Feeling Stuck With Your Manuscript? Going “Off Page” Could Be the Solution.
Book coach Lauren Reynolds shares how going “off page” can help writers escape feeling stuck with writing their manuscripts.
Do you have a permanent handprint on your forehead from smacking it during bouts of frustration? If so, take comfort in knowing you are not alone. Writers, no matter how seasoned they may be, often experience moments of feeling stuck while writing or revising their manuscripts. While one project might feel rather effortless with limited moments of uncertainty, other projects might feel riddled with challenges and roadblocks.
There is countless advice on how to get unstuck, and while much of the advice offers some effective techniques, few writing experts advise “going off page” other than to take a break from the story altogether. Instead, I have a middle-ground solution.
My definition of stepping off the page is actively taking a break from writing or revising your story while keeping your story in the forefront of your mind. Stepping off the page does not mean shelving your story entirely; it means employing other mediums to inspire solutions.
The examples below demonstrate how to use your time away from the computer to get unstuck and return to writing with renewed inspiration and creative solutions.
Go Live Life—Or—Observe It
I am currently working on revising a project and have spent the last several months obsessively toying away in my home office. Though I have managed to step outside and be social occasionally, to say I have found a balance between my writing life and my real life would be a bald-faced lie—I have not.
By nature, most writers tend to be introverted and often feel perfectly content to reside in their story worlds. Yet, if the true richness of writing is to offer a unique perspective or commentary on life, people, and relationships, a writer must have a basis from which to formulate their viewpoint. Writers must borrow from their experience in the world or their observations of the world around them.
"Filling up is a very important thing that writers don't do enough, particularly romantic comedy writers. I think in this town (Los Angeles), people get very...They forget to live their lives, and I think that if your job is to write about love, or lack of it, relationships, and all those things, you need to leave your house to talk to people about those things. I know when I'm getting too insular, my writing struggles as well." -Tess Morris, author of Man Up (from the interview with Billy Mernit in his book, Writing the Romantic Comedy
To cultivate a perspective on life doesn’t mean one has to become an extrovert and attend every art opening, concert, or social event, but it does mean you have to step outside your fictional life and into the land of the living. For those writers who may be limited due to illness, disability, or other constraints, getting out into the world might look different. It may mean interviewing friends, reading memoirs, or borrowing from personal experiences. There is material all around us, but we must first step away from the keyboard to see it.
This week, the weather was beautiful, and though I struggled to pull myself away from revising my manuscript, I ventured to my city park. My three-part mission was to get some fresh air, connect with the three-dimensional world, and consciously think about my story without the stress of writing or revising anything.
The park was the perfect setting to contemplate my story since it was bustling with activity and ripe with inspiration. Much like venturing on a safari, I could observe the elusive hipster humans running amuck in the urban park habitat. Steve Irwin would be proud of such an adventurous brush with danger. After all, holding a venomous snake is no comparison to the terror of watching two hipsters duke it out over a Hacky Sack tournament gone awry.
Sitting on my blanket and taking everything in, I couldn’t believe how much raw material was available. The couple smoking a joint next to me was loudly contemplating life, in between bouts of coughing, providing humorous 20-something existential insight. Also entertaining were the dog owners, who spoke to their four-legged friend with such seriousness, I half expected the dog to answer back. Whether it was the young parents bragging to their friends about successfully potty training their two-year-old or observing what I gathered was a regrettable first date, I walked away with enough inspiration to improve parts of the story I had been struggling with.
Immersing yourself in a space with people of all ages is one helpful technique for getting unstuck. Cafes, restaurants, outdoor festivals, or other settings often provide opportunities to find the best jokes, develop an interesting three-dimensional character, or absorb authentic dialogue to strengthen your story.
Read Books About Writing
While most writers advise reading within the genre you are writing in, not every writer feels comfortable doing this while actively working on their manuscript because they fear unintentionally emulating the author’s work and, subsequently, not being original. When I’m actively writing a manuscript, I do read in my genre, but I do so sparingly because I am easily influenced by another writer’s voice. Instead, I prefer reading books about writing techniques or something loosely related, like expanding creativity.
Why is this helpful? Reading books on technique while you have your story in mind allows you to think about your work differently. It takes you from being the story's creator and enables you to look at your work through an editorial or technical lens.
