{"id":8304,"date":"2025-04-14T14:11:48","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T13:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.novlr.org\/the-reading-room\/?p=8304"},"modified":"2025-04-15T16:23:04","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T15:23:04","slug":"how-do-you-stick-with-a-writing-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.novlr.org\/the-reading-room\/how-do-you-stick-with-a-writing-project\/","title":{"rendered":"How do you stick with a writing project?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-3fc32b986d273266c740e31b1f79c30e\" style=\"color:#212638;background-color:#dbeeff\"><blockquote><p>&#8220;<em>hey pamela i have trouble sticking with stories so i end up abandoning them whats your advice?<\/em>&#8220;<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Jumping between projects is a common experience for writers, but it can leave you feeling frustrated when all you have to show for all your hard work is a collection of unfinished manuscripts rather than completed stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why we abandon projects<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The exciting rush of a new story idea is one of the biggest reasons for procrastination, because the new idea is almost always going to be more exciting than the current project which has entered the \u201cwork\u201d phase of drafting. Understanding why we tend to abandon projects can help us refine strategies to stick with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Being drawn away by the allure of a shiny new idea that seems more exciting than our current work may be the biggest culprit, but it\u2019s certainly not the only one. We might hit difficult plot points or a writing block the feels insurmountable. Self-doubt also frequently creeps in about the story&#8217;s worth, especially as the initial excitement for a project wears off. Sometimes we can even lose sight of where the story is going, or life simply gets in the way and we lose momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All these reasons are real. And all these reasons are valid. The biggest challenge we face is not letting these challenges affect our self-worth as writers. We need to decide for ourselves when to stick with a story and when to let it go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why it&#8217;s sometimes OK to let go<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>First, let&#8217;s acknowledge that not every project needs to be finished. It&#8217;s perfectly valid to recognise when something isn&#8217;t working and needs to be shelved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some partial projects serve best as learning experiences, and will provide valuable lessons even if you never finish them. You might find yourself taking elements from abandoned projects and incorporating them into new works that better serve your vision as a writer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As writers, we\u2019re constantly learning and improving, so as we grow and develop, it&#8217;s natural to outgrow certain story ideas. Sometimes the most valuable thing you can do is practice writing without the pressure to complete everything. So when deciding to stick with a project, it\u2019s important to keep this in the back of your mind. Some projects are worth the work, and some serve a different purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Strategies for sticking with your project<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With all that said, if you\u2019ve taken the time to really question your project and decide whether it\u2019s worth pursuing, here are song strategies that can help you stick with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Create a plan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, I know that many of you reading this will be anti-plan, but I\u2019m going on all in on this advice, anyway. If you\u2019ve got to the point of questioning whether a project is worth pursuing, it means you&#8217;ve already lost the momentum that pantsing your project requires. You\u2019ve moved past the point of telling yourself the story, and you\u2019re going to need the structure that a plan provides to keep you moving forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You don\u2019t need a detailed beat-by-beat plan, but you do need a clear roadmap for your story. This means taking the time to outline, even roughly, so you know where you&#8217;re heading. Think of it like setting goals and milestones. A plan will let you break your story into smaller, manageable chunks that feel less overwhelming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stay connected to your story<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Check in with yourself periodically and remind yourself why you love writing this story. It\u2019s one of the best ways to ensure long-term commitment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I have a project journal where explore all the ideas that come up during writing. It\u2019s a repository of everything that has inspired me and why, and it keeps me connected to what I\u2019m writing. I can work through blocks, and talk to myself about story points I\u2019m not sure about, and also fantasise about story elements that might never make it into the finished product. The point of it is to keep myself immersed. I also find it useful to regularly revisit my story&#8217;s core theme. Why did I want to write this and why was I originally excited about it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Creating <a href=\"https:\/\/www.novlr.org\/the-reading-room\/a-foolproof-character-cheat-sheet-with-downloadable-template\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">character profiles<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.novlr.org\/the-reading-room\/from-concept-to-creation-building-a-mood-board-for-your-writing-project\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mood boards<\/a> can help also help immerse you in your narrative. Imagining things visually helps you engage another sense and can help with reference when you need inspiration. This also works in tandem with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.novlr.org\/the-reading-room\/aethestic-isolation-for-writers-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">aesthetic isolation<\/a>. Reading similar books, theming your music choices, or watching films and tv shows that share similarities with your work can also really help to keep you in the right headspace. It can also provide inspiration and fresh perspectives!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Keep yourself motivated<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Successful completing a writing project often comes down to maintaining steady motivation. It\u2019s the self-care part of writing that we often let fall by the wayside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.novlr.org\/the-reading-room\/how-to-set-achievable-writing-goals-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Set yourself goals<\/a> and make them achievable. Then, make sure you reward yourself for meeting those milestones. That could be anything from a word count goal to finishing a challenging scene. Just make sure they\u2019re actionable and achievable. And I can\u2019t stress the achievable part enough. Ephemeral goals, or goals that are too difficult mean you\u2019re setting yourself up for failure. Smaller targets that you manage to hit regularly will give you that little endorphin kick you need to keep going. You\u2019ll feel good about the process instead of being overwhelmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Joining <a href=\"https:\/\/www.novlr.org\/the-reading-room\/writers-critique-groups-and-how-to-form-them\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">writing groups<\/a> or finding an accountability partners is also a good way to keep up motivation. It can give you an external structure and support system you need