Oh my gosh. Bonkers.

[CO] The most I’ve ever written in my life. And so that almost feels like a magic place to me.

[GS] Oh, that’s great.

[CO] I’ll be like: I have to come exactly to that couch.

[GS] What outfit was I wearing?  Yeah, I know. That’s right.

Anytime that I can shift those things, you know, makes a big difference... When you get outside of yourself and you get outside of your environment, it’s a really great reminder that there’s a huge world out there and it goes on... Remember to have a sense of lightness about it and a sense of humor about it... Know that it really is going to be okay. It’s so hard sometimes if we’re always writing on our own, it gets so insular.
—Gina Sorell

[CO] And then I think the other... I love Rick Rubin and The Creative Act. And the thing about being physical and changing your environment, he suggests that you walk backwards. Which is such a weird thing.

[GS] Yeah. I can’t say I’m going to try it.

[CO] But I’ve done it. And my neighbors are probably like: what is she doing?

[GS] Oh, just to shake it up?

[CO] Yeah. Just to be a little different.

[GS] Well, apologies to everybody in my neighborhood as I fall down. That’s going to happen.

Well, this is so inspiring. I find it really... It’s been helpful for me to hear all the tips that you use.

[CO] Me too.

[GS] Right? Yeah, I know, I know. I clearly need to shower more often.

[CO laughing]

[GS] But thank you so much for sharing all of them. I really appreciate it.

[CO] Thank you! Yeah, this has been great.

[GS] Thanks everyone for joining us. Bye.

[CO] Bye!

Closing words

[Louise Dean] Thank you for joining us today. We are so pleased to have you along for the writing journey and we hope to see you on another episode of The Novelry on Writing.

If you’d like to learn more, visit us at thenovelry.com. From first draft to finished manuscript, at The Novelry you’ll enjoy one-to-one coaching from bestselling authors, live writing classes with award-winning authors and literary agents, and you’ll work with a publishing editor all the way for submission to literary agents toward a publishing deal.

All writers learn from other writers, even the greats. Write your novel in good company. Join us at The Novelry.

We’ll show you how to start, coax your story into shape, and cheer you on to type The End.

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