For example, I am currently reading Billy Mernit’s book, Writing the Romantic Comedy, which often references the movie, When Harry Met Sally, to showcase examples of how to improve story elements such as theme, character development, and conflict.
We all remember the orgasm scene in When Harry Met Sally, where Meg Ryan reenacts the sounds of an orgasm in a New York deli to prove to Harry that he can’t be sure the women he’s been intimate with are having an authentic orgasm. As a moviegoer, I found this scene hysterical. As a writer, Mernit’s dissection of this scene helped me understand the various functions beyond its humor and enlightened me on the multiple ways to evaluate a scene's effectiveness.
Would this scene have been as funny without the topper of the matronly woman saying, “I’ll have what she’s having?” Probably not. That topper helped put the entire joke over the top.
Was I aware this scene was the first time Harry is viewing Sally as a sexual woman? No. I hadn’t considered it, but this scene marks a pivotal moment in their relationship arc.
Had I considered that the setting was essential to the joke? Nope. As a passive viewer, I simply thought their sandwiches looked delicious and contemplated where I could find a corned beef sandwich in Colorado. Yet, having the backdrop of a deli during this exchange between Harry and Sally contributed to part of the humor.
If Sally had faked an orgasm anywhere else, the setting would have had a different impact. No one would have batted an eyelash if this exchange had happened in Central Park. But if this interaction had unfolded on the bench near a playground, it’s likely security would have been called. When analyzing these different parts of a scene, it’s clear that the setting matters.
Examining the deli scene offered new insight into my work and inspired me to reconsider how I could improve my jokes. Can I add a “topper” to turn one of my jokes from mildly humorous into a belly laugh? Would my jokes be funnier if my characters’ reactions were described as more deadpan and expressionless rather than smiling and animated? Probably. But I hadn’t considered any of this before reading this excellent book about the techniques of romantic comedy. Reading a book on technique while keeping my current story in mind helped me see my story differently.
Read books on technique and notice how you view your work through a different lens. This may be the tweak you need to overcome those stuck spots.
Stop and Share
It can be frightening to hand your manuscript to someone else for review. In most cases, writers spend several months, a year, or several years writing their manuscripts and are therefore more vulnerable than most when receiving feedback because of the enormous investment of time.
Though sharing your work with someone may be difficult, it can also be freeing. Writers often have an instinct that something about their writing isn’t holding together, but it can be difficult to pinpoint how and why something isn’t working. An objective viewpoint often helps clarify what that “something” is.
Receiving feedback is like receiving a diagnosis. Once you know the problem areas, you can focus on improving them.
Choose your readers wisely, as you want to receive honest but kind feedback. Someone who reads in your genre will also be more helpful than someone who doesn’t. If their assessment feels like a fit, great, and if it doesn’t feel true for you, keep looking.
It’s a good idea to give your manuscript to at least three different people. If a particular issue arises for more than one reader, it’s worth evaluating the consensus.
The sooner you can get your work into someone else’s hands, the better you can understand your story through the eyes of your potential readers and, therefore, work on improving those elements that need your attention.
Getting Unstuck
The longer a writer feels like they are at a standstill with their work, the easier it becomes to lose confidence in themself and their manuscript.
Getting stuck is a common ailment every writer must face. Since this will likely occur throughout one’s writing career, why not experiment with different ways in which to solve these challenges. You may have to take a Goldilocks approach to see which technique is most helpful, but eventually, you will find what works for you.
You don’t have to shelve your project completely to see it with fresh eyes and renewed inspiration later. You can continue to work on your story by intentionally pursuing other mediums of inspiration while also taking a break from actively writing or revising. This happy medium may be the perfect cure for your writing ailment.
Lauren Reynolds is an Author Accelerator Certified Book Coach, developmental editor, and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with an M.S. in Clinical Psychology and an A.A. in Culinary Arts. She has published over 80 articles on baking in the Huffington Post as the Doughmamma, and she also writes about mental health on a variety of online therapy platforms. She is working on her second manuscript, Recipes to Mend a Broken Heart. As a book coach, she works with romance writers in several sub-genres and nonfiction writers who are interested in writing inspiring books about wellness, parenting, and subjects related to transpersonal psychology. She lives in Colorado with her husband, two kids, and her Giant Schnauzer, Nanuk.