to keep going, because all of a sudden you\u2019re accountable to someone other than yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Know how to handle common obstacles<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When you\u2019ve been writing for a while, you\u2019ll quickly learn what your demotivation triggers are. And when you know what they are, it\u2019s the first step in engaging strategies that will help you move past them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I know that a common block of mine is transition scenes. I can write the scenes individually but can\u2019t always see the way to get from one scene to the next. When I first started writing, I\u2019d spend days and days on the ending of one chapter trying to come up with the perfect way to get to what I knew was going to happen in the next one. The result was that I just never got to the next one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My strategy now is just to stop trying and move on to the next chapter. Usually the transition I come up with on the fly is \u201cgood enough\u201d for a first draft, and once I have the full context of my story, I can usually see exactly what has to happen to improve it. By trying to get it right the first time, I was creating a block that stopped me every moving forward. By the task I struggle with becomes exponentially easier on revision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re stuck on a particular scene, try skipping ahead to one you&#8217;re more excited about. You can also keep a &#8220;story problems&#8221; document where you can work through issues without derailing your main writing sessions. I do <a href=\"https:\/\/www.novlr.org\/academy\/an-introduction-to-the-novel-fast-drafting-method\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fast-drafting<\/a>, so if I want to change something or am moving on because of a block, I\u2019ll leave myself a comment or note in the text and then just move on. Because there\u2019s no such thing as a perfect first draft and it\u2019s way too easy to get stuck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your techniques and obstacles will be unique to you, so the next time you feel demotivated or want to give up on your project, ask yourself why. Is it a common time for this to happen? And if so, why? What can you do to either overcome or skip this problem entirely?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Make a commitment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While there are strategies that can help you overcome the desire to give up on a project, the ultimate thing that will make the difference is just to make a commitment. Sometimes you just have to sit yourself down and say, \u201cI\u2019m going to get this done!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Take some time to reflect on why you wanted to tell this story. What do you want to say with it? Do you still think this is important? And if not, why not?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Consider how you&#8217;ll feel if you never finish it. If it\u2019s relief, then it might be time to move on to another project. If you\u2019re sad, then you just have to decide to keep going. You can even identify a minimum daily effort needed to move forward if you want to be dispassionate about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every finished book started as an idea that someone chose to stick with. The difference between writers who have finished a project versus one who hasn\u2019t isn&#8217;t down to talent \u2013 it&#8217;s persistence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you choose to stay with your current project or move on to something new, make it a conscious choice rather than letting your passion fade. Sometimes the story you need to tell isn&#8217;t the one that came easily, but the one you fought to finish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;hey pamela i have trouble sticking with stories so i end up abandoning them whats your advice?&#8220; Jumping between projects is a common experience for writers, but it can leave you feeling frustrated when all you have to show for all your hard work is a collection of unfinished manuscripts rather than completed stories. Why [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":8305,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"1280","footnotes":""},"categories":[108,24],"tags":[37,71,28],"class_list":["post-8304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ask-novlr","category-writing-tips","tag-motivation","tag-productivity","tag-writing-tips","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How do you stick with a writing project? | The Novlr Reading Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn techniques to help you stick with a writing project, overcome writer&#039;s block, and turn your unfinished manuscript into a complete book.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.novlr.org\/the-reading-room\/how-do-you-stick-with-a-writing-project\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How do you stick with a writing project? | The Novlr Reading Room\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn techniques to help you stick with a writing project, overcome writer&#039;s block, and turn your unfinished manuscript into a complete book.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.novlr.org\/the-reading-room\/how-do-you-stick-with-a-writing-project\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Novlr Reading Room\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/novlr\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-14T13:11:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-15T15:23:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.novlr.org\/the-reading-room\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Frame-98.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1260\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Pamela Koehne-Drube\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@novlrtweets\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@novlrtweets\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Pamela Koehne-Drube\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novlr.org\\\/the-reading-room\\\/how-do-you-stick-with-a-writing-project\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novlr.org\\\/the-reading-room\\\/how-do-you-stick-with-a-writing-project\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Pamela Koehne-Drube\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novlr.org\\\/the-reading-room\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/726ed0ac79316fa69373ac67027dd121\"},\"headline\":\"How do you stick with a writing project?\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-14T13:11:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-15T15:23:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novlr.org\\\/the-reading-room\\\/how-do-you-stick-with-a-writing-project\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1547,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novlr.org\\\/the-reading-room\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novlr.org\\\/the-reading-room\\\/how-do-you-stick-with-a-writing-project\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novlr.org\\\/the-reading-room\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/Frame-98.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"motivation\",\"productivity\",\"writing tips\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Ask Novlr\",\"Writing\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novlr.org\\\/the-reading-room\\\/how-do-you-stick-with-a-writing-project\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novlr.org\\\/the-reading-room\\\/how-do-you-stick-with-a-writing-project\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novlr.org\\\/the-reading-room\\\/how-do-you-stick-with-a-writing-project\\\/\",\"name\":\"How do you stick with a writing project? 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