What do you do when you’re stuck?

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a pantser or a plotter, everyone gets stuck in their writing now and then.

I’m sure you’ve read so many articles on writer’s block filled with so many suggestions (hell, I’ve written one myself). Go for a walk. Plot your story. Look at your story structure. Take a vacation. Talk to a friend.

These are all great ideas, and you should absolutely do them! But what if none of them works? What if you’re still stuck?

First, look at what you’re stuck on. Is it a scene that you just can’t write, and until you get it written you can’t move forward? Is it the story not advancing in the way you’d imagined? Are you simply bored?

If it’s a particular scene, think about it. What is it that makes this scene so hard? Is it the pov character? Do you know them well enough to write this scene from their perspective? If not, do a little method writing. Get into their head and free write. Whatever it is they want to say, let them say it. Let them go over where they are in the story right now, or perhaps they want to talk about their childhood, or that ex they just can’t get out of their mind, or the last case they were on that wasn’t resolved in a satisfying manner. Whatever it is they want to talk about, let them.