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Writer's picturejessica bruyere

Got Editor's Block?

I've been working on my current novel for quite a while now, after setting it aside to let it "rest." I got really inspired and jazzed up by my writer's conference a little while back. I dove right in and started editing/revising my novel right away. I was making such amazing progress with revising the magic system and enriching my setting description, which were the two things I was struggling with the most. I got about three-quarters of the way done with the most recent pass on revising and started getting stuck. I was facing editor's block, as I call it.


Here are the most helpful ways I found to get unstuck:


  1. Take little breaks. Go for a walk around the block. Heck, go for a walk around the house if that's all it takes or all you have time for. Just get up and move. Have a little snack or a drink of water or tea or coffee.

  2. Do a quick chore to get your motivation pumping. A load of laundry or a quick pass with the vacuum cleaner can make you feel a little sense of accomplishment, which you can take to your editing.

  3. Think about the big picture. Getting stuck on that one paragraph or scene can be frustrating, but remember what your novel is as a whole, which can break that cycle by giving you new ideas for where to take that scene that just won't go anywhere.

  4. On that note, if you're stuck on one scene or chapter, here's a link to a bunch of worksheets that have helped me, both in writing and in editing: https://www.eadeverell.com/worksheets/. I'd recommend #34 - Scene Writing, under the heading "Creative Writing Worksheets." It's meant to be for writing a scene but it's great for revising a scene that isn't working for some reason. Another good one is #25 (under the same heading) - Reconnect With Your Story. Also possibly created for writing a story but it has worked for me for revising as well. Explore her site - she has great worksheets.

  5. Take a minute to play on this website: https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/. It's got a lot of name generators but it also has things like a character trait generator and a character goal generator. It has lots of description generators as well, which can give you new ideas.

Wishing you happy editing!




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