Overcoming Writer's Block: Mastering the First Draft

It’s time to start your new manuscript. A blank page is before you, and you stare at it, fingertips just hovering above the keys. 

What now? 

What next? 

Where do we go from here? 

The title on your Google Doc says “Untitled Document”, and there is nothing within you that says what to change it to. The anxiety builds within your stomach at this waiting, at this delayed pause. You know you want to write, but without any inspiration, you’re just stuck. 

Time and time again, we authors are stuck in this same cycle. Eventually, it builds into this great stone wall of writer's block, and nothing we do can pull us over it. But somehow, we’ve managed to do this to ourselves. There’s no need to reach this stage, and there are many ways to prevent it. Each writer is different and incredibly unique, with countless ways to begin writing their first draft. 

In middle school, my English language arts class introduced the plotting “rollercoaster”, and it has stuck with me ever since. It is just a basic overlook on what a novel contains, and it’s great to think of it that way. The best first step to drafting a new manuscript is getting through whatever it is in your head on a piece of paper. Whatever it was that triggered this new idea, no matter how vague and scattered it is, put it down in some way. 

Plotting Rollercoaster

The beauty of the plotting rollercoaster is the simplicity behind it. Lots of tools authors use, including online programs, come off as too intimidating that I shy away from it. There are new things to learn and tools available due to Internet growth, but for someone with a constantly bustling brain, anything too complicated can slow the process down. Anything too clever or intimidating steers me right back towards that writer's block wall. 

After putting those basic ideas down, and organizing your thoughts with the rollercoaster, we can start to move towards strengthening our plans. Character sheets are one of the only online resources I use during the writing process. There is always something we don’t think of when building new characters. People have many sides to them, and a reader can tell when the character they’re reading off is flat. From eye color to favorite things to eat to most secret faults, character sheets will make sure you think of everything. 

Here are some of the most unique questions I’ve seen on a character sheet:

“What is your idea of perfect happiness?”

“Which words or phrases do you most overuse?”

“What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?”

“How would you like to die?”

Obviously, these questions would be answered through the eyes of your character. The deeper questions begin to build a personality that can be recognizable to the reader. If all your characters felt the same and answered all these questions the same, where would the excitement be within the novel? A reader would not be able to stay hooked on who tells the story, and they would not be afraid to put the book down.

Once you have fleshed out your characters, it’s time to return to the ideas you jotted down before. The nitty gritty comes next, where you spend the most time outlining your manuscript. I am a simple writer and can do just fine with jotting down intricate bullet points for each chapter. When I have lots of ideas, I even scribble scattered dialogue that would fall into each chapter. I don’t start writing until I’m 100% sure all the thoughts bumbling around in my head are sorted into the page.

Many other writers use systems provided online to plot and write their manuscript. Like I said before, it’s different for everyone. We can only find what works by getting out and trying. Reedsy has a fun system on their website to use, and when it comes to printing out a simple interior design, it has you covered. However, never push any techniques on yourself. Try the other sites, but if a rush of overwhelming feelings rush over you, don’t be afraid to take a step back and do something else. 

Plotting does not have to be a tense subject. It shouldn’t be complicated or hard. While it is the backbone of writing a cohesive manuscript, we can fall back into the rut of writer's block by pushing ourselves out the race. The point of plotting is to have a cushion to fall back on when the going gets tough. Think of it as your writing lifeline: every time you hit a wall, refer back to all the preparation work you did before writing. 

Don’t let the going get tough if it doesn’t have to be!

Thanks for tuning in. See you soon :)